A woman who bought a bunch of stuffed elves from the Dollar Store for her neighbors’ Christmas gifts was shocked to find a hidden note inside one of the elves’ hats. Turning to TikTok for help, she shared a video asking for help in translating the mysterious note, written in Chinese.
The woman, who goes by @laurrlaurrrrrr on TikTok, posted a video of her discovery on Dec. 6. She said she was customizing the elves for her neighbors and cutting off the tags before discovering the peculiar piece of paper stuck inside one of them.
“I feel something like a piece of paper in it. So I’m like, oh, maybe they forgot to like save the tag on the outside. But all the tags are on the butt anyway, so I go like that right to see and there’s writing on the inside. So I cut them open, here’s all the stuffing, and this comes out of the hat,” she said in the video.
Holding a small pink piece of paper with handwritten Chinese letters on it, she continued, “But I’ve no idea what this says. And it was folded up…That’s what I saw on the inside of the hat. So then I opened it and here it is now. So someone please translate this.”
The video quickly went viral, garnering over 1.5 million views and over 1,000 comments.
One user commented, “I used to work for Old Navy. Their would be notes in the clothing boxes sometimes asking for help.”
“what if it’s an evil spell or spirit and you just released it?” another theorized.
“it could be somebody asking for help try to get it translated please,” a third commenter wrote.
Many users attempted to translate the note using online tools like Google Translate, but were unsuccessful getting non-sensical results that involved the Smurfs.
Other commenters claimed the note translated to a list of names. One of them wrote, “My brother in law is fluent, he said it’s a name and ‘to telephone’ or to call.”
@laurrlaurrrrrr I cant even make this up somebody please translate this note for me 🫠 #fyp #fypシ #sheinhelpmessage #help ♬ Spooky, quiet, scary atmosphere piano songs – Skittlegirl Sound
On Thursday, @laurrlaurrrrrr posted a follow-up TikTok in which she revealed she took the note to her nail technician who spoke Chinese. The nail technician reportedly corroborated that the note contained a list of names, thus dispelling any rumors that the message was intended as a cry for help.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @laurrlaurrrrrr via TikTok direct messages for comment.
