Deep in the forest during a slightly cool autumn day, a grumpy old grizzly bear named Arthur was rooting around in the hardened earth, hoping to find a tasty root or a barely green grass shoot to nibble on. He knew winter was on its way, as his belly was starting to get full as he snacked daily preparing himself for the upcoming hibernation.
Hibernation was Arthur’s favourite time of year. As one of the older animals in the forest, he enjoyed hunkering down, dreaming of his younger years, playing in the rivers and streams that ran through the forest. With each passing year, Arthur had become one of those bears that preferred spending his time alone. Many of his friends had moved to dens in much nicer areas of other forests, but Arthur liked being where he was. Except there was only one problem.
Because Arthur was one of the oldest animals in the area, many of his neighbours were smaller, and younger, woodland creatures. There was Sage the skunk and Roco the raccoon, both of which were only a year old. There was also the three-year-old twins, Berry and Nutsy Squirrel, who lived in the tree next to Arthur’s den. Arthur would often get grumpy as some of his neighbours would make noises as they played and rummaged for food late at night.
Arthur was looking forward to hibernating this year as the livelier critters also take a break each winter, leaving the world silent over the winter months. As the grumpy bear made his way back to his den in the early evening, the twin squirrels scurried past him, laughing and giggling as they dove into piles of colourful leaves.
“Bet you can’t catch me, Nutsy,” yelled Berry, as she clawed her way up a skinny poplar tree.
“Wanna bet, Berry!” shouted Nutsy, as he paused before following his sister.
Arthur grumbled, with his head hanging low, still sniffing out for anything he could nibble on as he ventured back home.
“Do you need to really be running around like that? Don’t you know it is just about time to hibernate for the season?” Arthur mumbled to the squirrelly duo.
“Oh Arthur! Don’t be so grumpy. We prepared for hibernation weeks ago. We have plenty of berries,” said Nutsy, before his sister interrupted with “And nuts!”.
“Yeah, yeah! And nuts for the winter,” finished Nutsy.
The grumpy bear groaned a low moan, shaking his head before continuing his way back home. With each step he took, Arthur took note of how unseasonally warm the weather was for the time of year. In all his 22 years of living in the forest, Arthur could not remember a time when it was this warm. He continued back to his den so he could settle in for the evening.
The sun soon fell far enough, the forest became dark. Arthur had pushed himself deep into his den, hoping to avoid the Nocturnals. Sage and Roco were best friends and loved playing all night long. On this particular night, the pair of friends were making a lot of noise as they played tag and hide and seek. Unfortunately, Arthur was not immune to the noise.
“I wish winter comes soon,” grumbled the bear. “I just want to get some sleep around here.”
Because Arthur was a bear, he did not know what month it was. However, as the month of November ended and December began, everyone else in the world was starting to prepare for Christmas. As each day passed by, very little snow fell on the ground. This also meant Arthur was still not ready for hibernation, as the temperatures was his way of knowing when it was time to settle for the winter.
“Why is it still so warm? I just want to go to sleep!” grumbled Arthur, as he watched his smaller neighbours still playing in the small bits of snow that lay in the crevices of the forest floor.
“Why do you want to sleep all the time, Arthur? This is so much fun!” said Roco, as he threw a small amount of snow up in the air.
Berry and Nutsy came running up to the rest of the group, both shouting excitedly and incoherently, waving their arms and jumping up and down. No one could understand what either of them were saying, but it was quite concerning to the rest of their friends.
“STOP!” Arthur growled, startling the twins so much so they stopped moving and shouting.
“What are you two rambling on about?” said the bear.
“The trees…” said Nutsy.
“They are missing!” added Berry
“What do you mean they are missing?” asked Arthur.
“We were playing in the trees. We heard an angry buzzing sound, but we know the bees, hornets and wasps are all asleep,” said Nutsy, in a very concerned voice.
“We ran out onto one of the branches. We saw humans taking our trees! What are we going to play in now?” cried Berry, as she buried her face in her hands.
“Oh, stop it you two. There are plenty of trees for you to play in, I wouldn’t worry about it,” sighed Arthur.
“But the humans were talking about taking the tree home and decorating it,” continued Berry, with tears streaming down her fuzzy face.
“Why would they want to steal our tree, Arthur?” asked Nutsy.
“I know,” said Roco. Everyone turned towards the masked animal, looking for an answer to the question.
Roco, who frequented the trash cans in the nearby town, spoke about all the humans who had trees inside, littered with shiny baubles and twinkling lights of every colour. He compared the scene to the Aura Borealis, except indoors. He also talked about the extra food he has been finding in the bins.
“It’s great! Lots of nuts and fruit peelings are left out for me to feast on! I wish it was like this every day!” laughed Roco.
All the small animals talked amongst themselves, asking Roco where they could find such a feast before they settle in to hibernate. Roco told them he would take them all to the trash cans and show them the indoor tree. Arthur grumbled as he turned away from the group and started making his way back to his den.
“Finally, some quiet,” thought the grizzly, as the distance between him and his neighbours grew fainter with each step. It was at that moment Arthur saw some rather large snowflakes fall in front of his face. He looked up into the sky, seeing an abundance of white dots coming down to Earth. He gave a small smile, knowing that his favourite time of year was very near.
The next morning, Arthur was woken up from the chattering of his neighbours. Berry and Nutsy could be heard in the trees, jumping from limb to limb, yelling “bombs away.” Sage and Roco were laughing, taking turns taunting the twins in the trees. As much as Arthur wanted to stay in his den, he had to stop all the noise. When he got to the opening of his den, he could see the four critters frolicking in the fresh layer of bright white snow. Winter was here!
“Will you guys stop! It’s just snow, that means we need to hibernate now,” grumbled the grizzly.
“It’s more than just snow!” said Berry.
“Yeah Arthur, it’s Christmas!” added Nutsy.
“What’s Christmas?” asked Arthur, quizzingly.
The four animals, who had made their way to and from town in the night, told Arthur about what they witnessed.
“It is magical and smells amazing,” said Sage.
“And apparently there is someone special coming tonight. I overheard some young humans talking about leaving cookies out for the visitor,” Roco said, as he licked his lips and rung his hands together.
Arthur rolled his eyes and moaned an uninterested moan, turning back to where he came from and retreating back to his den.
“Whatever, just keep it down. Or better yet, go hibernate!” he yelled back to the group.
They just laughed some more, playing in the fresh fallen snow and talking about going back to town to see what else they could see and learn about Christmas.
Night had fallen onto the forest once again, and Arthur was finally warm and ready to doze off. He had been waiting for hibernation since spring and was happy to hear his noisy neighbours had left for the night again. He settled himself even further, with the last sight he saw being his breath hanging in the air. He closed his eyes, happy to finally start hibernating.
CRASH!
Arthur’s eyes shot open quickly, looking to see what had happened. He frantically scrambled out of his comfortable position, running outside to see what the commotion was about. It was dark outside, and his eyes had not yet adjusted to the darkness. In the nearby distance, he could faintly make out a warm glow but was not sure if it was something to be worried about. None of his neighbours had emerged from their homes, so Arthur assumed they were still in town. He started to make his way towards the glow, wondering what had happened.
As the grizzly got closer, he could see the glow coming from a contraption he had never seen before. Arthur got closer to it, sniffing it and the air cautiously, before being startled by some movement in the dark on the other side of the contraption. The movement scared Arthur to the point where he was ready to run if anything threatening jumped out at him. The dark figure stood up, coming into the light of the glow, revealing a large man all dressed in red.
“Oh, ho no!” said the man, as he started brushing the snow off his suit. He stood straight up, looked around in front of him before turning around, coming face to face with Arthur. The bear, now on his hind legs ready to fight if needed, stood there stunned by the spectacle. The man looked shocked, but not fearful.
“Oh, ho ho! Hello there bear,” said the man in a calm, peaceful voice.
“I seem to have misplaced my hat and my reindeer. Have you seen them?”
Arthur, still stunned, looked to his left then to his right, before looking back to the man in the bright suit.
“I’m sorry to have disturbed your sleep. If you don’t mind, I will find what I need and will be on my way,” said the calm, but cheerful voice.
Arthur then relaxed, lowering himself to all four of his feet. His ears perked up, hearing the familiar sounds of his noisy neighbours coming closer to the chaotic scene. The man also turned his attention to the noisy critters.
Berry and Nutsy were leaping from tree branch to tree branch, each with a mouthful of exotic nuts they would have never found in the forest. They also noticed the glow and the faint sight of Arthur within it. As they got closer, the man startled them.
“Ho ho ho, looks like your friends have joined us!” laughed the man.
Roco and Sage, who were not paying much attention to their surroundings, came onto the scene and noticed Arthur.
“Hey big guy! What’s got your fur in a bunch?” asked Roco. Sage started to laugh but stopped suddenly when her eyes met with the man. She turned her back to the man and lifted her tail, ready to take aim in the event the man was going to threaten them.
“Oh, no no! You’re ok. I won’t hurt any of you. I am just looking for my hat and reindeer,” said the man. Roco turned towards the voice, where his jaw dropped in a split second.
“S-s-s-sa-sa…Santa?” stuttered the raccoon.
“That’s me! I’m surprised you know who I am,” said Santa.
Roco fainted in that moment, unaware that the jolly man could understand animals. Sage fanned her friend with the cupcake liner she still had, hoping he would wake up and explain everything. As Roco started to come to, Santa stood nearby, with a concerned look on his face.
Roco sat up, explaining to his friends who Santa was and how he travelled around the world on Christmas Eve, leaving gifts for the young humans under the indoor trees. Santa smiled as he listened to the woodland creature.
“That’s right my furry little friend. However, I seemed to have lost my reindeer. They were attached to my sleigh but seem to have run away after the crash. Have you seen them?” asked Santa. “They all have bells on them, so it should not be hard to find them.”
Berry and Nutsy sprang into action, using the tree branches to get around the forest faster. In a few moments, the twins had spread the word to other animals that lived in the forest that the harnessed creatures were on the loose. Roco and Sage also started searching the forest, hoping to help Santa get on his way and finish his big night.
Arthur and Santa stayed within the glow, looking high and low for the red cap with white trim. As they searched for the headpiece, the sounds of bells started coming into earshot, revealing a reindeer each time.
With the help of the forest animals, eight tiny reindeer were soon fastened to the sleigh, which held a large bag in the back. There were a lot of boxes of various sizes, in a multitude of colours and patterns, sitting inside the bag. Santa, who still was hatless, reached inside the sack, pulling out a small box and handing one to each animal that helped him with the rescue.
As Santa turned to Arthur, he no longer had any boxes in his arms.
“I’m sorry old friend, it looks like I do not have a gift here for you. Please forgive me.”
Arthur grumbled and gave a look of disappointment but nodded to Santa as much to say he understood. Santa patted Arthur on the shoulder, then he turned to climb back into his mode of transportation. Arthur watched the ensemble float off the ground, with Santa waving down to all the critters before shooting off into the night sky. The forest was once again dark, with sounds of Roco, Sage, Berry and Nutsy chattering incessantly about what just happened. Arthur knew he would not be able to get any sleep due to the smaller animals’ excitement of the evening’s events. But all he wanted to do was go back to his den to sleep.
Arthur had managed to reach the opening of his den, when he heard the sounds of the bells ringing once more. He looked up to find Santa in his sleigh, saying thank you and giving him a smile, a wink and a wave. Arthur smiled back before entering his home, where he was surprised by a bright red velvet hat with white trim, waiting for him to place atop his head before settling in for the winter’s rest.
