CHITTER SEES CHRISTMAS                            

  By

   Jennifer Watts

     “Where are you going Chitter?” asked Emoe Rabbit as he hopped along beside Chitter Chipmunk. 

     Chitter shook his head and mumbled something.  He pointed to his stuffed cheeks.

     “He can’t talk,” said Ruthie Raccoon who was running along behind trying to keep up.  “His cheeks are stuffed with nuts.”

     Chitter darted behind a bush and disappeared down a hole in the ground.

     “Wait for us!” called Emoe.  He and Ruthie followed Chitter down the hole.

     Chitter spit out his acorns on top of a big pile of nuts and seeds.  “Welcome to my burrow,” he said.

     “Wow,” said Emoe, “you sure have a lot of food stored up.”

     “Why do you need so much food?” asked Ruthie.

     “Well, I’m going to sleep here all winter,” said Chitter, “so I have to store enough food to last until spring.”

     “That’s silly,” said Ruthie.  “I don’t sleep all winter.”

     “Neither do I,” said Emoe.  “We have lots of fun in the winter.”

     “That’s right,” said Ruthie,” and you’ll miss Christmas if you sleep all winter.”

     “Christmas?” asked Chitter.  “What’s Christmas?”

     “You’ve never heard of Christmas?” asked Ruthie.  “Well, let’s see, Christmas is joy and peace and love.”

     “Christmas is plum pudding and mistletoe and gifts!” said Emoe.

     “It’s music and jingle bells and sleighing in the snow!” said Ruthie.

     “And snowmen and snow angels and a manger in a stable,” said Emoe.

     “Yes, and shepherds and wise men and star light star bright,” sang Ruthie.

     “Oh!” exclaimed Chitter.  “It sounds wonderful.  I’d really like to see Christmas, but I’m a chipmunk, and chipmunks hibernate all winter.”

     “Too bad,” said Emoe.  “Christmas is a lot of fun.”

     “Well, do you think you and Ruthie might come and wake me up when Christmas gets here?” asked Chitter.  “I really want to see Christmas.”

     “Sure,” said Emoe.   “We’ll come on Christmas Eve.”

     So Chitter snuggled up in his warm burrow and went to sleep.  And true to their word, Emoe and Ruthie came back to Chitter’s burrow on Christmas Eve.

     “Wake up, wake up,” called Ruthie.

     Emoe tried to shake Chitter awake.  “He won’t wake up.  What’ll we do?”

     “Oh no!” said Ruthie.  “He’ll think we forgot him.  I really want Chitter to see Christmas.”

     “Me too,” said Emoe.  “Hey, maybe we could get him a present.”    

     “That’s a good idea,” said Ruthie.  “We can leave the gift here so he’ll know we tried to wake him.”

     Emoe and Ruthie ran as fast as they could to Miss Hilda’s General Store.  “We need a gift for Chitter Chipmunk, Miss Hilda,” said Ruthie.

     “We were supposed to wake him up for Christmas, but we can’t get him awake,” said Emoe.  “So we thought we would get him a present.”

     “Let me think,” said Miss Hilda.  “What about this blue satin pillow?”

     “It’s beautiful,” said Ruthie.  “And it has Merry Christmas written on it.”

     “We’ll take it,” said Emoe.  “Please pin a card on the pillow that says From Emoe and Ruthie.”

     So off they ran back to Chitter’s burrow with the gift.  They quietly slipped the pillow under Chitter’s head.

     “Sweet dreams, Chitter,” said Ruthie.

     “We’ll see you in the spring,” said Emoe. 

     And sure enough, when the first warm day of spring arrived, Emoe and Ruthie went to the meadow where Chitter’s burrow was.   “Look, there’s Chitter outside his burrow,” said Ruthie.

    “Hi, Emoe!  Hi, Ruthie!” called Chitter.  “Thank you for the Christmas pillow.”

     “You’re welcome,” said Emoe.  “But we’re sorry you missed seeing Christmas.  We tried to wake you.”

     “Oh, but I did see Christmas,” said Chitter.  “I had beautiful dreams while I slept on my Christmas pillow.  I dreamed of plum pudding and mistletoe and jingle bells and snow angels and a manger and shepherds.  Most of all I saw joy and peace and love in my dreams.”

     “You really did see Christmas,” said Ruthie.

     “I’m so glad,” said Emoe.

     “Yes, Christmas is wonderful,” said Chitter.  “Thank you for being my friends.”