Dear the Deer Says Hello First

On Featherpost Lane you’ll meet Dear, a gentle young deer with soft brown eyes and the warmest smile on the lane. Dear knows a secret about every good letter: it always begins by saying hello. That warm opening is called the greeting, and Dear is the one who never, ever forgets it.

A young writer once jumped straight into her news without a hello at all. Dear stepped over softly. “Wait — who is this letter for?” she asked kindly. “Grandma,” said the writer. “Then let’s tell Grandma that,” Dear smiled. “A letter should open by naming the person and saying hello. That way, the very first thing Grandma reads is you, reaching out to her.”

Dear showed how simple it is. “You write the little word Dear, then their name, then a comma: Dear Grandma, — and that’s your greeting done.” She said it aloud, warm and slow. “It’s like knocking gently and smiling before you come in. It tells the reader: this letter was written just for you.” She never made the writer feel silly for forgetting; she just showed her the warm way to begin.

Say it with Dear, out loud: “Start with a hello warm and true — ‘Dear friend,’ says I’m writing to you.”

The writer wrote Dear Grandma, at the top, and right away the whole letter felt friendlier — like a hug before the words even started. “It feels like I’m really talking to her now,” she said. Dear nodded, her soft ears twitching happily.

That is Dear’s move, and it’s how every letter begins. Before your news, before anything, name the person and say hello: Dear ____, — a warm greeting that tells your reader this letter is just for them.