Santa was on his way back to the North Pole from a long flight around the world, when suddenly he heard a noise coming from the back of his sleigh. Santa looked over at his elf helper, Winkey. Once in a while, a position on his sleigh opened for elves to come with him to deliver gifts around the world. This year, Blinky’s husband Winkey got the job to come with Santa to help deliver all the presents to the good boys and girls. Winkey had applied many times before, but this year there were a few changes in Winkey’s life. He married Blinky, and with the magic from the northern lights they were now expecting a new member of the elf community to come along over the next eight months. As the sleigh finally approached the North Pole, the control tower warned Santa there was a cross wind over the sleigh-way. Then there was a noise coming from the sleigh. Santa started to wonder if one of the ski runners was loose and that was what was making all the noise. Santa then called the tower to let them know they may have a loose ski and that it may be a rough landing, as there was only Santa and Blinky’s husband on board. Santa started to think the cause must have been that apartment building where they had that hard landing. As the skis touched down in the ice and snow of the North Pole, the skis held, and Santa made a perfect landing once again.
As Santa was taxiing back to the barn where the reindeer stayed, the sleigh crews could now check on those runners and try to find that noise that Santa and Winkey heard on the flight back to the North Pole. Mrs. Claus and Blinky were at the field, waiting for their husbands to return home, sitting in the nice warm Snow Cat. One of Mrs. Claus’ tasks she liked to do was take the toy sack back to the castle to see if it needed repairs. This year, there was something different about the toy sack; it was feeling heavy. Mrs. Claus put the toy sack on the snow and opened it up. Mrs. Claus and Blinky looked inside of the dark toy sack, and the next thing both of the girls knew, something black came out of the toy sack and was flew toward Mrs. Claus. There was a blood-curdling scream at the same time as this black object was coming out of the bag.
At that moment, twenty sharp claws dug into the front of Mrs. Claus’ coat, and a hissing sound and a swipe was made toward Santa. Then there was another hissing at Winkey. Mrs. Claus looked at the long- haired tuxedo color kitten with a pink nose, who was hanging on for dear life. The kitten was scared and crying and would not let go of Mrs. Claus. As the kitten started to look around, it spotted a very large Malamute sitting next to Santa with his head cocked to the left and looking at this black and white fur ball. Canyon the Malamute looked up at Santa as if to say, “Did you miss a gift, Santa?”
At that moment, Canyon was starting to move toward Mrs. Claus to see what was going on with this kitten. This kitten made a bee line for Mrs. Claus’ hood on her coat, as if he wanted to get far away from the dog. There was only one problem — the hood was up covering Mrs. Claus’ head. Santa started to laugh as the kitten moved like a flash. Santa said, “Well, let’s all head for the castle so we can see where our new guest came from and get this kitten home.” Mrs. Claus had her Snow Cat near the sleigh-way to bring Santa back to the castle. After everyone was in, Mrs. Claus started the Snow Cat. The kitten started to meow and meowed all the way to the castle. Santa grabbed the radio microphone and contacted Doctor K-9.
Santa pressed the mic key in and said, “Santa to Doctor K-9.” There was a pause, and then there was a response to Santa’s call. “Yes, Santa. Doctor K-9 here. How can I help you?” Santa said, “Can you meet Mrs. Claus and me at the castle? We have a surprise for you.” Doctor K-9 replied, “Of course, Santa, I will be there is ten minutes.” The radio went silent. Santa then placed the mic back in its holder.
As the Snow Cat slowly made its way to the castle, the kitten popped its head out, looking for Canyon. Not seeing that oversized bone eater, the kitten spotted Santa. The kitten was still not sure of this human. The kitten went back into Mrs. Claus’ hood on her coat. The heater in the Snow Cat was working great; it was starting to warm up. There was a funny smell now inside the Snow Cat. It did not take the Clauses long to figure out that the kitten would need a bath, and this put a smile on Santa’s face because he knew that he was not going to be doing this job. He was going right to bed, and when he wakes up, it would be time for Christmas dinner. Then he would get a report on this kitten. Mrs. Claus would laugh from time to time as the Snow Cat made its way home and the kitten tried to get comfortable inside of Mrs. Claus’ hood. Santa had pulled the hood down so the kitten could curl up and go to sleep.
As the Snow Cat was pulling up to the castle, Santa was starting to fall asleep next to Mrs. Claus. Last night was a long night and flight for Santa and Winkey. Mrs. Claus stopped the Snow Cat in front of the castle and shut the motor off. She woke Santa up to get him to go inside of the castle and then to bed. After Santa was on his way to bed, Mrs. Claus waited for Doctor K-9 to show up and check out their new castle guest. There was a knock on the front door. It was the doctor.Dexter, One of the elves that worked at the castle, went to open the front door and showed the doctor to the big room where Mrs. Claus and the kitten were sitting. Carrying his doctor’s bag, he did not know what was wrong until he walked into the great room to see Mrs. Claus sitting by the fireplace with a black-and-white kitten on her lap as she petted it. The doctor walked up to them and said, “Good morning and Merry Christmas, Mrs. Claus. I see why I’m here now.” This put a smile on the doctor’s face.
The doctor then said, “Can I have the kitten, Mrs. Claus, so I can check this little one out?” Mrs. Claus handed the kitten to the doctor. It did not take the kitten long to smell Canyon and his brothers and sisters on Doctor K-9. Well, his back started to arch and the growling started and the kitten’s claws started to come out. Mrs. Claus started to pet the kitten again and started to talk to it. The doctor said, “Mrs. Claus, can you lift the kitten up so I can see the under carriage, then we can find out if the kitten is a boy or a girl?” Doctor K-9 then said, “Well, Mrs. Claus, you have a baby girl in your hands.” This put a smile on Mrs. Claus’ face. The doctor asked, “Mrs. Claus, what are you going to name her?” Mrs. Claus stopped for a few seconds to think. Then Mrs. Claus said, “Christmas Cookie.” The doctor took out his iPad to log in the new member of the North Pole Christmas Family and take a picture of the tuxedo color kitten. He recorded her new name as Christmas Cookie.
Doctor K-9 then said, “I would like to see this young lady in my office tomorrow,” but stopped in mid-sentence. All his other patients would be there, and they were all Malamutes. The doctor asked Mrs. Claus if she could take Christmas Cookie to his office now, then they could see what she needed, get her weight and all the tests done, and yes, she would need a bath. Mrs. Claus agreed to take the kitten to the doctor’s office so when they got back; Christmas Cookie would be cleaned and checked.
Mrs. Claus called Dexter to come and bring her coat with the hood. As Dexter was bringing Mrs. Claus’ coat, there was a loud noise throughout the castle. This noise scared Christmas Cookie. She jumped from Mrs. Claus’ arms and right at Doctor K-9. The doctor let out a scream as the kitten’s claws buried deep into his arm. The kitten was looking for the noise that was coming through the heating vents in the castle. Mrs. Claus started to laugh, then said to the doctor, “The only time Santa snores is when he comes back from delivering gifts to everyone that was good during the year.” Well, Christmas Cookie did not know that and had never heard a sound like that! As for Doctor K-9, he would make a note on Santa’s medical file and we would have to get that checked out! As Doctor K-9 had Christmas Cookie in his hands, he could feel she was way too skinny for her age, and she really needed a bath. Dexter brought a cardboard box to place Christmas Cookie into. Inside the box was a warm, fuzzy blanket to keep her warm, as they had to take her to the other side of Christmas Town. Doctor K-9 got on his snowmobile, and Mrs. Claus started up her Snow Cat and placed the box on the back seat, where the kitten would stay warm. All three of them were off to the animal hospital. As the Snow Cat was making its way to the hospital, Mrs. Claus had a smile on her face; she was thinking of Canyon, as he started to sing in Santa’s sleigh. Well, Christmas Cookie was doing the same in the Snow Cat. As the singing was going on in the back of the Snow Cat, it did not take long for the three of them to reach the animal hospital. Once at the hospital, the doctor took the box into the exam room and started to work on the kitten. Mrs. Claus sat in the waiting room. Twenty minutes later, Doctor K-9 came out to the waiting room; he did not look his happy self. He had some news for Mrs. Claus and it was not going to be good.
Mrs. Claus stood up as the doctor approached her. He had Christmas Cookie’s file in hand. He was going over all the test results that were already done, as there were a few more that were not done yet. At that moment, more hospital staff came in to help Doctor K-9 and Christmas Cookie. Mrs. Claus had a worried look on her face; she said, “Okay, Doctor, what is wrong with my girl?” The doctor put his right hand on his face, just under his nose, and slowly dragged his hand down his mustache and beard, as if to comb it down, as he was looking at the chart. The doctor said, “Well, Mrs. Claus, your girl is in a bad way. I can give you a lot of medical terms, but I will keep it simple. She is way too skinny for her age, she has ear mites, we are going to have to cut her nails, and we are testing her for worms, and she must be spayed. We can fix her a good bath, and with medication, she will be ready to go back to the castle tonight for Christmas dinner.” Mrs. Claus sat down as the doctor continued. “You will need to bring her to have her ears re-cleaned and I will give you some meds to put in her ears. Well, I better get to the back and get to work so she can go home to her new ‘fur ever’ home.”
Mrs. Claus was waiting for her girl to come out of the back. Mrs. Claus could hear Christmas Cookie meowing, and the doctor and the medical assistant cry out in pain. This told Mrs. Claus that Christmas Cookie was getting her shots and gave her shots right back. This put a little smile on Mrs. Claus’ face, to know her girl was a fighter. Mrs. Claus was feeling sorry for whoever was trying to hold her girl down. The sound of a blow dryer could be heard in the back of the hospital; fifteen minutes later, the sound of the dryer stopped. Doctor K-9 was bringing Christmas Cookie out of the back in a pet carrier with the warm, fuzzy blanket inside. Mrs. Claus asked, “How much do we owe you, Doctor?” Doctor K-9 said, “That is okay, Mrs. Claus. I was paid in full by Christmas Cookie.” Mrs. Claus said, “I would like you and your staff and their families to come to the castle for Christmas dinner with Santa, me and Christmas Cookie, and I’m not going to take ‘no’ for an answer.” Doctor K-9 replied, “We accept your kind invitation for Christmas dinner for all.” Christmas Cookie did not look happy as Mrs. Claus loaded her and her carrier into the Snow Cat. Mrs. Claus climbed in, and after buckling herself in, started the diesel motor and put the Snow Cat into gear. The two were off and back to the castle, and Christmas Cookie started to sing all the way back. Mrs. Claus then pulled the Snow Cat over to the side of the road. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and called the kitchen staff to let them know they were having extra guests for supper. It did not take the Snow Cat long to return to the castle.
As Mrs. Claus was about to stop in front of the castle, there was a new odour in the cab of the Snow Cat. It was pines smell this put a smile on Mrs. Claus’ face; as for Christmas Cookie, she did not like smelling like a Malamute because this was how Canyon smelled. Mrs. Claus stopped the Snow Cat just outside the front door to the castle. She shut the motor off, opened the door and got out of the Snow Cat. Then she reached in and grabbed the handle to the pet carrier and hurried into the castle. Dexter had heard the motor of the Snow Cat approaching. He was waiting at the front door to let Mrs. Claus and Christmas Cookie in. Mrs. Claus put the carrier down and took off her long, red coat, then handed it to Dexter so he could put it away. As this was going on, Christmas Cookie was bathing herself in the carrier, but the taste of pine was in her mouth and she was not sure what was worse: the smell of pine or the taste. Mrs. Claus opened the carrier and took Christmas Cookie out and let her loose on the floor. It did not take Christmas Cookie long to get the lay of the land in this room; fireplace, pine Christmas tree, and there was water in the pine Christmas tree. She was thirsty, and the tree was all lit up with Christmas lights, with garland, tinsel and Christmas balls round the tree. Christmas Cookie walked up to the tree and looked at one of the glass balls; Christmas Cookie saw her reflection looking back at her.
Christmas Cookie’s back went up and a deep cat meow was heard. The glass ball went flying across the room and smashed on the wall, then another one went the same way. Mrs. Claus went running toward the Christmas tree to save the rest of the decorations. The door bell rang; it was the guests arriving for Santa and Mrs. Claus’ Christmas dinner. There would be two hundred and five guests attending the annual event. After Dexter cleaned up the broken glass, Christmas Cookie was sitting next to the fireplace, keeping warm. As the guests were arriving, Christmas Cookie watched all of Santa’s and Mrs. Claus’ guests who kept coming into the castle.
Christmas Cookie started to explore the castle. She entered the dining room to see one very long dining table with lots of food and candles on it. The room had a Christmas tree in each corner. Christmas Cookie walked right up to Mrs. Claus’ chair and jumped up; she wanted to see what was on the table, so she stood on her hind legs with her front paws on the tablecloth, looking at the white dishes and silverware all polished. The walls were decorated as well, and then Christmas Cookie noticed that smell again of pine again, and she could still taste it.
Dexter came into the dining room from the kitchen to see, Christmas Cookie on Mrs. Claus’ chair. Dexter picked up Christmas Cookie and took her out of the dining room, put her on the floor and closed the doors to the dining room. Christmas Cookie looked at the closed doors and she flicked her tail at them, then walked back into the great room, thinking, “I have been thrown out of better trash cans.” She stopped to see the room was almost full of Mr. and Mrs. Claus’ guests. Christmas Cookie did not see Mrs. Claus, so she started to cry and waited for her new owner to come and rescue her from being alone. The guests stopped talking and looked to the entrance of the great hall. Mrs. Claus walked towards the sounds of the crying. Christmas Cookie waited for Mrs. Claus to pick her up and pet her and talk to her. Mrs. Claus stood over the crying kitten, and then she bent over to pick up her girl and said, “What’s the matter, my girl?” As Mrs. Claus looked into the black eyes of the kitten, she saw a tear coming down the side of the kitten’s nose. Mrs. Claus then wiped the tear and said, “That’s okay, my girl,” and one last little cry came out of Christmas Cookie as Mrs. Claus hugged her girl. Dexter walked in to the great room and rang a bell to make an announcement: “Mr. and Mrs. Claus would like to welcome everyone to their annual Christmas dinner. It is now ready to be served in the dining room, if everyone would like to follow me please.”
Everyone proceeded to the dining room for supper. Once everyone was in the dining room and sitting, Santa stood up and said,“Well hello, everyone! We would like to welcome you all to our Christmas dinner. I would like to say grace, and then we can begin to eat the great meal that has been prepared for us. Mrs. Claus has an announcement.” Santa then said grace. After he had finished saying the prayer, he walked toward Mrs. Claus’ chair and pulled it back so she could stand up. She welcomed all the new members of their Christmas family, from the all of the babies that were born at the North Pole in the last year. The last member of the family to be welcomed to the family was Christmas Cookie. As Mrs. Claus was reading the list of names, Santa was standing next to her, holding her left hand. After she was done, Santa helped her back into her seat and he pushed her chair in. He went back to his chair and sat down. Dexter, who was standing next to the kitchen door, rang an old school bell, and an army of elves in white coats and cook’s hats came out of the kitchen carrying plates and bowls of hot food. Dexter happened to look toward Mrs. Claus; she was waving at him. He started to walk toward her. It was not long before Dexter was standing next to Mrs. Claus. He bent over to hear what Mrs. Claus said: “Dexter, can you walk over to Doctor K-9 and ask him what Christmas Cookie can have to eat and drink?” Dexter then said, “Yes, Mum.”
Dexter walked over to where Doctor K-9 and his wife were sitting. Dexter bent over once again and repeated what Mrs. Claus had said. Doctor K-9 reached into his coat pocket and gave Dexter a can of cat food and told Dexter, “She can have this and water only.” Dexter thanked the doctor. Dexter stood up and went back toward the kitchen, and in a few minutes came back into the dining hall with two bowls, one with water and the other with cat food. Christmas Cookie could smell the food as she stood right next to Mrs. Claus’ chair. Christmas Cookie started to do circles around Dexter’s ankle as he put the food down so Christmas Cookie could eat it.
After everyone finished eating, they returned to the great room for coffee and cake and some chit chat among themselves. Christmas Cookie was sitting next to the fireplace, cleaning her paws off, and every once in a while, she would look up at all these guests of Mr. And Mrs. Claus and think, “That poor woman.” An hour later, the Christmas guests started to head home. The only people left were the people that worked in the castle, the Clauses and Christmas Cookie. Mrs. Claus called Christmas Cookie to follow her up the stairs. There was one problem with the stairs; they were too tall for her to climb. Santa was at the bottom of the stairs and looked down at Christmas Cookie and said, “Well, young lady, would you like a ride upstairs to where Mrs. Claus is?” Christmas Cookie looked up at Santa, gave him one meow, and just sat there waiting for him to pick her up and carry her to mom. Santa bent down and picked up the kitten, and up the stairs they went. Mrs. Claus was at the top of the stairs, waiting for her with open arms.
Off to bed the two went, leaving Santa standing there; he followed them to see Mrs. Claus getting ready to turn in. She was brushing her long white hair, and Christmas Cookie was on Santa’s side of the bed and she was not going to move. As Santa tried to lift her up and place her on the floor, the next thing Santa knew the kitten jumped out of his hand and headed for his pillow. Mrs. Claus was watching this and started to laugh. Mrs. Claus then said, “Santa, it looks like you are going to be sleeping in the guest room tonight.” Santa placed his hand on his pajamas folded on the bed; Christmas Cookie jumped towards them, but Santa grabbed his pajamas and headed to the guest room before Christmas Cookie could get her claws into them. He turned towardsMrs. Claus and was going to give her a kiss on the check when they both heard Christmas Cookie growling and saw her moving toward Mrs. Claus’ shoulder that Santa was next to. Mrs. Claus started to laugh and said, “Goodnight, Santa.” Santa then said, “Goodnight, Hun.” Santa then left his bedroom and headed for the guest room. As months came and went, Mrs. Claus and her shadow were seen going from the kitchen or going to Mrs. Claus’ office. Christmas Cookie was always right behind her, and when Mrs. Claus would sit down, Christmas Cookie would jump and sit on her lap. In time, Christmas Cookie would let Santa shake Mrs. Claus’ hand once in a while.
The End
From Santa’s White Christmas
© Copyright 2018