The Montana backwoods becomes the setting for this heartwarming story about a boy, his strange forest friend, and their love of nature. One evening, Nikki Smith was resting quietly on an old tree stump when he heard a strange laughing sound echo through the trees. Now, Nikki had heard just about every sound the woods could possibly make, but this was certainly not one of them. As he quickly stood up from where he was seated, he once again heard the peculiar high-pitched laugh. This time it seemed to be getting a bit louder. He quickly turned and, to his surprise, caught saw a flash of something green disappear behind the base of a huge Ponderosa Pine tree. Holding his breath, Nikki slowly circled the tree. Nothing was there. Suddenly, a pine cone ricocheted off the side of his head and landed on the ground next to him. Startled, Nikki glanced up and saw a small elf-like creature no more than three feet tall perched on a tree branch starting back at him