A Wish for Christmas (10-13 age category)
Dear Santa Mouse by Jake Kelly
Read by Phillip Sacramento.
Dear Santa Mouse,
I would love a piece of cheese this Christmas, that I could eat in PEACE, without the cat eating me or having to dodge traps just to get some cheese.
Last week, I thought I smelt some cheese, so I sneaked out, slithered like a snake and hid behind the bin in the kitchen. The cheese smelt so so sooooooo scrumptious - I had to get it. I did some hardcore parkour to make it up to the counter, leaping from the bin pedal to the bin lid to a drawer to the counter.
I had just made it to the cheese when I heard a MEOW! From around the corner popped Stella's whiskers, then ears, then eyes, then her whole head, hissssssing as loud as the biggest megaphone in the world. Stella is the new family kitten, and we all know about cats and mice.
I froze, dropped the cheese and scurried across the counter, in and around the cookie jar, the butter dish and the chutney jar. Stella pounced on to the counter and knocked the crackers all over the floor, smashing them in to tiny, little pieces. Then she jumped down to investigate the broken crumbs scattered on the ground.
That gave me a few seconds to avoid Stella and make my escape. But I had to leave my delicious cheese behind.
So, for Christmas, I would love to have a piece of cheese all to myself. Could you also please leave me a ball of wool for Stella so that she can play with it and leave me alone to enjoy my cheese.
That would make me a very happy Chris-mouse!
Love from,
Jeffrey, the little grey mouse.
Christmas Dinner by Jonathan Gillespie
Voiced by Jolene O鈥橦ara and Phillip Sacramento. Illustration by Rebecca Moore.
It was late at night and Tilly, a young pullet, was still up, waiting for a shooting star so she could make a Christmas wish. A beautiful, big and bright star shot across the clear, dark sky in a perfect arc over the horizon. Tilly made her wish and turned back towards the door of the coop to her snoozing family for some much needed warmth.
Some time later Tilly and her siblings were woken up by a loud thump on the roof of their coop. “Lets hide and wait”, whispered her brother, who was the wisest of all of them. However, before they could make a move, the roof of the coop hinged back and revealed a plump, jolly old man towering over them. The man, who was Santa, let out a deep chuckle and lifted them all out of the coop.
“So what is it I'm here for?” he asked, “I’m very busy tonight you know.” “Well,” replied Tilly, “I actually wished for something else, but,” she added so not to offend him, "you're even better!" She paused for a moment and then continued, “I really wanted a nice, big, shiny new coop for us all to live in. I think you can agree that this cramped box is too small.” “Well that’ll be easily fixed,” responded Santa, “I’ll head back to the workshop and return it later on, though I’ll need one of you to come with me and pick it out.” Tilly jumped up, “I’ll come! I’ll come!” and so she went.
What was now early morning Santa dropped off the new coop and help them put it in place. However, in the excitement none of the chickens had realised that Tilly hadn’t returned.
Moreover, Santa had flown back home to enjoy a delicious Christmas dinner.
Spleglorf鈥檚 Christmas Spoiler by Jamie Smith
Read by Michael Patrick. Illustration by Kal McBride.
Spleglorf Stunder was an interplanetary chomper which means he was a monster who ate planets!
In the advent to Christmas, Spleglorf plotted to munch 25 planets between his sharp pointy teeth, nabbing them niftily using six elongated tentacles.
This Christmas he had his three roaming eyes on planets Knick-knack, Pooperstool, Yelosno AND HORRIFICATION, 25th on the list was EARTH!
Dr Spiff was known throughout the North Pole as the BEST ASTRONONOMER EVER and soon spied what Spleglorf was up to. Before long EVERYONE was in a panic and instead of sending their usual Christmas lists, children everywhere sent a wish for Christmas that Spleglorf would cease his reign of terror.
Santa was magical but not magical enough to stop Spleglorf Stunder without recruiting some serious help. He knew just which elves to pick and before long Hephty the engineer had built THE SANTA SLEIGH MK2, sleek, stylish and fit for space. He was joined by Ilf, the best alien linguist and Dr Wendil in case either Hephty or Ilf got spacesick.
After a rocky lift-off on Christmas Eve, they made it. Trembling, Ilf threw on his spacesuit and built up the courage to talk to a monster ONE MILLION TIMES HIS SIZE! Ilf floated onto an asteroid, pulled out his megaphone and asked Speglorf why he was eating planets. Spleglorf explained that he had a parasite inside him that would kill him if he didn't.
Listening intently, Dr Wendil leapt into action and mixed together a powerful but delicious medicine that would rid Spleglorf of his parasite. Hephty used his magnifying ray-gun to mega-size the potion presented to Spleglorf in a giant sundae glass complete with candy cane!
With an enormous slurp and a belch, Spleglorf simultaneously released all the lost planets and made a billion Christmas wishes come true.