THE PUDDLE PIXIES CHRISTMAS STORY 2017- CHRISTMAS WISHES

Puddle Pixie Joshua was Very worried – his Nanna Puddle Pixie Pat had been quite unwell for several months; she had not been able to run and play with him and his brothers and cousins like she usually did, and little Oliver and young Oakley had been told very sternly by their Mum Puddle Pixie Sarah that although Nanna could still give them her special hugs, they were not allowed to jump on her as they might hurt her poorlies.

This was a bit hard for the littlies to understand, but Joshua, as the eldest, could see for himself how dear Nanna had got thin and pale, and had to keep going into the big hospital in the faraway town on the other side of the Murky Puddle, where he had been taken himself once or twice after being injured playing puddleball. Mummy had explained that they were giving Nanna very strong special medicine to help her get better, which was rather puzzling to Joshua, as he saw that each time Nanna returned from these visits she was even thinner and paler than before, and he and his brothers were sometimes not even allowed to visit her for several days.

One day, just before Nanna’s birthday, they visited her and saw her wearing a strange sort of hat. Little Oliver pointed to her and laughed: ‘Why are you wearing that pirate’s hat Nanna? Are we going to play a pirate game?’ Nanna just smiled and said: ‘No, dear, it’s just because the medicine has made my hair fall out, so I’m wearing this special scarf to stop my head getting cold’.

Joshua felt very sad at this, as Nanna ad beautiful long golden hair, and he couldn’t imagine her without it. In fact he felt so sad that he went up to his room and had a little cry, shutting the door so as not to upset his younger brothers. Downstairs, the littler boys just carried on as usual, though they kept sneaking sideways glances at Nannas pirate hat.

They had three first cousins, Sophie, and twins Hannah and Amy. They soon arrived but were not so surprised to see their Nan in a pirate hat, for their Mum Puddle Pixie Amanda had explained things carefully to them, being quite a lot older than the boys.

And as the golden Autumn turned to sparkling Winter, the PP children grew accustomed to their nans’ hats and headscarves, and were not particularly surprised when one day she told them she would have to go back into hospital for another operation., as the first one had not got rid of all the nasty stuff that was causing her sickness.

Christmas was fast approaching, and the three boys were looking forward to the Christmas Tree Festival, which took place every year. It was run by the very elderly Louis the Lumberjack Puddle Pixie, who lived in the Dark Dark Forest, taking care of the beautiful trees that grew there.

In a special clearing he would decorate the circle of trees; not necessarily the tallest or most perfect, but also the smaller, less showy ones, or those not quite the usual colour or shape.  All of them looked resplendent in their finery; the red berries of the holly and the white of the mistletoe looked like precious jewels against the deep green of the pines and firs.  They looked even more beautiful when it snowed, with the frost sparkling like a million diamonds.

The boys were so excited to be visiting the Festival on Saturday with their parents! They were meeting their Auntie and Uncle and cousins there too.  They had been busy all week, each making a very special decoration upon which they had written their own Very Special Wish for the Christmas season.  Last year, all their wishes had come true, and so they hoped the same would happen this year. Both sets of parents were anxious to know what the children had wished for, as was Father Christmas himself, who personally checked out all the tree wishes.

They walked round the tree circle, and all six children together chose a rather small, slightly thin and bent little tree that no-one had yet hung their wishes on, and each child carefully placed their bauble. Then the little tree, which had looked a little sad and droopy before, seemed to stand with its head up proudly, as the light from a single star high in the heavens shone its light directly on each child’s wish.

The parents stepped forward to read their childrens’ wishes, and Father Christmas, watching secretly through his magic telescope on the top of his elves’ workshop, leaned forward to read the messages.  The adults all gasped with surprise: every one of the baubles read:-

‘I don’t want anything except for my Nanna to get well. This is my only Christmas wish’.

Then each was signed with the Puddle Pixie’s name, although they did suspect that little Oakley’s big brother had helped him with his.

Meanwhile, at the other end of Puddledom, near the Fairpuddle, their second cousins, Puddle Pixies Jack, Luke, Billy, Alex, Natty, Matthew, Caitlin and new baby Rosie, were doing the same thing at their Christmas Tree Festival in the nearby Wild Wild Wood.  Father Christmas and the parents noticed that none of these children also had asked for anything for themselves, and their wishes were all the same:-

I don’t want anything except for my Great Auntie Puddle Pixie Pat to get well. This is my only Christmas Wish’.

The PP families at each far end of Puddledom shed tears of sadness and pride at the love and unselfishness shown by their children. Father Christmas too wiped away a tear and blew his nose on his new white hanky, for much as he would have loved to grant the only wish of all these children, he knew it was beyond even his considerable magic powers.  A bike, a dolly, roller skates – yes, easy peasy – but to cure their beloved elder – he could not do it.

He decided to contact his old friend the most magical Lord Merlin, though he had his doubts that even he could do such a miracle.

He picked up his magic snowglobe by which he communicated with his friend. He did have one of these new-fangled pocket sized communication machines, but he much preferred traditional methods.  Shaking up the snow, he said the magic words:

‘Merlin, Lord of sky and sea, dear old friend, please visit me!’

As he shook the globe, a wrinkled old face appeared, with a long beard and a big smile.

‘Hello Santa, what can I do for you?’

Father Christmas explained the situation.

Merlin frowned. ‘I’m so sorry my friend, but even I, the greatest wizard in all the wide wide world and beyond, cannot grant these wishes. The best I can do is to sprinkle some magic dust over the wishing trees, and get you Santa to say a special spell which I will send.  Bye bye for now. Good Luck.’

And with a flash and a bang he was gone. Just a small slip of paper floated gently down to the earth.  Santa picked it up and read in his best loud voice:

‘To the Wise One up there in the sky

Do not make these children cry

Help their Elder all you can.

Merry Christmas, Holy Magic Man’.

There was another flash and a shower of sparkling snowflakes descended all around.

‘Well’ said Santa ‘That’s all we can do, now we must wait and see’.

Christmas Eve dawned bright and frosty, just as it should. Footprints in the freshly fallen snow showed where little Puddle Pixie feet had been up to see whether their wishes were still on the tree.  Some of the trees still bore their wishes, but both little trees which Nanna Pats’ families had hung their wishes on were clad only with a dusting of snow, and frosty holly and ivy and mistletoe sprigs.  The children looked at each other with wonder, for there on the very top of their tree was the brightest star they had ever seen.  Looking closer, they saw that across the centre of the star, on both trees,  flashing bright gold, was one word:   HOPE.

That night, reassured by this shimmering message, all the little Puddle Pixies slept soundly in their beds, not bothered at all by the fact that they were expecting nothing in their stockings in the morning; for not only already did they have the greatest gift of all, the blessing of the LOVE of their families and friends, but they now also had the great gift of:

 HOPE.

Merry Christmas everyone xxx