T’was the Night before Christmas
Alittle mouse lived in a small hole, in the wall of a small house. In this house lived a small boy and his grandmother. Every night the boy’s grandmother would tell stories or recite poems before tucking the boy into bed. The boy enjoyed listening to these and so did the little mouse, who quietly sat by his small door, enjoying the stories by Grandma. As Christmas came closer, most of these stories and poems turned out to be about Christmas and both the boy and the little mouse loved listening to them even more.
One night Grandma recited a famous poem;
“T’was the night before
Christmas,
When all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a mouse!”
The little mouse couldn’t contain his giggles after hearing this. “Squeak!” he chuckled. “What was that?” the boy and Grandma looked around. The little mouse quickly hid behind his little door and closed his mouth with his paws. He then slowly peeped out again. “Was that a rat?” asked Grandma, sounding worried. The boy looked around and saw the tiny pair of round eyes staring at him from the small hole in the wall. But when he saw how scared the mouse looked, he didn’t feel like telling his Grandma that there was a mouse in the room. So he decided to keep quiet about it. “Please continue with the poem Grandma,” he urged her, as if nothing had happened.
The little mouse waited till Grandma left and slowly came out. “Thank you!” he said to the boy who stared at him without even blinking. “If you told Grandma about me, she would have chased me from here!”
“She’s a nice person but she’s just scared of mice,” shrugged the little boy. “Do you also listen to her stories and poems?”
“I do,” said the mouse, “I especially love the Christmas stories about beautifully decorated Christmas trees and presents. But I’ve never celebrated Christmas! “
“Why not little mouse?” asked the boy.
“Because I live alone, you see.
I have no family. Also I am very poor. I don’t even have a cloth to cover myself from the cold,” answered the little mouse. The boy felt very sad.
“Why won’t you join us for Christmas lunch?” asked the boy.
“I don’t think Grandma would like that very much,” sighed the mouse and crept back into his hole feeling very sad.
The next night the little boy and the little mouse, listened to another one of Grandma’s Christmas stories. “Christmas is about love. It’s about sharing and togetherness.”
“Grandma, can I share with a less fortunate one this Christmas?” asked the boy.
“Of course,” said Grandma and the little boy smiled. He had someone in mind.
A couple of days before Christmas, the little mouse looked out of his little door, to talk to his new friend, the little boy. But the boy seemed very busy with something and hardly even came to his room. The little mouse went back into his burrow and sobbed, feeling lonely. He listened to Grandma singing a beautiful Christmas carol about love and sharing happiness that night. The little mouse wiped his tears and went to sleep.
It was the day before Christmas. The little mouse got up after his afternoon nap. When he looked at his little door, he noticed that something was blocking it. He wondered what was going on and who had blocked his door. “Maybe Grandma found out about me. Maybe she closed the door so that I can’t come into their house anymore!” panicked the little mouse.
But when he went near the door, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There were lots of little presents kept outside his door almost completely blocking it. The little mouse came out to observe. “These are all for you my little friend,” said the little boy, smiling brightly.
“You are so kind!” said the little mouse. “No one likes me because I am a poor little mouse. But you have been very kind to me!” The mouse opened his gifts one by one. There was a piece of a nice, warm blanket to cover him and food and other things to make him comfortable.
The little mouse was so touched.
“Today is Christmas Eve. Aren’t you putting up a beautiful Christmas tree, like the ones in Grandma’s stories?” asked the little mouse. The boy shook his head sadly. “We don’t have any money for decorations,” he sighed.
It was the night before Christmas. The boy and the little mouse listened to Grandma’s Christmas story. She kissed the little boy goodnight and turned the light off. The little mouse came out. “Come near the window my friend,” he told the little boy, “I have a surprise for you!” The boy got out of his bed and went near his window. The small evergreen tree outside his window was shining and sparkling as if it was decorated with a thousand lights.
It was twinkling like it was covered with stars. When he opened the window the light fell inside his room and the house. “What a beautiful Christmas tree!” he shouted in surprise. “This is my gift for you!” said the little mouse. “I got my you.”
“What a wonderful Christmas this turned out to be!” smiled the boy.
“T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Christmas lights were sparkling, decorated by