The Feather

She was a special little duck, not too big as ducks go. She had plain but nice and smooth and shiny feathers but there was one thing unusual about her and that’s that on her back, she could reach it so she could clean it and keep it shiny, was a small single red feather. 

Bright red feathers don’t usually show up in a ducks body there, at least not for her nor her relatives and it stuck up, sort of popped up out of the rest of her feathers so it looked a little funny when she was walking around or swimming. Of course when she was flying with friends or family, not many people could see it. It wasn’t a big feather so it didn’t interfere with the way she would fly but she could feel it in the breeze.

She liked to visit the park with her friends and family. A lot of her friends and family would eat the bread or other things that people would throw but she didn’t like to do that. She held back, she knew she was there for a reason but she wasn’t sure what it was. One day the reason showed up and that explained why she had that red feather.

“Over the vista and through the woods. Now, how did that song go?” 

“Grandpa, it’s not over the vista, it’s over the river and through the woods,” Andie said.

“Is that it,” Andie’s Grandpa Jeff asked.

“Yes,” Andie answered.

“Oh well, it’s good I have you around Andie, isn’t it because you can help me to remember the things I used to know and - there was a time when I taught you that song.”

“That’s right Grandpa. Sorry, I shouldn’t have made such a fuss,” Andie said apologizing.

“That’s alright, sweetie. Don’t you worry about it. What do you want to do today,” Grandpa asked.

“Well”, she said, “I was thinking, maybe we could walk down to the park - you know the place you like to go and sit on the bench by the ducks, because that duck I was looking for - you know the one the other day?”

“Yes, the one with the funny feather,” Grandpa answered. “That’s right. I was wondering if that duck came back,” Andie responded.

“Well, lets go,” Grandpa said.

“Okay,” Andie answered.

So they put on their jackets. Grandpa Jeff used his extra warm scarf and Andie put on her warm sweater vest. They left the house and walked towards the park. It was only two blocks away but it was a nice walk because on the way, there were several people who had friendly dogs and Andie would say hello to all the dogs and they’d come up wagging their tails. 

One place, Grandpa Jeff said hello to his neighbor Jocelyn who was always very happy to see him and they would linger for a little bit. Andie would smile shyly and look at the ground and hope that someday her grandfather and this sweet lady Jocelyn would get together. “They’d make a sweet couple,” Andi thought to herself.

They got to the park and settled down on their favorite bench. Not too many other people were around, just the regulars that came there every day. They waved cheerfully to all the regulars and the regulars waved back and they settled in and waited for the ducks to come.

The ducks always came at the same time of day. Andie figured that they probably had other places they wanted to visit. Grandpa figured that they had other places where they could get goodies and they would go on tour to various places where they could get some foods they liked. 

Andie and her grandfather would always bring special food that they got at the pet store that was just for ducks. It gave them all of the nutrients they needed to be healthy. So they felt good about feeding the ducks and knowing that they were helping them too.

Soon the ducks showed up and lo and behold there was the duck with the different feather.

“What do you think that means, grandpa?” “Well you know, it is funny. You wouldn’t expect a red feather to be sticking out of a duck in that place. It’s just a mystery, isn’t it”, Grandpa responded to Andie. “It sure is,” Andie answered. Grandpa continued, “I don’t know what that red feather means but I wonder.”

Soon the ducks came out of the water towards them because they knew that they were going to get their good food. Several of them came over including the little duck with the red feather. 

Andie’s grandpa Jeff and Andie spread out the food for them and most of the ducks started eating except the little duck with the red feather who walked right up to Andie, turned around and pecked at the feather and pulled it out. She dropped it right at Andie’s feet.

Grandpa looked over at Andie and looked at the little duck and said, “I think that’s meant as a gift for you.” Andie responded quietly, “I think so too. Should I reach right down and pick it up now?” “I would,” Grandpa answered.

Andie slowly reached down and got the feather and watched the little duck and noticed that the duck watched her all the way and when she picked up the feather she held it for a moment and little duck kept watching her.

“You know…,” said Grandpa, “…I think she wants you to do something with it.” Andie answered, “I know this sounds silly but I feel like putting it in my hair.” Grandpa responded, “Go ahead.”

She stuck it in her hair and the little duck looked at Andie and then at grandpa Jeff. She looked back at Andie one more time and nodded her head and turned around and went back in the water.

“What does it mean, grandpa?”

“I’m not sure what it means…,” Grandpa said, “…but I think it must mean something good.”

Well, they went home after that and they talked it over that night - what could it mean - but they didn’t know so they each went to bed and had a good nights sleep and looked forward to going to the park again the next day.

Sure enough, the next day they looked at each other and smiled. Andie was wearing the red feather. She had dusted it off and found a way to put it in her hair so it wouldn’t blow away.

“Oh, that looks nice,” Grandpa said. “Thank you. I’m not sure if it’ll stay there but I have it sort of connected to a scrunchy and I think it might,” Andie replied.

“It’s a beautiful gift and not a bad looking gift giver,” Grandpa said with a smile.“Not bad looking at all,” Andie said cheerfully.

They walked on towards the park and Andie said hello to the friendly dogs and then they got to the house where Jocelyn lived but she wasn’t sitting out on the porch as usual. Andie noticed that her grandfather looked disappointed but they walked on. 

A half a block away from the park they saw Jocelyn at a distance walking towards them from a side street. As she got closer she said, “How do you like my new Christmas hat?”

Grandpa Jeff and Andie glanced at each other, then looked at Jocelyn. Grandpa Jeff said, “My, that’s a beautiful big red feather on your hat.” Jocelyn answered, “Thank you, and what a nice red feather in your hair, Andie.”

“We really want to tell you all about what happened at the park yesterday,” Jeff said. And soon they were talking and laughing like old friends.

Soaring in the sky a little ways overhead, little duck smiled and knew that the little girl and the old man would soon be happy with the lady.

——————

Happy Holidays to you all as well. 

————————————————————

Photo is © B. Kim Barnes, used with permission, and can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimbar/30687841335/in/album-72157656268292266/

New Traditions

Jenny stepped out into the breezy hallway in her apartment building. Her mother said, “Wait honey, wait. Put on your scarf, it might be a little chilly.” Jenny ran back in and got her scarf, the one she liked with the blue bells on it, and then ran back out and went over and stood by the elevator. 

Several of her neighbors were leaving for work and they all smiled at Jenny. Now you might think that Jenny was going to take the elevator but she was too young to be going to work. She was waiting and you might ask what was she waiting for - we’ll get to that. 

Well, the people who were leaving got on the elevator and they all waved at Jenny and she waved back. The elevator doors glided shut and off they went downstairs to wherever they were going, Jenny thought. 

Jenny was smiling as she waited for her friend. She didn’t have to wait long. Soon the elevator made it’s little sound with a ding and the doors opened. Out walked her favorite person, besides mommy of course.

Well, he wasn’t exactly a person but to her he was. Out walked a cat. Nobody else on the elevator, just a cat and the cat walked right over to Jenny and put his paw up on her which always meant to pick him up and even though Jenny wasn’t that tall, she was only 7 years old, she managed to pick up eekoo and hold him and he would lick her hand a little bit. 

Meeting eekoo was her favorite thing to do every day. No one really knew where eekoo came from but they knew his name because it was written on his collar. 

Everybody in the building knew eekoo. Some people liked to give him food or treats but eekoo didn’t show up for food and he didn’t really go for it if it was offered - he would just look at you and blink his eyes if he liked you and then he’d just walk around the building. 

He came from the neighborhood and no one knew where he came from. Some people decided that he was a free cat and he lived where ever he felt welcomed. 

Sometimes eekoo would stay with Jenny and her mother and other times he would stay in other apartments in her building and he came to be known as the cat who came to visit.

Every year a few days before Christmas eekoo would show up with a bell around his neck. It was the only time he ever had a bell around his neck. It wasn’t on his collar. It was more like a necklace with a thin chain and a little bell on it. 

Always, eekoo would make sure to go on all the floors and run back and forth in the hallways. The little bell would make its little tinkle, tinkle and people knew it was eekoo telling people it must be Christmas time. 

After eekoo was done on all the floors bringing his cheery message he’d find his way out as always. The day after Christmas, eekoo wouldn’t have the bell around his neck anymore. 

People wondered for years, who was putting the bell around eekoo’s neck but one day when Jenny was 12 years old, she found out. 

Later in life Jenny always said, “I’ve never forgotten that day. It was just a few days before Christmas and I wasn’t really thinking about eekoo or anything else. I was just walking to school and up in the distance I saw this old lady. I’d seen her before and we always waved at each other.

“She lived in a house a few blocks away from our apartment building. I always looked for her when I walked by there because she was getting kind of old and I was a little worried about her. 

“I was walking past a neighbors hedge and the lady hadn’t seen me yet. I was getting ready to wave at her but when I got past the hedge I noticed she was bending down and I couldn’t exactly see what she was doing. 

“When the lady stood up, there at her feet was eekoo. He had run by a few minutes before when I was further away and paused just to blink at me the way cats do when they’re happy to see you and before I had a chance to pet him he ran down the street.  

“The lady was wearing her long winter coat and I couldn’t really see what she had been doing when she was stooped over. I thought she was petting eekoo but then eekoo ran back to me and he was wearing the bell around his neck. He looked at me and quickly blinked again and ran off. 

“Well, for years I’d been walking that way to school and I couldn’t wait when I was done with school that day. I stopped off and I was kinda shy but I knocked on the ladies door. She came to the door and she said, ‘I saw you this morning. You saw me put the bell around eekoo’s neck.’ And I said, ‘That’s right.’ Then the lady said, ‘I have something for you. It’s something special but don’t open it up until Christmas.’ Then she went inside the house.

“She wasn’t gone very long. She came back with a tray and some hot cocoa for both of us. There was also a box on the tray. We sipped our cocoa on the front porch and then she gave me the little box. It was all wrapped up for Christmas. She said, ‘Somebody gave me this when I was a young girl and I wanted to pass it on to you.’ ‘Really?,’ I said. ‘Really’, she answered.

“I remember, we sat and talked for a little while and the lady told me that her name was Mrs. Gibson. I finished my cocoa and thanked Mrs Gibson for it and for the gift and then I ran home to tell mom about Mrs. Gibson and eekoo. 

“Mom said it was okay that Mrs. Gibson had given me this present because she knew Mrs. Gibson as many others did in the neighborhood because they looked out for the old people to make sure they were alright.

“When Christmas came I remember opening up the gift from Mrs Gibson last. When I opened the box there was another box inside, a wooden jewelry box. It had a small carving on the wood of a cat. I opened that box and inside was a beautiful necklace and it had two small bells on it. On one of the bells was an engraving of a cat and on the other was a girl.   

“Mom said, ‘Oh my, that’s beautiful. It looks very old.’ I remember taking it out of the box and I just loved it. Mom said, ‘Oh look, the clasp - it’s also - yes, it looks just like a cat. Isn’t that amazing? Well, you’ll have to tell Mrs. Gibson thank you.’” 

Jenny liked to remember this every Christmas because she had a picture on her mantlepiece of eekoo, her beloved cat friend from when she was a child and every year around this time she’d have a dream. The only part of the dream she could ever remember was eekoo and he seemed to be smiling. Also she could hear his bell tinkling and she would wake up smiling. 

After that she knew what she wanted to do and she did so with her children. She had her own little girl now and a little boy too. She would take out the necklace and she’d walk with her husband and her children on all the floors of their apartment building and ring the little bell to let everybody know that Christmas was coming.

Merry Christmas to you all.

—————————————————————

Photo is © B. Kim Barnes, used with permission, and can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimbar/6865173881/in/album-72157627291278455/

Stories To Come

I’ve decided to post my new Christmas story early this year. There will however be no Halloween story. Instead though, I have a nice New Years story and I’ll be posting that early as well. 

So for those of you who like to translate the stories, and there’s many of you out there, and share them with others, you won’t have to rush at the end of the year because I’ll have them up fairly soon. 

First will be the Christmas story and then the New Years story. Goodlife

An Unexpected Gift

It had been a quiet time around the house, unusually quiet since my wife and children were off visiting grandmother for several weeks. Unfortunately I couldn’t get away to go with them and was missing them.

Right then the doorbell rang, it was just such a quick ring I wasn’t sure that I had heard it and then ja, there it is again.

I answered the door and there was an old man there, very old. He was smiling and nodding and I got a really good feeling about him. However he did not say anything and I got the impression he didn’t speak my language. 

He was holding a very large suitcase that he had with him. It was almost as big as he was. He put the suitcase down and shoved it in my direction.

I didn’t know what to think of it but I took the suitcase - it seemed like he wanted me to take it. And that was that. I took it and smiled.

I almost couldn’t believe I was taking a suitcase from a man I didn’t know and couldn’t speak to but he seemed so nice about it so I took it in the house and I looked at it more closely. I was surprised to see, on the side of the suitcase I hadn’t seen, that it had some writing on it like small signs and they were both very odd.

The one at the top reminded me of something you’d write on a gift. It said: Do not open until Christmas. There was a smaller sign underneath but it was quite prominent even though it was smaller and it said: If Christmas is late push this button.

Now you have to admit that was a baffling thing to read and I was, I don’t mind saying, totally baffled.

I couldn’t imagine Christmas being late for one thing and for another thing it seemed so strange and I wondered what would happen if you pushed the button.

I didn’t know what to do and I had a feeling a friend might be playing a joke on me. So I took the suitcase and stuffed it in a closet and basically forgot about it.

Almost a week later, around the middle of December, I was getting prepared for Christmas and had the tree all set up though not decorated yet and I heard a sort of ding, ding, ding sound. 

I knew that I didn’t have an alarm that sounded like that. All my alarms buzzed or the radio would come on or something like that but this was actually like a chime.

Ding, ding, ding. I didn’t know what that was. I looked around the house. I wondered whether it was coming in from outdoors. I went outside but couldn’t hear it from there so it wasn’t coming in from a neighbors house.

I continued to hear it, ding, ding, ding. So I walked around the house until I noticed the sound got louder. It was coming from a closet and I opened the door.

Sure enough, it was the suitcase - ding, ding, ding. I took the suitcase out and put it on the living room floor not far from the tree and looked at it while it continued to ring slightly, chiming ding, ding, ding. Then it would pause. Then ding, ding, ding again.

I reached out and touched the suitcase near the button with the sign that said about pushing it in case Christmas was late but I didn’t touch the button.

The moment I touched the suitcase in that area the dinging stopped and a voice came out of the case much to my amazement.

It didn’t exactly sound recorded because it had a deep full sound like a good stereo system has but it didn’t sound like there was a person in there either, if you know what I mean. It didn’t sound like real life.

The voice said, “Christmas is coming soon. Please press the Reset button on the side of the suitcase.”

I was startled again but I looked around the side of the suitcase and sure enough there was a small button there that said: Reset. I pressed it and the voice said, “Thank you.”

I have to admit, I still thought someone was playing a grand joke on me.

So you know, Christmas time is busy and I got busy again and put the suitcase away in the closet. 

Long about Christmas Eve day I woke up and so did the rest of the family, I was so glad that they were back. Of course we were all happy to be together and the children were excited because on Christmas Eve we opened maybe one or two gifts and then waited til Christmas morning to open everything else before we went to church.

The day went well until the strangest thing happened to us. We had a few calls from relatives and friends but right around 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon we all got very sleepy which was not typical for us.

My son Ronny, my daughter Cindy and my wife Linda and I got so sleepy we decided we just better go lay down for a while and have a nap. We woke up and it was light so I thought it was still daytime, It seemed like it was about 4:30 or 5:00.

Everybody else thought so too, it seemed like a short nap. We were smiling as we went downstairs as we were thinking about opening a gift when I happened to glance at the clock. It was a big grandfather clock in the hall and instead of showing 4:30 like I thought it would, the time was 7:30. I looked a little closer. It was clearly 7:30 AM.

At first I thought we’d somehow slept right through Christmas Eve and it was Christmas day but I looked at my watch calendar and it was the morning of  December 24th - Christmas Eve day again.

Everybody got upset and a little frightened and then much to my amazement I heard it - ding, ding, ding.

A chill ran up my spine. Not so much fear as a chill from the unexpected. My wife and kids looked at me with questions in their eyes that they didn't know how to ask for a moment. The suitcase had come and I had reset it and everything when no one else was at home but the whole experience was so odd that I’d basically just shoved it into the closet and forgotten about it.

No one knew what it was except me. I went right over to the closet and pulled out the suitcase and brought it out into the living room floor and it was going, every once in a while, ding, ding, ding. Then it would pause. Ding, ding, ding again.

“What is it dad”, said my son Ronny. “Is it a gift for us all?” 

My wife Linda stared at it and said, “Where on earth did you get that thing?” I said, “I’ll tell you later. It’s a strange story.” The suitcase chimed in again with its ding, ding, ding.

I found myself staring at that button: If Christmas is late… Right. So press the button, I thought. It seemed pretty wild but I figured well, if someone’s having a joke on me I’ll play along.

I pressed the button and the dinging stopped. The voice came out of the suitcase again and said, “Thank you.” Suddenly the suitcase unlocked itself and started to open.

My wife and kids and I jumped back a little bit as the suitcase opened up. There was a strange contraption inside with spinning wheels and balls and all kinds of levers and things moving and going back and forth and lights going on and off. It was the strangest thing. I had no idea what it was.

Out of the midst of all that contraption the voice spoke again and it said, “Merry Christmas” and it sounded friendly and we were all kind of surprised. My little daughter Cindy spoke right up. She said, “Merry Christmas to you too” in her cheerful voice.

The voice from the suitcase said, “That’s what I was waiting for, a cheerful answer.”

The voice spoke to her, “Thank you for correcting the time of Christmas. Sometimes the world time needs to be helped and I’m thanking you very much for your efforts.”

Suddenly the doorbell rang and I went and answered it expecting my sister and ready to tell her our wild story about the suitcase but when I opened the door it was the little old man and he had a big smile on his face.

I asked him to come in and he did. He walked right over to my littlest one Cindy and gave her a big smile and she smiled right back.

He then walked over to the suitcase and looked down at it and said to us all, “You’ve done very well.”

I was quite surprised as that was the first thing I ever heard him say. He bent down and folded up the suitcase and picked it up, even though it was almost as big as he was, and started carrying it to the door.

When he got to the door he turned around and said, “ We needed a little help this year so Christmas could come and that help could only come from a happy and innocent child.”

I heard a little jingling sound then and looked down and noticed that he had bells on his shoes. He took out his hat and it had a bell on top too. He smiled as he put it on and said, “Merry Christmas!” 

He stepped out the door and before he could leave Cindy ran up to him and gave him a big hug and said, “Merry Christmas, Christmas elf.”

He smiled and ran lightly down the steps carrying the big suitcase as if it was light as a feather and was gone in a flash.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays to you all and remember sometimes unexpected gifts can be the greatest of all when they come with kindness and love. 

Susie's Home

It was coming on towards winter and Susie, a leaf, was still hanging on the old apple tree. She couldn't understand why she was still there. All the other leaves had fallen off a long time ago but she was still hanging there. She was kind of dried up and a little crinkly but she was still there and wondering what's it all about? There'd been plenty of breezes but she hadn't fallen yet. 

Fortunately she had friends that came around and visited with her. Her best friends were Mortimer the mouse and Andre her bird friend. They would come around and talk to her when they had a moment because their lives were busy like every one else. 

As it was starting to get cooler, Mortimer had taken to telling Susie about the nest that he was building and Susie got interested in that and at the same time Andre stopped by. Mortimer and Andre were friends too. And Andre said, "Yes, yes." That he was also helping to build a nest that had to be very warm but it was difficult because there were twigs and there were some old feathers that he found around and he needed something to be like insulation to make the nest warmer. 

Susie perked up when she heard that and she said, "What about the leaves on the ground that have already fallen?" And they said, taking turns since they agreed and occasionally talking over each other when they would get excited, "Oh yes, we have used a lot of those but there's something special that's needed and we're just not sure what it is." 

Susie wriggled a little bit and she said, "Maybe you need something personal, something friendly because a nest is a special place. It's your home. It's where you'll have your children. It's where everyone will grow up and look back on it fondly and say 'home' in that special way we say home. Do you know what I mean?" 

Mortimer and Andre looked at each other and they realized that she was right. "How are we going to do that," they said. "It seems to me," said Mortimer who was a deep thinker, " that a leaf like that…," as he looked on the ground and there were hundreds, maybe thousands of leaves there from the old tree that Susie was attached to as well as all the other trees in the forest. "It seems that there needs to be some kind of personal feeling in that leaf so that the friendliness and the love is there in the leaf itself. Does that sound right," Mortimer said looking at Susie. 

Susie was quiet. She was thinking but Andre chimed in, "Yes, yes. That sounds exactly right. How will we find such a leaf?" Susie realized - this is why she was still on the tree. She said, "Maybe I'm that leaf! You're my best friends and I'd love to be part of your nest Mortimer and your nest Andre. Is there any chance, I mean I'm still on the tree. I haven't fallen off. Maybe that's what I've been waiting for!" 

Mortimer and Andre looked at each other, "Would it be alright? I mean you're our friend. We'd feel a little funny about that because - you know - well, I'd have to take part" said Andre and kind of trailed off a bit and Mortimer chimed in, "And I'd have to take part" and also kind of trailed off a bit. Susie said, "No no, it's fine, it's fine. I want to do that." So they settled in to wait. 

Meanwhile Mortimer was continuing to build his nest and Andre was continuing to build his nest and one day when the three of them were gathered on the tree limb where Susie still seemed to be, they saw a few snowflakes coming. "Oh my," they said, "What are we going to do?" 

And suddenly without any warning Susie fell from the tree. "Oh boy," she said all the way down, "This is going to be my chance." There was almost no wind so she fell almost straight down. 

Mortimer rushed to the ground and Andre flew down to the ground and they were both there moving around under Susie as she was floating down and floating down and finally she hit the ground and she could feel herself crackle and break up a bit. Andre gently stepped on part of Susie to keep her from blowing away on a light breeze that just came up and Mortimer softly stepped on another part and they said, "Are you alright? We're not stepping on you too hard?" 

"No no," she said, "You did just right. Oh this is great," she continued. "Oh, I feel myself beginning to fall apart. I didn't realize that's what happened when leaves touched the ground." 

"Oh yes," Mortimer said speaking wisely after his several years of building different nests, "Yes, crinkly leaves often fall apart almost immediately when they hit the ground," as they did in the forest where they all lived. 

"Oh, you better be quick then," Susie said, "Quick. Take some parts. I want to be part of your nest Mortimer and I want to be part of your nest Andre and maybe, maybe there's enough of me." She felt herself breaking up even before they had a chance to do that. 

She didn't know quite what was happening but it's really just part of the natural way of the Earth that things move from shape to shape. Mortimer said, "We better do this quick," to Andre as he noticed Susie breaking up into smaller and smaller parts. 

Andre and Mortimer gathered up all of the parts they could find and raced back to their nests. They worked for a couple of hours running and flying back and forth to their nests with each gathering as much of their precious friend as they could. 

All the time Susie felt like she was kind of sleepy. She would be there and then she wasn't and then she would be there and then she wasn't. She wasn't sure where she was going but she began to feel that she was going some place else. She didn't realize that would happen. Her last memories though as a crinkled old leaf were of her friends. 

Meanwhile Mortimer was singing and he said, "Oh, my nest feels so much warmer and everyone will be so happy and Andre was singing, "Oh everything feels so much more loving and friendly and cheerful with my dear friend here." 

But Susie wasn't only there. She felt herself rising up and she wasn't sure where she was going. She wasn't in the form of a leaf anymore but she just knew she was going somewhere. She went way up in the sky and she wasn't sure where she was going. 

Suddenly she heard a voice, "Susie," the voice said, "It's time for you to go someplace much warmer and they'll be lots of new friends there and you'll even be able to hear Mortimer's songs sometimes if you want to and Andre's songs too, if you're interested, from their nests while they're wintering." "Oh my," said Susie, "That sounds wonderful." 

"But now," the warm and friendly voice continued, "it's time for you to go to a new place where it's only and always warm and comfortable. It's in a different part of the world in a forest where there's lots of rain and where there are lots of other types of life. You'll like it there." 

Pretty soon Susie felt herself very small and she vaguely remembered being small before. She realized she was in a bud on a tree and pretty soon the sun was shining. She could tell because she was getting warmer and she felt herself opening. 

She felt herself sprouting from the bud and pretty soon even though she was very little she could tell she was deep in a warm and wonderful forest where things were quiet but in the distance she heard birds singing their songs and not very far away she saw - who was that? 

It was a little mouse in her tree and the mouse said, "Hi. My names Willy. What's yours?" And Susie knew she'd found her new home.

-------

Love lives on forever in many ways. May you have a most loving and happy holiday now and forever. Goodlife to you all.

Charlie's Surprise

Charlie's Surprise*

Charlie was kind of depressed. He was sitting on the edge of his bed and Christmas was coming. It was really right around the corner and he wasn't sure what to give people.

He'd given his friends and family gifts before, and while it was a happy occasion, this year he felt that he just wanted to somehow improve their lives so that they would feel better in some way - in some special way. He wasn't sure what to do.

That night just before he went to sleep he said his prayers like always but he added that he'd like his Guardian Angel to come and visit him and maybe give him some idea that he could remember in the morning for what special gift to get - and he went to sleep.

When he woke up in the morning he was hoping to remember something but he really didn't. After breakfast he came back into his room. It was Saturday and he had the day off which was nice. He looked over on the bench nearby his bed where he had taken out the Christmas decorations. 

As he looked at the decorations he walked towards them - he wasn't sure why - and he started going through them one by one. He got to the box that held the Christmas tree balls that you hang on the tree. The red ones and the green ones and the other colors. He noticed that there was one in the box that he had never used.

It was clear and because it wasn't any of the traditional colors he had never used it on his tree but he had a feeling to pull it out. So he took it out of the box and he held it up over by the window. First light was just coming in, and when he held it up to the light all of a sudden he saw a dancing Angel inside!

"Is it possible," he said. He pulled it away from the light and he held it up close to his eyes and he examined it. He didn't see any Angel in it.

"What does that mean? Uh-oh," he thought. "Maybe I'm losing my marbles, just seeing things." But then he felt like he'd try it again and he held the ornament up again in front of the window where the first light was streaming in and there she was again! An Angel, and she was dancing.

All of a sudden she stopped and she looked right at him and he didn't know what to do. He just froze. He held the Christmas ball and the Angel was looking at him and he noticed that her lips were moving. Charlie thought, "Is she trying to talk to me? What's she doing?" 

All of a sudden he heard a soft voice and the voice said, "This is what to give people this year. Look in the closet. You have another box of this kind of decoration that you bought a long time ago and you put it in the closet where you keep the Christmas things. You'll see. There's more in there."

Then her lips stopped moving, she smiled and she started dancing again.

He pulled the ornament away from the light again and he moved his pillow on the bed very carefully near where the light was and put it on the pillow so that it would be completely safe. It was made of glass. It was a very old decoration.

Charlie went to the closet where he kept the Christmas things and he dug around in there for a while and he did find that box of other Christmas tree balls. He pulled them out and then he remembered when he opened them up why he put them away.

He had bought them at an after Christmas sale without opening the box and when he got them home they were all clear, not the usual colors that he liked to put on the tree. He remembered that he was disappointed at the time and had put them away in the closet. 

Now he pulled them all out and he held each and every one up to the light and inside every one was a dancing Angel. She'd stop dancing shortly after he saw her and smile at him and then start her happy dance again. 

Charlie put them back in the box very carefully. The one he had on the pillow he was going to put on his own tree - and he had 10 friends and family he really wanted to give presents to. He'd give the 10 clear glass ball ornaments to them and he'd have two extras. He wasn't sure what to do with the two extras because the box held one dozen of those clear glass balls.

He'd give them to the people, he decided but instead of wrapping them up he'd give them before Christmas. Charlie lived in a small town so he walked over to everyone's house and he gave them the clear glass balls when the children were there. He had a feeling it was important for the children to be there when he gave them the gift. 

The parents and the other adults smiled or laughed when he told about seeing the Angel dancing that they could only see in the morning light but the children all believed it. And sure enough, when the morning light came the children would hold the glass ball up and there would be the dancing Angel and they'd run to get their parents. Their parents then saw the dancing Angel and they believed. 

Charlie decided he'd take the last 2 glass tree balls to the town square. Years ago someone had planted a pine tree there just because they thought it would be a nice thing for Christmas and over the years it had grown. People had watered it and kept it healthy and by now it was 50 feet tall. Near Christmas time people would come and put decorations on it and he decided he would do that too.

He took the last 2 glass ornaments over early in the morning just as first light was starting to begin - and by now Charlie's story about the Angels dancing in the glass balls had gotten all over town and many parents and their children and other people followed Charlie because they saw the glass balls and they had heard about the Angels but they hadn't seen them yet. 

After Charlie carefully hung them on the tree, the people and the children lined up to see. There were grandparents, parents and children and many others.

One lady asked Charlie, "You can only see the Angel at first light?" And Charlie said, "That's the only time I've been able to see her." 

Well, they all saw the Angel and they were so happy. They loved seeing her and were reminded that Angels are there for you whether you can see them or not.

Happy Holidays to you all and may you all happily  discover your Angels dancing, or otherwise, nearby. 

Goodlife.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*If you want to hear me read it to you, click on the link. I hope you enjoy it.

Something New

Long ago when the Earth was green and lush there was a small village high up in the mountains and in the village there lived a very old man. He'd lived there all his life and he had a very long and complicated name that no one could remember. He couldn't remember it himself very well.

So after a while people just started calling him Friend. He liked it. It was simple and uncomplicated and he was an uncomplicated person himself so he took the name on as his own.

Friend was very unusual in his village. He had the ability to dream and whatever he dreamt came true but it didn't happen in the way he expected.

He couldn't ask for things to happen and have them happen in his dreams, he had tried. It just happened when it happened and always in every dream with people whose faces he had never seen before.

He kept the dream experience to himself because he was worried about what people might think. And yet he treasured those dreams because he felt that something good always came out of it, for his dreams always had happy endings and frequently they were just as happy all the way through the dream.

He always knew when he was going to have a dream like that because when he was very drowsy, just before he went to sleep he would get this big smile on his face and he knew just for a few seconds before he fell deeply asleep that he was going to have a dream that would come true.

He didn't always know where it came true but sometimes travelers would pass through the village and tell stories of happenings in other villages both near and far and he often heard that one of his dreams came true nearby or sometimes far away.

One year Friend dreamt that little white bits of stuff were going to fall from the sky and cover the land - and the land had always been green of course - and then all the land would be covered and look white and everyone would be very happy. He woke up smiling and he thought, "What on earth can that be?"

Several months later a traveler that came through the village told the people a surprising story of these strange amazing little bits of stuff that fell out of the sky and was white and covered all the mountains and a village far, far away and there was a feeling with it. It was cold.

"Cold", murmured some of the people. They asked each other, "What is that?" And none of the people knew.

The traveler said that it was very like the breezes that would come through the mountain passes and would sometimes cause the people to wrap light shawls around them.

"Oh, oh yes," many of the people said, "We know now." For you see, the village was very high up but it was in a special place that never got very cold. It was always warm and comfortable except for those few breezy moments.

Listening to the story Friend thought to himself, "I would like to see this white stuff that falls out of the sky and is cold. I wonder if that could ever happen."

That night as he was sinking deeper into sleep and started to smile, he had a dream of a high place in the mountains that was white and people wore heavy clothes but they looked very happy and cheerful. When he woke up he was smiling as always though there was something different about the faces of the people this time. This was the first time he could ever remember that he recognized the peoples faces. They were all people that he knew!

He couldn't see the buildings very well in the dream, he could never really remember that too well but all the faces that he saw of the people who were all bundled up in these heavy clothes - they were all people he knew in his own village and he wondered what that meant.

This time Friend knew he just had to tell someone about this so he decided to tell some of his best friends whose faces he remembered were in the dream.

And of course, you know how it is with everyone. People like to know what's happening. So they told their friends and their friends told their friends and pretty soon everybody in the village knew about it and they all thought, "What fun, I wonder what that white is" and other questions like that. And everyone was excited that Friend could do this and no one thought he was strange or odd because he had dreams that came true.

Well it was coming on towards November and people started noticing way up high on the tops of the mountains that white was appearing and they didn't know what that was and they asked Friend, "What is that? Does that look like the white you saw in your dream?" He said, "Yes, it looks very much like that."

As it got further on through November the white covered all the mountain tops and was getting closer to the village and then even closer so by the time December started the white was almost at the village itself and several of the people climbed up the mountain a ways and discovered that the white was indeed cold and that it made everything glisten and sparkle and was so beautiful.

Towards the end of December at a time when the people celebrated many different holidays - such as Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa and special Sun and Moon days the white covered the whole village and made everything beautiful and because the people had time to see the white coming and knew it was cold they were able to make warm clothes.

They dressed in their warmest clothes and went out and enjoyed the white and enjoyed the cold. They wanted to enjoy it because they had a feeling it wasn't going to last all year since it had just shown up in November.

The people were grateful for the white and they said how grateful they were because it made everything look so beautiful and it was a nice change from the way things usually were.

Thereafter in the years that followed right around November and December the white came and offered its unusual change of cold and beauty and the people were able to enjoy happy holidays and of course a white Christmas.

Happy Holidays to you all.

Looking and Hoping

"The world is a lonely place," she said sadly. "Why are you so lonely," he remarked. "It's Christmas and nobody wants me," she answered.

"It's not quite Christmas yet," he said. "Well it's almost Christmas," she said. "Well, it's true," he continued as he looked around, "... there's not many people here ... and you know, just the people that come to bring us some food. "Yes," she said, reviving a bit with gratitude, "and I do appreciate that very much."

"Oh yes, so do I," he said. "But it would be nice to have someplace - you know - like home," she continued with a sigh.

"Oh yes," he said, "that would be wonderful."

"It would be kind of nice," she said shyly, "if ... if we could have a home together."

"Oh yes," he agreed, "I'd love that. I'm so glad you said it," he continued, "I've been feeling that way for such a long time. I ... I wasn't sure you did."

"Oh yes," she said, perking up a bit, "I felt that way for a long time." "Well, we can hope," he agreed, echoing her feelings with a cheerful twinkle in his eyes. He was so happy to know she felt that way too.

The next day something happened to surprise them both. "Look at that. Who's that," she asked. "I don't know who that is. He's uh ... he's kind of tall isn't he," he replied. "Very tall," she answered and continued asking, "and ah who's that with him?" "I don't know who that is," he answered and added, "she's ah - she's not as tall." "No, not as tall," she agreed.

"Oh and look. There's ... there's two others. Are they with them," he asked. "I'm not sure. They ... they seem to be," she responded. "What ... what are they doing," he asked again. "They're looking around," she replied with growing curiosity.

"Oh. I wonder if they're going to come over here and ... oh look, look. Here they come," he said. "Oh. They're smiling. What do you think it means," he continued. "I don't know," she answered.

"Now they're pointing. What ... what does that mean. I've never understood what that means," he said feeling confused. "Well, it could be a good thing ... but it's not always good," she partly explained, "No, not always good," she continued thinking about her past experiences.

"Oh wait,wait! Is there something I can ... uh oh. They're going away. What is it all about? Did I ... do you think I said something? Did ... did I do something to offend them," she asked miserably. "No, no. You're okay. You didn't do anything," he said comforting her.

"Now wait, wait. They're coming back. What's this all ... hey. Hey look. Wow! Look, look! Oh, they like us," she said. "Yes. They like us both," he noticed happily.

"Oh, this is good," she said with relief. "Maybe we will have a good Christmas," he said. "Maybe we will at that," she said with wonder.

The young family left the old building with the sign out front decorated merrily for the time of year. The sign read, Animal Shelter and Adoption Home.

Stepping out into the bright sunshine, father and mother, sister and brother walking down the front steps happily with their two adopted dogs. Everyone looked happy. Dogs too. Dogs like to have a happy Christmas as well.

Goodlife and happy holidays to you all.

Decorations

"Grandpa?" "Yes Honey." "You said we were gonna decorate the tree different this year. What did you mean by that," said Lucinda.

"Well", Grandpa said, "I feel we need to decorate the tree with our intentions for this coming year." "What?" said Lucinda who was about seven years old.

Grandpa said, "Let me show you the decorations." He pulled out the beautiful glass globes on which one side was flattened and there were tags on some of the globes. The ones that were labeled each had one word on them. They read - honor, respect, appreciation, kindness, benevolence, generosity and understanding. There were also some that were blank but there were tags on there - just nothing written on them.

Lucinda said, "Grandpa, what about these? The ones that don't have anything written on them." "Well I wanted you..." said Grandpa, "...to decide what you would put on them yourself." "Ohhh," said Lucinda.

"Let me set you up at your desk." Lucinda's Grandfather had a little desk set up not unlike you might find at a school. Lucinda got comfortable at her desk and her Grandfather put the decorations in front of her with a selection of crayons so that she could write on them or if she wasn't sure how to spell the word she would say the words or feelings and Grandpa would write them on. Lucinda decided that she'd rather have Grandpa write the words.

"Well," she said, "I feel it's important this year for people to be patient with each other because there's been a lot of changes going on and I've noticed that it's really hard especially for older people..." she glanced up shyly at her Grandfather and then quickly back down again "...to um change easily. So I think - patience would be a good one. Could you write that for me Grandpa?"

Grandpa said, "Oh yes, I'll write that down. What color do you want me to use?" She said, "I think yellow would be a good color." "Oh yes I agree. Very good color," Grandpa said. And Grandpa wrote patience on one.

"And I've also noticed..." Lucinda continued slowly, "...that a lot of people including my friends families when I go over to their houses...when their moms or dads say, 'I love you dear' it's kinda quick and well...my friends told me that they don't really feel anything there and their mom and dad doesn't always pick them up or hug them as much as they used to. So I think - hugs would be another good one."

"Oh that's very good. What color should we write it in," Grandpa said. "I can write that myself,"said Lucinda.

She picked a brightly colored orange crayon and she very carefully wrote - hugs. You could read it pretty good because she was a good writer. "Very good," Grandpa said.

"Here's another empty one Grandpa. Could I..." Grandpa said, "Oh yes that's another one for you. What do you want to write in there this time?"

Lucinda thought for a while and then she said, "Grandpa I feel that there's so many people in the world and they don't always hear each other even though people are talking all the time aren't they Grandpa?" "Oh yes, they certainly are," replied Grandpa.

Lucinda went on, "I think maybe people are talking so much they don't always listen and try and understand." "Yes, that could be," said Grandpa. "So maybe we ought to include - listen," Lucinda said.

"That's very good," said Grandpa, "I'll write that in or would you like to write it in?" Lucinda said, "Can you write that in Grandpa?" Grandpa said, "What color crayon should I use?" "Well...how about green," said Lucinda. "Oh what a wonderful choice," Grandpa said. He wrote in very carefully - listen.

"Here's another one. Can we write that in too Grandpa," Lucinda said. Grandpa quickly replied, "Oh yes, lets."

"I feel there's one more thing that people have to do besides hugging in families more and listening to people..." Lucinda said. "And what's that," said Grandpa.

"Well...I feel that people don't always say what they mean because they don't know how to say things - and I don't just mean kids like me," said Lucinda. "No?" said Grandpa, "What do you mean honey?"

Lucinda said, "I think that sometimes when grown-ups talk to each other they're sometimes shy. They don't know how to say things and so sometimes they either don't say things or they don't say what they mean. Do you understand Grandpa?"

"Yes." Grandpa said pausing to think about it for a while and considering whether he might do that sometimes himself when he was shy and didn't want to really say what he wanted or needed. "What a wise little one,"Grandpa thought.

"Is there enough room to write in something longer Grandpa?" "Well we might have to use a colored pencil for that so we can write a little smaller," Grandpa said reaching for the box of colored pencils. " "Well...I think it would be good to say - be honest and be clear," said Lucinda.

"Oh my, that makes a lot of sense,"Grandpa said. "What colored pencil would you like?" "Well," Lucinda said, "lets use pink." "Oh my, that's very nice," Grandpa said.

"Would you write that in Grandpa," Lucinda asked. "Oh yes I will," Grandpa replied. Grandpa wrote that in slowly and carefully so it could be read easily.

"And there's one more I'm thinking of Grandpa but lets make a game out of it." "Oh good," Grandpa said. "Well lets see, what's the first letter," Grandpa said.

"Okay, the first letter is - L." "Mmmm," said Grandpa with a studious look on his face, "I wonder what it could be?"

Lucinda laughed and said, "It has four letters." "Oh my, I wonder what that could be? I'm completely stumped," Grandpa said knowing full well what the word was.

"The last letter is - e," said Lucinda happily. "My, my. I just can't figure it out," Grandpa said enjoying the game. "Oh Grandpa," Lucinda said, "you know it's love."

She reached towards her Grandpa. He picked her up carefully from her desk and gave her a big hug and said, "Honey, love is what our family is all about." They hugged each other and looked at the tree and got ready to hang all the decorations.

What decorations will you put on your tree?

Goodlife.

The Gift Of Love by Robert Shapiro

Jeff hunkered down in his chair. He didn't know what he was going to buy his girlfriend for Christmas.

They'd been out shopping the day before looking for presents for some of their friends and she kept running up to the store windows one after another to admire different things.

He was totally confused. She liked this, she liked that. Oh, what to get her - and he was on a budget. He didn't know what to do.

Margie came into the room just then. She smiled at Jeff and said, "I have some nice tea ready for us. Would you like to..." "Oh yes," he said. They sat down and had tea and enjoyed their time together and talk and then he had to go off to work. She worked a different shift.

When he went home that night he wasn't sure what to get for her and it was already Christmas Eve. Oh they had a nice tree set up at her house and there was lots of presents around it but he still didn't know what to get.

He went out shopping to the mall where the stores were still open - thank heavens. He walked around from place to place, from window to window that showed various things that she had run up to and said how wonderful they were and it would be wonderful if they could get those things for this friend or that friend but he thought maybe she wanted them too.

Finally he sat down on a stone bench they had there for their customers. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there and suddenly he noticed that there was an old man sitting on the other end of the bench. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed him before, he just didn't.

The old man looked at him and said, "Trying to find the perfect gift aren't you." Jeff said, "Yes!" And the old man said, "I know that one."

Jeff said, "Did you have something in mind?" "Oh yes," said the old man. And Jeff slid over a little bit closer to him because the old man's voice was kind of quiet and it was noisy in the mall.

"What kind of gift did you have in mind," Jeff said hoping to get some idea for a last minute present. "You know," the old man said, "I was married for sixty years and my wife just recently passed away and I come down to this mall because we used to like to come here in the summertime when it was hot and it's all nice and cool in here, you know, in the summertime."

Jeff nodded. The old man went on to say, "My wife told me once - and I never forgot it - that the best gift I'd ever given her through our entire time together was a card when I'd been inspired, I don't know where the inspiration came from..." he said, "...but I was inspired to write this poem.

"It wasn't perfect. It didn't rhyme in all the right places but it felt like a poem and in that poem I told her exactly how I felt about her. How I loved the way she brushed her hair back in the evening and the way she'd wink at me sometimes when we were both brushing our teeth in the morning and just the little things that made me enjoy her so much."

"And what else did you give her," Jeff said. "No, that was it," said the old man, "I gave her that card - and just felt like giving it to her one day. It wasn't Christmas or any holiday. I just felt it and wrote it down and gave her the card."

"And that was her favorite gift?" Jeff said. "Oh yes," said the old man, "she said that was the best thing I'd ever given her and she treasured it. And you know, when she told me that - I'd given her that card maybe twenty, twenty five years before - she pulled it out of a drawer and it was kind of dog-eared and worn. I could tell that she'd looked at it many times. There it was - just the way I'd written it. It made me smile. She was such a special person."

"Oh," said Jeff, "I'm sorry. She sounds wonderful." "Yes, she's passed away now for the past couple years," the old man said. "Oh my, I'm so sorry," Jeff said.

"Well," the old man said, "I come down to the mall and see the young faces and the married couples with their children - and it's a wonderful holiday for children isn't it."

"Yes, I suppose it is," Jeff said. "You know," the old man said, "if you've got somebody special you might think about just writing a card - just a simple card, it doesn't have to be anything fancy. The one I gave my wife wasn't the least bit fancy, and write in there even if you don't do a poem - just write in there exactly how you feel about her. Write about the good things and the small things that you enjoy that just make your heart sing. You know what I mean," said the old man.

"I think I do," Jeff said. "You have time. I know it's Christmas Eve but I'll bet you can think of quite a few things you love about her," said the old man.

"Oh yes," Jeff said, "I just love the way she wears this hat. She always cocks it at a funny angle and it just makes me smile and laugh and I just love her so much when I see that." "Well," said the old man, "that's a good start. Maybe you've got some of the poet in you yet."

Jeff scurried out of the mall. He made a quick stop at the all night drugstore on the way home and found just the right card for her. He just knew she'd love it. By the time he got home he knew everything he was going to say.

Well, I don't have to finish the story for you do I. The next day with all the presents that were opened up, Margie opened up that card and the tears just ran down her face - tears of joy. No one had ever said those kind of wonderful things to her before and Jeff knew by the look in her eyes when she looked at him that it was just possible that they'd be married for sixty years too.

Merry Christmas everyone.

The Special Stocking by Robert Shapiro and Eileen Meyer

Once upon a time there was a stocking. It lived, at least once - sometimes twice a week, on a little girl's foot. Of course there was another matching stocking too but this one particular stocking had a definite sense of personality.

The little girl, whose name was Mindy, noticed it too. When she had that stocking on her right foot she felt like she could dance for hours; she could jump, and she could do so many more amazing things. Even though the stocking on her left foot looked exactly the same, Mindy didn't get that feeling from it. She always wondered what that was about.

One day the stocking seemed to want to lead Mindy someplace and even though she couldn't understand it, she decided she would go anyway. She wasn't really sure whether it would be alright, so she took her big sister Karen with her.

Now Karen knew that her little sister Mindy was very bright and very imaginative so she walked along with her and didn't press Mindy with any unnecessary questions.

Mindy kept walking decidedly in the direction where her stocking wanted to go. She turned a corner and stopped. She paused for a moment. Then she walked forward again, turned another corner, and then stopped again. Then she turned and faced toward one particular house and said quite assuredly, "It's in there."

Karen said, "Gosh, I don't know who lives in there. Do you know who lives in there?"

Mindy said, "No, I have no idea who lives in there but it seems like a cheerful house. It's all decorated very brightly for Christmas."

Karen agreed, "Yes, it's quite merry looking!"

Mindy motioned with her eyes and said, "Since you're with me - maybe it would be okay?"

"Yes, we'll just go up and ring the doorbell and see who answers," said Karen, who by this time had grown quite curious too.

They rang the doorbell and a nice old lady answered the door and smiled warmly, "Hello children." Then she looked down at Mindy's stockings and said, "Oh, I see. You're wearing the Christmas stocking."

You notice she didn't say Christmas stockings - plural. Mindy responded quizzically, "Is that what it is... a Christmas stocking?"

"Oh yes," said the older lady. "I'd know that Christmas stocking anywhere. Where did you get it?" the older lady asked.

Mindy said, "Well, my Mom got it at the Goodwill store for me."

"That's where it went," the older lady seemed relieved at having solved her mystery, but Mindy and Karen were growing even more curious. "Come in, why don't you children?"

The children hesitated because this was somebody they didn't know. "It's alright," she said, "we'll leave the front door open. My name is Mrs. Henderson, but most of the kids call me 'Grandma Henderson' in this neighborhood. C'mon in!"

"Okay," the children said, feeling very safe and welcome. Right away inside they spotted Mrs. Henderson's beautifully decorated Christmas tree, and there behind the Christmas tree was a row of stockings hung on the mantle. But there was something funny about this row of Christmas stockings. They were all neatly hung, looking so perfectly aligned, and then... there was a blank spot. Something was missing.

Mindy had to know, "Mrs..., I mean... Grandma Henderson, what goes in that space?"

"Why, the Christmas stocking of course!" Mrs. Henderson replied.

"Oh," Mindy said, cautiously pointing to her right foot, "Do you mean this stocking? ...because, well, it makes me so happy and I... I feel so good when I'm wearing it."

Mrs. Henderson smiled knowingly, "I do understand, dear, and this is what I'd like to do. It's up to you of course, but I think it would be nice if we could hang it up there just on Christmas Eve. Do you know why?" she asked enthusiastically, "Because that stocking is a magical stocking." Mrs. Henderson's eyes were happy and wide, "Do you know that stocking on your right foot helps to bring all the presents and treats to little boys and little girls all over the world just by hanging over there in that spot on that mantle? That's why it's always so happy and so peppy!"

Mindy was beginning to feel like her mystery was solved too, "Ohhhh, I see. I guess that would be alright."

"Oh, good!" Mrs. Henderson beamed.

And the next day, after having washed and dried her socks, Mindy went over to Mrs. Henderson's house - this time with her Mom because her big sister Karen had to attend Christmas play practice. Mindy and her mom knocked on the door where Mrs. Henderson happily greeted them and invited them in. Other children from the neighborhood had gathered there to participate in the annual event too. Mindy's mom watched proudly as Grandma Henderson and Mindy carefully hung up the Christmas stocking in its proper place. And soon it was as if the whole house changed.

There was a sense of merriment and joy and happiness that no one had really noticed before. Oh, it had been beautifully decorated before, but now there was a very real feeling of magic, excitement and anticipation that filled the air and filled everyone there!

Mindy still felt curious, "Was this your stocking, Grandma Henderson?"

"Yes," she replied, "My friend was here cleaning up a while back and she didn't realize that it was a very special stocking. She took it to the Goodwill with a bunch of other things that I had that I wanted to share with other people. The children of the neighborhood have been very sad indeed. They look forward to helping me decorate and hang the special stocking every year."

"Oh," said Mindy thoughtfully, "so maybe I'm not really supposed to have the stocking."

"Oh no," Mrs. Henderson was very clear, "I think it's fine that you have the stocking now. And do you know, it'll never wear out? It's very special and very strong, and the matching stocking that comes with it is also very strong. I think you're the perfect person to have it, because some day... you know I'm getting older, and some day... you could become the person that hangs up the Christmas stocking every year so that all the little boys and girls all over the world will have all the presents and treats they want in their stockings." The children clapped and cheered because they agreed.

"Do you think I really could?" Mindy asked timidly.

"Oh yes, not only do I think you could, I think you're perfect for it!" said Mrs. Henderson.

As it turned out, from that day forward, Mindy went over on Christmas Eve to join the other children at Grandma Henderson's house where they would all hang up the stocking and celebrate another wonderful season of giving and good cheer. Until one day when Mrs. Henderson's house was sold because her family invited her to live with them in another small town a few hours away.

So now every Christmas, Mindy and her family invite all the children in the neighborhood over to hang the special Christmas stocking on Christmas Eve. This is so that all the little boys and girls all over the world will have all the presents and treats they want. And some day she's going to pass it on to another little girl. Maybe that will be you?