'Twas the Eve Before Yuletide


'Twas the Eve before Yuletide and all through the kennel,
Not a creepy was crawling or moved through the fennel.
The huts were all strung with light bulbs a glowing,
And out in the yard it had finally stopped snowing.

The pups were lain down, snuggled up to the nipple,
And I watched their small bodies arrhythmically ripple.
Us guys were all resting, from the first to the last,
And the humans were gone to partake of a mass.

When down from the sky there tinkled such sounds;
"Listen up, All," I barked, "An intruder, you hounds!"
Out into the yard and the deep snow I did barge,
To be in the front, for I must lead the charge.

The moon was so bright, despite doings most foul,
I was so sorely tempted to sit there and howl.
When then, from above a small orchard of trees,
Came some thing so fearsome it made my blood freeze:
A litter of reindeer coursed up in mid-air!
And a human was with them!  In some kind of chair!

Even faster than Greyhounds this guy did approach,
Then he whistled and yelled and his team did reproach:
Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen.
On Comet, on Cupid, on Donder and Blitzen.
To the top of the porch, to top of the wall,
Now dash away, dash away, dash away, all!

Like the dust in the yard that whirls when the wind blows,
Or that odd little bug with a tail end that glows,
This chair and its team flew in wide empty space,
And I have to admit that they did it with grace.

This whole weird contraption flew once o'er my head,
Then finally came down like nothing to dread;
'Cause the man or the deer had shown some good sense
And landed that thing outside of the fence.

But the man cleared that hurdle in less than two bounds
And came down, with his sack, on our side of the grounds.
He smiled as he stood there, looking merry and cheeky,
And I was sure in my heart he was trying to be sneaky.

My teeth I did bare and my hackles I raised,
I drew my ears forward; looked like a thing crazed.
"Let's get him," I growled.  "It won't be too hard."
But that elf let us chase him all over the yard.

He danced and he skipped and he hopped and pirouhetted.
We snarled and we snapped and we ran and regretted
Each clack of our teeth that closed on just air,
'Cause the backside we'd aimed for was no longer there.

One by one then, he lost us with artful diversion,
That we should have dismissed with contempt and aversion
Of the things he drew forth and then threw to the ground,
Direct in the path of each charging hound.
Except each little toy set a great joy afire,
For each trinket and gift was a secret desire.

Brute got a chew toy; of rubber that squeaked,
Fang got some rawhide; of beefsteak it reeked,
And the wiley old elf melted my heart of stone,
When he drew from his bag a four kilogram bone.

Then we all watched, contented, as boldly he strode,
Across the wide yard to his thing that he rode,
He leapt over the fence and then into his sleigh,
And he took up the straps and he went on his way.
But he called as he went, in perfect canine,
"Merry Christmas you mutts, and great peace to all thine."


Copyright Michael Nellis 1998

=====
Fear of corrupting the mind of the younger generation is 
the loftiest of cowardice. --Holbrook Jackson

>From the Lair of Fang-Face DreamWeaver
and The Encyclopedia Michael Nellis
http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/dreamweaver/index.html

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