Three birds rested on top of a snowman's head. Ally and her mother walked up to the snowman quietly.
"Someone put birdseed on my snowman!" Ally cried. Suddenly all the birds flew off, except a red one. Ally ran to the bird. "It's an ornament!" She picked it up. There was a note:
A secret friend wants you to have
A happy holiday.
Hope you enjoy this little gift-
More are on the way!
Your Secret Snow Pal
"Who do you think it is?" Ally asked.
Her mother shook the head.
The next day when Ally went back home, she found a little birdhouse sitting outside the door, with a note read:
Birds make good neighbours
They sing songs of cheer
Your neighbours wish you
Much happiness this year.
"A neighbour? Who might it be?" Ally said. She looked out of the window, "The red door lady let me pick her flowers."
"The Millers help collect our mails when we go on holiday," her mother said.
"Mr. Collins has a bird feeder," Ally said. "But I don't think it's him. He never smiles."
A week went by before they received another note:
Time to greet your secret pal!
Let's have lunch at Ray's,
Saturday at one o 'clock-
Happy Holidays!
The notes excited Ally so much. She loved Ray's pizza! By that time, Ally's family went to the restaurant with presents.
"Here we are!" a voice called out.
Ally turned to look. A young couple -the red door people! They stood in front of them with another ornament.
"Hi, we're Paul and Wend Harrison," the man said. "Last year we were new on your street. One day, presents started showing up, with little notes. Finally, the Millers met us right here."
"We had so much fun. So we decided to be secret pals this year," Mrs. Harrison said.
"It was fun!" Ally said, "I want to be a secret pal next year!" She wondered if a bird like this would make Mr. Collins smile. She couldn't wait till next year to find out.
