A/N: I always hated Caillou, but I do have my soft side. I totally think that Caillou's daddy was partially to blame for Caillou's infamous circus tantrum, because he ignored him and told him to come downstairs for breakfast instead of helping him calm down. If only he was just a little better at parenting. Anyway, this is just a short story I wrote while the fourth chapter of "Caillou Goes to Jail" is still being written. Enjoy!
"I don't want to be late for the circus!" my three-and-a-half-year-old son, Caillou, told me early one morning while brushing his teeth.
"The circus? Oh, no, Caillou," I explained, correcting him, "that's not today. The circus isn't until tomorrow."
My little boy turned to face me. He gave me the puppy-dog eyes and began to cry. "No! No, it's today!" he was whining. "I got all dressed!" He wiped the tears cascading down his cheeks with his index finger and sobbed, "It's today!"
"Aw, poor Caillou!" I said sweetly, stroking his bald head to soothe him, and then wrapping him in a hug. "It's okay, Caillou, don't cry." After a few minutes, he did stop. "You know, I know how it feels to be disappointed when you have to wait for something as well."
Caillou sniffled as he shed a final tear. "Really?"
"Yep, I sure do," I began. "When I was a little boy, just a little older than you, I somehow accidentally skipped a day on my Christmas advent calendar. So, I ended up thinking that it was December 24th, when in reality, it was only the 23rd!"
My son smiled at that. "Wow."
"After dinner, I brushed my teeth and changed into my pajamas without any complaint, and went to bed at 7:30 that night. You should have seen the looks I got from my mom and dad. I got up at the crack of dawn the next morning, running all over the house ringing a bell and screaming to everyone, 'It's Christmas! Everyone, wake up! It's Christmas!'
"I ran into your grandparents' room and shouted, 'Mommy, Daddy, wake up, it's Christmas! Wake up so we can open presents!' Then I ran downstairs... and when I came to the living room, I was shocked to find absolutely nothing under the tree! And when I looked in my stocking, it was empty too! I panicked, because I figured we'd all been naughty this year, and didn't get a visit from Santa Claus!
"I was about to start crying," I continued, "when my parents came downstairs. Of course, Dad was furious for waking everyone up so early. But he calmed down. When he asked me what happened, I told him that we were on Santa's naughty list this year.
"'But it's only Christmas Eve!' said your Grandma. 'What makes you think it's Christmas?' I was even more confused. I ran to get my advent calendar, and when told me I'd skipped December 19th. I was so sad, I went up to my room and didn't come out until lunchtime. Then my parents cheered me up and we all sang carols around the piano for the rest of the day. And tomorrow, it was Christmas, and I was so happy."
Caillou burst out laughing at my childhood blunder.
"Do you want to come downstairs for breakfast now?" I asked.
"Mm-hmm!"
I put an arm around my boy. "Good. If you like, we can cut the toast into circus animals!"
"That sounds yummy. I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, son. Let's go wake up your little sister, Rosie." I kissed Caillou on the cheek. We both left the bathroom, hand-in-hand. "And, if Mommy'll let us, we can make our own circus parade..."