A Small Christmas Tale…
Hello Kathryn! Since I don’t know where
to mail you a Christmas Card, and was unable to find any sort of appropriate
online Christmas Card (and also felt that it is slightly impersonal to have
someone else do my talking for me), I have decided to make this little online
Christmas Card/Story. I hope you enjoy it, but if not, I can certainly
understand your position. So read on if you have the patience and curiosity to
find out what I have written. I apologize in advance for the sappy ending, but
despite my desires, I decided to make this a real Christmas story, not a
horrible nightmare Christmas. Grab yourself a glass of eggnog (The recipe for
my extra special authentic Christmas eggnog is 1 part egg + 1 part nog = 2 parts eggnog!), and sit yourself down in a comfy
chair if possible, and let me spin you a yarn…
Once upon a time…a long long time ago…in a far off land…it was the Christmas
season, and what a fine Christmas season it was panning out to be! Santa and
his elves were working their butts off making presents for all the good little
boys and girls (Including You!), and Santa had plenty of other preparations for
the big night ahead.
Unfortunately for all the good little
boys and girls, on Christmas Eve, Santa came down with a horrible case of the Ecuadorian
Jungle Monkey Flu! Santa fell deathly ill, and his elves
and Mrs. Claus soon realized that he would be unable to deliver his presents
for the first time ever. They realized that the presents needed to be
delivered, but if Santa were to venture out into the cold in his condition, the
unthinkable could happen!:
Fortunatly, Santa knew exactly who to call in a situation
such as this one: his old pal, Smokey the Bear! Santa called up Smokey and
pleaded with him to help. Since Smokey was only a cub, he had dreamed of
helping as many people out as he was able.
Smokey already had his extensive fire
prevention work under his belt, and was looking to expand into saving a few
religious holidays. What a perfect opportunity this was! And so convenient that
it had just fallen into his lap like this. (It was an excellent coincidence
that Smokey knew Santa Claus, because it could have proved difficult to save Hanukkah
or
The other concern was that the fire
danger was quite high on this particular Christmas Eve!
However, thankfully for us, Smokey
decided to help Santa out with his little problem and save Christmas after all!
With a tiny bit of coaching, Smokey got the hang of things in no time, and was
out delivering presents right on schedule. So every little good boy and girl
received what they wanted for Christmas, from Johnny’s toy train to Susie’s
doll to Billy’s assault rifle. Joy and peace reigned all over the world that wondrous
December Morn’ those many years ago…for a moment, the world took a break from
its hustle and bustle, its squabbles and fighting and war, and sat down to
wonder how Christmas was saved, on that one magical Christmas.
Santa recovered from his illness the next
day, and told Smokey he would tell everyone of his good deed. He wanted to
reward Smokey greatly with boatloads of presents, but Smokey turned down any
and all gifts from Santa, saying that seeing the world have Christmas thanks to
him was gift enough. Smokey also politely asked Santa that he not tell the
world that he saved Christmas, for Smokey was and always will be a simple, yet
modest man/bear/monster. Yet, Santa gave Smokey the highest award he can give,
the Yuletide Happiness Medal. This award is rarely given out, and not many
mortal men have seen one, let alone possess one. Smokey wore his medal with the
honor, grace, and civility of a true hero.
Smokey was a true hero that Christmas,
and in winning the medal was able to promote his favorite cause, that of
preventing forest fires. This created a huge comeback for Smokey, and his
launch into the public eye. Smokey’s popularity soared like Santa’s Sleigh did
into the night sky on that Christmas Eve. Sure, he had his ups and his downs,
but he always remained true and pure in his heart, and kept alive the true
meaning of Christmas, that of looking beyond one’s
self to promote happiness and goodwill for whomever we can.
I ask that you have a happy Christmas,
and a most excellent new year. Smokey asked if I would do something nice for
you when we get back out to school, and who am I to
ignore a request of such a great mythical figure? So I owe you a good time when
we get back. Anyway, I think is where I am going to end this long winded, and
sadly, only cyber, Christmas card. So Merry Christmas!!!
-Chris