“'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Forest, not a creature was stirring, not even a squirrel…”

“Hey, that doesn’t rhyme!”, one of the little fawns, Tyssen, interrupted. Tails shushed the little one, “Let him tell the story. Go on, Dag.”, he said. Dag smiled and nodded, “It’s quite alright. It won’t rhyme because I changed the words so it would make more sense. But I hope you enjoy it.”, he said. The storyteller straightened up and continued the poem.

“The Old Oak was cleared and empty for the night, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would arrive; The fawns were nestled all curled by their mothers, while visions of mushrooms danced in their minds; And I sat alone, listening to the sounds, of the Pond trickling and the wind breezing, when out on in the poppies there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the hycanths to see what was the matter. I watched intently with my eyes open wide, to the sky open from the forest heights. The moon which was wide and bright gave the glow of morning to the Forest below, When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer…”

“I bet Toukan was one of them.”, another fawn, Temnota, interrupted. The other fawns giggled. “Hush, everyone!”, Tails snapped at them. Dag cleared his throat and continued.

“With a little old human, so strange and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than ravens his reindeer they came, and he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name; ‘Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!’…”

“No Toukan, but I guess Blixt was one of them.”, Caden whispered to the others.

“’To the top of the trees! To the top of the Oak! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!’ So up to the Oak-top the caribou flew, with the sleigh full of gifts, and St. Nicholas too. And then, in a flurry, I heard on the top the prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head, and was turning around, down the Oak St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot…”

“Fur?! Was he a deer?!”, Eva cried. Dag looked at the fawns sternly, “…I suppose so.”, he replied, though it was a lie. He knew that St. Nicholas was really a human, but he would never tell that to the fawns. He continued on.

“And his clothes were all tarnished with bark and leaves; A bundle of pinecones he had flung on his back, and he looked like a stranger just opening his pack. His eyes -- how they twinkled! His dimples how merry! His cheeks were like poppies, his nose like a raspberry! His droll little mouth was drawn up in a smile, and the mane on his back was as white as the snow; He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook, when he laughed like a sphere of water. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old stag, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a tilt of his head, soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, and filled up the Oak; then turned with a jerk, and laying his hoof aside of his snout, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight, ‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.’”

The fawns smiled, their minds wandering. “Is it true? Does St. Nick really exist?”, they asked. Dag leaned toward them all, “He exists to those who believe. And he exists for all the little fawns who go to bed early tonight, and don’t stay up late.”

The little ones bowed quickly and ran to their mothers, begging them to go to sleep early in the night. “Alright, alright.”, the does said, and soon they all left. As it soon was only Dag and Tails left, the two smiled to one another. “Looks like we have work to do tonight.”, Tails said. Dag nodded, “We’ll wait until the little ones are asleep before we gather the pinecones.”

--------------

Close to midnight, Tails crept in the night, going to the Old Oak where he would meet Dag. The storyteller was already there, and as Tails approached, he noticed something strange. Dag was staring at the Old Oak, turning to Tails and saying, “Look!!”

The Old Oak was full of pinecones. “Oh, you took care of it already?”, Tails asked. Dag shook his head, “I just got here! This was already here!”

And as the thought hit Tails, the two looked to the sky and saw the shadows of reindeer attached to a sleigh shoot past the moon.