by: DenverC
Christmas only comes once a year. Sometimes I have to remind myself of that when my family starts trying to get me to do silly things – like wear that elf hat Daisy keeps bringing towards me. I keep telling her, I ain’t gonna wear it!
“Come on, Maudine! It looks so cute on you,” Daisy’s now trying to talk me into it instead of just putting it on me. She should know by now, if I tell her I ain’t gonna do it, I ain’t gonna do it! “Look, Flash is wearing hers.”
Now there’s a reason for me to put it on – the sheriff’s dog is wearing one. Dogs are willing to do anything for a treat, or just to make people laugh. A mule has standards! You don’t see mules jumping through hoops or walking on their back legs in circuses, do you? No! Those are strictly dog tricks! Good, here comes Jesse. He’ll talk some sense into her!
“Uncle Jesse, Maudine just ain’t cooperating!” Daisy’s starting to sound frustrated now. Ain’t like I ain’t been trying to explain it to her, though.
“Well now, that’s a shame, ain’t it, Daisy?” Jesse sounds kinda disappointed, don’t he? “I guess we’ll just have to find someone else to pull the wagon for the kids to go caroling. Maybe Burl Tolliver will let us use one of his horses.”
Now that’s just low! I always pull the wagon for the children’s choir – almost as long as Jesse‘s been directing it! Burl Tolliver’s horses are race horses; they can’t be trusted with them children – that would be like asking Bo and Luke to drive a float in the Christmas parade. Everyone would be hanging on for dear life, but it would get done in record time! I would hate to put the children through that.
There’s no need for Jesse to look so smug when I put my head down for him to put the hat on. I ain’t doing it for him – it’s for the kids. Yeah, I saw him wink at Daisy. Sometimes you just have to let them think that you don’t know when they’re shucking and jiving you. The things us animals have to go through to make our people happy!
Of course, all of the kids have to come up and pet me as they get on the wagon. They love me, after all. Some of them even sneak me lumps of sugar as they go past – YUM! I know, I’m not supposed to have them, but we can’t disappoint the children, can we? After all, it makes them happy, and Christmas is a time of giving, right?
Luke takes my reins, like he has to tell me where to go. I’ve been walking this same route every Christmas Eve for the last ten years, after all! At least Bo ain’t got them this year. Luke just tries to get me back on track if he thinks that I’m wandering, Bo tends to pull on the reins more. He’s just a bit impatient, I guess.
The decorations sure are pretty this year, ain’t they? Look, Miss Tisdale’s even got a tree on her front porch and lights all over her roof. I guess that’s what Jesse sent the boys over to help her with last week. I know that little woman didn’t get up there herself to hang them. (She’s afraid of heights, you know.)
She always comes out to listen to the singing from her porch swing. For some reason, this is always the house Jesse chooses to sing a solo after the children finish their songs. This year it’s “Away in a Manger.” That’s always been one of my favorites. Miss Tisdale looks like she could just sit and listen to him sing for the rest of her life. I feel the same way, of course. My Jesse has the best voice in all the world! He always practices his solo for me while we pull up stumps and logs for the boys to cut into firewood. I could work all day without a break if he would just keep singing to me. Unfortunately, the song isn’t long enough, and we’re soon on our way.
Here’s Boss and Lulu’s house. They always have a food theme for their decorations. All of the white pillars are wrapped with red ribbons to look like candy canes, and there are gingerbread men on the wreath on the door. It’s pretty, but it always makes me hungry! (I love peppermint!) Fortunately, after the children sing, Lulu always brings them hot chocolate and candy canes. Jesse lets her give me a small candy cane as a treat, too. I never have understood what she sees in Boss – Lulu is such a sweet woman.
It takes us almost an hour to get to all of the houses, and everyone is tired by the time we pull back up to the front of the courthouse. The kids have really done well this year. As they climb down, they all stop to pat me again and tell me “Merry Christmas.” They really are good kids.
When we get back to the farm, Jesse and the boys hurry through the outside chores while Daisy gets things ready inside. After all of that, we still have the annual Christmas Eve party. Jesse gives me an extra scoop of sweet feed and pets my nose, telling me what a good girl I am before he goes in to help Daisy. He always makes sure that I know that he loves me and appreciates me helping him. Most people don’t think to do that for animals – my Jesse is pretty special, I guess.
After all of the guests arrive; I let myself out of my stall. Yeah, I know that I’m supposed to stay in until one of the humans let me out, but I would miss all of the fun that way! I love to peek in through the window and watch the party. My family and their friends always decorate the tree and sing songs as they visit and eat. Everyone sounds terrific, but I still listen extra carefully to try to catch Jesse’s voice.
As the party winds down, I turn to sneak back into my stall. In the morning, the goats and chickens and me will get a special Christmas breakfast, so I have to make sure that I’m safely inside before anyone realizes that I’ve been out.
When I start to fall asleep, I hear the happy sounds of laughter and friends saying goodbye. The church bells in town start to ring to welcome Christmas day, and I think, ‘It’s a shame that Christmas only comes once a year.”