In tonight's specially selected rewind story, we spend Christmas with a little mouse named Chestnut who is awoken from her slumber by a peculiar noise outside. With her mother at her side, Chestnut investigates the sound and they are amazed to find a very special mouse standing in the snow. It's Father Christmouse and he needs their help! Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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Narrator 🎙️ Abbe Opher
Author 🖋️ Gillian Rogerson
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of
00:00:14
Speaker 1: original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime
00:00:20
Speaker 1: a dree We're still in the Christmas story groove, and tonight,
00:00:24
Speaker 1: I've got a super sweet tale that takes place on
00:00:28
Speaker 1: a snowy Christmas Eve. A young mouse called Chestnut is
00:00:32
Speaker 1: awoken from her slumber by a peculiar noise outside. With
00:00:37
Speaker 1: her mother at her side, Chestnut investigates the sound and
00:00:41
Speaker 1: they are amazed to find a very special mouse standing
00:00:45
Speaker 1: in the snow. It's father, Chris Mouse, and he needs
00:00:49
Speaker 1: their help. Chestnut and her mother agree to help him
00:00:53
Speaker 1: and swing into action. Before long, they're going on a
00:00:57
Speaker 1: magical journey through the starry skins, eyes together on an
00:01:01
Speaker 1: adventure they will never forget. Settle down and fill your
00:01:06
Speaker 1: minds with visions of snowflakes, glowing warm fireplaces, gift stuffed stockings,
00:01:14
Speaker 1: and a wonderfully golden ornate sleigh. This is Father Christmuse
00:01:21
Speaker 1: by Gillian Rogerson. Twas the night before Christmas, and all
00:01:32
Speaker 1: through the house not a creature was stirring except for
00:01:37
Speaker 1: one mouse. Her name was Chestnut, and she was fast
00:01:41
Speaker 1: asleep in her cozy bed until a clattering noise from
00:01:45
Speaker 1: outside woke her up. She left her bed and went
00:01:49
Speaker 1: into her mother's room. The clattering noise filled the air again,
00:01:53
Speaker 1: and her mother stirred from her slumber. She opened her
00:01:57
Speaker 1: eyes and looked at Chestnut. He asked what the noise was.
00:02:02
Speaker 1: Chestnut shrugged and said she didn't know, but it was
00:02:05
Speaker 1: coming from outside. Her mother got out of bed and
00:02:10
Speaker 1: walked over to the window. She pulled back the curtain
00:02:14
Speaker 1: and looked out. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she said, Chestnut,
00:02:21
Speaker 1: come over here and look at this. Tell me what
00:02:25
Speaker 1: you can see. The little mouse joined her mother at
00:02:29
Speaker 1: the window. Her eyes widened in surprise too, and she
00:02:34
Speaker 1: said it looks like Father christ Mouse with his sleigh
00:02:40
Speaker 1: and reindeer. Her mother nodded, I'm glad you can see
00:02:46
Speaker 1: them too. I thought my eyes were playing a Christmas
00:02:50
Speaker 1: trick on me. For a moment, Chestnut peered closer through
00:02:55
Speaker 1: the window. She asked, what's he doing out our house?
00:03:02
Speaker 1: Isn't he supposed to be flying through the sky and
00:03:05
Speaker 1: delivering presents to everyone. The two mice watched Father chris
00:03:10
Speaker 1: Mouth as he walked round and round his sleigh. He
00:03:14
Speaker 1: stopped now and again to take off his red hat
00:03:17
Speaker 1: and scratch his head. Chestnut's mother said, I think there's
00:03:24
Speaker 1: something wrong with his sleigh. It could be broken. We
00:03:30
Speaker 1: should go outside and ask if everything is okay. Get
00:03:34
Speaker 1: your coat and boots on, Chestnut, it's cold out there.
00:03:38
Speaker 1: Chestnut dashed away to get her coat from the hallway.
00:03:42
Speaker 1: She grabbed her mother's too, along with their boots, and
00:03:46
Speaker 1: swiftly returned to the bedroom. Her mother was still looking
00:03:51
Speaker 1: out of the window when she saw Chestnut. She said, yes,
00:03:56
Speaker 1: his sleigh is definitely broken. He keeps prodding the buttons
00:04:01
Speaker 1: on the control panel. They make a clattering noise for
00:04:05
Speaker 1: a few seconds and then stop. He keeps looking under
00:04:10
Speaker 1: the sleigh too. The mice put on their coats and
00:04:16
Speaker 1: boots and left the house. They padded through the thick
00:04:20
Speaker 1: snow over to Father Chrismuse and stood next to him.
00:04:25
Speaker 1: He didn't notice them because he was mumbling to himself
00:04:29
Speaker 1: and talking about how he just didn't understand it. Chestnut's
00:04:34
Speaker 1: mother let out a polite cough and said, eh, excuse us.
00:04:41
Speaker 1: We don't mean to bother you, but are you having
00:04:44
Speaker 1: trouble with your sleigh? Father Chrismus stared at the mice Oh, hello,
00:04:53
Speaker 1: I didn't see you there. Yes, yes, I am having
00:04:56
Speaker 1: trouble with my sleigh. It won't take off. It's been
00:05:01
Speaker 1: fine for the first part of my evening, but now,
00:05:05
Speaker 1: he shrugged. Now it just won't lift off. This has
00:05:10
Speaker 1: never happened before, and I've checked everything I can think of,
00:05:14
Speaker 1: but nothing has worked. I don't know what I'm going
00:05:18
Speaker 1: to do. I've still got many presents to deliver. Oh,
00:05:25
Speaker 1: he sighed, and his breath turned into a whirling whisper
00:05:29
Speaker 1: of air in front of him. Chestnuts smiled shyly at
00:05:34
Speaker 1: Father Chrismas and said, my mother will be able to
00:05:38
Speaker 1: fix it. She can fix anything, can't you. Mum? You
00:05:43
Speaker 1: fix the washing machine, the shower, and the tumble dryer.
00:05:48
Speaker 1: Oh am, my radio. Chestnut's mum smiled and waved her
00:05:53
Speaker 1: pour in the air, as though fixing all those things
00:05:56
Speaker 1: was nothing at all. Father Chrismas gave Chestnut's mother a
00:06:02
Speaker 1: hopeful smile and asked if she could possibly look at
00:06:06
Speaker 1: his sleigh. Chestnut's mother said, I've never repaired a sleigh before,
00:06:14
Speaker 1: but I can take a look. Chestnut. Would you fetch
00:06:18
Speaker 1: my toolbox please? Chestnut grinned and ran back into the house.
00:06:24
Speaker 1: Father Christmus smiled at Chestnut's mother and said, I remember
00:06:31
Speaker 1: delivering a toy tool set to you when you were
00:06:34
Speaker 1: a child. Your name is Moorag, isn't it. Morag nodded
00:06:40
Speaker 1: and smiled at the memory of receiving her first tool set.
00:06:46
Speaker 1: She told Father Christmas that she loved fixing things and
00:06:50
Speaker 1: building things too. She had plans to build her own
00:06:54
Speaker 1: house one day. Father Christmas said he was certain that
00:07:00
Speaker 1: would happen. A soft smile alighted on Morag's face, and
00:07:06
Speaker 1: she gazed into the distance, lost in thoughts about her
00:07:11
Speaker 1: building dreams. Chestnut returned with her mother's toolbox held firmly
00:07:18
Speaker 1: in her paw. Moorrag noticed her daughter and took the
00:07:23
Speaker 1: toolbox from her. Thank you, Chestnut. She turned to Father
00:07:29
Speaker 1: Christmouse and asked if she could examine the sleigh and
00:07:33
Speaker 1: if he could tell her how it normally operated. Father
00:07:39
Speaker 1: Chris Mouse showed Morerag the control panel. There were two
00:07:44
Speaker 1: buttons on it. One was labeled up and the other
00:07:48
Speaker 1: one was labeled down. Morerag scratched her head, opened her
00:07:55
Speaker 1: toolbox and took out a spanner, a hammer, and a
00:07:59
Speaker 1: pair of ply. She got into the sleigh and sat
00:08:03
Speaker 1: on the padded seat in front of the control panel.
00:08:07
Speaker 1: There was a determined look on her face. Father Christmaus
00:08:12
Speaker 1: and Chestnut left her to it. They walked over to
00:08:17
Speaker 1: the reindeer, who were waiting patiently for the sleigh to
00:08:21
Speaker 1: move again. Father Chrismus introduced them to the young mouse,
00:08:26
Speaker 1: and from within his pockets he produced a handful of carrots.
00:08:32
Speaker 1: He gave them to Chestnut and asked her to feed
00:08:35
Speaker 1: the reindeer. Chestnut walked around the beautiful animals and gave
00:08:42
Speaker 1: each one a crunchy carrot. The reindeer nibbled on the
00:08:47
Speaker 1: delicious vegetable and smiled their thanks at Chestnut. She smiled
00:08:54
Speaker 1: back at them. A few moments later, her mother declared, Aha,
00:09:01
Speaker 1: there's a loose wire here. I'll have that sorted out
00:09:06
Speaker 1: in a jiffy. Chestnut didn't know how long a jiffy was,
00:09:11
Speaker 1: but it wasn't very long because her mother soon told
00:09:15
Speaker 1: Father Chrismas that the sleigh had been fixed hopefully. Her
00:09:20
Speaker 1: mother added, with a small smile, do you want to
00:09:24
Speaker 1: test the up button and we'll see what happens. Father
00:09:28
Speaker 1: Chrismouse got into the sleigh and sat on the padded
00:09:32
Speaker 1: seat next to Moorragg and pressed the up button. With
00:09:37
Speaker 1: a low rumble. The sleigh fired up and rose slightly
00:09:42
Speaker 1: off the ground. Father Chrismuse grinned at Moorrag and gave
00:09:47
Speaker 1: her a thumbs up. The reindeer let out a kind
00:09:51
Speaker 1: of honking noise, which Chesnut assumed was a cheer. Morag said, well,
00:09:59
Speaker 1: we'll let you get on. It was lovely to meet you,
00:10:02
Speaker 1: Father Chrismuse, have a wonderful evening. Father Christmas said, wait
00:10:10
Speaker 1: a moment, please, Chestnut Morerag, would you like to come
00:10:15
Speaker 1: with me as I deliver the rest of the presents.
00:10:18
Speaker 1: It won't take long, and if you want to return
00:10:21
Speaker 1: home at any time, just let me know. Chestnut clasped
00:10:27
Speaker 1: her paws together eagerly and gave her mother a long,
00:10:32
Speaker 1: hopeful look. More Rag said to Father Chrismaus, that's very
00:10:39
Speaker 1: kind of you, but we don't want to be a bother.
00:10:43
Speaker 1: Father Christmas said they wouldn't be a bother at all,
00:10:47
Speaker 1: and he would love to have their company. Also, he added,
00:10:53
Speaker 1: with a pointed look at the control panel, I could
00:10:56
Speaker 1: do with you by my side in case my slave
00:11:00
Speaker 1: down again. Morag glanced at her daughter, who was still
00:11:04
Speaker 1: giving her a hopeful stare and said, okay, yes, we
00:11:09
Speaker 1: would love that. Thank you. Morag put her tools back
00:11:15
Speaker 1: in the box and then stowed it under the seat
00:11:17
Speaker 1: in case it was needed again. Chestnut leapt onto the
00:11:22
Speaker 1: hovering sleigh and snuggled down next to her mother. She
00:11:26
Speaker 1: grinned up at her Her mother grinned back and put
00:11:30
Speaker 1: her arm around her daughter. Father Chrismouse called out to
00:11:34
Speaker 1: the reindeer. Now Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and vixen, Now comet Cupid,
00:11:43
Speaker 1: Donner and Blitzen. Off we go. The reindeer took a
00:11:49
Speaker 1: few steps forward and then rose into the starry sky,
00:11:53
Speaker 1: pulling the sleigh behind them. Chestnut and her mother let
00:11:59
Speaker 1: out little gas of amazement as they left the snowy
00:12:02
Speaker 1: ground behind. They looked over the side of the sleigh
00:12:07
Speaker 1: and saw the top of their snow covered house. The
00:12:11
Speaker 1: snow on the roof glistened in the light of the moon.
00:12:16
Speaker 1: Chestnut asked where they were going first. Father Chrismouse said,
00:12:23
Speaker 1: we'll visit the mice who live in your village. We'll
00:12:27
Speaker 1: head to the row of houses near the school first.
00:12:31
Speaker 1: I've got lots of presents to deliver there. He guided
00:12:36
Speaker 1: the sleigh to the right and headed to a row
00:12:39
Speaker 1: of red bricked houses that were bedecked with fairy lights.
00:12:44
Speaker 1: A blanket of snow covered every roof. Chestnut told Father
00:12:50
Speaker 1: Chrismouse that some of her friends lived in the houses.
00:12:55
Speaker 1: Father Chrismuse gave her a knowing smile and a nod.
00:13:00
Speaker 1: He landed the sleigh smoothly on the middle roof and
00:13:04
Speaker 1: asked Chestnut if she could look into the sack of
00:13:07
Speaker 1: toys underneath the seat and pick out the first present.
00:13:13
Speaker 1: Chestnut frowned. She hadn't noticed a sack of toys when
00:13:18
Speaker 1: she'd climbed into the sleigh, but she looked under the
00:13:22
Speaker 1: seat anyway. There was a sack of toys, and it
00:13:28
Speaker 1: was made of soft red velvet. It was only a
00:13:33
Speaker 1: small sack, and Chestnut wasn't sure it contained enough presents.
00:13:39
Speaker 1: As If sensing her concern, Father Christmas said, that's a
00:13:45
Speaker 1: magical sack made by my elves. It's much much bigger
00:13:52
Speaker 1: on the inside. Every time we arrived at a house,
00:13:56
Speaker 1: the right present will move to the top of the sack,
00:14:00
Speaker 1: ready to be picked out. I'm going to deliver a
00:14:04
Speaker 1: gift to a young mouse called Flossy first Chestnut, can
00:14:09
Speaker 1: you reach into the sack and see what you pull out?
00:14:14
Speaker 1: Chestnut reached into the sack and her paw alighted on
00:14:18
Speaker 1: a box. She pulled it out. It was wrapped in
00:14:22
Speaker 1: gold paper and tied with a red ribbon. The gift
00:14:27
Speaker 1: tag attached to the gift confirmed it was for Flossy.
00:14:33
Speaker 1: Chestnut smiled and told Father Chrismouse that Flossi was one
00:14:38
Speaker 1: of her school friends and her favorite colors were red
00:14:42
Speaker 1: and gold. Once again, Father Christmouse gave her a knowing
00:14:47
Speaker 1: smile and a nod. Chestnut wondered what was inside the box,
00:14:54
Speaker 1: but didn't ask because she knew Flossy would tell her
00:14:57
Speaker 1: when they next met up. She handed the box to
00:15:01
Speaker 1: Father Christmouse. He jumped lightly out of the sleigh and
00:15:05
Speaker 1: into the soft snow on the roof. He told the
00:15:09
Speaker 1: mice he wouldn't be long. He walked over to the
00:15:13
Speaker 1: nearest chimney and jumped into it. Less than two seconds later,
00:15:20
Speaker 1: he leapt back out, his paws empty. Chestnut blinked in
00:15:26
Speaker 1: surprise and said that was very quick. Father Christmouse's eyes
00:15:33
Speaker 1: twinkled in merriment. He said, I use a lot of
00:15:38
Speaker 1: Christmas magic at this time of the year, and that
00:15:42
Speaker 1: includes slowing down time so that I get every present delivered. Chestnut,
00:15:50
Speaker 1: there are more gifts to give out on this row
00:15:52
Speaker 1: of houses. Could you reach into the sack again please?
00:15:58
Speaker 1: Chestnut did so brought out a triangle shaped present, wrapped
00:16:03
Speaker 1: in green paper and tied with a blue ribbon. It
00:16:07
Speaker 1: was addressed to Barnaby. He was a friend of hers too.
00:16:12
Speaker 1: Thinking about how happy her friends would be when they
00:16:16
Speaker 1: opened their gifts made Chestnut feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
00:16:23
Speaker 1: She gave the gift to Father Christmouse and off he
00:16:26
Speaker 1: popped again, down into another chimney. More presents were delivered
00:16:32
Speaker 1: along the row of houses, and then Father Christmouse said
00:16:37
Speaker 1: it was time to move on. They flew around the
00:16:43
Speaker 1: village and visited cozy cottages, tall detached houses, and a
00:16:50
Speaker 1: hotel on the hill where several families were staying for
00:16:54
Speaker 1: the festive season. Chestnut continued to hand out presents from
00:17:00
Speaker 1: the magical sack beneath her seat. Her mum kept a
00:17:05
Speaker 1: close eye on the control panel, just in case she
00:17:09
Speaker 1: needed to fix it again. After a while, Father Christmass
00:17:15
Speaker 1: flew the sleigh away from the village and over the fields.
00:17:20
Speaker 1: They stopped outside a line of trees and low bushes.
00:17:26
Speaker 1: Father Christmas said, some mice live in the trees here,
00:17:33
Speaker 1: and some live under the bushes. There aren't any chimneys,
00:17:38
Speaker 1: but I have other ways to get into their homes.
00:17:42
Speaker 1: Chestnut more, rag, would you like to fly with me
00:17:46
Speaker 1: up to the tree houses where some door mice live.
00:17:51
Speaker 1: It was an offer Chestnut and her mother couldn't refuse.
00:17:55
Speaker 1: They asked if they would fly up to the tree
00:17:58
Speaker 1: houses in the sleigh. With a smile, Father Christmas answered,
00:18:04
Speaker 1: we'll fly there on our own using Christmas glitter. It's
00:18:11
Speaker 1: magical glitter, and when I sprinkle someone you you'll be
00:18:16
Speaker 1: able to fly for the rest of Christmas Eve. He
00:18:22
Speaker 1: made his little pow into a fist blue on it,
00:18:26
Speaker 1: and when he opened his poor again it was full
00:18:30
Speaker 1: of rainbow colored glitter. A gentle gust of wind caught
00:18:36
Speaker 1: the glitter and carried it towards Chestnut and her mother.
00:18:41
Speaker 1: It landed on their clothes and fur and settled there
00:18:46
Speaker 1: twinkling brightly. Chestnut said, what do we do now? Do
00:18:54
Speaker 1: we flap our arms like a bird? Father Christmas explained,
00:19:00
Speaker 1: and no flapping is needed. Just think gently about flying
00:19:07
Speaker 1: and where you want to be like you do with walking.
00:19:12
Speaker 1: If you look upwards at this tree right next to us,
00:19:17
Speaker 1: you'll see a group of treehouses nestled in the branches.
00:19:23
Speaker 1: Imagine yourself flying up there. Chestnut and her mother did
00:19:31
Speaker 1: that very thing, and a few seconds later they floated
00:19:37
Speaker 1: off the seat and rose towards the treehouses. Chestnut took
00:19:44
Speaker 1: her mother's hand in hers and smiled at her. The
00:19:49
Speaker 1: mice were having such a magical evening. Father Christmas sprinkled
00:19:57
Speaker 1: some glitter on the red velvet sack and it rose
00:20:01
Speaker 1: through the air too. He flew at the side of
00:20:06
Speaker 1: the sack and kept a paw on it to stop
00:20:09
Speaker 1: it from drifting away through the night sky. When Chestnut
00:20:16
Speaker 1: and her mother reached the group of treehouses, they floated
00:20:20
Speaker 1: outside them and waited for Father Christmas. He arrived next
00:20:27
Speaker 1: to them, opened the sack, and a present popped out
00:20:32
Speaker 1: on its own and floated over to him. Father Christmas
00:20:39
Speaker 1: caught the present and flew towards the nearest tree house
00:20:44
Speaker 1: and disappeared from view. Chestnut whispered, where did he go?
00:20:53
Speaker 1: Her mother whispered back, he must be using his Christmas
00:20:58
Speaker 1: magic again. A moment later, Father Christmouse reappeared in front
00:21:06
Speaker 1: of them, he's poor now empty. The rest of the
00:21:12
Speaker 1: presents were delivered to the families in the tree houses.
00:21:17
Speaker 1: After that, the mice flew back to the ground, and
00:21:21
Speaker 1: then gifts were given to those mice who lived in
00:21:25
Speaker 1: snug homes beneath the bushes. Once all the presents had
00:21:31
Speaker 1: been delivered, Chestnut and her mother joined Father Christmouse in
00:21:37
Speaker 1: the sleigh again. Are you still ok to help me?
00:21:43
Speaker 1: He asked the mice next to him. Chestnut waited for
00:21:47
Speaker 1: her mother to speak and was very relieved when she said,
00:21:53
Speaker 1: we'd love to continue helping you. We're having a wonderful time,
00:21:58
Speaker 1: aren't we, Chestnut. Chestnut nodded six times and then added
00:22:06
Speaker 1: another nod to make sure Father Chrismouse knew she wanted
00:22:10
Speaker 1: to keep helping him. The sleigh flew on through the
00:22:15
Speaker 1: starry night and over the snowy ground. They stopped at
00:22:21
Speaker 1: a couple of burrows in fields where families of field
00:22:25
Speaker 1: mice lived. The entrance to the burrows was lit up
00:22:29
Speaker 1: with small lanterns and strings of twinkling fairy lights. They
00:22:36
Speaker 1: stopped at the side of a river, and Father Chrismouse
00:22:41
Speaker 1: delivered presents to mice who lived on the river banks,
00:22:46
Speaker 1: and to families who lived on the boats that were
00:22:49
Speaker 1: tied up near a stone bridge. Chestnut and her mother
00:22:55
Speaker 1: had never seen a river boat home before, so the
00:23:00
Speaker 1: Chrismouse used some of his magic on them, and they
00:23:04
Speaker 1: all popped inside one of the homes together. Chestnut and
00:23:10
Speaker 1: her mother were amazed at how neat and tidy the
00:23:14
Speaker 1: home was, and how cozy too. After that, the three
00:23:21
Speaker 1: mice flew towards the snow capped mountains and delivered presents
00:23:28
Speaker 1: to mountain mice who lived in log cabins and ski lodges.
00:23:33
Speaker 1: They went over a moonlit desert where mice lived in
00:23:38
Speaker 1: tents of all shapes and sizes. Later on, as they
00:23:44
Speaker 1: flew over a forest, Chestnut began to feel a little
00:23:49
Speaker 1: tired and did her best to cover up her yawn.
00:23:55
Speaker 1: After delivering the presence to the mice in the forest,
00:24:00
Speaker 1: father Chrismas flew the sleigh towards the sea. He landed
00:24:07
Speaker 1: the sleigh on a sandy beach and left gifts to
00:24:11
Speaker 1: mice who lived in huts made out of straw. They
00:24:17
Speaker 1: stopped at some fancy hotels along the beach for more deliveries,
00:24:23
Speaker 1: and then at a lighthouse which was perched on a cliff,
00:24:29
Speaker 1: just like the river boat home. Chestnut and her mother
00:24:34
Speaker 1: had never been inside a lighthouse before, so Father Chrismas
00:24:39
Speaker 1: used his magic again and inside the lighthouse the curious
00:24:45
Speaker 1: mice went. They decided it was a beautiful place to live,
00:24:51
Speaker 1: and the view of the sea was a very soothing one.
00:24:56
Speaker 1: The relaxing sound of the waves washing upon the rocks
00:25:02
Speaker 1: below them made Chestnut yawn again. They left the lighthouse behind,
00:25:10
Speaker 1: and Father Chrismas guided the sleigh over the dark sea
00:25:15
Speaker 1: and towards a cruise ship that was covered in twinkling lights.
00:25:21
Speaker 1: The reflected lights danced around the waves and surrounded the
00:25:26
Speaker 1: ship in a glowing halo of rainbow lights. Chestnut had
00:25:33
Speaker 1: never heard about a cruise ship before, let alone seen one.
00:25:39
Speaker 1: She was amazed when she saw the huge swimming pool
00:25:43
Speaker 1: in the middle of the deck and the winding slide
00:25:48
Speaker 1: that led into it. Father Chrismus expertly landed the sleigh
00:25:55
Speaker 1: on the deck, and using his magic again, he made
00:26:00
Speaker 1: presents fly out of the sack and towards the various
00:26:05
Speaker 1: rooms where sleeping mice lay. Thinking about the sleeping mice
00:26:12
Speaker 1: made Chestnut yawn three times in a row. Her mother
00:26:18
Speaker 1: noticed and chuckled lightly. She told Father Christmas it was
00:26:24
Speaker 1: time they headed home. Perfect timing, he said, because this
00:26:33
Speaker 1: was my very last visit of the night, Morag, would
00:26:39
Speaker 1: you like to take the reins of the sleigh and
00:26:41
Speaker 1: fly us home? The reindeer no which way to go.
00:26:48
Speaker 1: Chestnut's mother was too delighted to speak and could only
00:26:53
Speaker 1: nod in reply. The three mice got back into the
00:26:58
Speaker 1: sleigh and Morag took the reins in her paws. The
00:27:03
Speaker 1: huge smile on her mother's face made Chestnut feel all
00:27:09
Speaker 1: warm and fuzzy inside again. Moorrag softly called out the
00:27:17
Speaker 1: names of the reindeer. The sleigh rose smoothly from the
00:27:23
Speaker 1: ship and headed back towards the mice's home, over the
00:27:30
Speaker 1: dark sea and the sandy beach. They flew over the
00:27:36
Speaker 1: forest and the moonlit desert, and the snow capped mountains
00:27:42
Speaker 1: and the river boat homes, her cross fields and bushes,
00:27:49
Speaker 1: and towards the familiar sight of their village. Moorag landed
00:27:56
Speaker 1: the sleigh outside their cozy home. She made a final
00:28:03
Speaker 1: check of the controls and said everything was still in
00:28:08
Speaker 1: working order. Chestnut was so tired that she could barely
00:28:16
Speaker 1: keep her eyes open. Her mother helped her off the
00:28:21
Speaker 1: sleigh and carry the little mouse in her arms. They
00:28:27
Speaker 1: thanked Father Christmus for taking them on a magical adventure.
00:28:33
Speaker 1: He thanked them for helping him, and said that having
00:28:38
Speaker 1: them at his side had made it a very magical
00:28:43
Speaker 1: Christmas Eve. Indeed, the reindeer smiled at more Rag and
00:28:50
Speaker 1: Chestnut and nodded goodbye. The sleigh rose from the snowy
00:28:58
Speaker 1: ground and began to fly away. Father Christmas gave them
00:29:04
Speaker 1: a final wave goodbye. Morera took Chestnut into their home.
00:29:14
Speaker 1: There were a couple of presents under the tree for
00:29:17
Speaker 1: them that hadn't been there before. Each present was wrapped
00:29:23
Speaker 1: in their favorite colors. Chestnut said, tiredly, how did those
00:29:33
Speaker 1: get there? I never saw Father Christmas coming into our house.
00:29:41
Speaker 1: The mother said, he must have used his magic again.
00:29:49
Speaker 1: How kind of him to leave presents for us. Come on, Chestnut,
00:29:56
Speaker 1: it's time for your sleep. I'm certain he ready for
00:30:01
Speaker 1: my sleep. Chestnut laid her head against her mother's shoulder
00:30:08
Speaker 1: and closed her eyes. Her mother used the last of
00:30:13
Speaker 1: her Christmas Eve glitter to gently fly up the stairs
00:30:19
Speaker 1: and into Chestnut's bedroom. With Chestnut still in her arms.
00:30:27
Speaker 1: She walked over to the window and looked out at
00:30:31
Speaker 1: the starry sky. In the distance, she saw Father Christmas
00:30:38
Speaker 1: flying through the night. His words of good bye carried
00:30:45
Speaker 1: on the wind to her and across the snowy land.
00:30:51
Speaker 1: Happy Christmas to all, and to wall, good night.