Our Newest Christmas... errr... CHINmas story, free to all of our wonderful friends
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The Year that Finn Saved Chinmas
Chapter One: Finny Did You Know
A cold wind blew down out of the sky, past the tall trees that stood majestically… but mostly naked of leaves… in the Yard that Goes on Forever and caused the Old Brown House to shudder in it’s cold chill. The Sun had traded his summer heat for fall coolness, and now it was starting to turn into winter… did this mean that snow was not far away? The four Chindren, Sophie Chin, Bitty Chin, Dingus Little and Finn Chin all huddled together on the big red deck and looked out over the nearly barren Yard that Goes on Forever. The grass was covered with colorful leaves and most of the flowers that marked the peoples garden were now bent and wilted. It was mostly sad… mostly, except for the Chintastic thought of what was coming next.
“Hmmm… the wind has blown away the greens and blues and replaced them with the browns and grays. And the browns and grays always mean that it’s almost CHINMASTIME!!” exclaimed the very excited little Sophie Chin, “I wonder what Santy Paws will bring me this year? I’ve been AWFULLY good!!” Sophie Chin often over-estimated her goodness… and her beauty… and her knowledge… and her size, and others did not hesitate to speak about it, although they were speaking to mostly deaf ears.
“Humph!” mumbled Huckleberry Finnegan Chin to himself, and everyone else who was listening NOT named Sophie Chin, “She was at least the AWFUL part of that word! She wasn’t very, LY! That’s for sure!” Finn, being the most delicate and shy of the Clan of the Round Man, often was the butt of most jokes and on the receiving end of the feast of teasing the others dished out.
“Dumbchin says WHAT?” Sophie Chin replied quickly and she spoke very fast.
“What?” asked Finn Chin, who didn’t understand her quick speak and slurred words.
“I thought so, replied Sophie Chin, and then she giggled uncontrollably “Dumb Chin…”
Dingus Little and Bitty Chin joined in the teasing with chanting in unison, “Dumbchin… dumb chin…dumb chin…dumb chin…”
Finn ran to the other end of the big red deck and stuffed his head in a wooden box where the people keep the small black rocks that cook the good tasting food on the outside food maker. This was a solid plan, designed to quiet his attackers and put him in control. And it was working, mostly, until Finn realized the noise didn’t get any quieter and… sadly… his head was stuck in the box.
“OH NO!!!” he cried out… “I AM A DUMB CHIN!!”
“You are certainly not a dumb Chin” a familiar and powerful voice chimed in, “You are CHIN… and we are not dumb. In fact, we are the brightest of the bright and all other species look up to our breed. We are the majestic and the mighty, the Chosen Ones. WE are CHIN and that is all we ever need be… the descendent of the First One, the bloodline to Royalty. THAT is who you are, Mr. Finn, that is who WE are. I don’t think that is very dumb at all, do you?”
“Oldest One, is that you?” meekly asked the still stuck Finn.
“Yes, my Dear… why don’t you come out of your hiding place now”, replied the Oldest One… the very oldest Chin to ever live inside or outside of the Old Brown House. She was as old as time, or so the story was told. She arrived at the Old Brown House when it wasn’t so old and the trees weren’t so tall. She had seen countless sunny days and moonlite night. Some said that she had celebrated so many Chinmas mornings that Santy himself was not as old as the Oldest One. “Someday, Finn Chin, you will learn to stand on your own… you will stop hiding and defend yourself. YOU are a fine, strong and very wise young Chin. You should never think poorly of yourself, regardless of what others might say. Only YOU know your true heart, Finnegan. Only YOU know the good inside yourself. It’s up to you to find your voice and never allow others to dictate who you are today, tomorrow or EVER. I believe in you, my darling boy. But, in the end, what I believe simply doesn’t matter. Stand up for yourself, find your inner voice, believe in yourself, Finn… BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!”
“Well… Oldest One… I would like to come out but, I think I am mostly stuck in here!” said Finn Chin in a matter-of-a-fact tone. “Yep, my head is pretty well jammed in here and I can’t get out!” He sat quietly for a moment, not moving much, “Isn’t this about the time when you tell me not to worry so much because everything will be okay??? Then you do something magical and I’m suddenly not so stuck anymore? I figure that is about to happen right… about… NOW!”
“Hmmmm, Mr. Finn. I don’t believe you heard anything I’ve said today… The Round Man always told me that if you know the answer to the question before you ask it… it doesn’t make much sense to have someone else tell you how it all ends?” And with that, the Oldest One turned and walked back to the door at back of the big red deck… scratched once on the bottom… and waited as a lady peoples let her into the Old Brown House.
Dingus Little, Bitty and Sophie watched through the screens on the door, in amazement, as the Oldest One stopped for a drink and a bite of soft food at the snack place in the room where the good foods were made… and then she walked down the Hall to the resting room and disappeared inside. The trio of Chin mouths popped open as they realized the Oldest One, their wise Auntie May, was not going to come to Finn’s rescue this time.
“I’m guessing she’s not standing out there any longer…” Finn Chin said rather flatly “… and that is really not good news for me, since I’m still mostly stuck in here!” He tried to pull out of the box but his collar was stick on the latch… he tried to turn his head but his bib and mane were getting stuck on the wood splinters. “I don’t suppose anyone left out there could help?” He said to his siblings, who were still all in shock that their Auntie had left Finn in this predicament.
“Okay… this is NOT my fault” reasoned Sophie Chin, even thought this was mostly her fault “But I will help you because I’m tired of looking at your smelly butt. Why don’t you try turning your head AS you gently pull, then back out?” Suddenly all the things that were very funny a moment ago were not so humor filled any longer.
Finn turned his head slightly and pulled back… this did not free the stuck pup. “Still stuck, Sophie” admitted Finn, not panicking.
“Try holding your breath and backing up” advised Bitty Chin, who was a well known know-it-all who actually knew very little. “I am very sure that will free you.”
Finn took a deep breath and tried backing up. His collar was still hooked onto the latch and he was unable to break free. “I wonder if Chin can eat these black rocks. They do not smell very good but I am getting awfully hungry! They are SURELY not ribby bones… I can tell you that.”
“Here is how you will get free, Brother” stated Dingus Little, the biggest of the Chindren, “tense your tummy till it’s very tight, then back up.”
Finn tensed his tummy and tried to back up but he felt his fur stick to a loose splinter in the box, so he stopped. “That did not work, either” he said, rather sadly.
The others shouted out other suggestions, scratched their heads, pretended to be Finn so they could see the problem from his point of view, they even chased their tails… well, only Dingus Little chased his tail and that was because he was pretty bored with helping his brother. This entire time, Finn Chin was considering the things Auntie May had said to him earlier. Stand up for yourself… believe in yourself… don’t be afraid… those words swirled around in his head like the very wind that was blowing around the Yard That Goes on Forever. As the other three continued to talk and ponder and plan… Finn Chin took action!
“I will NOT be afraid any longer! I BELIEVE IN ME!” He shouted out to the dark and dirty air inside of the box that housed his still stuck head. Finn searched deep down inside himself and found his inner voice, which told him to do all the things the others had suggested… but to do them together at the same exact moment. So he held his breath, while tightening his tummy, while turning his head and backing up. He even added squinting his eyes and growling like an angry dog because that is what his brain told him to do! All of those acts together created a rather large movement inside of Finn and as he back up, the holding of his breath and tightening of his tummy created a large air bubble that popped out of his… butt… making a large noise which startled him and caused him to jump upward and that unhooked his collar and, along with the backing up and turning his head popped him free from the box. Finn sat down on the deck and looked around… the others stared at him in disbelief. “I found my inner voice” Finn said to them all.
“Too bad your inner voice sounds like a fart!” said Dingus Little with truth in his tone.
“Too bad your inner voice SMELLS like a fart!” giggled Sophie Chin as she shook her head to get the smell of Finns inner voice out of her nose.
All the Chindren, including the newly independent Huckleberry Finnegan Chin, laughed together. As they laughed and Bitty Chin retold the story from her superior point of view… they heard a noise behind them.
“I see you are now mostly unstuck, Finn Chin! I am very glad to see your beautiful Chin face and not just your behind. So, what was the answer to your earlier question, Mr. Finn?” asked the Oldest One, who had quietly rejoined them during the most important part of the excitement.
“Hello, Oldest One, I am glad you came back outside with us. When all seemed lost and nobody had the answer in their brains… I heard your voice telling me to find my inner voice and believe in myself. Once I did that, I didn’t need someone telling me what to do. I simply trusted my own brain and did what it told me.” Finn confided in his Auntie.
“Very good, my child” smiled the Oldest One as she looked down on the dirty faced and ruffled Finn Chin. She lay down next to him and gently licked the black dust from his whiskers and face. “You know, Finn, today your learned that you do not need Sophie or Bitty or Dingus Little… or even the Oldest One… to solve your problems. Each of us, my boy, each of us has the ability and duty to be in charge of our own lives, to be in charge of ourselves. It’s great to have others who love and care for you… but in the end; you must look inward to answer life’s most difficult mysteries.”
Finn laid down never to his Auntie May and placed his head on her paws, “Does this mean I’m too big now to have an Auntie May to take care of me?” he asked sheepishly and a bit saddened.
“Of course not, child” the Oldest One reassured him. “I will be with you as long as I am allowed to stay here at the Old Brown House… and even after I have left to be with my Father I will be in your heart and brain. You will never be too big to be loved by your Auntie.” She placed her tail around his furry shoulders and massaged his neck. “However, you are growing up so fast that someday you’ll outgrow the need for me. The time is coming, Finnegan Chin, when you’ll need to make choices on your own… important choices. Today you’ve learned where your inner voice lives and you’ve learned to believe in yourself.”
Finn smiled and wagged his mostly black tail with the dirty white tip, “I did, didn’t I”.
The Oldest One turned to the others, who were listening intently to the conversation and were very impressed with how Finn had freed himself… except for the entire farting part, which was not very good at all. “So, my Chindren… we all know that the snow is coming and with the snow comes…”
“SANTY PAWS!!” they all yelled together!
“And what do each of you want for Chinmas this year, my dears” asked the Oldest One… knowing she was about to be bombarded with four Chin voices, each trying to be heard above the others. She smiled to herself, remembering when the Round Man would sit with her in front of the inside tree that only appeared near Chinmas. He would ask her that very question and she would rattle on for an hour, listing all the things she wanted from Santy Paws. She could see the time of Chinmas morning and how Santy Paws had come again, without waking her or without her seeing him. She would run around wildly in the morning, sniffing every package and fly to the sleeping room over and over as she tried to get her Father up to open the gifts. She remembered how it felt to be so young and so excited, how she envied these Chinden. She smiled as she watched four sets of expressions, motions and wild eyes describe the wonder they would see on Chinmas morning and the barely controlled excitement as they told of the treasures Santy Paws would bring them. She marveled at the imaginations of youth and the difference in personality and purpose of each of her Chindren… my how she loved this pack of scruffy youngsters.
In their brains, the Holiday was all planned and they had to do was count the exciting Chin days and hours until it arrived. However, this Chinmas would bring a whole different level of excitement to the Old Brown House, something they never expected… something they would never believe! For this was the special time spoken about in Chin history. This was the time that H. Finnegan Chin met Santy Paws and had to save Chinmas.
Chapter Two: doG Rest Ye Merry ChintleMen
“… the Round Man in his big pants with me next to his head, on a pillow I lay in our soft, cozy bed. We watched the backs of our eyelids and thought of Chinmas so dear… and if Santy did come, I would have nothing to fear”, The Oldest One recited the words to a story that her Father had told her every year for all of her youth. Her four young charges all lay in a pile on the floor in front of the tree that was indoors at Chinmas time. She was hoping telling of this story would relax all four sets of big round eyes that waited for Santy Paws to arrive and, perhaps, they would start to stare at the inside of their eyelids instead of staring at her for hours… and answers. For you see, this was the night that they had waited two hundred Chin years (or fourty peoples days) to arrive. This was Chinmas Eve and by the next morning, Santy would have come and gone, leaving them untold wonders and things they had asked him to bring. This was the night of magic and merriment. This was the night before Chinmas.
“Auntie” asked Dingus Little, stopping her story telling in mid-tale, “Is Santy real? Some people say he is nothing but a fig mint of a magic nation”. Dingus turned and stared at Bitty Chin. It was obvious that she was the one who had put this idea, strange and fragmented as it was, into the brain of Dingus Little.
The Oldest One shook her head slowly, “That phrase is actually a figment of your imagination… it means that Santy only lives your brain… is that what YOU believe, Dingus Little?”
“OH NO, Auntie May… Santy could not only live in my brain” said Dingus, confidently. “My brain is not nearly big enough for such a fat man to live in!!”
“True” offered Sophie Chin, who often butted into conversations to hear her own voice smack in the in middle of the matter, “But Finn Chin has plenty of room in his head because he has no brain to fill it up!”
The Oldest One chuckled to herself at the unknowing humor the small Chins had spoken. She then turned to Bitty Chin and looked down her black button Chin nose at the little dog, “and is that what YOU believe about Santy, Bitty Chin?” As Bitty Chin took a deep breath so she could start a long winded response, Auntie May continued, “because, you do realize that those who do not believe in Santy Paws will no longer receive his good graces and gifts …”
There was a sizeable pause after the Oldest One spoke as Bitty Chin chose her next words wisely and carefully, “Oh no, Auntie… that is just a story I heard falling down from the treetops when I was relaxing on the big red deck. I’m quite sure that the Army of Angry Squirrels was discussing it and that is where I heard that awful story.” Bitty Chin’s eyes darted to and fro as she quickly checked out the others in the room to see if everyone looked as though they believed her.
“I see…” nodded Auntie May, not buying the story for a moment.
Finn Chin, not moving his eyes from staring out the window at the Real World, thought for a moment… and then spoke, “Santy Paws lives out there” and he pointed out into the darkness that surrounded the Old Brown House, “at the very far end of the North Pole”, and then H. Finnegan Chin looked back at the rest of his pack, “and he lives HERE”, and he pointed at his chest, “In all of our hearts. ‘Cause you see, without our love and without our hearts and without our true believes in our brains… Santy won’t exist at all. So we all have to believe.” Finn turned back to the glass window that looked out into the Real World and smiled. “One day, I will be the very first Chin to meet Santy Paws… because I love him with all my heart and brain”.
Auntie May smiled at the mostly black Finn and moved closer to him, gently placing herself at his side, “I love you, Finnegan Chin… your heart is big enough to place the entire real world inside, and still have room to keep it safe and let it grow larger”. She draped her tail over his back and hugged him gently.
One by one, the Chindren each closed their eyes and prepared to stare at the back of their eyelids, hoping that Santy would not forget them this year. Soon, it was just the Oldest One and Finnegan Chin still awake on this cold and snowy night.
“Auntie… do YOU believe in Santy?” Asked Finn as he yawned so hard and long that the Oldest One could see the very tip of his tail from the inside out.
She thought for a moment to make sure she could give the best answer possible to this very delicate question, “Do I believe a stranger, an overweight and jolly man peoples, can come out of nowhere, give you things and make you happy? I surely do, Mr. Finn. For you see, I had a very Round Man come to me once and he gave me the best present of all… he gave me a chance at forever… and then he made me happy every day we were together. If it happened for me, why can’t it happen for every Chindren in the real world?” Auntie May looked over at H. Finnegan Chin, only to discover he was now fast asleep. “I guess your meeting with Santy will have to wait till next year, won’t it Finn Chin? Or maybe he will make you wait a lifetime…” and with that, she kissed him, very lightly and lovingly, on his slightly dirty forehead.
The Oldest chin ever to live looked over her four young charges and then parked her old bones in front of the tree that showed up inside the Old Brown House every year at Chinmas time. For as long as she could remember she would lie in front of that tree, just knowing that Santy Paws would wake her as he placed her presents on the floor all around her. However, each Chinmas morning she would awaken to find that he had arrived and left with nobody at the Brown House stirring… not even a mouse. She closed her cloudy old eyes… just for a moment… so she could rest them from a long day of caring for the Chindren when, the next thing she knew, she was watching the back of her eyelids.
The Old Brown House grew very quiet… the peoples were all tucked into their sleeping rooms… the Chindren were all piled around the room with the big glass window that looked out into the real world and all the other creatures that lived in the yard that goes on forever and out in the real world were also watching the backs of their eyelids as they waited for Chinmas morning. When suddenly… on the rooftop… there rose such a clatter that it was amazing they all didn’t awake to see what was the matter!
It grew quiet again for a moment, then a wisp of white smoke appeared next to the inside tree and that smoke got larger and began to change from white to red. The, like magic, it was no longer smoke but, instead, it was a large and very round peoples… dressed all in red with white trim and coal black boots. The man stopped for a moment and looked around the room with the big glass window that looked out into the real world. He spied the forms of the five small dogs lying together… but not together… and he smiled such a wide smile that his cheeks turned rosy red. After observing the Chindren and their very old Auntie, the jolly man peoples in the soft red suit went right his work. He placed presents around the tree, filled stockings with treats, snacked on some cookies and a bit of milk… then he turned with a jerk. And as he turned a single sparkle of glitter fell from his hat and spiraled down to the floor, landing on the head of one snoozing Huckleberry Finnegan Chin.
Finn stirred for a moment as he slowly pulled himself out of his brain and into the world of the Old Brown House. His eyes opened a crack… then a half… then back to a crack… then WIDE OPEN as he mistakenly realized that it was CHINMAS MORNING!!! He bolted to full awake and looked at the floor around the inside tree. “OH MY dOG!” he whispered to himself, “CHINMAS HAS COME!”
Just feet from him, a very round man peoples with very black boots placed a finger on the side of his nose and said “with the love of the ages and from my heart filled with joy… I bid farewell to you all, every man, woman and boy”.
The figure slowly started to change from peoples form to red smoke and it was at that exact moment Finnegan Chin saw him from the corner of his very big and very round eyes.
“SANTY PAWS!!!” Finnegan shouted as he bolted towards the figure, now mostly engulfed in red smoke that was turning to white. The small dog leaped in the air and right into the center of the smoke… and magically, H. Finnegan Chin turned into a small ball of black and white smoke. With nothing more than a swirl of wind and a barely audible “pop”… the smoke, along with Huckleberry Finnegan Chin, was GONE!
Chapter Three: Silent Finn, Noisy Finn
Snow was flying sideways as the wind whipped in the dark sky. The round man in the red suit sat in the front of the bright red sleigh with the golden runners and holly green trim. He urged his beasts onward and upward into the black night, pleading with them to clear the rooftops and the tall chimneys out in the Real World.
“On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen… up Comet, up Cupid, up Donder and Blitzen. To the tops of the roofs, past the tops of the walls… not dash away, dash away, dash away all”, demanded of his couriers. “Come on team, we have miles to go and only a short time to them in”.
Santy looked out into the midnight horizon and smiled widely as he puffed on his corn cob pipe and stroked his long white beard. As he looked over the side of his flying carriage, he noticed the bustle of the Real World… the movement in the night that was continuous below him.
“You know team”, he shouted to his reindeer escorts, “I remember the time when we flew around the world and only saw the lights of candles in windows and fires in the darkness”. He tilted his head as he reminisced of Chinmas Eves past, “Those were simple days of dolls for girls, toy soldiers for boys and candy or crackers in the stockings. Today is so much more complicated with the video games and music players, cell phones or i-pods”.
Santy reached into the floor of the sleigh and pulled out a small black bag. He reached deep in the pouch and pulled out a pinch of a green, red, silver and gold powder… then he gently released it into the air out and away from the flying machine. As the powder fell down to the Real World below… all the fast-moving lights of the glass boxes on wheels, all the clocks on the buildings, all of the peoples out walking or skating or sledding, why they all slowed down. In fact, the slowed down so much that the seemed to almost stand still.
Huckleberry Finnegan Chin peered out of the very top of the big toy bag in the cargo bay of the sleigh and watched the show happening before his big, round chin eyes. With each word, each story, as each scene of the fantasy of the jolly old elf unfolded for real just feet in front of him… Finn grew more and more excited. The black and white stowaway was able to keep his composure the entire time, right up to the point where Santy sprinkled the magic dust and slowed down the real world to a snails pace. That act of magic was too much for him to contain, to much for him to squish deep down inside his brain, heart and stomach.
“WOW”, Finn chirped from his lofty perch on top of the big bag of gifts for all the Chindren of the Real World, “It’s all REAL… ALL OF IT IS REAL”!
Santy Paws slowly, very slowly in deed, turned his head to the right and looked over his shoulder, only to find that he had picked up more than he had dropped off at the Old Brown House.
“Down to the rooftop below”, he bellowed out orders to this team… and DOWN they went in a hurry, using the roof of a house that was NOT Finnegan home as a runway and landing pad. Santy turned around in the seat and opened the top of the bag. His coal black eye popped wide open and almost swallowed his glasses when they saw what was in his bag of presents. “Oh my… oh my, my… oh my, my, my… this is not good… this has never happened… never indeed… this is highly irregular… highly, highly irregular”, he barked out in his jolly old voice.
“Even when he’s not so happy, he still sound like he’s Santy”, thought Finn to himself, looking the giant elf in the eyes.
“I am not happy indeed”, Santy assured his unwanted passenger.
Finn spoke with a slow and shocked expression on his face, “You could hear my voice in my brain, Santy”, he questioned?
Santy stared for a moment with a frown on his face, then he burst out laughing, “Of course I can hear your thoughts, Huckleberry Finnegan Chin. How do you think I know if you are naughty or nice. I know all and see all, my small friend… and what I see RIGHT NOW, is a Chin that should be home staring at the back of his eyelids and seeing visions of Chinmas morning. But, instead, I see that same Chin sitting in my bag of toys and treats. How could THAT have come to be”.
Finn scratched his head with this back foot and shrugged his shoulders. He knew he could not fib to Santy Paws, since Santy could look inside his brain and see the real things that were happening up there. “Well, Santy… all I’s knows is that I woked up and saw you. When I ranned over to jump up to see you, next thing I know, I’m just smoke… like from the fire that the Father builds sometimes out in the yard that goes on forever. Then we was here, looking at the Real World moving very slow, like Finn when he is peeing on everything in the yard”.
Santy laughed from the bottom of his belly and he shook… well… like bowl full of Jell-o, “Oh my goodness sakes, little man… you have had a night of it, HO-HO-HO”!
Dasher, the lead reindeer, walked up next to Santy and cleared his throat, “Umm… Santa” he said in a deep deer tone, “we have a bit of a…. umm… situation in progress”.
“What, what”, questioned Santy Paws, “What is happening”?
Dasher tilted his head to the side and grimaced a bit, “It appears that Dancer and Vixen have their antlers tangled… and I mean tangled good. They can’t seem to separate themselves. So… we can’t take off and get back to our work until we can get them apart”.
“HOW… HOW can THAT happen”, Santy cried out, “We were only on the ground for moment, what in the REAL WORLD caused this” he questioned.
Dasher looked everywhere but at Santy, trying to avoid his angry and upset glance, “Reindeer Games”, Dasher blurted out. “We landed and they decided to find out who could butt harder”.
Santy shook his head slowly in a “NO” fashion. He was not pleased, not at all… in fact, he said just that, “I’m not pleased, not at all, Dasher. I ask for professional reindeering for ONE night a year. ONE, mind you… not two, not 12, not 364… JUST ONE NIGHT. And could we have that? NO- NO- NO”!!
Dasher shook his head no to match Santy’s sway, “No Sir, obviously, we lacked that professionalism. I’m very sorry, Santa”.
Santy stroked his beard and bunched up his nose, “Not your fault, Dasher… not at all. Deer will be Deer, now won’t they. Our problem becomes, WHAT DO WE DO NOW”?
Santy looked at Dasher, Dasher looked at Finn, Finn looked at Santy and they all shrugged their shoulders. Unless they could unstick two very stuck reindeer… Chinmas just might not come this year!
“Well, let’s look at this tangled web we’ve woven”, chuckled Santy… who surprisingly found some humor in every situation.
Santy jumped down from the sleigh and reached up to the top of the toy bag to lift down H. Finnegan Chin. They joined Dasher on the top of the roof and walked over to the tangled pair. Santy looked over the locked horns on his Reindeer, he pulled a bit and twisted to one side… then he scratched his head and stroked his white beard. Then he put a foot on Vixens chest, and a foot on Dancers chest and he pulled back so hard that he lifted off the ground but STILL the horns didn’t pop loose. Dasher paced like a worried new father, back and forth and back and for, wearing a path in the snow on the roof.
“Oh dear, oh dear… OH DEERS” he mumbled to himself. HE stopped for a moment and his head popped up, as if he had an idea that just jumped up in his brain, “Santa… what if them both bent over and pulled back at the same time? You know, like a reindeer dance. They DIP and twirl, DIP and twirl… what do you think”?
Santa thought for a moment and shook his head in approval, “Could be… could be, Dasher. Right good thinking, old man”, he patted Dasher on the head and continued to nod. Then he turned to Vixen and Dasher, “let’s try it boys… just like at the great Reindeer dance and dinner. You DIP and you TWIRL”.
Everyone on the roof held their breath as the duo of deer lifted slightly up and dipped down hard, then they twisted in opposite directions. Their antlers scraped and scratched but, sadly, they DID NOT come apart.
“NOOOO” cried out Dasher.
Santy looked at the distraught Dasher, “Now, now my lad… we’re not sunk yet. Let’s all think, think hard. What would Mamma do”?
“What would the Mrs. do, Santa” questioned Dasher, knowing that Mrs. Santy had gotten everyone out of some sticky wickets before. When there was a problem that required tender loving care and a quick mind… Santy called in the big gun, his wife Adaline.
“Well, when Gribble the elf was stuck in the candy jar, she got him out… right” asked and answered Dasher, “and she used…”
“BACON GREASE”, said Santy and Dasher together.
Santy jumped up in the air and twirled around in a fancy spin and floated back down to the ground, “THAT’S IT! Good thinking Dasher. We will grease them up”!
Finnegan Chin raised his paw and asked a question in a small and quiet voice, “But who has bacon… or grease”?
A general loud moan rose up from the crowd on the roof. There was no bacon, which made Finn especially sad… because he was a tad hungry after being turned into smoke and thinking so hard about stuck deer.
Santy hung his head for a moment… then he snapped it back up and he had a twinkle in his eye. “So, boys… we don’t have bacon grease. But what do we use to make sure the joints of the sleigh don’t squeak and what do we use on the runners of the sleigh so we can glide across grass if there isn’t any snow”, the jolly round man said with a smile.
“WE… USE… AXEL… GREASE” shouted out Dasher, as if he has won a prize!
“Indeed we do”, agreed Santy Paws, “so let’s get some of the axel grease and rub it all over their antlers”!
Dasher was way ahead of Santy and had already scraped some of the grease free from the joints and runners of the sled. He rubbed it all over Dancer and Vixen’s stuck antlers, paying special attention to the very locked places. It appears that THOSE were some well lubricated deer. Dasher nodded to Santy that the duo was properly greased and Santy walked over to the pair of embarrassed coursers.
Santy got close to their heads and encouraged them to perform, “Okay lads… now we need you to shake your heads from side to side, as hard as you can. Just SHAKE and nod… SHAKE and nod”.
As Dancer and Vixen looked into each other eyes and squinted… the began to violently shake from side to side, nodded, then started shaking again. The noise was loud and the action fierce. This went on for a good three or four minutes, until the two dear deer’s became so dizzy and tired that they both just sat down… sat down with antlers that were still attached to each other.
“OH NO” cried out Finn, “I was sure that was going to work”.
“Well, well” offered Santy Paws in a very sad tone, “If we don’t figure this out very soon… all the magic powder in the Real World won’t save this Chinmas. Our time is running out, the dawn is just over the horizon. I am very afraid we just might not make it out of this mess and we may not get to all the houses. What will the Chindren think… how will we ever make it up to them”.
A general sadness fell over everyone. Reindeer tapped their paws on the ground and hung their heads, Santy sat up in his sleigh and looked out into the Real World at nothing much at all. They all watched as time moved VERY SLOWLY but everyone could tell it was almost up.
“I wish I had some answers”, H. Finnegan Chin said up in his brain, “I wish I was smart… smart link Auntie May. I wish I was the Oldest One today. If only she were here to help us”, Finn moped a bit and looked down on his right paw, only to see some of the black dust he had picked up from the wooded box he was stuck in that very morning. “Being stuck in that box seems like it was a million Chin days ago (or a million peoples days ago, too). If only I was back there, Auntie May could help me, help us, help get us out of this mess”.
Santy looked up slowly and leaned over to Finnegan Chin, picked him up and put him on the seat of the sleigh, right next to the jolly old elf himself “Hmmm, interesting Finnegan… and what did you learn this very day about being stuck”?
Finn had forgotten that Santy could see the words and thoughts in his brain, so he had heard him being sad and sulky. “Well Santy… I learned that black dust from wood smells pretty good but it doesn’t taste like it smells, for sure”.
Santy chuckled and agreed, “Indeed, things do not always taste like they smell… but what else, Finn”.
Finn thought for a moment, he pictured himself stuck in the box and trying to twist and sit down and back up and stand up and all the other things his sisters and brother had told him to do. He frowned and admitted to Santy, “I know that I didn’t have much luck following other Chin’s suggestions. They are not as smart as they think they are”!
“Again, you’re correct, Mr. Finn… but what did your Auntie tell you about belief”, Santy asked?
Finn struggled to remember what happened after he couldn’t get loose on his own… then, very suddenly, like a bright light bulb had just been twisted into the socket of his brain, Finnegan Chin remembered it all, “Believe in yourself… think through the problem and believe in yourself. Cause, you already know the answer in your brain. You just have to believe in yourself and try”!
“That’s it, my boy… remember” urged Santy Paws.
Finn repeated the lesson from that morning, “Stand up for yourself, Finn… Believe in yourself Finn… Don’t be afraid... and I’m not, I’m not afraid… I am smart… and I can do it all myself”.
“YES, Huckleberry Finnegan Chin… you are smart and good” agreed Santy, “Now WHAT should we do to get out of this sticky situation”?
Finn’s eye grew bigger than any Chin’s eyes had ever been and he smiled a wide toothy grin. He nodded his head and jumped down out of the sleigh and ran up to Dancer and Vixen, who were still very sad and tangled.
“Stand up boys”, Finn urged them, “Cause we are just about to fix this problem”, he said with confidence. The reindeer stood up and looked down on the little black and white dog. “Listen, it’s just like my Auntie May told me today… when you’re afraid, look past it and try. When you’re beaten… try again. When you’re lost… look deep down inside yourself to find the answer. Well here is what we’re going to do. If a pulling and twisting doesn’t work, and dipping and twisting doesn’t work, and greasing and shaking doesn’t work… then let’s do ALL OF THEM TOGETHER”! Finnegan looked up at the very tall deer, who still didn’t seem to understand.
“But we’ve tried all those things and failed” admitted Dancer, “What difference would trying them all together do”?
“Cause, this time you’re going to BELIEVE in yourself and LISTEN to your inner voice. Be very quiet in your brain and LISTEN to the voice inside you. It will guide you to success” Finn Chin said, with extreme confidence, “Just listen and believe. You’re inner voice will speak to you. Trust it… even if it does sound and smells like a fart”!
And with that, Dancer and Vixen did just that. They stood up and they danced, twisted, dipped, jumped, shook, bent and nodded… then they did it again… then again… and just when they were ready to give up they sat down very hard on the roof and POP, their antlers unhooked and separated.
“EXCELLENT”, shouted Santy Paws. The reindeer all circled Dancer and Vixen, slapping them on the back and congratulating them on their success in freeing themselves. “This is no time to slap hoofs and swap stories, boys… let’s FLY LIKE THE WIND! We have time to make up and miles to put behind us” shouted the very excited old elf.
Finn and Santy jumped into the sleigh and the 8 tiny reindeer took their places in the harness and prepared to fly.
Santy looked over at Finn and smiled, “Right nice job, Mr. Huckleberry Finnegan Chin. Believe it or not, my boy, YOU JUST MIGHT HAVE SAVED THIS CHINMAS”!
Finn smiled and, it is said, a tiny drop of water fell from his eyes and onto the seat of the sled. “Thank you Santy Paws… thank you for letting me come with you and see Reindeer fly. This has been the best day EVER”.
“Well… I think there is a bit more for you to do, Finnegan Chin”, Santy said to him with a gleam in his eye. Santy took the big black reins of the flying sleigh and handed them over to his tiny black and white friend. “Take us up, Finn… you’ve earned the right to start our journey”.
Finn’s took the reins in his mouth and held them loosely in his teeth. “You sure, Santy” he asked?
Santy Paws smiled and nodded, “I’m sure, Finn. Do you know the words”?
Finn exploded with excitement, “DO I KNOW THE WORDS?” he laughed and shouted, “LET’S GO BOYS… WE HAVE MILES TO FLY, A WORLD TO COVER AND TOYS TO DELIVER. TO THE TOP OF THE ROOF, TO THE TOP OF THE WALL… NOW DASH AWAY, DASH AWAY, DASH AWAY ALL. UP TO THE MOON AND BACK TO THE EARTH AGAIN… I CALL YOU TO ACTION, NOW FLY LIKE THE WIND”!
Hearing the small dog cry out the very familiar words of their leader, the reindeer smiled and ran, ran fast and in lock step. Finnegan pulled back slightly on the reins as the deer, sled and passengers lifted off the roof and headed to their very next stop.
“Excellent, Finn… maybe you have a future in the jolly old elf business” Santy teased. “After all, I have to retire someday… don’t I”?
Finn smiled as Santy took over control of the flying sled and guided them up through the heavens and onto adventure. Maybe he did have a future as Santy… someday. After all, he had just saved Chinmas!!!
Chapter Four: Dear ol’ Dad Lang Syne
Minutes were hours and seconds were minutes as time slowly wound and the magical sled rocketed through time and space. H. Finnegan Chin looked up and over the front of the sleigh, pretending to be one of the flying reindeer, as Santy mushed his couriers forward on the cloud tops. Unless they found a way to makeup time from their unexpected delay, Chindren somewhere in the world would likely not get their toys and treats on time this year… and they couldn’t have that. The big red sleigh zipped along at 3000 Chin miles per hour (or at least 2 times the speed of light) and Finn knew, for sure, that they must looked like a shooting star in the sky to the peoples and Chin down in the Yard that Goes on Forever. Fat snowflake started to fall all around them. Each flake felt cold and wet against Finn’s face and it lit up the gray sky around them like the tiny lights on the funny tree at the Old Brown House that only showed up at Chinastime.
“Onward Dasher… pull harder Dasher, we have places to be and presents to deliver… the Chindern of the Real World are depending on us, they are waiting!” They all could hear the concern in Santa’s voice and this made them work all the harder to meet his urging.
“Just wait till I tell Sophie Chin and Bitty and Dingus Little all about what I’ve done tonight, Santy!!!” Finn’s words exploded out of his mount with uncontrollable and understandable excitement, “They are going to be SO jealous… and I will finally be very special… very special indeed. I’ve done something that nobody at the Brown House has EVER DONE. I’ve done things that no other CHIN in the Real World has ever done!”
“Oh my boy”, Santy said in his roly-poly, deep and happy voice, “You have always been very special, Finnegan. You didn’t need to meet me, or to have this adventure, or to go beyond the safe grounds of the Old Brown House to be special. Your special lives in a room inside of your heart, it is always there. And you, my furry friend, have enough special flowing through you for one thousand Chin your size.”
“I love you Santy… you are my new bestest friend in the whole world” admitted a starry-eyed Finnegan.
“And I love you, my tiny friend, Finn Chin” agreed Santy Paws, as he scratched the young pup just behind his ears in a place that made Finn feel warm deep inside. “Now you snuggle up here next to me so you can be warm and safe, the ride may get rough. We have several bazillion Chin miles to go before we get back to the Old Brown House and those who love you. Your Auntie May must be very worried sick.” Finn wriggled his way as close to the very real Santy Paws… as close as he could get without being sat on by Santy’s wide and jiggley butt. Santy looked down to his right, smiled at his black & white passenger and stated the obvious, “You must be very tired, Mr. Finn. It’s been such a long night for one so small.”
“OH NO, Santy” lied the exhausted Huckleberry Finnegan Chin, “I am fine. When you’re as smart as I am… you don’t get too tired very easily.”
Santy laughed, which made his belly shake like a bowl of water being lapped up very quickly by Dingus Little. “Even smart dogs get tired sometimes.” Santy reached into the pocket of his big red coat and pulled out some more of the very fine powder. He gently sprinkled a small amount of it over Finnegans head.
Finn suddenly felt his eyes getting heavy and his body urging him to sleep. “Maybe I am kinda, sorta sleepy Mr. Santy Paws.” Finn said with the utmost honesty.
“Finnegan, you sleep while we make our way back to your home” whispered Santy, “and when you awake, it will be Chinmas morning at the Old Brown House. You’ll be surrounded by your sisters, your brother and your loving Auntie. You will forget almost everything that happened tonight, but memories will live in the front of your brain like a dream… a very happy and wonderful dream. When you need to remember me, or the adventure we had tonight, you can always just visit me when you stare at the back of your eyelids.”
Finn Chin yawned a yawn so wide you could almost see the tip of his tail from the inside of his mouth, “But Santy… why won’t I remember you, and the sleigh, and the reindeer, and the flying? I will always remember you, always”!
“No Chin has ever seen me, let alone ridden next to me in my sleigh. If you remember this clearly and tell your family how you fixed Dancer and Vixen, or how you came to ride me in my sleigh, they will tell others, who will tell others, who will tell others… and soon I will have thousands of young pups waiting for me on Chinmas Eve so they can fly around the world just like Huckleberry Finnegan Chin”. Santy was right. Finn was the ONLY Chin to have ever really seen and spent time with Santy. Having him telling this tale could be disastrous to Chinmas, as everyone would find ways to stay awake just to meet the REAL Santy Paws.
“but (YAWN)… I (YAWN)… love (YAWN)… you (BIGGER YAWN)” cried out Finn between yawns and the crushing feeling of tired and sleep that the magic powder brought to him. “I am Santy material… remember”?
“and I love you, little man” said Santy softly. Then he leaned down and kissed the small dog on the forehead and whispered in his ear. “I will never forget this moment, Mr. Finn. I will never forget the time that Santy needed the help of the smartest, bravest, kindest and most wonderful Chin the entire Real World to save Chinmas for every Chinny. Always remember me in your dreams, Finn… I will keep watch over you from up at the North Pole.” By the time Santy finished his explanation, Finn was staring at the back of his eyelids VERY intently while a thousand Chin adventures with Santy Paws danced around his brain.
The sleigh flew like the wind through the dark night sky. The Moon finally reached out through the clouds and forced his way in to shine a yellow glow of light to guide the jolly fat man on his adventure around the world. During all of it… the stops at strange houses in strange lands, the bustle of Santy popping down and coming up chimney’s, the noise of cookies being eaten and reindeers munching on big and bright orange carrots… H. Finnegan Chin slept soundly on the seat of the sleigh. Hours became minutes and minutes seconds as Santy winged and whirled his way through all the stops in all the countries and ended up back where the adventure began… in the Yard that Goes on Forever!
All the time this adventure was happening out in the Real World, inside the Old Brown House Auntie May, the very oldest chin ever to live, paced the floors of the room with the fancy lighted inside tree that only was put up during Chinmas season. Sometime during the night she had stopped watching the back of her eyelids and discovered that she was one Chindren short of a full house. She had somehow lost Finn Chin. She had looked high and low in the Old Brown House, searching every room for Finn but he was nowhere to be found. Had he, somehow, gotten outside into the Yard that Goes on Forever? Or even worse… was he out in the REAL WORLD, alone and afraid? And all of this on Chinmas Eve, a time when all Chindren were to be dreaming of toys and treats while they waited for the sleepies to fade from their brains so they would stop looking at the back of their eyelids for the night. Her old face was sad and her long gray whiskers pointed to the floor as she walked back and forth, stopping every few moments to gaze out the big glass window into the real world. “Where are you, Finnegan Chin?” she said in her head, very loudly.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a noise behind her. It was a “pop” as if some dog had bitten through the squeaky part of a soft toy and make it stop laughing. As she turned slowly around, her eyes could not believe what they witnessed and the breath left her body in one huge Chin GASP! Standing in front of her, next to the fancy lighted inside tree, near where the soft round dog beds laid and the warming fire heated them making them all feel toasty and safe… what to her wandering eyes did appear but Santy Paws holding a sound asleep Huckleberry Finnegan Chin in his arms.
“S…s….s… Santy Paws”, shuddered and stammered the very old dog who was in shock by the sight of the legendary Elf. She believed in Santy but had heard all the rumors that he was not real and that it was the peoples who brought the Chin gifts every year.
“Hello, Oldest One. I think I have something that you’ve been looking for.” Santy laid Finn Chin down on his bed and covered him up with a soft and warm blanket. “Don’t ask how or why… just know that he has been safe and that he had the adventure of a Chin lifetime. Now I know I put out presents before… but after the adventure of today I think the pack of the Round Man, the Chin of the Old Brown House, well maybe they deserve just a bit more”.
And as the mostly true tale goes… Santy went right to his work, opening his big red sack and pulling out toys and treats for all the Chindren. For Bitty Chin, Santy brought a story book about Chin history that the peoples could read to her every day… and a lot of treats, A LOT of treats, for everyone knew she did not like to share. For Dingus Little, Santa brought a stuffed squirrel toy that squeaked when you chewed on it and three large bags of crunchy dog biscuits that made your teeth clean and white. Now Dingus could pretend to defeat the Angry Squirrel Army every day, in the comfort of his bed in the Old Brown House. Santy Paws brought Sophie Chin three very pretty sweaters and bows for her hair, along with some soft dog chews that tasted like sweet mints… mostly because Sophie was the prettiest Chin that SHE had ever seen. And what did Santy Paws have for H. Finnegan Chin? He reached deep down in his bag and pulled out a very plush and soft reindeer toy. He also gave him the very largest and meatiest ribby bone ever made. Along with those treasures, Santy placed a small plastic figure of himself, holding a sign that said “Believe”.
“That should hold them all fine till next Chinmas… don’t you think?” Santy nodded as he looked over his shoulder at Auntie May, who was still amazed by the sight of the jolly old fat man standing in her very own home. The Oldest One nodded slowly to show her approval, her old round eyes wide and her mouth slightly opened… showing her continued shock. “Well then… that only leaves YOU. What can Santy Paws give the oldest chin to ever live?” he asked Auntie May.
“I want nothing, Santy. I am too old for toys and treats have no flavor in my mouth any longer. Clothes do not suit me and I know all history of the Chin from the beginning of Chin and peoples time” she said, most truthfully. “I have all I could ever want here at the Old Brown House. Knowing these Chindren will be happy on Chinmas morning… and knowing that Finn has been returned to his home, safe and sound… those are my gifts, my treats and my wonderful present, today and everyday.”
This made Santy smiled so hard that his cheeks turned a bright red and his eyes twinkled in the dim light. “Hmmm… that is what I expected. You always have been a very smart girl, Miss Sophie May Chin… Mamie-May… your Fathers fur-child.”
“You… know… my… names? You know what my Father called me all those years ago? You know who I was… who I am?” Auntie May said in shock and amazement.
“Of course I do. I am older than time itself, my dear old one”, Santy exclaimed. “I was watching when your Father found you and brought you home. I watched when you lived in your ‘partmint and I celebrated when you moved into the Old Brown House. I watched when your Father was born, watched as he grew older, watched when the light behind his eyes went dim. I’ve followed you throughout your entire life. And, Sophie May Chin… daughter of the Round Man… I know what you REALLY want for Chinmas, the wish and hope you hold deep inside your heart.”
And with that, Santy Paws reached down and lifted the Oldest One onto his lap. He reached into the pocket of his big red coat and pulled out a small amount of the magic dust he had used to put Finnegan to sleep earlier in the night. He sprinkled a tiny amount of it over the old dogs body and into her eyes.
“Now, my old dear, look into my eyes and listen to my voice… and believe that anything you wish can come true”, Santy instructed Auntie May. As she did, she noticed how kind his eyes were and how soothing his voice was in her ears. “I want you to remember your Father, how his face looked with his black and gray beard… how is eyes were brown but when they were not brown they were green. I want you to think of his voice, how it tickled your ears and made you feel younger than a spring day in the Yard that Goes on Forever.” Mamie-May did just that and, in her brain, she could see her Father and the Old Brown House when they first arrived there. She could hear his laughter and also hear one of his long winded lectures on some unknown subject. “Have you done those things for me, my dear” Santy asked? The Oldest One nodded her head slowly to show she had and Santy continued. “Good… now close your eyes and think of Chinmas past, back to when you were but a pup. Once you have captured that moment in your brain, once you can see your Father on Chinmas Eve, once you clearly remember that time, open your eyes again.”
As the Oldest One slowly opened her eyes, she was no longer in the lap of Santy Paws… but she was sitting in her old “partmint” with the old not-so-fancy lighted tree that the Round Man kept each year to celebrate the Holiday. This was the time before the Old Brown House. This was when she was still but a wisp of a puppy and learning about the real world from her Father. She looked down at the toys and treats that Santy Paws had left for her that very morning, she heard the laugh of the Round Man and his voice tickled down in her ears.
“Mamie May Chin… look at me, my child, so I can see that you are truly happy” said the voice of her Father, familiar but not so familiar due to the years that had passed she had heard it. She slowly turned to look up to look into the eyes of Santy Paws… but it was NOT Santy Paws… it was the face of her Father.
“Daddy?” she questioned to herself and to the figure who’s lap she now sat in.
“And who else would hold you on this fine Chinmas morning” the Round Man smiled down on her. “You are, by far, the most beautiful Chin in the entire world, my dear”.
“How… how… can you… be here” she asked, afraid of the answer but needing to know it. “Has the light behind my eyes gone dim”?
“I am here because it’s what you want, more than anything… and, after all, isn’t that the true meaning of Chinmas, giving with all your heart so someone else knows their worth to you” asked the Round Man? “Now, we haven’t got long, so let’s just be together for the few minutes we’ve been given.”
And they were just that, together. The Round Man stroked her long whiskers and rubbed her ears. He told her stories of their times together, before the Old Brown House… and about the time after they moved there. They laughed, together, and shared memories of their adventures in the glass box on wheels and walking in parks. He kissed her head and wiped tears from her old, round eyes.
“I miss you, you know.” May admitted to her Father.
“I know, I watch you every day from the place where I am. I am proud of you, daughter. Proud of who you have become, the things you do every day. Imagine, YOU, my child as the Oldest One. I see how you love and care for these Chindren… much like I loved and cared for you. You learned all those lessons I taught you, Mamie. Even though neither of us thought you really had heard them… you learned them and now you pass them on.” The Round Man glowed with pride.
“Father… does it hurt when the light in your eyes goes dim?” the daughter asked the only people she had every really loved.
“I don’t remember much of that time” he answered truthfully, “I only remember asking doG how you would make it without me. I was so worried about you. But his voice came to me and said that I should not be afraid and that you and I would be together again someday. That was enough for me. It was my time, May… nothing you could have done would change that. We all have a time, my dearest one.”
“I love you… I never said that enough.” May confessed.
“You said it every day… you just didn’t know it because it wasn’t with words, you silly old dog” the Round Man confided to her. “Now enough of regrets… let’s just sit here together and enjoy the tree, the season, the snow and this time. This is our time, my beautiful girl.”
And that is what they did… together. It was as it was before, they were devoted, again. Mamie would look at the tree while her Father petted her back and all the way up her tail. Then she would look up to make sure he was really there. Slowly, over a period of time, her eyes became heavy and she left the real world and was looking at the back of her eyelids.
Santy Paws lifted the napping Oldest One off his lap and placed her at the highest point, where she belonged. He covered her with a soft cover and leaned down, whispering into her ear. “This is what you asked me for. You wished that for Chinmas you could have one more visit with your Father… and I have given you that. Now, you will forget you ever met me… but the memories of this time with your Father will live in your brain and you will visit them often in your sleep.” Santy kissed the Oldest One on the forehead and smiled down on her. He turned and nodded his head… then he was gone in a puff of smoke as quickly as he had arrived.
Chinmas Morning came and all the Clan of the Round Man was up and looking at their gifts. The Oldest One was the last to wake up. She shook her head at all the noise four young dogs could make at one time.
“Chindren… did everyone get what they asked from Santy Paws?” She asked them all.
“YES!” they all replied in unison.
“I shall be the smartest Chin in the UNIVERSE!” said Bitty as she looked over the books Santy had delivered.
“And the ROUNDEST if you eat all your treats!” said Dingus Little who was fighting an stuffed Angry Squirrel right in front of the lighted tree.
“I cannot wait to model these new sweaters!” said Sophie May Chin. “I am, by far, the most beautiful looking Chin that we all know.”
“And what of you, Mr. Finn?” asked the Oldest One to H. Finnegan Chin
“I got lots of stuffs… but…” Finn hesitated to finish.
“Butts are good for pooping.” Said Dingus Little, chewing on a hard biscuit.
“But what, Finn?” questioned Auntie May
“I didn’t get to meet Santy Paws” confided Finn Chin. “He escap-a-ed me again. Maybe next year, right?” Finn smiled and continued, “I did have this CHINcredible dream that I met Santy Paws and we traveled around the world together and… I even saved the day so Chin’s EVERYWHERE could have Christmas. HOW COOL IS THAT??”
“Never happen” replied Bitty Chin, in a matter-of-a-fact tone.
“Nope, not ever” echoed Sophie Chin.
“Not a chance” confirmed Dingus Little.
“You never know what the future will hold… until it’s the past” voiced the reason of the Oldest One.
Finn nodded his head yes, then started to go about the work of chewing on his giant ribby bone, again. “Auntie… have you ever had a dream that was so real you almost thought you lived it already?” Finn asked.
The Oldest One looked away from the Chindren and out the big glass window into the real world… her old cloudy eyes were wet for just a moment. “Yes, Finn. I know that feeling well. A dream so real you could reach out and touch it.”
“MERRY CHINMAS” shouted Bitty Chin
“Yes… Merry Chinmas to all” mumbled Dingus Little
“I’m glad you could spend it with me…” stated Sophie Chin
“doG Bless Us… each and every one” said Finn… then he farted just a little.
“FINN!!!” Shouted the others in disgust and horror.
“Sorry… that was my inner voice, again” slyly smiled H. Finnegan Chin.
So, for the remainder of Chinmas the four young Chins played with their gifts and ate their various snacks. They had a fine Chin Dinner and remembered to thank the very first Chin for everything they had today and for all they had gained over the past year. It was a fine life they were living in the Old Brown House.
The Sun handed off to the Moon and went home to celebrate the Holiday with his family, as well. The arrival of night came just in time for the pack of the Round Man to watch the inside of their eyelids. Only the solitary figure of the Oldest One was not resting. She was living the life of the guardian of the Old Brown House, the job she had held for so many years that she could no longer count. Normally she thought only of the Chindren and what she could teach them or show them the next day. This night, she thought of a dream trapped in her brain, a dream of something every special that she couldn’t seem to forget.
“Happy Chinmas, Father” Mamie-May said to the air around her. “I love you”.
Chapter One: Finny Did You Know
A cold wind blew down out of the sky, past the tall trees that stood majestically… but mostly naked of leaves… in the Yard that Goes on Forever and caused the Old Brown House to shudder in it’s cold chill. The Sun had traded his summer heat for fall coolness, and now it was starting to turn into winter… did this mean that snow was not far away? The four Chindren, Sophie Chin, Bitty Chin, Dingus Little and Finn Chin all huddled together on the big red deck and looked out over the nearly barren Yard that Goes on Forever. The grass was covered with colorful leaves and most of the flowers that marked the peoples garden were now bent and wilted. It was mostly sad… mostly, except for the Chintastic thought of what was coming next.
“Hmmm… the wind has blown away the greens and blues and replaced them with the browns and grays. And the browns and grays always mean that it’s almost CHINMASTIME!!” exclaimed the very excited little Sophie Chin, “I wonder what Santy Paws will bring me this year? I’ve been AWFULLY good!!” Sophie Chin often over-estimated her goodness… and her beauty… and her knowledge… and her size, and others did not hesitate to speak about it, although they were speaking to mostly deaf ears.
“Humph!” mumbled Huckleberry Finnegan Chin to himself, and everyone else who was listening NOT named Sophie Chin, “She was at least the AWFUL part of that word! She wasn’t very, LY! That’s for sure!” Finn, being the most delicate and shy of the Clan of the Round Man, often was the butt of most jokes and on the receiving end of the feast of teasing the others dished out.
“Dumbchin says WHAT?” Sophie Chin replied quickly and she spoke very fast.
“What?” asked Finn Chin, who didn’t understand her quick speak and slurred words.
“I thought so, replied Sophie Chin, and then she giggled uncontrollably “Dumb Chin…”
Dingus Little and Bitty Chin joined in the teasing with chanting in unison, “Dumbchin… dumb chin…dumb chin…dumb chin…”
Finn ran to the other end of the big red deck and stuffed his head in a wooden box where the people keep the small black rocks that cook the good tasting food on the outside food maker. This was a solid plan, designed to quiet his attackers and put him in control. And it was working, mostly, until Finn realized the noise didn’t get any quieter and… sadly… his head was stuck in the box.
“OH NO!!!” he cried out… “I AM A DUMB CHIN!!”
“You are certainly not a dumb Chin” a familiar and powerful voice chimed in, “You are CHIN… and we are not dumb. In fact, we are the brightest of the bright and all other species look up to our breed. We are the majestic and the mighty, the Chosen Ones. WE are CHIN and that is all we ever need be… the descendent of the First One, the bloodline to Royalty. THAT is who you are, Mr. Finn, that is who WE are. I don’t think that is very dumb at all, do you?”
“Oldest One, is that you?” meekly asked the still stuck Finn.
“Yes, my Dear… why don’t you come out of your hiding place now”, replied the Oldest One… the very oldest Chin to ever live inside or outside of the Old Brown House. She was as old as time, or so the story was told. She arrived at the Old Brown House when it wasn’t so old and the trees weren’t so tall. She had seen countless sunny days and moonlite night. Some said that she had celebrated so many Chinmas mornings that Santy himself was not as old as the Oldest One. “Someday, Finn Chin, you will learn to stand on your own… you will stop hiding and defend yourself. YOU are a fine, strong and very wise young Chin. You should never think poorly of yourself, regardless of what others might say. Only YOU know your true heart, Finnegan. Only YOU know the good inside yourself. It’s up to you to find your voice and never allow others to dictate who you are today, tomorrow or EVER. I believe in you, my darling boy. But, in the end, what I believe simply doesn’t matter. Stand up for yourself, find your inner voice, believe in yourself, Finn… BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!”
“Well… Oldest One… I would like to come out but, I think I am mostly stuck in here!” said Finn Chin in a matter-of-a-fact tone. “Yep, my head is pretty well jammed in here and I can’t get out!” He sat quietly for a moment, not moving much, “Isn’t this about the time when you tell me not to worry so much because everything will be okay??? Then you do something magical and I’m suddenly not so stuck anymore? I figure that is about to happen right… about… NOW!”
“Hmmmm, Mr. Finn. I don’t believe you heard anything I’ve said today… The Round Man always told me that if you know the answer to the question before you ask it… it doesn’t make much sense to have someone else tell you how it all ends?” And with that, the Oldest One turned and walked back to the door at back of the big red deck… scratched once on the bottom… and waited as a lady peoples let her into the Old Brown House.
Dingus Little, Bitty and Sophie watched through the screens on the door, in amazement, as the Oldest One stopped for a drink and a bite of soft food at the snack place in the room where the good foods were made… and then she walked down the Hall to the resting room and disappeared inside. The trio of Chin mouths popped open as they realized the Oldest One, their wise Auntie May, was not going to come to Finn’s rescue this time.
“I’m guessing she’s not standing out there any longer…” Finn Chin said rather flatly “… and that is really not good news for me, since I’m still mostly stuck in here!” He tried to pull out of the box but his collar was stick on the latch… he tried to turn his head but his bib and mane were getting stuck on the wood splinters. “I don’t suppose anyone left out there could help?” He said to his siblings, who were still all in shock that their Auntie had left Finn in this predicament.
“Okay… this is NOT my fault” reasoned Sophie Chin, even thought this was mostly her fault “But I will help you because I’m tired of looking at your smelly butt. Why don’t you try turning your head AS you gently pull, then back out?” Suddenly all the things that were very funny a moment ago were not so humor filled any longer.
Finn turned his head slightly and pulled back… this did not free the stuck pup. “Still stuck, Sophie” admitted Finn, not panicking.
“Try holding your breath and backing up” advised Bitty Chin, who was a well known know-it-all who actually knew very little. “I am very sure that will free you.”
Finn took a deep breath and tried backing up. His collar was still hooked onto the latch and he was unable to break free. “I wonder if Chin can eat these black rocks. They do not smell very good but I am getting awfully hungry! They are SURELY not ribby bones… I can tell you that.”
“Here is how you will get free, Brother” stated Dingus Little, the biggest of the Chindren, “tense your tummy till it’s very tight, then back up.”
Finn tensed his tummy and tried to back up but he felt his fur stick to a loose splinter in the box, so he stopped. “That did not work, either” he said, rather sadly.
The others shouted out other suggestions, scratched their heads, pretended to be Finn so they could see the problem from his point of view, they even chased their tails… well, only Dingus Little chased his tail and that was because he was pretty bored with helping his brother. This entire time, Finn Chin was considering the things Auntie May had said to him earlier. Stand up for yourself… believe in yourself… don’t be afraid… those words swirled around in his head like the very wind that was blowing around the Yard That Goes on Forever. As the other three continued to talk and ponder and plan… Finn Chin took action!
“I will NOT be afraid any longer! I BELIEVE IN ME!” He shouted out to the dark and dirty air inside of the box that housed his still stuck head. Finn searched deep down inside himself and found his inner voice, which told him to do all the things the others had suggested… but to do them together at the same exact moment. So he held his breath, while tightening his tummy, while turning his head and backing up. He even added squinting his eyes and growling like an angry dog because that is what his brain told him to do! All of those acts together created a rather large movement inside of Finn and as he back up, the holding of his breath and tightening of his tummy created a large air bubble that popped out of his… butt… making a large noise which startled him and caused him to jump upward and that unhooked his collar and, along with the backing up and turning his head popped him free from the box. Finn sat down on the deck and looked around… the others stared at him in disbelief. “I found my inner voice” Finn said to them all.
“Too bad your inner voice sounds like a fart!” said Dingus Little with truth in his tone.
“Too bad your inner voice SMELLS like a fart!” giggled Sophie Chin as she shook her head to get the smell of Finns inner voice out of her nose.
All the Chindren, including the newly independent Huckleberry Finnegan Chin, laughed together. As they laughed and Bitty Chin retold the story from her superior point of view… they heard a noise behind them.
“I see you are now mostly unstuck, Finn Chin! I am very glad to see your beautiful Chin face and not just your behind. So, what was the answer to your earlier question, Mr. Finn?” asked the Oldest One, who had quietly rejoined them during the most important part of the excitement.
“Hello, Oldest One, I am glad you came back outside with us. When all seemed lost and nobody had the answer in their brains… I heard your voice telling me to find my inner voice and believe in myself. Once I did that, I didn’t need someone telling me what to do. I simply trusted my own brain and did what it told me.” Finn confided in his Auntie.
“Very good, my child” smiled the Oldest One as she looked down on the dirty faced and ruffled Finn Chin. She lay down next to him and gently licked the black dust from his whiskers and face. “You know, Finn, today your learned that you do not need Sophie or Bitty or Dingus Little… or even the Oldest One… to solve your problems. Each of us, my boy, each of us has the ability and duty to be in charge of our own lives, to be in charge of ourselves. It’s great to have others who love and care for you… but in the end; you must look inward to answer life’s most difficult mysteries.”
Finn laid down never to his Auntie May and placed his head on her paws, “Does this mean I’m too big now to have an Auntie May to take care of me?” he asked sheepishly and a bit saddened.
“Of course not, child” the Oldest One reassured him. “I will be with you as long as I am allowed to stay here at the Old Brown House… and even after I have left to be with my Father I will be in your heart and brain. You will never be too big to be loved by your Auntie.” She placed her tail around his furry shoulders and massaged his neck. “However, you are growing up so fast that someday you’ll outgrow the need for me. The time is coming, Finnegan Chin, when you’ll need to make choices on your own… important choices. Today you’ve learned where your inner voice lives and you’ve learned to believe in yourself.”
Finn smiled and wagged his mostly black tail with the dirty white tip, “I did, didn’t I”.
The Oldest One turned to the others, who were listening intently to the conversation and were very impressed with how Finn had freed himself… except for the entire farting part, which was not very good at all. “So, my Chindren… we all know that the snow is coming and with the snow comes…”
“SANTY PAWS!!” they all yelled together!
“And what do each of you want for Chinmas this year, my dears” asked the Oldest One… knowing she was about to be bombarded with four Chin voices, each trying to be heard above the others. She smiled to herself, remembering when the Round Man would sit with her in front of the inside tree that only appeared near Chinmas. He would ask her that very question and she would rattle on for an hour, listing all the things she wanted from Santy Paws. She could see the time of Chinmas morning and how Santy Paws had come again, without waking her or without her seeing him. She would run around wildly in the morning, sniffing every package and fly to the sleeping room over and over as she tried to get her Father up to open the gifts. She remembered how it felt to be so young and so excited, how she envied these Chinden. She smiled as she watched four sets of expressions, motions and wild eyes describe the wonder they would see on Chinmas morning and the barely controlled excitement as they told of the treasures Santy Paws would bring them. She marveled at the imaginations of youth and the difference in personality and purpose of each of her Chindren… my how she loved this pack of scruffy youngsters.
In their brains, the Holiday was all planned and they had to do was count the exciting Chin days and hours until it arrived. However, this Chinmas would bring a whole different level of excitement to the Old Brown House, something they never expected… something they would never believe! For this was the special time spoken about in Chin history. This was the time that H. Finnegan Chin met Santy Paws and had to save Chinmas.
Chapter Two: doG Rest Ye Merry ChintleMen
“… the Round Man in his big pants with me next to his head, on a pillow I lay in our soft, cozy bed. We watched the backs of our eyelids and thought of Chinmas so dear… and if Santy did come, I would have nothing to fear”, The Oldest One recited the words to a story that her Father had told her every year for all of her youth. Her four young charges all lay in a pile on the floor in front of the tree that was indoors at Chinmas time. She was hoping telling of this story would relax all four sets of big round eyes that waited for Santy Paws to arrive and, perhaps, they would start to stare at the inside of their eyelids instead of staring at her for hours… and answers. For you see, this was the night that they had waited two hundred Chin years (or fourty peoples days) to arrive. This was Chinmas Eve and by the next morning, Santy would have come and gone, leaving them untold wonders and things they had asked him to bring. This was the night of magic and merriment. This was the night before Chinmas.
“Auntie” asked Dingus Little, stopping her story telling in mid-tale, “Is Santy real? Some people say he is nothing but a fig mint of a magic nation”. Dingus turned and stared at Bitty Chin. It was obvious that she was the one who had put this idea, strange and fragmented as it was, into the brain of Dingus Little.
The Oldest One shook her head slowly, “That phrase is actually a figment of your imagination… it means that Santy only lives your brain… is that what YOU believe, Dingus Little?”
“OH NO, Auntie May… Santy could not only live in my brain” said Dingus, confidently. “My brain is not nearly big enough for such a fat man to live in!!”
“True” offered Sophie Chin, who often butted into conversations to hear her own voice smack in the in middle of the matter, “But Finn Chin has plenty of room in his head because he has no brain to fill it up!”
The Oldest One chuckled to herself at the unknowing humor the small Chins had spoken. She then turned to Bitty Chin and looked down her black button Chin nose at the little dog, “and is that what YOU believe about Santy, Bitty Chin?” As Bitty Chin took a deep breath so she could start a long winded response, Auntie May continued, “because, you do realize that those who do not believe in Santy Paws will no longer receive his good graces and gifts …”
There was a sizeable pause after the Oldest One spoke as Bitty Chin chose her next words wisely and carefully, “Oh no, Auntie… that is just a story I heard falling down from the treetops when I was relaxing on the big red deck. I’m quite sure that the Army of Angry Squirrels was discussing it and that is where I heard that awful story.” Bitty Chin’s eyes darted to and fro as she quickly checked out the others in the room to see if everyone looked as though they believed her.
“I see…” nodded Auntie May, not buying the story for a moment.
Finn Chin, not moving his eyes from staring out the window at the Real World, thought for a moment… and then spoke, “Santy Paws lives out there” and he pointed out into the darkness that surrounded the Old Brown House, “at the very far end of the North Pole”, and then H. Finnegan Chin looked back at the rest of his pack, “and he lives HERE”, and he pointed at his chest, “In all of our hearts. ‘Cause you see, without our love and without our hearts and without our true believes in our brains… Santy won’t exist at all. So we all have to believe.” Finn turned back to the glass window that looked out into the Real World and smiled. “One day, I will be the very first Chin to meet Santy Paws… because I love him with all my heart and brain”.
Auntie May smiled at the mostly black Finn and moved closer to him, gently placing herself at his side, “I love you, Finnegan Chin… your heart is big enough to place the entire real world inside, and still have room to keep it safe and let it grow larger”. She draped her tail over his back and hugged him gently.
One by one, the Chindren each closed their eyes and prepared to stare at the back of their eyelids, hoping that Santy would not forget them this year. Soon, it was just the Oldest One and Finnegan Chin still awake on this cold and snowy night.
“Auntie… do YOU believe in Santy?” Asked Finn as he yawned so hard and long that the Oldest One could see the very tip of his tail from the inside out.
She thought for a moment to make sure she could give the best answer possible to this very delicate question, “Do I believe a stranger, an overweight and jolly man peoples, can come out of nowhere, give you things and make you happy? I surely do, Mr. Finn. For you see, I had a very Round Man come to me once and he gave me the best present of all… he gave me a chance at forever… and then he made me happy every day we were together. If it happened for me, why can’t it happen for every Chindren in the real world?” Auntie May looked over at H. Finnegan Chin, only to discover he was now fast asleep. “I guess your meeting with Santy will have to wait till next year, won’t it Finn Chin? Or maybe he will make you wait a lifetime…” and with that, she kissed him, very lightly and lovingly, on his slightly dirty forehead.
The Oldest chin ever to live looked over her four young charges and then parked her old bones in front of the tree that showed up inside the Old Brown House every year at Chinmas time. For as long as she could remember she would lie in front of that tree, just knowing that Santy Paws would wake her as he placed her presents on the floor all around her. However, each Chinmas morning she would awaken to find that he had arrived and left with nobody at the Brown House stirring… not even a mouse. She closed her cloudy old eyes… just for a moment… so she could rest them from a long day of caring for the Chindren when, the next thing she knew, she was watching the back of her eyelids.
The Old Brown House grew very quiet… the peoples were all tucked into their sleeping rooms… the Chindren were all piled around the room with the big glass window that looked out into the real world and all the other creatures that lived in the yard that goes on forever and out in the real world were also watching the backs of their eyelids as they waited for Chinmas morning. When suddenly… on the rooftop… there rose such a clatter that it was amazing they all didn’t awake to see what was the matter!
It grew quiet again for a moment, then a wisp of white smoke appeared next to the inside tree and that smoke got larger and began to change from white to red. The, like magic, it was no longer smoke but, instead, it was a large and very round peoples… dressed all in red with white trim and coal black boots. The man stopped for a moment and looked around the room with the big glass window that looked out into the real world. He spied the forms of the five small dogs lying together… but not together… and he smiled such a wide smile that his cheeks turned rosy red. After observing the Chindren and their very old Auntie, the jolly man peoples in the soft red suit went right his work. He placed presents around the tree, filled stockings with treats, snacked on some cookies and a bit of milk… then he turned with a jerk. And as he turned a single sparkle of glitter fell from his hat and spiraled down to the floor, landing on the head of one snoozing Huckleberry Finnegan Chin.
Finn stirred for a moment as he slowly pulled himself out of his brain and into the world of the Old Brown House. His eyes opened a crack… then a half… then back to a crack… then WIDE OPEN as he mistakenly realized that it was CHINMAS MORNING!!! He bolted to full awake and looked at the floor around the inside tree. “OH MY dOG!” he whispered to himself, “CHINMAS HAS COME!”
Just feet from him, a very round man peoples with very black boots placed a finger on the side of his nose and said “with the love of the ages and from my heart filled with joy… I bid farewell to you all, every man, woman and boy”.
The figure slowly started to change from peoples form to red smoke and it was at that exact moment Finnegan Chin saw him from the corner of his very big and very round eyes.
“SANTY PAWS!!!” Finnegan shouted as he bolted towards the figure, now mostly engulfed in red smoke that was turning to white. The small dog leaped in the air and right into the center of the smoke… and magically, H. Finnegan Chin turned into a small ball of black and white smoke. With nothing more than a swirl of wind and a barely audible “pop”… the smoke, along with Huckleberry Finnegan Chin, was GONE!
Chapter Three: Silent Finn, Noisy Finn
Snow was flying sideways as the wind whipped in the dark sky. The round man in the red suit sat in the front of the bright red sleigh with the golden runners and holly green trim. He urged his beasts onward and upward into the black night, pleading with them to clear the rooftops and the tall chimneys out in the Real World.
“On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen… up Comet, up Cupid, up Donder and Blitzen. To the tops of the roofs, past the tops of the walls… not dash away, dash away, dash away all”, demanded of his couriers. “Come on team, we have miles to go and only a short time to them in”.
Santy looked out into the midnight horizon and smiled widely as he puffed on his corn cob pipe and stroked his long white beard. As he looked over the side of his flying carriage, he noticed the bustle of the Real World… the movement in the night that was continuous below him.
“You know team”, he shouted to his reindeer escorts, “I remember the time when we flew around the world and only saw the lights of candles in windows and fires in the darkness”. He tilted his head as he reminisced of Chinmas Eves past, “Those were simple days of dolls for girls, toy soldiers for boys and candy or crackers in the stockings. Today is so much more complicated with the video games and music players, cell phones or i-pods”.
Santy reached into the floor of the sleigh and pulled out a small black bag. He reached deep in the pouch and pulled out a pinch of a green, red, silver and gold powder… then he gently released it into the air out and away from the flying machine. As the powder fell down to the Real World below… all the fast-moving lights of the glass boxes on wheels, all the clocks on the buildings, all of the peoples out walking or skating or sledding, why they all slowed down. In fact, the slowed down so much that the seemed to almost stand still.
Huckleberry Finnegan Chin peered out of the very top of the big toy bag in the cargo bay of the sleigh and watched the show happening before his big, round chin eyes. With each word, each story, as each scene of the fantasy of the jolly old elf unfolded for real just feet in front of him… Finn grew more and more excited. The black and white stowaway was able to keep his composure the entire time, right up to the point where Santy sprinkled the magic dust and slowed down the real world to a snails pace. That act of magic was too much for him to contain, to much for him to squish deep down inside his brain, heart and stomach.
“WOW”, Finn chirped from his lofty perch on top of the big bag of gifts for all the Chindren of the Real World, “It’s all REAL… ALL OF IT IS REAL”!
Santy Paws slowly, very slowly in deed, turned his head to the right and looked over his shoulder, only to find that he had picked up more than he had dropped off at the Old Brown House.
“Down to the rooftop below”, he bellowed out orders to this team… and DOWN they went in a hurry, using the roof of a house that was NOT Finnegan home as a runway and landing pad. Santy turned around in the seat and opened the top of the bag. His coal black eye popped wide open and almost swallowed his glasses when they saw what was in his bag of presents. “Oh my… oh my, my… oh my, my, my… this is not good… this has never happened… never indeed… this is highly irregular… highly, highly irregular”, he barked out in his jolly old voice.
“Even when he’s not so happy, he still sound like he’s Santy”, thought Finn to himself, looking the giant elf in the eyes.
“I am not happy indeed”, Santy assured his unwanted passenger.
Finn spoke with a slow and shocked expression on his face, “You could hear my voice in my brain, Santy”, he questioned?
Santy stared for a moment with a frown on his face, then he burst out laughing, “Of course I can hear your thoughts, Huckleberry Finnegan Chin. How do you think I know if you are naughty or nice. I know all and see all, my small friend… and what I see RIGHT NOW, is a Chin that should be home staring at the back of his eyelids and seeing visions of Chinmas morning. But, instead, I see that same Chin sitting in my bag of toys and treats. How could THAT have come to be”.
Finn scratched his head with this back foot and shrugged his shoulders. He knew he could not fib to Santy Paws, since Santy could look inside his brain and see the real things that were happening up there. “Well, Santy… all I’s knows is that I woked up and saw you. When I ranned over to jump up to see you, next thing I know, I’m just smoke… like from the fire that the Father builds sometimes out in the yard that goes on forever. Then we was here, looking at the Real World moving very slow, like Finn when he is peeing on everything in the yard”.
Santy laughed from the bottom of his belly and he shook… well… like bowl full of Jell-o, “Oh my goodness sakes, little man… you have had a night of it, HO-HO-HO”!
Dasher, the lead reindeer, walked up next to Santy and cleared his throat, “Umm… Santa” he said in a deep deer tone, “we have a bit of a…. umm… situation in progress”.
“What, what”, questioned Santy Paws, “What is happening”?
Dasher tilted his head to the side and grimaced a bit, “It appears that Dancer and Vixen have their antlers tangled… and I mean tangled good. They can’t seem to separate themselves. So… we can’t take off and get back to our work until we can get them apart”.
“HOW… HOW can THAT happen”, Santy cried out, “We were only on the ground for moment, what in the REAL WORLD caused this” he questioned.
Dasher looked everywhere but at Santy, trying to avoid his angry and upset glance, “Reindeer Games”, Dasher blurted out. “We landed and they decided to find out who could butt harder”.
Santy shook his head slowly in a “NO” fashion. He was not pleased, not at all… in fact, he said just that, “I’m not pleased, not at all, Dasher. I ask for professional reindeering for ONE night a year. ONE, mind you… not two, not 12, not 364… JUST ONE NIGHT. And could we have that? NO- NO- NO”!!
Dasher shook his head no to match Santy’s sway, “No Sir, obviously, we lacked that professionalism. I’m very sorry, Santa”.
Santy stroked his beard and bunched up his nose, “Not your fault, Dasher… not at all. Deer will be Deer, now won’t they. Our problem becomes, WHAT DO WE DO NOW”?
Santy looked at Dasher, Dasher looked at Finn, Finn looked at Santy and they all shrugged their shoulders. Unless they could unstick two very stuck reindeer… Chinmas just might not come this year!
“Well, let’s look at this tangled web we’ve woven”, chuckled Santy… who surprisingly found some humor in every situation.
Santy jumped down from the sleigh and reached up to the top of the toy bag to lift down H. Finnegan Chin. They joined Dasher on the top of the roof and walked over to the tangled pair. Santy looked over the locked horns on his Reindeer, he pulled a bit and twisted to one side… then he scratched his head and stroked his white beard. Then he put a foot on Vixens chest, and a foot on Dancers chest and he pulled back so hard that he lifted off the ground but STILL the horns didn’t pop loose. Dasher paced like a worried new father, back and forth and back and for, wearing a path in the snow on the roof.
“Oh dear, oh dear… OH DEERS” he mumbled to himself. HE stopped for a moment and his head popped up, as if he had an idea that just jumped up in his brain, “Santa… what if them both bent over and pulled back at the same time? You know, like a reindeer dance. They DIP and twirl, DIP and twirl… what do you think”?
Santa thought for a moment and shook his head in approval, “Could be… could be, Dasher. Right good thinking, old man”, he patted Dasher on the head and continued to nod. Then he turned to Vixen and Dasher, “let’s try it boys… just like at the great Reindeer dance and dinner. You DIP and you TWIRL”.
Everyone on the roof held their breath as the duo of deer lifted slightly up and dipped down hard, then they twisted in opposite directions. Their antlers scraped and scratched but, sadly, they DID NOT come apart.
“NOOOO” cried out Dasher.
Santy looked at the distraught Dasher, “Now, now my lad… we’re not sunk yet. Let’s all think, think hard. What would Mamma do”?
“What would the Mrs. do, Santa” questioned Dasher, knowing that Mrs. Santy had gotten everyone out of some sticky wickets before. When there was a problem that required tender loving care and a quick mind… Santy called in the big gun, his wife Adaline.
“Well, when Gribble the elf was stuck in the candy jar, she got him out… right” asked and answered Dasher, “and she used…”
“BACON GREASE”, said Santy and Dasher together.
Santy jumped up in the air and twirled around in a fancy spin and floated back down to the ground, “THAT’S IT! Good thinking Dasher. We will grease them up”!
Finnegan Chin raised his paw and asked a question in a small and quiet voice, “But who has bacon… or grease”?
A general loud moan rose up from the crowd on the roof. There was no bacon, which made Finn especially sad… because he was a tad hungry after being turned into smoke and thinking so hard about stuck deer.
Santy hung his head for a moment… then he snapped it back up and he had a twinkle in his eye. “So, boys… we don’t have bacon grease. But what do we use to make sure the joints of the sleigh don’t squeak and what do we use on the runners of the sleigh so we can glide across grass if there isn’t any snow”, the jolly round man said with a smile.
“WE… USE… AXEL… GREASE” shouted out Dasher, as if he has won a prize!
“Indeed we do”, agreed Santy Paws, “so let’s get some of the axel grease and rub it all over their antlers”!
Dasher was way ahead of Santy and had already scraped some of the grease free from the joints and runners of the sled. He rubbed it all over Dancer and Vixen’s stuck antlers, paying special attention to the very locked places. It appears that THOSE were some well lubricated deer. Dasher nodded to Santy that the duo was properly greased and Santy walked over to the pair of embarrassed coursers.
Santy got close to their heads and encouraged them to perform, “Okay lads… now we need you to shake your heads from side to side, as hard as you can. Just SHAKE and nod… SHAKE and nod”.
As Dancer and Vixen looked into each other eyes and squinted… the began to violently shake from side to side, nodded, then started shaking again. The noise was loud and the action fierce. This went on for a good three or four minutes, until the two dear deer’s became so dizzy and tired that they both just sat down… sat down with antlers that were still attached to each other.
“OH NO” cried out Finn, “I was sure that was going to work”.
“Well, well” offered Santy Paws in a very sad tone, “If we don’t figure this out very soon… all the magic powder in the Real World won’t save this Chinmas. Our time is running out, the dawn is just over the horizon. I am very afraid we just might not make it out of this mess and we may not get to all the houses. What will the Chindren think… how will we ever make it up to them”.
A general sadness fell over everyone. Reindeer tapped their paws on the ground and hung their heads, Santy sat up in his sleigh and looked out into the Real World at nothing much at all. They all watched as time moved VERY SLOWLY but everyone could tell it was almost up.
“I wish I had some answers”, H. Finnegan Chin said up in his brain, “I wish I was smart… smart link Auntie May. I wish I was the Oldest One today. If only she were here to help us”, Finn moped a bit and looked down on his right paw, only to see some of the black dust he had picked up from the wooded box he was stuck in that very morning. “Being stuck in that box seems like it was a million Chin days ago (or a million peoples days ago, too). If only I was back there, Auntie May could help me, help us, help get us out of this mess”.
Santy looked up slowly and leaned over to Finnegan Chin, picked him up and put him on the seat of the sleigh, right next to the jolly old elf himself “Hmmm, interesting Finnegan… and what did you learn this very day about being stuck”?
Finn had forgotten that Santy could see the words and thoughts in his brain, so he had heard him being sad and sulky. “Well Santy… I learned that black dust from wood smells pretty good but it doesn’t taste like it smells, for sure”.
Santy chuckled and agreed, “Indeed, things do not always taste like they smell… but what else, Finn”.
Finn thought for a moment, he pictured himself stuck in the box and trying to twist and sit down and back up and stand up and all the other things his sisters and brother had told him to do. He frowned and admitted to Santy, “I know that I didn’t have much luck following other Chin’s suggestions. They are not as smart as they think they are”!
“Again, you’re correct, Mr. Finn… but what did your Auntie tell you about belief”, Santy asked?
Finn struggled to remember what happened after he couldn’t get loose on his own… then, very suddenly, like a bright light bulb had just been twisted into the socket of his brain, Finnegan Chin remembered it all, “Believe in yourself… think through the problem and believe in yourself. Cause, you already know the answer in your brain. You just have to believe in yourself and try”!
“That’s it, my boy… remember” urged Santy Paws.
Finn repeated the lesson from that morning, “Stand up for yourself, Finn… Believe in yourself Finn… Don’t be afraid... and I’m not, I’m not afraid… I am smart… and I can do it all myself”.
“YES, Huckleberry Finnegan Chin… you are smart and good” agreed Santy, “Now WHAT should we do to get out of this sticky situation”?
Finn’s eye grew bigger than any Chin’s eyes had ever been and he smiled a wide toothy grin. He nodded his head and jumped down out of the sleigh and ran up to Dancer and Vixen, who were still very sad and tangled.
“Stand up boys”, Finn urged them, “Cause we are just about to fix this problem”, he said with confidence. The reindeer stood up and looked down on the little black and white dog. “Listen, it’s just like my Auntie May told me today… when you’re afraid, look past it and try. When you’re beaten… try again. When you’re lost… look deep down inside yourself to find the answer. Well here is what we’re going to do. If a pulling and twisting doesn’t work, and dipping and twisting doesn’t work, and greasing and shaking doesn’t work… then let’s do ALL OF THEM TOGETHER”! Finnegan looked up at the very tall deer, who still didn’t seem to understand.
“But we’ve tried all those things and failed” admitted Dancer, “What difference would trying them all together do”?
“Cause, this time you’re going to BELIEVE in yourself and LISTEN to your inner voice. Be very quiet in your brain and LISTEN to the voice inside you. It will guide you to success” Finn Chin said, with extreme confidence, “Just listen and believe. You’re inner voice will speak to you. Trust it… even if it does sound and smells like a fart”!
And with that, Dancer and Vixen did just that. They stood up and they danced, twisted, dipped, jumped, shook, bent and nodded… then they did it again… then again… and just when they were ready to give up they sat down very hard on the roof and POP, their antlers unhooked and separated.
“EXCELLENT”, shouted Santy Paws. The reindeer all circled Dancer and Vixen, slapping them on the back and congratulating them on their success in freeing themselves. “This is no time to slap hoofs and swap stories, boys… let’s FLY LIKE THE WIND! We have time to make up and miles to put behind us” shouted the very excited old elf.
Finn and Santy jumped into the sleigh and the 8 tiny reindeer took their places in the harness and prepared to fly.
Santy looked over at Finn and smiled, “Right nice job, Mr. Huckleberry Finnegan Chin. Believe it or not, my boy, YOU JUST MIGHT HAVE SAVED THIS CHINMAS”!
Finn smiled and, it is said, a tiny drop of water fell from his eyes and onto the seat of the sled. “Thank you Santy Paws… thank you for letting me come with you and see Reindeer fly. This has been the best day EVER”.
“Well… I think there is a bit more for you to do, Finnegan Chin”, Santy said to him with a gleam in his eye. Santy took the big black reins of the flying sleigh and handed them over to his tiny black and white friend. “Take us up, Finn… you’ve earned the right to start our journey”.
Finn’s took the reins in his mouth and held them loosely in his teeth. “You sure, Santy” he asked?
Santy Paws smiled and nodded, “I’m sure, Finn. Do you know the words”?
Finn exploded with excitement, “DO I KNOW THE WORDS?” he laughed and shouted, “LET’S GO BOYS… WE HAVE MILES TO FLY, A WORLD TO COVER AND TOYS TO DELIVER. TO THE TOP OF THE ROOF, TO THE TOP OF THE WALL… NOW DASH AWAY, DASH AWAY, DASH AWAY ALL. UP TO THE MOON AND BACK TO THE EARTH AGAIN… I CALL YOU TO ACTION, NOW FLY LIKE THE WIND”!
Hearing the small dog cry out the very familiar words of their leader, the reindeer smiled and ran, ran fast and in lock step. Finnegan pulled back slightly on the reins as the deer, sled and passengers lifted off the roof and headed to their very next stop.
“Excellent, Finn… maybe you have a future in the jolly old elf business” Santy teased. “After all, I have to retire someday… don’t I”?
Finn smiled as Santy took over control of the flying sled and guided them up through the heavens and onto adventure. Maybe he did have a future as Santy… someday. After all, he had just saved Chinmas!!!
Chapter Four: Dear ol’ Dad Lang Syne
Minutes were hours and seconds were minutes as time slowly wound and the magical sled rocketed through time and space. H. Finnegan Chin looked up and over the front of the sleigh, pretending to be one of the flying reindeer, as Santy mushed his couriers forward on the cloud tops. Unless they found a way to makeup time from their unexpected delay, Chindren somewhere in the world would likely not get their toys and treats on time this year… and they couldn’t have that. The big red sleigh zipped along at 3000 Chin miles per hour (or at least 2 times the speed of light) and Finn knew, for sure, that they must looked like a shooting star in the sky to the peoples and Chin down in the Yard that Goes on Forever. Fat snowflake started to fall all around them. Each flake felt cold and wet against Finn’s face and it lit up the gray sky around them like the tiny lights on the funny tree at the Old Brown House that only showed up at Chinastime.
“Onward Dasher… pull harder Dasher, we have places to be and presents to deliver… the Chindern of the Real World are depending on us, they are waiting!” They all could hear the concern in Santa’s voice and this made them work all the harder to meet his urging.
“Just wait till I tell Sophie Chin and Bitty and Dingus Little all about what I’ve done tonight, Santy!!!” Finn’s words exploded out of his mount with uncontrollable and understandable excitement, “They are going to be SO jealous… and I will finally be very special… very special indeed. I’ve done something that nobody at the Brown House has EVER DONE. I’ve done things that no other CHIN in the Real World has ever done!”
“Oh my boy”, Santy said in his roly-poly, deep and happy voice, “You have always been very special, Finnegan. You didn’t need to meet me, or to have this adventure, or to go beyond the safe grounds of the Old Brown House to be special. Your special lives in a room inside of your heart, it is always there. And you, my furry friend, have enough special flowing through you for one thousand Chin your size.”
“I love you Santy… you are my new bestest friend in the whole world” admitted a starry-eyed Finnegan.
“And I love you, my tiny friend, Finn Chin” agreed Santy Paws, as he scratched the young pup just behind his ears in a place that made Finn feel warm deep inside. “Now you snuggle up here next to me so you can be warm and safe, the ride may get rough. We have several bazillion Chin miles to go before we get back to the Old Brown House and those who love you. Your Auntie May must be very worried sick.” Finn wriggled his way as close to the very real Santy Paws… as close as he could get without being sat on by Santy’s wide and jiggley butt. Santy looked down to his right, smiled at his black & white passenger and stated the obvious, “You must be very tired, Mr. Finn. It’s been such a long night for one so small.”
“OH NO, Santy” lied the exhausted Huckleberry Finnegan Chin, “I am fine. When you’re as smart as I am… you don’t get too tired very easily.”
Santy laughed, which made his belly shake like a bowl of water being lapped up very quickly by Dingus Little. “Even smart dogs get tired sometimes.” Santy reached into the pocket of his big red coat and pulled out some more of the very fine powder. He gently sprinkled a small amount of it over Finnegans head.
Finn suddenly felt his eyes getting heavy and his body urging him to sleep. “Maybe I am kinda, sorta sleepy Mr. Santy Paws.” Finn said with the utmost honesty.
“Finnegan, you sleep while we make our way back to your home” whispered Santy, “and when you awake, it will be Chinmas morning at the Old Brown House. You’ll be surrounded by your sisters, your brother and your loving Auntie. You will forget almost everything that happened tonight, but memories will live in the front of your brain like a dream… a very happy and wonderful dream. When you need to remember me, or the adventure we had tonight, you can always just visit me when you stare at the back of your eyelids.”
Finn Chin yawned a yawn so wide you could almost see the tip of his tail from the inside of his mouth, “But Santy… why won’t I remember you, and the sleigh, and the reindeer, and the flying? I will always remember you, always”!
“No Chin has ever seen me, let alone ridden next to me in my sleigh. If you remember this clearly and tell your family how you fixed Dancer and Vixen, or how you came to ride me in my sleigh, they will tell others, who will tell others, who will tell others… and soon I will have thousands of young pups waiting for me on Chinmas Eve so they can fly around the world just like Huckleberry Finnegan Chin”. Santy was right. Finn was the ONLY Chin to have ever really seen and spent time with Santy. Having him telling this tale could be disastrous to Chinmas, as everyone would find ways to stay awake just to meet the REAL Santy Paws.
“but (YAWN)… I (YAWN)… love (YAWN)… you (BIGGER YAWN)” cried out Finn between yawns and the crushing feeling of tired and sleep that the magic powder brought to him. “I am Santy material… remember”?
“and I love you, little man” said Santy softly. Then he leaned down and kissed the small dog on the forehead and whispered in his ear. “I will never forget this moment, Mr. Finn. I will never forget the time that Santy needed the help of the smartest, bravest, kindest and most wonderful Chin the entire Real World to save Chinmas for every Chinny. Always remember me in your dreams, Finn… I will keep watch over you from up at the North Pole.” By the time Santy finished his explanation, Finn was staring at the back of his eyelids VERY intently while a thousand Chin adventures with Santy Paws danced around his brain.
The sleigh flew like the wind through the dark night sky. The Moon finally reached out through the clouds and forced his way in to shine a yellow glow of light to guide the jolly fat man on his adventure around the world. During all of it… the stops at strange houses in strange lands, the bustle of Santy popping down and coming up chimney’s, the noise of cookies being eaten and reindeers munching on big and bright orange carrots… H. Finnegan Chin slept soundly on the seat of the sleigh. Hours became minutes and minutes seconds as Santy winged and whirled his way through all the stops in all the countries and ended up back where the adventure began… in the Yard that Goes on Forever!
All the time this adventure was happening out in the Real World, inside the Old Brown House Auntie May, the very oldest chin ever to live, paced the floors of the room with the fancy lighted inside tree that only was put up during Chinmas season. Sometime during the night she had stopped watching the back of her eyelids and discovered that she was one Chindren short of a full house. She had somehow lost Finn Chin. She had looked high and low in the Old Brown House, searching every room for Finn but he was nowhere to be found. Had he, somehow, gotten outside into the Yard that Goes on Forever? Or even worse… was he out in the REAL WORLD, alone and afraid? And all of this on Chinmas Eve, a time when all Chindren were to be dreaming of toys and treats while they waited for the sleepies to fade from their brains so they would stop looking at the back of their eyelids for the night. Her old face was sad and her long gray whiskers pointed to the floor as she walked back and forth, stopping every few moments to gaze out the big glass window into the real world. “Where are you, Finnegan Chin?” she said in her head, very loudly.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a noise behind her. It was a “pop” as if some dog had bitten through the squeaky part of a soft toy and make it stop laughing. As she turned slowly around, her eyes could not believe what they witnessed and the breath left her body in one huge Chin GASP! Standing in front of her, next to the fancy lighted inside tree, near where the soft round dog beds laid and the warming fire heated them making them all feel toasty and safe… what to her wandering eyes did appear but Santy Paws holding a sound asleep Huckleberry Finnegan Chin in his arms.
“S…s….s… Santy Paws”, shuddered and stammered the very old dog who was in shock by the sight of the legendary Elf. She believed in Santy but had heard all the rumors that he was not real and that it was the peoples who brought the Chin gifts every year.
“Hello, Oldest One. I think I have something that you’ve been looking for.” Santy laid Finn Chin down on his bed and covered him up with a soft and warm blanket. “Don’t ask how or why… just know that he has been safe and that he had the adventure of a Chin lifetime. Now I know I put out presents before… but after the adventure of today I think the pack of the Round Man, the Chin of the Old Brown House, well maybe they deserve just a bit more”.
And as the mostly true tale goes… Santy went right to his work, opening his big red sack and pulling out toys and treats for all the Chindren. For Bitty Chin, Santy brought a story book about Chin history that the peoples could read to her every day… and a lot of treats, A LOT of treats, for everyone knew she did not like to share. For Dingus Little, Santa brought a stuffed squirrel toy that squeaked when you chewed on it and three large bags of crunchy dog biscuits that made your teeth clean and white. Now Dingus could pretend to defeat the Angry Squirrel Army every day, in the comfort of his bed in the Old Brown House. Santy Paws brought Sophie Chin three very pretty sweaters and bows for her hair, along with some soft dog chews that tasted like sweet mints… mostly because Sophie was the prettiest Chin that SHE had ever seen. And what did Santy Paws have for H. Finnegan Chin? He reached deep down in his bag and pulled out a very plush and soft reindeer toy. He also gave him the very largest and meatiest ribby bone ever made. Along with those treasures, Santy placed a small plastic figure of himself, holding a sign that said “Believe”.
“That should hold them all fine till next Chinmas… don’t you think?” Santy nodded as he looked over his shoulder at Auntie May, who was still amazed by the sight of the jolly old fat man standing in her very own home. The Oldest One nodded slowly to show her approval, her old round eyes wide and her mouth slightly opened… showing her continued shock. “Well then… that only leaves YOU. What can Santy Paws give the oldest chin to ever live?” he asked Auntie May.
“I want nothing, Santy. I am too old for toys and treats have no flavor in my mouth any longer. Clothes do not suit me and I know all history of the Chin from the beginning of Chin and peoples time” she said, most truthfully. “I have all I could ever want here at the Old Brown House. Knowing these Chindren will be happy on Chinmas morning… and knowing that Finn has been returned to his home, safe and sound… those are my gifts, my treats and my wonderful present, today and everyday.”
This made Santy smiled so hard that his cheeks turned a bright red and his eyes twinkled in the dim light. “Hmmm… that is what I expected. You always have been a very smart girl, Miss Sophie May Chin… Mamie-May… your Fathers fur-child.”
“You… know… my… names? You know what my Father called me all those years ago? You know who I was… who I am?” Auntie May said in shock and amazement.
“Of course I do. I am older than time itself, my dear old one”, Santy exclaimed. “I was watching when your Father found you and brought you home. I watched when you lived in your ‘partmint and I celebrated when you moved into the Old Brown House. I watched when your Father was born, watched as he grew older, watched when the light behind his eyes went dim. I’ve followed you throughout your entire life. And, Sophie May Chin… daughter of the Round Man… I know what you REALLY want for Chinmas, the wish and hope you hold deep inside your heart.”
And with that, Santy Paws reached down and lifted the Oldest One onto his lap. He reached into the pocket of his big red coat and pulled out a small amount of the magic dust he had used to put Finnegan to sleep earlier in the night. He sprinkled a tiny amount of it over the old dogs body and into her eyes.
“Now, my old dear, look into my eyes and listen to my voice… and believe that anything you wish can come true”, Santy instructed Auntie May. As she did, she noticed how kind his eyes were and how soothing his voice was in her ears. “I want you to remember your Father, how his face looked with his black and gray beard… how is eyes were brown but when they were not brown they were green. I want you to think of his voice, how it tickled your ears and made you feel younger than a spring day in the Yard that Goes on Forever.” Mamie-May did just that and, in her brain, she could see her Father and the Old Brown House when they first arrived there. She could hear his laughter and also hear one of his long winded lectures on some unknown subject. “Have you done those things for me, my dear” Santy asked? The Oldest One nodded her head slowly to show she had and Santy continued. “Good… now close your eyes and think of Chinmas past, back to when you were but a pup. Once you have captured that moment in your brain, once you can see your Father on Chinmas Eve, once you clearly remember that time, open your eyes again.”
As the Oldest One slowly opened her eyes, she was no longer in the lap of Santy Paws… but she was sitting in her old “partmint” with the old not-so-fancy lighted tree that the Round Man kept each year to celebrate the Holiday. This was the time before the Old Brown House. This was when she was still but a wisp of a puppy and learning about the real world from her Father. She looked down at the toys and treats that Santy Paws had left for her that very morning, she heard the laugh of the Round Man and his voice tickled down in her ears.
“Mamie May Chin… look at me, my child, so I can see that you are truly happy” said the voice of her Father, familiar but not so familiar due to the years that had passed she had heard it. She slowly turned to look up to look into the eyes of Santy Paws… but it was NOT Santy Paws… it was the face of her Father.
“Daddy?” she questioned to herself and to the figure who’s lap she now sat in.
“And who else would hold you on this fine Chinmas morning” the Round Man smiled down on her. “You are, by far, the most beautiful Chin in the entire world, my dear”.
“How… how… can you… be here” she asked, afraid of the answer but needing to know it. “Has the light behind my eyes gone dim”?
“I am here because it’s what you want, more than anything… and, after all, isn’t that the true meaning of Chinmas, giving with all your heart so someone else knows their worth to you” asked the Round Man? “Now, we haven’t got long, so let’s just be together for the few minutes we’ve been given.”
And they were just that, together. The Round Man stroked her long whiskers and rubbed her ears. He told her stories of their times together, before the Old Brown House… and about the time after they moved there. They laughed, together, and shared memories of their adventures in the glass box on wheels and walking in parks. He kissed her head and wiped tears from her old, round eyes.
“I miss you, you know.” May admitted to her Father.
“I know, I watch you every day from the place where I am. I am proud of you, daughter. Proud of who you have become, the things you do every day. Imagine, YOU, my child as the Oldest One. I see how you love and care for these Chindren… much like I loved and cared for you. You learned all those lessons I taught you, Mamie. Even though neither of us thought you really had heard them… you learned them and now you pass them on.” The Round Man glowed with pride.
“Father… does it hurt when the light in your eyes goes dim?” the daughter asked the only people she had every really loved.
“I don’t remember much of that time” he answered truthfully, “I only remember asking doG how you would make it without me. I was so worried about you. But his voice came to me and said that I should not be afraid and that you and I would be together again someday. That was enough for me. It was my time, May… nothing you could have done would change that. We all have a time, my dearest one.”
“I love you… I never said that enough.” May confessed.
“You said it every day… you just didn’t know it because it wasn’t with words, you silly old dog” the Round Man confided to her. “Now enough of regrets… let’s just sit here together and enjoy the tree, the season, the snow and this time. This is our time, my beautiful girl.”
And that is what they did… together. It was as it was before, they were devoted, again. Mamie would look at the tree while her Father petted her back and all the way up her tail. Then she would look up to make sure he was really there. Slowly, over a period of time, her eyes became heavy and she left the real world and was looking at the back of her eyelids.
Santy Paws lifted the napping Oldest One off his lap and placed her at the highest point, where she belonged. He covered her with a soft cover and leaned down, whispering into her ear. “This is what you asked me for. You wished that for Chinmas you could have one more visit with your Father… and I have given you that. Now, you will forget you ever met me… but the memories of this time with your Father will live in your brain and you will visit them often in your sleep.” Santy kissed the Oldest One on the forehead and smiled down on her. He turned and nodded his head… then he was gone in a puff of smoke as quickly as he had arrived.
Chinmas Morning came and all the Clan of the Round Man was up and looking at their gifts. The Oldest One was the last to wake up. She shook her head at all the noise four young dogs could make at one time.
“Chindren… did everyone get what they asked from Santy Paws?” She asked them all.
“YES!” they all replied in unison.
“I shall be the smartest Chin in the UNIVERSE!” said Bitty as she looked over the books Santy had delivered.
“And the ROUNDEST if you eat all your treats!” said Dingus Little who was fighting an stuffed Angry Squirrel right in front of the lighted tree.
“I cannot wait to model these new sweaters!” said Sophie May Chin. “I am, by far, the most beautiful looking Chin that we all know.”
“And what of you, Mr. Finn?” asked the Oldest One to H. Finnegan Chin
“I got lots of stuffs… but…” Finn hesitated to finish.
“Butts are good for pooping.” Said Dingus Little, chewing on a hard biscuit.
“But what, Finn?” questioned Auntie May
“I didn’t get to meet Santy Paws” confided Finn Chin. “He escap-a-ed me again. Maybe next year, right?” Finn smiled and continued, “I did have this CHINcredible dream that I met Santy Paws and we traveled around the world together and… I even saved the day so Chin’s EVERYWHERE could have Christmas. HOW COOL IS THAT??”
“Never happen” replied Bitty Chin, in a matter-of-a-fact tone.
“Nope, not ever” echoed Sophie Chin.
“Not a chance” confirmed Dingus Little.
“You never know what the future will hold… until it’s the past” voiced the reason of the Oldest One.
Finn nodded his head yes, then started to go about the work of chewing on his giant ribby bone, again. “Auntie… have you ever had a dream that was so real you almost thought you lived it already?” Finn asked.
The Oldest One looked away from the Chindren and out the big glass window into the real world… her old cloudy eyes were wet for just a moment. “Yes, Finn. I know that feeling well. A dream so real you could reach out and touch it.”
“MERRY CHINMAS” shouted Bitty Chin
“Yes… Merry Chinmas to all” mumbled Dingus Little
“I’m glad you could spend it with me…” stated Sophie Chin
“doG Bless Us… each and every one” said Finn… then he farted just a little.
“FINN!!!” Shouted the others in disgust and horror.
“Sorry… that was my inner voice, again” slyly smiled H. Finnegan Chin.
So, for the remainder of Chinmas the four young Chins played with their gifts and ate their various snacks. They had a fine Chin Dinner and remembered to thank the very first Chin for everything they had today and for all they had gained over the past year. It was a fine life they were living in the Old Brown House.
The Sun handed off to the Moon and went home to celebrate the Holiday with his family, as well. The arrival of night came just in time for the pack of the Round Man to watch the inside of their eyelids. Only the solitary figure of the Oldest One was not resting. She was living the life of the guardian of the Old Brown House, the job she had held for so many years that she could no longer count. Normally she thought only of the Chindren and what she could teach them or show them the next day. This night, she thought of a dream trapped in her brain, a dream of something every special that she couldn’t seem to forget.
“Happy Chinmas, Father” Mamie-May said to the air around her. “I love you”.