HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, VALENTINE!

I have a best friend.

Her name is Valentine.

She’s so awesome there’s a day that celebrates her, and it’s not even her birthday.

It’s…

VALENTINE’S DAY!

I’m supposed to make cards for everyone I know.

To celebrate my best friend, Valentine.

Mom says everyone’s going to make cards.

But I want my cards to be Valentine’s favorite.

What if they aren’t her favorite?

That would be horrible.

I know… I’ll make mine heart-shaped because I love Valentine best.

I’ll glue a picture of us to each one.

I’ll write, “Please wish my best friend, Valentine, a HAPPY day!”

I’ll use gobs of glitter,

reams of ribbon,

and scads of stickers.

Aren’t my cards bea-u-ti-ful?

Valentine! Look at the cards I made for your day!

—Um, it’s not my day.

Sure it is. It’s Valentine’s Day. Mom says so. The calendar says so. It’s YOUR special day.

—Um, it’s Saint Valentine’s day.

Saint Valentine? SAINT VALENTINE?! But all my cards celebrate you! What am I supposed to do with them? Waaah!

—They are beautiful cards. My favorite! Can I have them? Please?

They’re your favorite? Truly?

—Truly. The best cards ever. From my best friend ever.

Sniff, sniff.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Valentine.

—Happy Valentine’s Day back.

 

A Town and Country Mouse Christmas

A Town and Country Mouse Christmas

by Kristi Wright

 

Snurt the Mouse lived a simple life. His hole in the forest was snug, and his diet consisted of seeds with the occasional fruit treat. He was content to spend his nights foraging and his days dozing.

With Christmas near, his cousin, Ely, arrived for a quick visit. Ely lived in a grand mansion in a bustling town.

“What a charming little hole,” he said, his nose sniff-sniffing. “It’s terribly refreshing to experience the simple life for a change.”

“I’ve never seen a mansion before,” said Snurt. “Is it different from a hole?”

“You have no idea. It’s absolutely huge. You could scurry for days without seeing it from end to end. And at Christmas, the decorations are magnificent with color and sparkle and greenery everywhere. It smells like a forest, only better. And the food! Cakes and cookies galore. The crumbs are positively divine.”

“Wow,” said Snurt.

Ely cocked his head and his eyes gleamed. “I’ve had the most delicious thought. We’ll return to my home—immediately. There you will experience a truly glorious Christmas.”

Though Snurt’s tummy felt awfully queasy at the thought of leaving his cozy home, he allowed himself to be swept off to the city for a Christmas adventure.

When they arrived, Snurt’s first thought was that cities were horribly noisy. Monstrous machines honked and screeched, and humans were everywhere, even at night when they should have been fast asleep. The mansion was amazing. It was hard to believe that anyone actually lived in such an extraordinary place, let alone a tiny, though elegant, mouse such as Ely.

Snurt’s head spun as he took in the strange wooden objects called furniture and the metal ones, called lights, that were as bright as the moon and hung from above. The delicious food was sweeter than fruit, but it also gave Snurt a tummy-ache. There was a huge tree in the middle of one of the rooms. It was covered in lights and funny balls of color.

“It grows in the middle of the mansion!” Snurt said.

“It’s not growing, silly!” said Ely. “Why, it’s not even real. The family’s allergic to real trees. This is a Christmas Tree, made from something called plastic, and they’ve scented the whole place with a fragrance called ‘Evergreen.’ It’s so much better than real tree scent!”

Snurt thought it smelled kind of stinky, not better at all, but he didn’t want to hurt his cousin’s feelings.

As he stared at the tree, he heard a growl and then a hiss.

Oh-no! A cat!

He jumped and ran as fast as he could. The cat gave chase. Snurt managed to climb the plastic tree and hide behind one of the colorful balls.

Then he heard barks, and three dogs charged into the room. He nearly fainted. He saw Ely up on one of the huge pieces of furniture, laughing and laughing.

“My dear Snurt, you aren’t scared are you? They’re only pets, easily outwitted.”

Snurt was very scared. This wasn’t his idea of a happy Christmas. He missed his snug little hole and his simple little life.

“I’m sorry, Ely, but this elegant life is not for me,” he said.

As soon as the cat and dogs lost interest in him, he scurried down the plastic tree, said his goodbyes to Ely and rushed home. Once he was back in his snug little hole, he gave thanks for his cozy and quiet life.

Christmas in the forest couldn’t have been sweeter that year.

 

Poverty with security is better than plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty.

Inspired by Aesop’s Fable The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse

 

The Cat and the Christmas Bells

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The Cat and the Christmas Bells

by Kristi Wright

‘Twas the Night of the Christmas Bells, and the mice had gathered for friendship, food and their yearly task. The oldest mouse held court near a cozy fire. All the little ones, many of the teens and even some adults had gathered to hear…THE STORY.

They’d heard it countless times, but they always wanted to hear it again.

“Grandpoppy!” cried the littlest mouse. “Please tell us the story of the Cat and the Christmas Bells.”

Grandpoppy put on a grand show of reluctance, but his eyes gleamed and, for a moment, he seemed not ancient at all.

“Many moons ago,” he said, “the mice held a council, for Magnum the Cat was terrorizing their people, and something had to be done.”

“Was Magnum a monster?” the littlest mouse asked.

“A terrible monster,” said Grandpoppy. “His teeth were sharper than thorns, and his claws were longer than a baby mouse.”

The children made a production of shrinking back and oohing in fear.

“One of the council proposed that they tie a bell around Magnum’s neck so the mice would hear him before he came, giving them time to flee. Everyone thought this an excellent idea until Peanut said—”

Grandpoppy paused and winked at the children.

“HOW EXACTLY DO YOU PROPOSE WE BELL THE CAT?” they shouted and fell over in giggles.

“Yes!” said Grandpoppy. “Peanut told them that no mouse could ever tie a bell around a cat and live another day. It was an impossible proposal. The rest of the council immediately saw the truth in his words, and they were very sad. Maybe there was no solution to their feline problem.”

“But Gertrude had a brilliant idea,” said the littlest mouse.

Immediately, the children began to chant, “GERTRUDE, GERTRUDE, GERTRUDE…”

Grandpoppy smiled. “Yes, Gertrude proposed they make a beautiful Christmas collar, with bells and red ribbons and tiny gold ornaments. They would leave it on the doorstep of Magnum’s home. Once his owners saw the lovely collar, they would insist on him wearing it throughout the Christmas season. And what do you think happened next?”

“IT WORKED!” everyone cried. Even the teens. Even the adults.

“Indeed it did. And our community lived without fear the whole season. Ever since, our happy band of mice celebrates the Night of the Christmas Bells by making another beautiful collar of bells. First for Magnum the Cat, then Flouncy.”

“Then Horace!” the littlest mouse shouted.

“Then Musker!” said another.

“Then Darcy!”

“And on and on,” said Grandpoppy. “Right up to tonight’s festivities when we shall make yet another stunning collar, this time for Bella the Cat.”

The children squealed with joy and tumbled over each other to hug Grandpoppy before rushing off to help decorate this year’s collar of Christmas bells.

Grandpoppy stared into the fire, smiling slightly. How old he felt with his creaking bones and gnarled paws. He didn’t remember ever having been as young as these little ones, but he did remember being a young council member, thinking himself smart enough to know a bad idea when he saw one. They’d called him Peanut back then, and he’d known better than to try to tie a bell onto a dangerous cat. But dear Gertrude had been smarter, because she’d come up with a plan that would always work, so long as there was a Christmas season.

“I miss you, my darling Gertrude,” he whispered, and the Christmas bells whispered back.

It’s easy to propose impossible remedies… but everything’s possible at Christmas.

Inspired by Aesop’s Fable Belling the Cat