This story takes place before the other Wolf Tale stories, and does not have anything to do with the stories. I have created it to spread joy and to give everyone a good holiday greeting. Happy Holidays to everyone, and a happy New Year!
Wolf Tale: Christmas Edition
By Duncan Groff
The snow fell from the winter sky. Slowly, clumps began to form on the roots of the trees, the tops of the houses, the edges of the paths, and the stretch of ground extending as far as one could see.
The trees were bare, making the blue-toned birds easier to see. This was one of the advantages of winter, along with the snow muffling all pawsteps.
River moved through the three-foot-high piles of snow. It had come down a lot harder this year, and the young of the People would make them into large, odd shapes, resembling of nothing she could think of.
Slowly, River crouched lower and padded near a large sycamore tree. Her keen eyes detected a slight movement in the upper section. Slow tree. It had not taken its time yet to shed its leaves. What a lazy tree.
Reaching the edge of the bark, she unsheathed her claws and quickly hooked them into the year-old bark. Doing the same with her back paws, she climbed up the side as if she had done it many times before, which, she had.
As River reached the top branches, she poked her head up to see the bluebird nibbling on the food it had brought up. One quick swipe of her paw, and River pierced the bird in its plump body, twisting it and bringing it down to her mouth. With one quick bite, it dropped its head, giving River a new meal.
Turning around, she jumped down to the ground and landed on her paws with ease. Carrying her prey in her mouth, she made her way to a pile of dull rocks next to a patch of nice moss growing on the side of one behind her. She settled down into a comfortable pose and devoured her newly-caught food.
Staring out past the forest, River saw People houses with fresh white snow covering their tops and sides, while fog formed on the ice parts of their walls.
Their garden flowers were covered up with the snow, and the wooden spikes on their fences had been turned into a clump of white. River smiled as she saw the Young People come out and laugh in the snow. They threw clumps of it at each other and hid behind giant pounds of it. They seemed so joyful to fight each other. Odd.
Something thumped through the snow behind her, and River turned to see Hedge’s brown fur padding her way. River looked in shock as she saw something on his head. It was red with a white fur-thing on top.
“What is that!?” River asked in surprise as he settled down next to her.
“One of the People dropped it, so I picked it up and put it on like they would!” Hedge explained “Isn’t it cool?!”
River let out a laugh and looked into one of the ice walls in the nearest house. The People had put a small tree inside and hung small colored balls and strings of fire inside ice-things. These People were very odd.
She turned her head back to Hedge. “It sure suits you.” She said in a quiet tone. Hedge smiled and looked at the tree inside the house.
“There’s something the People say around this time of the year, but I forget what it is.” Hedge said, keeping his eyes on the trees.
River looked at the funny thing on Hedge’s hat. It had odd symbols on it. The symbols the People used to speak to each other when they weren’t talking. She had listened to them say these symbols time after time, and it gave her a happy feeling whenever they did.
“It’s ‘Merry Christmas’ Hedge. They celebrate it as a joyful time, just like we celebrate the Gathering of snow. Every year the People say these words to spread happiness through each other’s hearts. It makes them smile and they say it back. This ‘Merry Christmas’ is a happy time. Merry Christmas Hedge, Merry Christmas.
As River said, Merry Christmas, and I hope everyone has the best of holidays.
-Silverstar3131
