The Little Ol' Donkey that Had Little to Say
The Twelve Days of Christmas
It was the night before Christmas when all the beasts came together
from the farthest places of the earth to talk. The first voice to be
heard was the deep rich bass of the Lion. "I speak," he said, "as the
King of Beasts." And truly he looked a king with his beautiful thick
mane and his tawny rippling muscles. "I won't repeat my good deeds. I
shall not again tonight repeat the shining stories of the days when
the Romans loved me. I shall not recall the story of the one man,
Daniel, who defied me in my own den...a story humbling to me...which
I have often told you to prove I am not proud. I shall say nothing
of my stealthy fury which makes the whole continent tremble at the
very sound of my name...sound of my name..."
"Then I shall speak," and by the trumpet sound the beasts knew the
Elephant spoke. "I am the biggest beast on earth. My size and my
strength awe nations. Yet I can walk so softly and lightly that no
ear can hear my coming. Isn't that something to be proud of? And, I
don't believe any of you can flip a tremendous teak log over your
shoulder as handily as I can. That takes power. Yes, and who else here
has a been a beast of war? Who else has crossed the Alps? You know how
very high the Alps are! I and my strong brothers helped the famous
General Hannibal and his soldiers over them in one of his great
campaigns. And Hannibal is in history books all over the world."
A strange whispering voice broke in: "You know me, the Giraffe. Usually
I stay silent, but I hope you'll remember I'm the tallest and can
look down on you. But, don't think I am bragging because I am up here
above you. I eat from the tops of the trees. Nobody else here can do
that. Besides being the tallest, I can run faster than most.."
"Let me interrupt." It was the Leopard's voice. "You'd have to move
veyr fast to outrun certain striped and spotted cousins of mine who
hold most of the speed records. Right, Cousins?" Tiger nodded his
head and the Cheetah, fastest of all, smiled.
The Camel, till now had been chewing his cud and watching with sad
eyes. He cleared his throat and his voice rasped: "I am not handsome
or fleet. I have some trouble keeping clean. But, I have the right to
feel as proud as anyone here. I hleped build the pyramids of Egypt!
Have any of you tackled a job that big? I am used to going many days
without water, across scorching sands that would burn the feet off most
of you within hours. My friends, the Camel counts, and I have a right
to feel happy."
For a long while after the Camel's speech, there was a silence. Then
the Llama coughed and said: "I am by nature modest. One thing,
however...I have had much experience crossing mountains. You have
heard of the Andes, my home, and the war work I have done."
Others spoke too. The Goose honked, "I laid a golden egg once. Who
else has done that?" The Turtle said, "I'm the slowest. It's better.
When you go fast you go around in circles." The Fox said: "I am the
slyest, the trickiest, and probably the most brainiest of you all."
The Zebra said: "For confusion, I'm the best. Am I white with black
stripes or black with white?" The Grizzly Bear said: "Who that is
as heavy as I can climb a tree as well?" And the Polar Bear said: "Can
anybody but me swim with icebergs? I've never climbed a tree. Everybody
is afraid of me."
Lower and lower sank the little Donkey's voice. His ears drooped, his
head was bowed. The other beasts could hardly hear him. Suddenly he
raised his head. His eyes looked far away in time and space and there
was a strange glow around him. "Only one thing I have ever done has
stuck in my mind. It happened a long, long time ago...on the way to
Bethlehem in the dark of the night. I carried a mother who carried a
king."
