'Twas the night
before Christmas
I've found many
canine versions of this Holiday classic – here one of the variants.
*****
‘Twas the
night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a
creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The
stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes
that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The
children were nestled all snug in the beds,
With no
thought of the dog filling their heads.
And mama
with her ‘kerchief and I in my cap,
Knew he was
cold, but didn't care about that.
When out on
the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang
from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the
window I flew like a flash,
The moon on
the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the
luster of mid-day to objects below,
When, what
to my wondering eyes should appear,
But Santa Claus
- with eyes full of tears.
He
unchained the dog, once so lively and quick,
Last years
Christmas present, now painfully thin and sick.
More rapid
than eagles he calls the dogs name,
And the dog
ran to him, despite all his pain.
"Now,
DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET!
on, CUPID! on, DONDER! and BLITZEN!
To the top
of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Let's find
this dog a home where he'll be loved by all."
I knew an instant
there would be no gifts this year,
For Santa Claus
had made one thing clear,
The gift of
a dog is not just for the Season,
We had
gotten the pup for all the wrong reasons.
In our haste
to think of the kids a gift
There was
one important thing that we missed.
A dog
should be family, and cared for the same,
You don't
give a gift, then put it on the chain.
And I heard
him exclaim as he rode out of sight,
"You
weren't given a gift! You were given a life!”
(Stacey
Vincent)
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