I woke up my second Christmas morning in Alaska and was missing my family and friends. I knew we were together in spirit, but I still felt a little sad.
The quiet snow I heard falling on the Eve made me curious to see how much we had gotten – maybe I could go ski.
So I shivered off the covers, evacuating the warmth my body had created and walked to my door. Opening it, I saw a moose standing there. Not there near the building across the way, not there near the bushes but right there in front of me – so close that when he exhaled, the steam of his breath washed over me smelling like freshly mowed grass with a hint of peppermint.
Had I not been so shocked to be eye to nose with a moose, I might have quickly shut the door. This would have been rude to be sure, but it also would have been the safe thing to do.
As it was, I just stood in the doorway, letting the heat from the apartment escape, my jaw slack, my mouth open, and the moose breathing in great foggy bursts.
I finally overcame my shock and said joyfully with maybe a hint of fear, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Moose. What did you get?”
The moose rolled his head to the side as if to get a better look at me and said, “Merry Christmas, sir. Thank you for asking. I only got one thing for Christmas, but it is something I need to share. Would you do me the honor of listening?”
Once again, I was shocked – a talking moose, but I was able to recover more quickly. After all, most Christmas stories have something of the miraculous in them. “Mr. Moose, if you will allow me to change into something a little warmer. I will be happy to listen.”
“Please call me ‘Chris,’” he replied, “I will wait for you.”
I picked up the newspaper at his feet, closed the door, threw on a jacket and some warmer shoes and opened up the door. Chris was still standing there. “I’m ready, Chris. Tell me your story.”
The moose took a deep breath and began his story. “I was standing in Kincaid Park eating some greenery. The moon was low on the horizon; it caused me to remember when I was young and would hear the wolf howl.
“I wasn’t really thinking about anything just munching and staring blankly when I realized that the red light coming toward me wasn’t one of those that I had seen many times a day since I had moved to the park.
“It seemed to be coming in a little too fast and was slightly wobbling. I thought I would have to defend myself, so I faced it.
“The light wobbled a little to the left and next to me landed a sleigh with eight reindeer and a man. Normally, I try to ignore men, but there was something about him that made me curious.
“He got out of his sleigh and introduced himself as Nick. He gave me tidings of the season much as you did, though with a hearty ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!’
“I told him my name and returned his joyous wishes for the Day.
“He explained that one of his reindeer had fallen sick and that he would be unable to make his deliveries unless he could find a replacement. Then he asked if I would help him deliver the Christmas Spirit.
“I couldn’t refuse his request, so he hooked me up to his sleigh and off we went. We traveled all over the world and stopped at many places delivering the Spirit.
“During the night we stopped at one house that Nick asked me to pay particular attention to. Inside was a great grandmother, grandmother and grandfather, mother and father and their three children. They slept peacefully, and the decorations showed that they would have a wonderful celebration. Nick went in, dropped off his presents and brought this out for you.”
The moose turned around and walked away. Behind him was a small package from my niece to me.
The quiet snow I heard falling on the Eve made me curious to see how much we had gotten – maybe I could go ski.
So I shivered off the covers, evacuating the warmth my body had created and walked to my door. Opening it, I saw a moose standing there. Not there near the building across the way, not there near the bushes but right there in front of me – so close that when he exhaled, the steam of his breath washed over me smelling like freshly mowed grass with a hint of peppermint.
Had I not been so shocked to be eye to nose with a moose, I might have quickly shut the door. This would have been rude to be sure, but it also would have been the safe thing to do.
As it was, I just stood in the doorway, letting the heat from the apartment escape, my jaw slack, my mouth open, and the moose breathing in great foggy bursts.
I finally overcame my shock and said joyfully with maybe a hint of fear, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Moose. What did you get?”
The moose rolled his head to the side as if to get a better look at me and said, “Merry Christmas, sir. Thank you for asking. I only got one thing for Christmas, but it is something I need to share. Would you do me the honor of listening?”
Once again, I was shocked – a talking moose, but I was able to recover more quickly. After all, most Christmas stories have something of the miraculous in them. “Mr. Moose, if you will allow me to change into something a little warmer. I will be happy to listen.”
“Please call me ‘Chris,’” he replied, “I will wait for you.”
I picked up the newspaper at his feet, closed the door, threw on a jacket and some warmer shoes and opened up the door. Chris was still standing there. “I’m ready, Chris. Tell me your story.”
The moose took a deep breath and began his story. “I was standing in Kincaid Park eating some greenery. The moon was low on the horizon; it caused me to remember when I was young and would hear the wolf howl.
“I wasn’t really thinking about anything just munching and staring blankly when I realized that the red light coming toward me wasn’t one of those that I had seen many times a day since I had moved to the park.
“It seemed to be coming in a little too fast and was slightly wobbling. I thought I would have to defend myself, so I faced it.
“The light wobbled a little to the left and next to me landed a sleigh with eight reindeer and a man. Normally, I try to ignore men, but there was something about him that made me curious.
“He got out of his sleigh and introduced himself as Nick. He gave me tidings of the season much as you did, though with a hearty ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!’
“I told him my name and returned his joyous wishes for the Day.
“He explained that one of his reindeer had fallen sick and that he would be unable to make his deliveries unless he could find a replacement. Then he asked if I would help him deliver the Christmas Spirit.
“I couldn’t refuse his request, so he hooked me up to his sleigh and off we went. We traveled all over the world and stopped at many places delivering the Spirit.
“During the night we stopped at one house that Nick asked me to pay particular attention to. Inside was a great grandmother, grandmother and grandfather, mother and father and their three children. They slept peacefully, and the decorations showed that they would have a wonderful celebration. Nick went in, dropped off his presents and brought this out for you.”
The moose turned around and walked away. Behind him was a small package from my niece to me.