One Chilly Christmas Eve...

One Christmas eve, with the sun in it's slumber,
Up the starry sky the moon starts to lumber -
It snuggles in the clouds, tangled up from view
And falling from the night, is something kind of new.

Little flakes of white dance towards the ground,
intricate and beautiful, they fall without a sound.
Blanketing a woodland with a present from Jack Frost,
Within the folds of ice and trees, something's gotten lost.

Under the branches of a gnarled oak tree,
Is a splash of orange in the snowy white sea.
A little fox stands, gazes up to the skies,
Tears creeping up at the corners of his eyes.

His fur is matted with cold and ice,
He's shaking and shivering; it's really not nice!
The pink of his cheeks darkens to red,
And from his chilly lips, hardly one word is said.

He tries to call out: "Where am I?! Somebody? Please!"
...His voice carries away along the cold winter breeze.
He slumps into the snow and hugs into his tail,
And gives a heavy sigh as the snow turns to hail.

But suddenly, if luck would have it,
Something approaches, as if by magic....

Jingles sound from the world above,
As reins are wiggled by a leathery glove
And antlered creatures kick up their feet
To the sound of a carol's unmistakable beat.

A flurry of red dashes through the sky,
As 8 or 9 reindeer sparkle and fly
Pulling a sleigh with the greatest of ease
And, of course, the driver! Who chuckles with glee.
With his big round belly dressed in red,
Lined with fluff like the hat on his head,
A great fluffy beard and big black boots,
And over his shoulder: A bag full of loot.

The sleigh glides and jumps to the woodland below,
And slides very smoothly into the snow.
Old Saint Nick, (The one and only),
Steps out to the one who feels very lonely.

The critter looks up, startled and shocked,
With an: "Oh... er... Hello Sir! my name is Fox!"
The cub's ears twitch and his gaze hardens,
"Um, who are you Sir, if you beg my pardon?"

The old man before him stumbles in the snow,
Launching out a huge: "HO HO HO!"
He chuckles and giggles and shakes Fox's paw,
"Why, my dear lad, my name's Santa Claus!"

"Claus?" Fox says, "What a very odd name."
Santa nods and replies: "It's my pride and fame!"

Fox now asks (feeling less dire),
"And why, Sir, are you in such fancy attire?"

Santa replies, sticking out his lip:
"I need to keep warm, I'm on quite a trip!
I travel the world to send Christmas cheer,
And presents too, with the help of my deer.
I pop down the chimneys... Well, you know the rest!
That, my friend, is why I must look my best!"

Fox shakes his head, looking rather puzzled,
And takes a deep breath, itching his muzzle.
"I'm afraid I haven't even the foggiest!
This time of year is when I feel my groggiest!
'Christmas', you say? What does that mean?
This is the strangest sight I might've seen!"

Santa is astonished and furrows his brow,
"You mean to say, you've not heard of Christmas 'til now?!"
He paces the floor and flays his arms in the air:
"How could this happen! It's just not fair!"

He scoffs and grumbles, claps together his hands,
and crouches down to the floor of the cold woodland.
He tickles the snow with the point of his finger,
Until out of the ice a flame starts to linger.
It catches and spreads to a neat little shape:
A small fire alights the smile on his face.
He strides over to Fox, brushing away the hail,
Snuggles up close and tells the 25th's tale.

Fox sits back, really quite shocked,
He stops and shivers; feeling a sad little fox.
A time of love and laughter is Christmas day,
Cheer and merriment should come his way!
And instead he was lost as he took a wrong turn
On his way to the river, confused by the ferns.

But then Santa Claus scoops Fox up with glee,
And sits him pride of place, on top of his knee.
He looks Fox in the eye, says, beaming a smile -
"And what would you like for Christmas my child?"

Fox twitches his ears and thinks very hard.
And remembers from whom he has been apart.
He snuggles into the warmth of Santa's big tum,
Feels the beat of his heart going dum, dum, dum,
And remembers the nights, snuggled up to mummy
Cuddled up and warm by her fluffy ol' tummy.

"That's it!" Cries Fox, "I know what I'd like!
There's only one thing I wish for tonight:
My family, my family! For now we're apart!
And they are the key to warming my heart!
I don't wish for presents, I don't wish for toys,
I wish for my family; my greatest of joys!"

Santa gives a chuckle and cuddles young Fox,
Then he pulls up his sleeves and he pulls up his socks...

With a "Ho ho ho!" And a twinkling light,
Little Fox goes spinning off into the night!
Within the blink of an eye, he is tumbling alone,
Arriving right outside his very own home!

A large oak tree grows from flowers and shoots,
And Fox leaps into a gap between the big, gnarled roots.
He runs down tunnels that head underground,
Following the carols: That unmistakable sound!
He sees the glow of fire lighting the gloom,
And then is his own Christmas dream come true.
There they all sit, curled up as one;
His brothers and sisters, his dad and his mum.
They cry and they laugh, smiles on every face,
And all of the family locks into an embrace.

Laughter fills up the den and journeys outside,
Where the jingle bells sound on old Santa's ride.
His sleigh launches off to the stars above,
Now Fox's heart is filled with smiles and love.

And now off Santa goes to his next stop.
For presents and cheer, he must drop off.
All over the world, this wonderful teacher
Pops to the homes of people and creatures -
Presents will be waiting under the tree,
In a matter of hours, if you dream and believe.