One snowy day, Mole and Troll decide that, with Christmas fast approaching, it would be a perfect time to pick out a Christmas tree. So, they get all bundled up in their coats, hats and scarves and set off into the forest to choose one. Mole could hardly contain his excitement.

“‘Let’s see,’ he said. ‘I will take that one and that one. No, wait! I want those three and that little one and that one, too!’”

Troll has to rein Mole in a little before he chops down all the trees in the woods. So, Troll decides he will spin Mole around and whichever tree Mole staggers into first, that will be the one they pick.

“So Mole covered his eyes. Troll spun him around many times. Mole planned on peeking through his fingers to make a good choice. But he got too dizzy. He wobbled smack into a little tree. It was a fat sugar pine with fluffy branches, a deep piny smell, and resin dripping down the trunk.
“‘Perfect!’ cried Troll. ‘Good choice, Mole!’
“‘Thanks,’ said Mole, wobbling around in a big circle.”

Life seems good for Mole and Troll as they drag their tree back through the forest on their sled. But, once they get home, trouble starts. It turns out the two friends have very different decorating tastes, and neither one wants to concede to the other. Troll likes colored lights, globs of tinsel and snow around the bottom. Mole likes twinkly white lights, strands of tinsel and popcorn strung around the tree. Both friends continue to get huffy until they attempt to decorate the top.

“At last Mole climbed to the top and put up a golden angel. Troll could not stand that. He took it down and put up a star.
“Mole snatched it down and put the angel back.
“‘I always have a star on top of my tree!’ said Troll loudly. ‘Take that angel down!’
“‘I won’t!’ yelled Mole. ‘I always have an angel on top!’”

Mole and Troll start to fight, and in the chaos that ensues, the tree is knocked down. Mole gets so angry that he starts to throw cranberries at Troll.

“Mole was fuming mad. He picked up a cranberry and—zip. It hit Troll on the ear. Blip—another cranberry hit Troll on the end of his nose. Plip, plip, plip. Another and another and another hit Troll.
“Troll leaped around in fury. He chased Mole around and around the fallen tree.
“‘Just wait till I get you!’ cried Troll. ‘I will wrap you up in lights and make you twinkle like a little star.’”

Troll chases Mole up onto the roof. (It should be noted that Troll is much bigger and scarier than Mole and it was brave of the little guy to ever oppose him at all. Although, Troll’s most frightening feature may be his 1970s brocade vest.) They tussle more until they fall down the chimney. Mole has had enough and he gets up and leaves. Troll is left all alone with the ruined tree.

But fear not! The two friends ultimately see the selfishness of their ways and, in the end, all is righted. Mole and Troll decide to decorate the tree with everything they have, and then pull it out into the yard for all to see.

“The neighbors all came. They thought it was the prettiest tree they had ever seen. At least it had the most things on it.”

Tony Johnston’s story is delightful and fun, but it is Wallace Tripp’s illustrations that really make the book. Tripp, known for illustrating “Amelia Bedelia” and his books of nonsense verse, (such as “Slugabed, slugabed, barley butt / your bum is so heavy, you can’t get up”) has meticulously drawn every hair on shaggy Troll, every pine needle on the tree, every great little detail, and the pictures are fittingly accented with only red and green. Plus, little anthropomorphic creatures always make everything better.

If possible, have your mother read you this story aloud. Moms do a great job reading it—especially the cranberry noises.