A Heartwarming Yuletide Tale
It is said that Christmas is a season of the heart. A time for renewal of hope. A time when past wrongs are forgotten and new bonds of friendship are created.
Gather around me children, and I will tell you a true-to-life Christmas tale, where the magically unexplainable happened. The following is the tale of one such incident. It is the story of a remarkable young orphan girl who had enough room in her heart to adopt a lost stray alligator, just in time for Christmas dinner.
Maria Cessna had been just 4-years-old when she defected with her parents from Havana, Cuba, in a raft made out of used rubber bands and cotton puffs. As her parents soon learned, about five feet into the fateful voyage, rubber bands and cotton puffs do not float and the raft capsized and sank to the bottom. Her parents tragically, having never learned to swim, drowned in the three foot depths. Maria, having a smaller body, and not having been tied to any rocks or anvils for good luck like her parents, was washed upon the shore by the ebbing tides.
A week after her parents were located and laid to rest, this now orphaned sweetheart took a plane to Miami, Florida where she moved into an orphanage to live out the rest of her childhood.
Through it all, Maria longed for a pet. But, not just any pet would do. She wanted a cute little black Labrador puppy that would love her unconditionally and do tricks when you kick it. Each day she begged the orphan headmistress, Miss Yvette Deauvoix, for just one chance to find the object of her desires and fill the aching void in her heart. But Miss Deauvoix, sadly, was a b***h and always said "no."
Finally Christmas Eve came around and little Maria could not bear the loneliness anymore. After packing her few possessions into a bag and saying goodbye to her friends, she quietly snuck out the window and lowered herself to the ground. Sneaking off of the orphanage grounds, she headed for the nearby beach, hoping to find some drunken hobo with a puppy she could steal.
Reaching the beach she gazed in each direction but saw nothing. Suddenly she heard a barking in the distance. Padding softly in the sand, she ran to the noise. It looked like a black Labrador puppy! Running faster and faster, she felt like her heart would burst out of her chest. Indeed, it was a puppy and it looked as lost as her, as it wandered around on the beach. She stopped five feet in front of it with her arms outstretched and tears rolling down her cheeks. The puppy was beautiful and sleek.
Then she heard a noise from behind her. "Oh Griffin, there you are. Come away from that strange little orphan girl. It's time to go have a Christmas feast." The puppy bounded off with its owner and she was left alone again. She sat down on the beach, crying softly to herself.
Hours passed and finally she fell asleep. She had a strange dream that night that something big was dragging her along on the ground for a fun ride.
When she awoke that fine Yuletide morning, she saw a sight more beautiful than Christmas snow. A seven foot 'gator was dragging her towards the ocean, presumably to play water polo or some other type of fun water sport.
"You are the most beautiful gift I have ever been given on Christmas!" she cried out closing her eyes and thanking God for this wonderful miracle.
Taking a meat sandwich she had prepared for the puppy out of her pocket, she stood up beside the love-starved reptile. She spoke softly to it and leaned in to give it a hug as it snapped its jaws at her to give her a kiss.
"Because you have filled my heart with love, I will fill your belly with food," she said.
And, that's exactly what she did.