It was a cold but still very clear day here in Snowyland. There is a Snowbuddy who grew up not having a hat at all, but has a hair that is as blue as water, his name was Shivs.

Shivs is one of those Snowbuddies who didn't have a hat, but always wondered what it's like to have one. He looked around the neighborhood, looking at all the Snowbuddies with various kinds of hats. 

That's until, one day, he made an unexpected discovery. He found a red plastic bucket in the snow, he said to himself, “Maybe this can be my hat!”. So he brought the bucket home to wash it, to see if this bucket fits him. 

“Okay, here goes nothing.”, He said. As he put it on, it fit him perfectly. The red color of the bucket matches with his oceanic blue hair. “Looks nice?” He asked himself, feeling content, he’s ready to go out and show everybuddy his new-found “hat”.

As he strolls around, all the Snowbuddies look at him, but in a strange way. They whispered to each other, “Why is Shivs wearing that?”, “That's a bit random.”,  “ I wonder if he carried it like that to fetch some water?”.

Snowkin notices Shivs wearing that bucket and decides to approach him. Snowkin finds it weird, but refuses to judge, she instead, will question him about the bucket on his head. 

“Hello there, Snowkin! You like my new hat?” He greeted her. She responded, “It's interesting, it leaves me very curious. Where did you find that hat?” Shivs was hesitant to answer, but trusting Snowkin for months, he said “I… I found it in the snow.”

This is when she gets suspicious, “Do you think somebuddy is looking for that? What if they lost that.” Shiv realized it just now and wondered, “Maybe, but I feel like wearing it since I really needed a hat.”

Snowkin can't help but facepalm, since he could always buy one himself, but he continued, “I've been looking for one, but I cannot find a hat that matches with my hair.” With that critique alone, Snowkin understood his struggle. 

So she assures him “Well, there's always a lot of options that can help you with your hat problem, but for now I guess you can keep this hat for a while until we find the owner, alright?” Shivs nodded with a smile. 

Their first stop was to visit the headmaster of the farmer Snowbuddies. A humble, but hard-working Mushroom farmer named Marshall, Snowkin walked to him with Shivs and asked him “Hello there, Marshall, do you know anybuddy who owns this bright red bucket?”

Marshall is quite busy with his business, so it's rare to see him in his free time. He counted the amount he earned from the button crops, only to be dissatisfied, “Oh, it didn’t sell enough compared to last week.” He said to himself. 

Snowkin waited for a response, so she asked again, “Um, excuse me, Marshall?”. Marshall snapped back after hearing her voice, “Oh! Snowkin, it's you! Apologies for the wait.” He said with an awkward smile. “Are you here to make an offer?”

Snowkin tells him, “It's alright, but that's not what we are here for. I was asking if you saw this bright red bucket before, and have you seen a Snowbuddy who owns one? “ Shivs showcases the bucket he found to Marshall and he looks closely. 

Marshall replied “Oh I have never seen a bright red bucket before. So I don't think that's mine, but I do know Ana Fragola owns a lot of buckets.” Shivs said “Really? Where could we find this Ana?.”

He pointed at the farming spot full of wonderful sweet red strawberries, “She's at her strawberry farm right there, you can ask her about the bucket you found.” The two Snowbuddies obliged and went to visit their next stop

Snowkin visits the lovely strawberry farm. Snowkin is amazed, but she must be careful since Ana is quite protective of her crops. Ana is checking on the ripeness of her strawberry bush. 

“Hmm... Too ripe… not ripe enough…” She kept looking at each strawberry, and saw a perfectly ripe one. “Ah, perfect!” As she turns it around before picking it from the bush, only to discover that a caterpillar has eaten half of that fresh strawberry. 

She was shocked, “Oh, give me a break!”. Disappointed, she left that caterpillar and its food be. She kept looking for ripe berries until she heard footsteps behind her. She notices Snowkin and runs to tell her. 

“Be careful! These strawberries are delicate!” she tells her in a strict tone. Snowkin was startled by that, “Ana, I'm not here for the strawberries, I am just going to ask you something.” Ana replied, “What is that, you should make it quick.”

Snowkin was going to answer, but just noticed Shivs just arriving with mushrooms on his bucket. “What the?!” Snowkin yelled. “Sorry, Snowkin, I forgot that I needed mushrooms for my soup.” Snowkin was weirded out by how sudden that was. 

But that didn't back down, and shows Ana the red bucket. She tells Ana, “Ana, I heard Marshall said you own a lot of buckets and wondered if this one is yours.” She is quick to answer, “It may look like them, but it's not really mine.”

Ana showcased her own bucket filled with strawberries that's also red, but there is a noticeable difference. “All the red buckets I own have a green handle. The one Shivs is holding has a yellow one. So I don't think that's mine.”

“Oh well,” said Snowkin, “Well who do you think owns this bucket then?” “Maybe ask your friend Kira for help, her carrot farm is a bit far. So, walking there might be awhile” Snowkin nodded and thanked Ana before she and Shivs start walking to Kira's farm. Shivs started to crave for a carrot oatmeal, a “Carr-oatmeal” If you will.

Snowkin takes a stroll around the farms, watching all the farmer snowbuddies work. Shivs quickly catches up, now with some strawberries on his bucket this time, not just the mushrooms. “Are you sure you can carry all of that yourself?” she said, worried that carrying this bucket around might be tiring for Shivs. 

“Don't worry, Snowkin. I have an emergency sack in my pocket with me, so I have no problem.” he assures her. As they are walking to Kira's carrot farm. Kira can see the two from the far distance, and yells out “Hello, Snowkin!”

Happy to see her bestie visit her. “Hello, Kira. I have a question! Have you ever seen a Snowbuddy who owns this red bucket with a yellow handle?” She points out the bucket Shivs was holding to show to Kira. Kira responded, and they expect the answer would be a No like the previous, but this time it was different.

“Well, I am seeing one right one, but the last time I ever saw somebuddy with a bucket like that was a Snowbuddy whose hat has a discount sticker unpealed. Funny, but I’ve seen him myself.” Snowkin and Shivs were confused, but at least they have a possible answer of the bucket’s owner.

Kira continued, “I haven’t seen him in weeks, but he does bring his bucket to store the carrots I sold and other things he bought from the market. Maybe he’s looking for that bucket since he really needs it.”

Snowkin was let down by the news, but didn't want to give up on trying, “Do you know where he lives?” she said. “Let's check the other side of the town, follow me!”, Kira runs down to the other side to find this Snowbuddy, Snowkin and Shivs followed. 

They walked down the steep hill, leading to the other side of town, but as they kept going, Shivs tripped on a small pebble that he did not see! He started to tumble and started sliding down the hill fast with the bucket in his arms. 

“Shivs!”, shouted Snowkin. “Oh no! We need to go after him quickly!” Yelled Kira. Shivs was in trouble sliding without stopping, Snowkin and Kira kept running as fast as they could to catch up and help him. Every Snowbuddy stayed back as he slides all over town! 

Meanwhile, a Snowbuddy is looking through the bushes, behind the houses and even under piles of Snow. He must be looking for something, something important to him. He heard Shivs yelling, “Look out!” As he slides down, getting closer and closer to where the Snowbuddy is at.

He got scared and does a long dive on a pile of snow to dodge him, as he was able to pass him. Shivs bumped into a tree, he was relieved that his sliding session was over. “Phew, glad that's over”, he said only for an acorn to fall on his head, “Oww.”

The scared Snowbuddy went to him to check if he's okay. As Shivs turned around, he was shocked to see what he has in his arms, he yelped “Hey! That's my bucket! I've been looking for that!”. Turns out this Snowbuddy is the one Kira mentioned. 

Snowkin and Kira finally catches up to Shivs exhausted, but glad that they found him. “So you are the owner of this bucket, right?” said Snowkin, the Snowbuddy replied “Yes, I've lost it when I just moved to this side of town, I think it fell off the moving carriage while I wasn't looking.”

Kira replied, “No wonder I haven't seen you in the market in a while, you moved here.” Shivs feels bad and wanted his hat to be returned by the owner. “Well, it's a good thing I have my emergency sack with me. I'm returning this bucket to you.” He said as he transfers all his mushrooms and strawberries into his bag.”

The Snowbuddy was happy that he got his bucket back, but he noticed Shivs touching the top of his head, feeling like he still needs a hat. Kira had an idea, “Well, maybe instead of a hat. You can have something else to decorate your head, Shivs.”

So she brings out some earmuffs out of her pockets, and lets him try it on. “Oh, they're really comfy. I like it, it fits me well! ” said Shivs. Snowkin was glad that he liked the earmuffs and said, “So, earmuffs were the answer the whole time!”

It was a strange, confusing, but interesting adventure. In the end, they were all happy. 

The End