Saturday, December 10, 2016

A Christmas Eve Surprise

'Twas Christmas Eve night, and all through the zoo,
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Not a creature was stirring, not even the kangaroo.
The apples were given to animals with care,
Anticipation of presents was thick in the air.

The animals waited, sure something was new,
Excitement was clear as the snow piles grew.
And I in my galoshes, and he in his coat,
Had just finished stashing the last gondola boat.

When out in the entrance, there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from the dock to see what was the matter.
Away to the entrance, we ran a 60-yard dash,
Anxious to discover the source of the crash.

The snowmen stood proud in their posts by the gates,
Welcoming guests to their first stop: the primates.
And how could we guess what would come to us next.
But something so unexpected from Santa: a text!

"I'm sorry for all the commotion we'll cause,
Rudolph's nose has gone out, and has given us pause."
And there Santa stood, looking ready to cry.
"I'm not sure at all how we'll continue to fly."

There came an idea, to my mind swift that night.
"Santa, there's a solution to your current flight plight.
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We'll gather some magic from our best wishing well,
You can use it and store more in your biggest sleigh bell."

"Alas, the idea to use wishes to fly!
I can't believe I didn't think to give it a try.
So away to the well, quickly Santa did go,
Pulling a rope from the bucket with a great big "heave, ho!"

Up came the bucket, with great circumstance,
Santa got so excited, he started to dance.
"The children who visit, with their heart full of gold
Are giving us a chance to try something quite bold."

With no time to waste, we gathered loose change
And tried to decide how the elves could arrange.
The bells among reindeer and around Santa's sleigh,
While Prancer stood by, calmly munching some hay.

And in the great bell, we stuffed every wish penny,
while the zookeeper, Dave, helped an elf named Ben Benny.
"We just need to make sure all the ropes are stretched taut,
If anything comes loose, he'll be so distraught."

We jockeyed and put all the reindeer in line,
But from way in the back, Rudolph started to whine,
I don't understand how the magic will make it okay,
My nose won't light up, and we can't see the way.

Santa smiled ever so sweetly, and calmly explained
This is something you'll get when you've been fully trained
The wishes have magic, which makes the bells glow
And lights up our path as we fly over the snow.

So with everything ready for them to take off,
Santa turned to us now with a throat-clearing cough.
I cant tell you exactly how much all your help really means,
These wishes are more magic than the most magic beans.

As he sprang to his sleigh, and his elves got tucked in
He turned and exclaimed: to Zoo Mark goes the win
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Away the group flew, to continue their quest
The sleigh turned its coursers so they were headed due west

We couldn't quite decide if it had all been a dream,
As the sun slowly rose, and we fixed coffee with cream.
I arrived back at home, heard my husband was snoring,
And from the front porch, I saw Santa's sleigh soaring.