Jingles and the Furry Helpers
Part 5B: A Hectic Ride homeSanta and Jingles stared at the three little forlorn faces in the cardboard box. Each of the kittens were staring right back at Santa and Jingles. Jingles felt a deep excitement within his chest. He tried to fight it but his very audible purr betrayed his happiness. The loneliness that had plagued him at the North Pole was gone. The sorrow that followed the goodbyes with his mother and his siblings was also gone. Jingles had someone to show the wonders of the North Pole; someone who would understand the fascination and joy that a four inch piece of ribbon could possess, and someone who would understand how sleeping on top of a gurgling radiator was more comfortable than a silk, down-filled bed.
“Well, Jingles.” Santa asked. ”What do we do?”
Jingles propped his paws on the edge of the cardboard box and watched the three kittens intently. He dropped down to seat of the sleigh.
“You have to bond with them, Santa.” Jingles said. “they have to trust you more than anything in the world.”
“One at a time?” Santa asked.
“We are at least forty minutes from the North Pole, so I think you had better try to bond with all three at once.” Jingles advised.
“You don’t see a problem with letting three kittens loose on the sleigh as we cruise miles above the Earth?” Santa sought clarification from Jingles.
“Nope.” Jingles replied quickly, but then rethought his answer. “Why? Do you see a problem?”
“I can see several.” Santa stated.”But if you say I need to bond with these kittens, then I will.”
Santa reached into the cardboard box and scooped out the first kitten. The deep orange ginger kitten with the white strip emblazoned on its forehead started purring the minute it felt Santa’s gentle grasp. It snuggled into his lap and continued to purr contently. It seemed like it was made for Santa’s lap. Santa found a large smile on his face as he rejoiced in the kitten’s sweet loving disposition.
“Does it have a name?” Santa asked.
Jingles looked at the orange ginger kitten purring contently and loudly in Santa’s lap. He sniffed gently at the kitten. The kitten regarded Jingles and then twisted its body onto its back. Jingles sat back on his haunches.
“Her name is Myrrrh.” Jingles said.
“Her?’ Santa was taken aback.
“She is a gift that is fit for the King of Kings.” Jingles replied as he nuzzled the little kitten.
Santa reached into the box and lifted up the white-mitted brown and black tabby. The kitten sniffed at Santa’s beard. It began licking his snowy white beard. Santa pulled the kitten away from his beard but the kitten reached out and pulled his beard towards itself and it continued to lick and groom the lock of hair that it had managed to grasp.
“Santa.” Jingles looked at the kitten and at Santa. “Did you eat all the cookies at the last house?”
“Yes.” Santa answered and then hesitated slightly. “Well, we were a little rushed so I did kind of gobble them down.”
“I thought I smelled gingersnaps.” Jingles saw with a chuckle. “Her name is Cookie. It seems she knows what she likes.”
Santa attempted to place the kitten now called Cookie on the seat of the sleigh but she resisted and she grabbed an even larger tuft of Santa’s beard. Santa gave up trying to dislodge Cookie from her grooming session on his beard. He awkwardly reached over and pulled the last kitten from the box. He set the black kitten down on the seat of the sleigh as the orange kitten sat and purred in his lap and the tabby licked at his cookie crumb dusted beard. The black kitten sat and looked about the sleigh. He looked at Santa and at Jingles. He surveyed the controls of the sleigh. He made no move towards either Jingles or Santa.
Jingles did not know what to do with the strangely aloof little black kitten. After watching the other two kittens bond so quickly with Santa, Jingles fully expected the last kitten to adopt Santa similarly. The black kitten watched the other two kittens. He gave his little legs a stretch and then he sat beside Jingles and adopted the exact same stance on seat of the Sleigh.
“Does it have a name?” Santa asked Jingles.
Jingles sniffed at the kitten, who got perturbed at Jingles prodding.
“He will.” Jingles replied. “But he does seem to know what he wants. He thinks you smell friendly enough but that’s not what he needs. Maybe we can figure out what his name should be once we get home.”
“Home, it is then.” Santa repositioned the tabby kitten onto his shoulder where she could still get access to his beard and then adjusted the contently purring ginger on his lap, before he gave the reins of the sleigh a gentle snap. “Due North we Bear, To Home We Head, Fly Straight Dear Friends, To Loft and Bed.”
The reindeer surged forward on unseen paths and unknown footfalls. Santa sat with two new kittens cozied up on his shoulders and on his lap. Jingles sat with a tiny black shadow that mimicked his precise posture. Jingles looked down at the tiny black kitten.
“What do we call you little one?” Jingles asked.
The kitten looked up at him briefly and then went back to studying everything about him.
Jingles nose wrinkled as a little whiff of gas wafted up from the black kitten.
“You’re quite the little stinker aren’t you?” Santa also grimaced as the kitten’s gas reached even his nose.
Jingles look up at Santa. They both felt a great giddy laugh build within. Santa let it out and he gave both Jingles and the little black kitten a loving head rub.
From the seat of the sleigh, Santa, Jingles and the three kittens could finally see the beginning of the permanent ice sheath that lead to the North Pole. Even the reindeer could sense that the worst part of their yearly trip was over. Soon the sleigh would return to normal weight and inertia and their natural talents would slowly supplant the magical means that were necessary to propel Santa around the world on his unique yearly journey.
The sleigh shuddered suddenly. It dropped almost a hundred feet in altitude in a blink of an eye. Santa’s hands gripped the reins tightly. Even Jingles could sense the panic in the reindeer as the sleigh suddenly took on more weight and inertia than they could magically handle.
“What’s the matter, Santa?” Jingles asked as the kittens instinctively cowered
next to him on the sleigh’s seat.
“I don’t know.” Santa struggled with reins. No matter what he did the sleigh continued to rapidly lose lift. “Sammy warned us about this,remember.”
“The gum drop diodes.” Jingles remembered. “They must have worked themselves loose.”
“Can you check Jingles.” Santa asked as he tried to keep the Reindeer’s path above the horizon.
“I will look, Santa.” Jingles hopped down to the floor of the sleigh and opened the access hatch to the amazing mechanical works of Santa’s sleigh. “But that was added after my trip last year. I don’t know where they are.”
“You have to try Jingles.” Santa replied excitedly. ‘We only need about thirty more minutes to reach the permanent ice pack.”
Jingles worked himself through the access panel. He could see the gum drop array as it vibrated and started to shake itself loose. He tried to squeeze himself closer towards the gum drop drive array, but he was too big. Jingles felt a sharp, jarring thud as his body was slammed against the roof of the mechanical compartment by a sudden loss of altitude of the sleigh.
“Jingles.” Santa cried out. “You better hurry. The reindeer can’t hold this line much longer.”
Jingles suddenly felt the same pangs of weakness and failure that he had felt his first year on Santa’s sleigh. He had one task to complete, it was beyond his ability to finish and now it seemed that not even Santa would be able to help him. The sleigh’s rapid descent sharpened.
Jingles tried to reach the Gum Drop Diode Drive Array. It only needed to be pushed back into place to save the sleigh.
Neither Santa or Jingles noticed a little black kitten follow Jingles into the heart of Santa’s sleigh. The little kitten followed Jingles unheard and unseen. He watched as Jingles tried to reach a small rectangular panel that was bouncing irregularly amongst the other equipment. The little black kitten looked around at all the miraculous gizmos and gadgets that whirled and spun in the heart of Santa’s sleigh. He watched and studied each and every little movement, bob, jump and wiggle of the vast myriad of candy-cane control rods, wreath gyroscopes, and licorice cabling.
Jingles felt the press of a little body against his. He turned his head and saw that the little black kitten had followed him into the belly of Santa’s sleigh.
“Go back, little one.” Jingles demanded. “This is no place for you. Go find Santa!”
The little black looked at Jingle and then at the vibrating Gum Drop Diode Array that was threatening to break loose from its designated spot.
“Me fix.” The little black kitten said defiantly as he wormed his way along Jingles’ side.
“Go back!” Jingles tried to order the little black kitten.
There was another sharp drop of the sleigh and both Jingles and the little black kitten were slammed against the roof of the sleighs’ mechanical space. Jingles let out a gasp as his back hit a supporting strut. The little black kitten had been tossed a couple of feet away. He was dangerously close to one of the wildly cavitating wreath gyroscopes.
“Stinker!” Jingles called out in panic. He had not figured out the little black kitten’s true name yet, so he had resorted to the last thought he had of the little black kitten.
“Jingles!” Santa cried out. “You better get those diodes fixed or we are all going for a very long cold swim!”
Jingles tore his gaze from the still form of the little black kitten to the now madly flopping diode array. He tried to move closer to the diode array but he was still a paw length away. He did not notice that the little black kitten was slowly crawling back towards the Gum Drop Diode Drive Array.
“Me fix!” the little black kitten said defiantly aloud to himself.
The little black kitten crawled past Jingles and reached the loose diode drive array. His small frame allowed him to rear up slightly with the narrow confines of the sleigh’s mechanical space. He drove both of his tiny fur tufted paws down sharply onto the vibrating array.
“Me fix!” the little black kitten cried as he reared up again and then drove his paws down on the array. “Me fix!”
There was a slight shudder as the Gum Drop Diode Drive Array temporarily reconnected. Santa’s sleigh jumped slightly higher into the sky with each and every pounce of the little black kitten onto the diode array.
Jingles saw that the little black kitten’s efforts were working.
“Come on, Stinker!” Jingles cried out, “You can do it!”
“That’s it, s’Tinker.”
“You’ve got it, ‘Tinker.”
“That’s it, Tinker!” Jingles exclaimed, “You did it!”
There was a deep thrum as the Gum Drop Diode Array fully engaged. Suddenly the sleigh jumped upwards and found its original flight path home.
“Thank you, Tinker.” Jingle snuzzled the little black kitten. “You have saved all of us.”
Santa’s sleigh broached the break between the land and the great northern ice sheet as it raced towards the North Pole. Santa gave a great sigh of relief. Even if the flying magic of the sleigh and the reindeer failed, they would now be able to make back to the North Pole. It might take several weeks of traversing the ice and snow fields on the ground to get back home, but they would get home.
To be continued...
