"I know of just the right one that will be sure to please even Aunt Gertrude," Chet remarked as he led the way. Sure enough, he was right. There before them was a gorgeous ten-foot tree. It was just the right size and even perfectly shaped.

"Your dad really out did himself this year!" Joe said with excitement. "Are you sure you guys don’t want this one? It is so perfect!"

"Dad already has our tree. A twelve footer this year! It is going to touch the ceiling! This one is all yours," Chet said, putting his hand on Joe’s shoulder.

Both boys soon sawed the tree down and loaded it onto the sled. Then they tied it down and scoped out the hill to the woods below.

"We will just have to get stopped before we get to the way bottom," Joe said, looking down the hill. "Who is going to navigate?"

"I know every inch of this hill so I will steer. Just lean your weight with me and we will be down this hill in no time, just like when we were kids!" Chet said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I never wrecked us before you know."

"True, it was always Frank who got us wrapped around trees. He always liked to cut those corners close," Joe remembered. Frank had always insisted on "driving" the sled because he was the oldest. However, he usually ended up in the woods, around a tree and one time, in the middle of a briar patch.

Chet hopped on the five-foot long plastic sled in the front while Joe took his position in the back. Joe made sure he had a good hold on the rope so they would be sure to not leave without the tree. He was really tired by now and was welcoming the chance to be off his feet. He did not want to have to walk clear back up the steep and long hill, so he made sure he had a good hold on the rope that was hooked to the "tree sled". The younger Hardy went as far as tying the rope around his wrist to insure that nothing would happen.

"Let’s GO!" Chet called out as he started the push off. Soon both chums were flying down the snow-covered hill. Chet was doing a beautiful job of leaning his weight, steering the sled perfectly.

"Isn’t this the life?" Chet called out with laughter. Joe joined him in the laughter. It had been a while since they had been sleigh riding and he felt like he was ten years old all over again. Chet peered back to see if the tree was still there. Sure enough, his idea was working. The tall evergreen was just fifteen feet behind them. He no sooner turned back around when the sled came to a thunderous stop.

WWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM!

Chet went flying first and landed with a thud on his back. Joe come tumbling after him and landed square on his best friend’s stomach.

"OOOOWWWWWWW!" Chet yelled out. But before Joe could get up or do anything, he was suddenly thrown forward. His wrist flew past his face and the younger Hardy felt himself being dragged a few feet before he came to a stop. A cold sensation went down his arms and chest as he spit the snow out of his mouth.

"JOE!" a voice shouted out. Then the face of Chet Morton came clear. "Are you all right?"

"I was a lot better BEFORE you decided to steer," Joe snorted. He quickly wiped the snow from his nose and face. Then he emptied the snow out that had gone up his arms and down his chest. "I think I am going to steer the next time. I have snow everywhere!"

"Well, not everywhere. I always hated it when I got snow down my underwear. Now that IS everywhere. It just makes everything so…" Chet started to ramble, but he was quickly cut off.

"Please Chet, just stop there. I already have too much of a visual, okay!" Joe quipped, fastening his coat and gloves again.

But Chet rambled on. "Especially when you slide down on your back and you get twisted around and it goes straight down you’re…"

"CHET! PLEASE! I get it!"

Chet looked at his best friend. "Someone is just not into the holidays like they used to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you being such a… a…"

"What?" Joe asked, looking at Cheat straight in the face.

"A SCROOGE!"

Joe stood there and made a face at the heavier set boy. Then he sighed. "It is not that. I guess I am just a little under the weather. I guess I just wished that we had a case or something. I need an adventure."

"Adventure? I would have thought you would have enjoyed this time of peace instead of running down criminals or being kidnapped or conked in the head for the umpteenth time!"

"Funny Chet," Joe replied, getting up and grabbing the rope to the tree. "Things have just been quiet. Besides I think I am safer tracking down robbers than riding on the back of sled with you!"

"Hardy, har-har. You are sooooooo funny," Chet snorted back. Both boys grabbed their things and slowly made their way back down the path to the van.

"I know! I have a case for you," Chet said with a smile as he pulled the sled. "You can help me find the Christmas gifts mom and dad have hidden somewhere."

"Aren’t you a little old for that Chet?"

"It is always a contest every year for Iola and me to catch mom and dad putting out our presents," Chet explained. "Every year they beat us. So we thought that if we found the presents we could stake out the area and catch them in the act."

"Why don’t you just set up a video camera?"

"Because we aren’t allowed using technology. You must rely on wit and your own two eyes," Chet remarked.

"Then that is the problem," Joe quipped back. Chet picked up a snowball and threw it at his friend, hitting him square in the back. Not wanting to back down from a snowball challenge, the younger Hardy quickly retaliated with a snowball of his own. Soon, both teenage boys were dunking and creeping between the trees taking shots at each other. Finally Chet called out, "Hold it! I need to catch my breath!" He fell to the ground. Joe sat down next to him, armed with a snowball. He was about to make a comment when he heard a cry in the woods.

"Did you hear that?" Joe whispered. Chet strained to hear.

WHA- AHWHA-WHAAAAAAAAA!

"That sounds like a baby?" Chet said, sitting up at full attention. Joe and Chet immediately took off in the direction of the cry, towing the sleds and Christmas tree close behind them. The closer they got to the cry, the more they noticed that it was in the direction of the van.

When the van came into sight, the boys were shocked at their discovery. The side door was slightly ajar. Joe walked up to the van quietly and cautiously. Slowly pulling back the door, Chet and Joe were shocked to see a baby, wrapped completely in thick blankets staring back at them.