 | ||||||
| ||||||
It was the night before Christmas and all
through the house, Parrots
conspired, they wished to go South. They
looked out the window at the
new fallen snow, "By Jove," piped the
Budgie, "Must be forty below!"
"How far must we travel and how fast can we
fly? We might end up
ice-birds," was the Cockatiels' sigh.
"We are trapped," shrieked the Conure;
"Shhhh" said the rest.
"Dear," peeped the Lovebird
"We should go to our nest."
"I can't get out ," the Macaw growled,
dancing with rage, " They've put
this great padlock here on my cage."
"I'll help," said the Cockatoo, hanging down
from his perch, "I've only
a chain and that's a few minutes work."
"Never mind that," Grey said with a flair,
" We should go first class if
we're going by air. I'll call the airline
and taxi to boot. They'll
think that I'm human, won't that be a hoot!"
The Amazon laughed saying, "You can't handle
the phone. I'm sure I could
do it all on my own."
And they argued as the night crept by. Each
wishing they could find a
warmer climate to try Just near dawn, on
perch or in the nest; they
all settled down for a bit of rest. When
out on the lawn there arose
such a clatter, they all craned their necks
to see what was the matter.
As swiftly as light a strange band arced the
sky. No wings and no
feathers, but boy, it could fly. A sleigh
and some reindeer, heading
straight for their roof.
Then a strange sound , the clatter of each
tiny hoof. And as they
ruffed up their feathers and all turned
around, down the chimney came
Jolly Saint Nick with a bound. "Well
Birds," he laughed, shaking his
round belly, "I know what you think you
want, though you don't really.
But this night is magic so you'll have your
wish, but watch what I do in
case things go amiss." Then putting his
finger along side his nose,
with a rush and a whirl, all the birds rose.
And in a twinkling they
all found themselves, in a warm jungle with
new sounds and new smells.
Oh, they called and they capered and thought
everything fine.
Then the Macaw said, "I'm hungry, where's
the food cup on this vine?"
Sampling a strange berry, the Budgie
complained, "It's not like
home-cooking, it isn't the same."
The Lovebird looked pensive and chided her
mate," No box for a nest, now
isn't that great."
The Cockatiel shuddered at the crash of a
tree. Seemed great yellow
machines were running quite free. And the
Cockatoo yelped, spying a
great jungle cat," Hey, mates, that's no
shoulder for perching, I want
to go back."
Then the Amazon saw a man with a gun.
"Hurry," he said, "we must fly,
we must run!"
"But," said the Grey, "How far did we roam?
We've no ruby slippers to
take us back home."
"I know," shrieked the Conure, "It's just a
small trick. We just use
the magic of good Ol' Saint Nick." And
laying his wing tip aside of his
beak, he burst through the canopy like a
green streak. They all
followed suit and in a thrice were back
home, preening their feathers
and vowing never to roam. Each cage had
been hung with a stocking
stuffed full. So, that wily ol' elf with
his smile so droll, knew
they'd come back to the home they held dear,
a house of great warmth,
love, and good cheer. And as they all
settled down and all closed their
eyes, murmuring contentment in little bird
sighs, they heard Santa
exclaim as he drove out of sight, " Merry
Christmas to all, and to all a
good night!"
Autine Hansen
A Chirstmas Wish
There are people who reshape the world by force or argument, but the cat just lies there, dozing; and the world quietly reshapes itself to suit his comfort and convenience.
Allen and Ivy Dodd
An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.
|
