Dolce's Story Chair - The Tiny Red Sack (Part 5)

Dolce's Story Chair

Dad: Dolce, Come here.
Dolce: Yes, Dad.
Dad: Mom wanted to talk you about all the help you're giving her.
Dolce: Well, I do try my best.
Dad: She wants you to stop.
Dolce: Why?
Dad: She had to put back all the bows you took off the presents. Now they don't stick very well and she had to tape them down.
Dolce: Well I better go check and see if they are properly taped down.
Dad: No. I hate to think of Story Chair as a punishment, but you need to sit here and be good.
Dolce: I guess I could do that.
Dad: Thanks Dolce. Let see where we were. Oh right. Jingles had collapsed from exhaustion in the back of Santa's sleigh. He only had three more mice to deliver...


The entire plan for all the cats on the Naughty List was rapidly unraveling on Jingles. He only had three catnip mice left in his toy sack, but he did not have the strength to deliver them. A small tear slid down his furry brown cheek.

“I failed them.” Jingles thought sadly to himself. “I failed all of them.”

Jingles laid his head onto his right paw and reached out and placed his left paw on his red velvet sack. It was so close to coming to fruition. Jingles sighed.

Jingles suddenly felt his head being lifted up. A gentle hand in a black leather mitt held Jingles’ head softly.

“What are you doing Jingles.” Santa Clause asked as he peered into the back of his sleigh.

“I tried to bring some joy to the cats on the Naughty List.” Jingles stammered. “I thought I could do what you do. But I can’t I don’t have the energy to keep going. I can barely lift my head.”

“Cookies.” Santa replied.

“Cookies?” Jingles wiped his paw across his nose.

“Cookies.” Santa knelt down in the snow. “My nutritionist at the North Pole warned me many, many, many years ago that I might experience a blood sugar crash trying to deliver all these gifts. So she and some of the elves in Marketing came up with the idea about leaving cookies for Santa.”

“So the cookies are not for kids to say thanks...” Jingles stated.

“They are there to help prevent Santa from passing out in front of the fireplace from hypoglycemia.” Santa finished Jingles’ thought. He rummaged in a hidden pocket and pulled out several cat treats. “Here have these. I keep some on hand to bribe the household cat when necessary.”

Jingles greedily ate the offered cat treats. He felt some energy return and his spirits began to lift.

“How did you know I was back here?” Jingles asked.

“Jingles.” Santa said authoritatively. “I have been driving this sleigh for a very long time. I can tell if Sammy has overfilled the peppermint lubricator reservoirs by the way the sleigh makes a left hand turn. There is no way I would miss the effect of one cat wearing a red velvet cap and carrying a toy sack full of catnip mice on my sleigh. Not to mention all the banging going on when you almost did not make it back to the sleigh.”

“Oh.” Jingles was embarrassed that he thought that he could outsmart Santa Claus.

“You still haven’t my question. What are you doing?” Santa asked.

“I thought I told you.” Jingles was confused.

“You still have mice left in your sack and you are laying here in the back of the sled.” Santa stated. “Those mice will not deliver themselves. Come on, we shall go together.”

Santa picked up Jingles and held him under his arm. With a smile and a wink, Santa opened the portal that would take them from the roof to the Christmas tree below. Santa set Jingles down on the floor. He carried his own sack to the Christmas tree and he knelt down to pull the proper gifts from the bag.

Jingles followed him and opened his own red velvet sack. His list said one feline. Jingles pulled a single mouse from the sack and placed it next to the tree. His eyes opened as he read the label:

Merry Christmas, To Amaretti (Mom), Jingles

Jingles looked frantically around. The stone fireplace, the maple bookcase, the carpeted stairs were all familiar to Jingles. His heart skipped as he saw the wicker cat bed with the fluffy red pillows. This house had once been his home.

“Mom!” Jingles cried out. “Mom!”

“Son?” A cream coloured cat with lynx points walked into the room. “Is that truly you?”

“Yes Mom.” Jingles purred and rubbed his face against his mother’s.

“We didn’t know where you had disappeared to. The Female of the House was worried sick that you had slipped out into the night. She feared the worst had happened to you.” Amaretti purred back.

“I fell into Santa’s toy bag and ended up at the North Pole. I tried to find you but I didn’t know your name. You were Mom.” Jingles explained excitedly. “I even tried to find my brother and sister, but I couldn’t because I don’t know their names now either. I am so happy to see you again.”

Jingles turned to Santa who was busy munching on a plate full of cookies and enjoying the reunion between Jingles and his mother.

“Can she come with us?” Jingles asked.

Santa started to answer, but he was interrupted by Amaretti.

“I can’t go with you my son.” Amaretti stated. “This is my home now. The Female of the House was so sad when she lost you that she decided that she would keep me and make me part of her family. If I leave, it would break her heart all over again.”

“Jingles.” Santa said. “We need to get going.”

“Just one more thing.” Jingles went to the fireplace or Forbidden Cave as he had known it as a kitten. “I hope the Female of the House will see this and understand.”

Jingles drew a small “J” in the soot and traced a heart around it. He used some of Santa’s magic to make his paw small, like it had been when he left one year ago tonight. Jingles placed this paw into the soot and left a tiny impression.

“Let’s go, Santa.” Jingles smiled, and he looked back at his mom. “I will see you next year, Mom. I love you and miss you terribly.”

“I am very proud of you…” Amaretti said and then hesitated. ”What do they call you?”

“I am now Jingles.” Jingles replied proudly. “And I help Santa out at the North Pole by delivering toys to all the cats on the Naughty List.”

There was a shimmer and a flicker and once again Jingles was gone from the house with the stone fireplace and the wicker cat bed with the fluffy red pillows.

Jingles rode to the last house on this years trip next to Santa instead of in his little trapdoor cubby hole at the back of the sleigh. Jingles heart was pounding. His nervousness and anxiety was gone. He had seen his mother and had been able to show her that he was alright.


Santa guided Jingles down to the living room where the Christmas tree stood. Jingles’ list said to leave two catnip mice, his very last two. He removed them from the sack and looked at the labels. There were two names that meant nothing to him. Jingles was hoping that maybe these last two cats were his brother and sister. After finding his Mother, Jingles’ expectation of finding his brother and sister in this last house had risen to unbearable levels.

There was nothing familiar in this house. No sights or smells told Jingles that his brother and sister were here. As they flew here, Santa had warned Jingles that his brother and sister may not have been on the Lists for other reasons. Those reasons were far too terrible for Jingles to think about.

Jingles placed the two catnip mice under the tree and began to follow Santa back to the shimmering and flickering portal. Jingles paused and looked around the room. A flash of light reflected from a hidden spot near the sofa. It was followed by a second flash. Jingles heart leapt as he saw the reflection of the Christmas tree lights in the eyes of two cats.


To be continued tomorrow…