Once upon a time, three little men met: Mossbeard, Halfshoe, and Muff, who looked really funny. They met at an ice cream stand. All three were so small that the ice cream vendor could hardly notice them at all. But each of them looked very special: Mossbeard had a beard made of soft moss, in which beautiful red cranberries from the past summer were shining. Halfshoe had cut off the caps of his shoes so that he could move his toes freely. Muff, on the other hand, was inside a large muff, with only his head and feet sticking out. They licked their ice cream and looked at each other curiously.