Well, I can't believe it! It took three years but I have actually completed this story. Thank you so much to everyone who came this far reading the longest fanfic I have ever written! Most especially to my friends KataraLover without whom I may never have completed the first Runaway Adventures, and to XLR8 the Fox, without whom this story nor the upcoming series would not have existed! Also, special thanks to XLR8 the Fox for help in writing this chapter, especially with the final scene. As always, XLR8 the Fox's characters belong to him, while Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their worlds belong to Disney. Songs belong to Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr, Sonny Burke, Peggy Lee, Audrey Snyder, Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Chapter 54 - Christmas in Park Avenue
The days that followed marked a much-needed peace in the Brown, Radcliffe and Bourne households. After all those days of trying to survive through the snowstorm and then fighting off the wild dogs, all any of them could do was rest. And so they did for the next few days. Each of them slept beside the toasty fire, only waking for the occasional meal, walk outside or brief chat with whoever else was awake before they went back to sleep again. The only exception to this was Tripod, who having been unconscious for an extended period of time, was full of energy, and Thomas and Anna used this time to bond with the newest member of their family. Soon, Tripod began feeling right at home, especially now that he was his brother and many of his foster family was only a short walk away.
Meanwhile, the humans had been very busy. First and foremost, with the help of some neighbors and renovators, they had repaired all the damage that had been done to their homes. When they were finished, each of the houses looked as good as new. Once that was done, they began to decorate their houses for Christmas, getting strings of garland, tinsel, mistletoe and holly out, putting up wreaths, and decorating their Christmas trees with candles and ornaments.
One morning, Jim Dear, Darling, Thomas and Anna dropped all their pets off at Roger's and Anita's. Then the four of them, along with Roger and Anita, drove into town, leaving the pets under the care of Nanny. After helping get the last pups to sleep, she turned as she heard a tapping at the door.
"I wonder who that could be," Nanny wondered as she briskly walked over. Opening the door, she saw that it was none other than Jock and Trusty, each with an envelope in their mouth.
"Hello you two," Nanny chuckled as Jock and Trusty strolled in, sitting down to get stroked and to let Nanny take their envelopes. "Oh my, it's from city hall!" she exclaimed upon seeing the address on Trusty's letter. Opening it, she skimmed its contents and then smiled.
"Why, what a treat," Nanny exclaimed as she smiled at the sleeping pups. "I think we better tell the grownups."
Jock and Trusty quietly woofed in agreement, and so being careful not to wake any of the puppies, Nanny, Jock and Trusty woke each of the adults up before they followed Nanny upstairs to sit on the bed.
"Morning sirs and madams," Trusty greeted.
Yawning, the eight adults said good morning back. "Is anything the matter Jock?" Lady asked.
"Aye lassie," Jock answered. "Nanny seems to have news for ye all."
Nanny indeed did look quite excited. "You pets have been given something really special for Christmas," she chuckled. "From the town, as a reward for all you did to save us. Now, not a yip to the pups till Christmas, all right?"
Each of them woofed or mewed in understanding, before Nanny went on to read the text aloud. As she did, she looked into the eyes of each of them in turn, whose eyes began to sparkle with excitement and anticipation.
"Well, I hope you got that," she chuckled as she finally finished as the dogs happily panted. As Nanny went down to get some Kanine Krunchies, they began to talk to each other in earnest.
"Wow," Lady whispered in awe. "Our pups are going to love this so much!"
"So will I," Tramp chuckled, wagging his tail. "Think of all the possibilities!"
"Yeah, and we don't even have to sneak or hide!" exclaimed Spunky.
"None of us'll ever be bored now," Peg smiled.
"Just think, now I won't have to worry about saying no all the time!" Pongo laughed.
"We'll experience things we've never dreamed of," Perdita beamed.
"And life will never stop being an adventure!" CiCi exclaimed.
"Just make sure you dogs don't get into too much trouble, right?" Leo teased as the others laughed.
Then as Nanny returned with the Krunchies, she then sat down to open Jock's letter, and she looked at the stamp. "Oh my, I don't know who this is," she said curiously, opening the envelope which revealed a card. Nanny gasped, "Why, we've all received an invitation!" and she began reading it. "Well well, Merry Christmas!" she chuckled. "But I'm not telling you yet. Oh yes, you have to wait till Christmas too!"
That evening, the pups couldn't help but notice that each of the adults was walking with a new spring in their step. As a result, they kept asking questions, and it took every ounce of the adults' willpower to keep themselves from ruining the surprise. But at last, the day drew to a close and everybody went to sleep.
As Jim Dear and Darling's grandfather clock rang six times, Lady, Tramp, Peg and Spunky all woke up and went down the stairs, surprised to see the pups had not woken.
"Do they know today is Christmas?" Lady wondered as they joined Jim Dear, Darling and Junior by the fire.
"Maybe they don't," Tramp said thoughtfully. "The days have sure gone fast. And come to think of it, considering how young our pups were, I'm not sure they remember their first Christmas."
"I hope Angel wouldn't," Peg whispered. "This'll be her first Christmas not behind bars."
"And Puffball's first without the wild dogs," Spunky added. "Let's do our best to make it an extra special one for our pups."
"Well considering what we've got in store, I'm sure it will be," Tramp said confidently as the others agreed.
Jim Dear and Darling then moved to the floor, and he began to pet Tramp and Spunky while Darling petted Lady and Peg.
"And we wouldn't be having a Merry Christmas without these guys," Jim Dear chuckled.
"I still remember when you gave me Lady in that hat box," Darling reminisced as the two of them smiled. "To think of just how our family of dogs has grown ... Both in size and in spirit. Do you think they know of the town's present?"
"Oh Darling, I'm sure they do," Jim Dear laughed as all four dogs began wagging their tails, before stopping as they heard pairs of paws moving upstairs. "Uh-oh Darling, I think the pups are waking up."
Sure enough, as Lady, Tramp, Peg and Spunky moved to block the bottom of the stairwell, they saw that Scamp, Angel, Annette, Collette, Danielle and Puffball were all bounding down the stairs.
"Merry Christmas!" the four parents exclaimed.
The puppies stopped and looked at them blankly. "It's Christmas today?" Annette asked in disbelief.
"I guess we must have slept right till Christmas," Collette said groggily.
"Don't complain!" Danielle cheered. "I wanna dig right in those presents!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Scamp added excitedly.
As Angel and Puffball looked at each other confusedly, Lady said, "Why don't we go to the tree?"
The pups nodded, Lady and Tramp's puppies looking very eager and Angel and Puffball both looking curiously. Then they stopped by the beautifully decorated Christmas tree and gasped at the pile of presents that Jim Dear and Darling had laid out.
"Are those for us?" Angel asked in disbelief.
"Some of them," Peg explained. "Some are for Junior, and some are for Jim Dear and Darling from other family and friends."
"I wish we could give them something in return," Puffball said as the others agreed.
"We do," Lady explained. "We are always there to give our love and devotion to Jim Dear, Darling and Junior, and to lend a paw whenever they need it."
"And hey, I don't know what we dogs could do that beats saving the town," Spunky reminded them.
"You pups deserve this," Tramp said assuredly. "And not only that, but you'll be getting ... " Tramp began, but as Peg, Lady and Spunky looked at him, he stopped and laughed, "You'll see."
Scamp then walked up to Angel, knowing how special this Christmas was to her considering he figured the last Christmas she spent was without a father and behind bars. "Merry Christmas Angel," Scamp said, licking her cheek.
"Merry Christmas Scamp," Angel smiled, returning the gesture.
"Now you get your first real Christmas, Puffy!" Danielle smiled, hugging her boyfriend.
"Oh yeah!" Puffball laughed. "And I've got nothing to worry about again."
"Merry Christmas pups," Jim Dear said as he and Darling arrived, Darling carrying Junior over and setting him on the ground. He then said, "Darling, why don't we get a group shot of Junior with the dogs?"
"That would be wonderful," Darling agreed, and so they did. Lady, Tramp, Peg and Spunky stood back, while the six pups were busily scampering around, playing with Junior, and Jim Dear took his first shot. Then he asked the pups to sit, and they did with Junior in front of the parents as Jim Dear took another shot. Finally, Darling got out a garland of mistletoe and strung it above them, and Lady and Tramp, Scamp and Angel, Peg and Spunky, and Danielle and Puffball all got under it, lovingly nuzzling their beloved as Annette and Collette propped Junior up in front of them. As Jim Dear took the shot, Collette couldn't help but to get a bit misty-eyed.
"Waiting for someone?" Annette asked, to which Collette nodded, but at that moment, they heard some barking outside. At once, all ten dogs began wagging their tails, and Jim Dear smiled. "Looks like we have some visitors, Darling!"
He went to open the door, and on his doorstep were Roger, Anita, Nanny, Thomas and Anna, along with all of their pets, as well as Jock and Trusty. Nanny was carrying a waiter's tray with a rounded lid, Thomas was carrying a large sack bulging with things, while Roger, Anita and Anna were carrying boxes of gifts. "Merry Christmas!" Jim Dear exclaimed. "Come in!"
At once, they filed in. "I was just taking pictures," he said.
"We just now have the mistletoe up," Darling added. "Why don't Pongo, Perdita, Lucky, Two-Tone and XL come forward?"
All of them blushed, but joined the four couples and Collette in the photo so they got a holiday photo of all seven couples. Then they got a big photo with all twenty-four pets, and then finally, the three human couples sat down and Nanny took a picture of all thirty of them.
"What is this Christmas?" Rebecca asked as the photos were finished. "We never had anything like this in De Vil Ville."
"Only the best time of the year!" Two-Tone said excitedly. "Just you wait, you'll love it!"
"And I know this Christmas will be a real special one for each of you," Trusty drawled happily, his word choice piquing the puppies' interest.
Nanny then brought over the first package, a large carefully-wrapped bag. Anita read the card. "This is from the boutique," she said. "A Merry Christmas and a special thank you to all your pets for saving us. We hope these will fit your pets nicely."
Opening the bag, Anita couldn't help but to gasp. "Oh my goodness!" she said, drawing out a small orange wool sweater, embossed with lighter orange spots and fancy gold embroidery spelling out "LUCKY".
"Lucky, you are one lucky pup," Roger laughed as Lucky excitedly moved forward to let Anita put the sweater over him. "It's not that itchy," he smiled.
Reaching into the bag, the humans found there was a sweater for each puppy, and so they promptly put each sweater on each puppy. As they finished, they looked at the pups admiringly. Each puppy was wearing a wool sweater which was slightly different from the rest. Like Lucky, each of Roger and Anita's puppies received a spotted sweater, though of a different color - Patch's was red, Rolly's yellow, Cadpig's green, Penny's blue, Two-Tone's purple and Rebecca's pink. Thomas and Anna's pups meanwhile received striped sweaters that alternated between light and dark shades of their respective colors - Scavenger's was red, Tripod's was green, and XL's was blue. Jim Dear and Darling's pups' sweaters meanwhile were in solid colors, each matching their collars - Collette's was red, Puffball's yellow, Scamp's green, Annette's blue, Angel's pink and Danielle's white. Each of their sweaters too had their names embroidered in gold on the back. The adults too had sweaters - CiCi's was purple, Leo's was yellow, Lady's, Perdita's and Peg's were light blue, while Tramp's, Pongo's and Spunky's were dark red, and were also embroidered with their names in golden letters. The humans, including Junior and Nanny, also each received sets of four monogrammed sweaters in navy, maroon, forest green and silver. When everyone's sweaters were on, they couldn't help but appreciate how nice everyone looked in their new, festive apparel.
The gifts kept right on coming. The costume shop sent over a big bag of props including among other things, wigs, hats, plastic glasses, mustaches and eye patches. The toy store sent over some play balls, a couple pullback cars for the pups to chase, and some jack in-the-boxes, and Junior a rocking horse, some stuffed animals, a pack of crayons, and a train set. The cosmetic store provided each of the men a razor and each of the women a makeup kit. The furniture store provided them with pillows and blankets, and the five and dime store sent each of them, human and pet alike, a saucer sled.
They also received some gifts on their porch doorstep. The first was a musty-looking bag, and as Jim Dear picked up, he instantly held his nose. "What is this?" he asked, opening it up to reveal a colony of dead ants, some coal, and some droppings. As if there was any doubt as to who sent it, there were also some mouse skeletons and familiar tan cat hairs were inside. Hurriedly, Jim Dear dropped the bag. "No fish for them!"
"That's ... Very nice of them," Lady said politely.
"That's one way of putting it," Annette rolled her eyes.
"Guess that means those cats are fair game!" Danielle chortled. However, Si and Am's gift actually made everyone quite happy. The return of their mischievously hostile ways was a sign of things returning back to normal, and something they were very grateful for.
Then Jim Dear noticed the other gift, which was wrapped in a wad of thick fur.
"Smells like pine needles," Jim Dear said, and the pets realized that it must have come from the wolves. As Darling came to look, she gasped as she saw that within the fur were three aquamarine gemstones.
"My, those are beautiful," Darling commented in awe.
"There's one for each of us," Jim Dear said, giving one stone to Roger and Anita and Thomas and Anna, who also were mystified and appreciative of the gifts.
"Who do you think is the Secret Santa?" Thomas asked as everyone else laughed.
Nothing however could prepare the pups for the items in Thomas' sack, which came from as a free gift from the pet shop. The shop owner was shocked when he realized that he had muzzled Lady once, and seeing his business profit immensely with all the new pets in town, he made sure not to disappoint, and so he provided the whole caboodle - tug ropes, squeaky toys, chew toys, bones, balls, treats and treat dispensers, challenging puzzle toys, and even their homemade bacon-flavored bubbles.
During the couple of hours of playing with the toys, listening to Roger play the piano, admiring their gifts and keeping the humans company, Nanny had went into the kitchen, began laying out the items on her tray in a baking sheet before putting them in the stove. Everyone could smell something good cooking, so when Nanny asked, "Who wants breakfast?" everyone was quite excited.
Eagerly, the pets began to salivate as they followed their people to the table, and Nanny gave each of them a little plate with a sausage roll on it. "A gift to us from the butcher and baker," Nanny chuckled as she put the remaining sausage rolls on the table, which the humans ate along with steaming cups of hot cider and cocoa. As they all sat to eat, they could feel the warmth of their meal fill their stomachs.
Once breakfast was over, the pups excitedly began to play in the front yard.
"So what do you wanna play first?" Two-Tone asked. "I don't know, there are too many things to pick!"
"How about tag?" Tripod suggested with a gleam in his eye.
"Oh no Tripod," Lucky said warningly. "You need a handicap."
"But he's already got one," Danielle said confusedly as Annette and Collette glared, making her realize her mistake. "Oh ... Sorry," she said sheepishly.
Tripod however was unfazed. "That's okay. Everyone says that," he said. "Until they see ... This!" he said, and at once, he ran around the yard at top speed, finishing without breaking a sweat.
"Wow," Danielle said. "Okay Lucky's right. You do need a handicap!"
"Well, I'll run with my eyes closed," Tripod suggested.
"Deal," Lucky said. They then gathered their tails together as Lucky shut his eyes to pick one. To his surprise, the tail he picked was his own.
"Guess I'm it ... But not for long!" Lucky said as he leaped through the snow and touched Two-Tone, who giggled as she swung at the blinded Tripod, who promptly jumped aside, causing her to flop into the snow.
"Ugh," Two-Tone laughed. "I knew I shouldn't have done that," before pawing Penny, who laughed before pawing Cadpig, who had a gleam of mischief in her eye and dove into the snow.
"Where'd she go?" Rolly asked as they couldn't see her. But after tunneling through it, Cadpig jumped up to tag Patch.
"Can't catch me!" Scamp teased, and Patch grinned as he and Scamp took off, running around the yard while the other pups caught their breath and laughed. In contrast to the track at the wild dogs' place, racing Patch was fun, for this time, he was running all in good fun and with a great friend. Soon, all of them, even Tripod, became too tired for any more chasing and plopped down in the snow.
"Oh wow," Penny exclaimed as she realized that while on her belly, she had extended her paws to make a snow angel. "Pretty!" and the others quickly followed suit.
Scavenger meanwhile caught the odd scent of a carrot from a snowman down the street, giving him an idea. "Hey! Why don't we make a snow dog!"
The others, too tired for any more running but too excited to rest, loved that idea. Rolly brought the coal over from Si and Am's present before they all went into Roger and Anita's backyard, where the snow was still fresh, to make their snow dog. They split into two groups of eight, Scamp, Rolly, Danielle, Collette, Rebecca, Patch, Two-Tone and Tripod forming one group and XL, Cadpig, Penny, Puffball, Lucky, Annette, Scavenger and Angel forming the other. Each group worked together to make a snowball, and until they were as tall as they were and packed them together one in front of the other. They then made four slabs of snow for the legs, used the coal for the eyes and nose and stuck a leaf in for the tongue. All that remained were the ears.
"How are we going to make ears that flow all the way to the ground?" Collette asked.
"We can make smaller ears," Lucky said, quickly making a lump of snow and putting it on the head, where it stuck for a moment but then fell off.
"Don't worry Lucky," Cadpig smiled. "Snow dogs are creatures of the spirits. They have other ways of hearing!"
"You know what I'd like?" Rolly asked. "A snow dog that was made of ice cream! Oh ... papa!"
"This dog is missing a coat pattern," Penny said. "Maybe we could find some more coal to give it spots?"
"Or a patch around the eye," Patch suggested sheepishly.
"She needs some accessories!" Two-Tone suggested. "Like one of those wigs we've got!"
"Or snow paint," XL suggested. "He needs some real bold colors!"
"She needs some markings," Rebecca observed, carving a heart shape into the dog's cheek.
"I'm thinking about some mud on his paws," Scamp said excitedly. "He looks like one bad puppy!"
"So let me get this straight," Angel smirked. "This dog likes to be muddy, getting into trouble, and is a guy. He probably likes chewing hats, right?"
"Yeah, sure," Scamp said.
"Sounds ... Strangely familiar," Collette said as everyone, including Scamp, snickered.
"Wait, I'm confused," said Puffball. "Is this dog a he or a she?"
The pups all thought for a moment before all answering in their gender, which made them all burst out laughing.
"You know, I think we've been doing a whole lot of projecting ourselves on this puppy," Cadpig said.
"You can say that again!" said Scamp, causing them all to laugh again.
Just then, a long and wide horse-drawn sleigh had just appeared in front of them, with all the humans and grownups walking along its side. "Come on in kids!" Perdita said. "We've got a sleigh ride!"
The puppies cheered and ran over to join the humans and adults in getting into the sleigh's seats. Then the coachman pulled on the reins and the horses gently began to pull the sleigh through the streets of town.
"My, I don't remember ever actually riding in a carriage!" Rebecca exclaimed as they veered a corner, where they saw Mooch, Francois, Scratchy, Ruby and Sparky hanging out in Sparky's front yard. "Merry Christmas!" they all exclaimed as they passed them, who happily replied back. Soon they arrived on another street, where they saw that Bull, Toughy, and Pedro all sat with gleaming new collars, happily talking with Boris and Dachsie.
"Merry Christmas!" the group said again.
"Merry Christmas, and thanks for everything!" Toughy answered back as the others barked along.
Then as they passed City Hall, they saw that Lawrence, Clara and Maximus were talking amicably with Duke and his streetdog pack while the latter were eating their Kanine Krunchies from the town bowls.
"Hey look! It's the Park Avenue dogs!" Tuck called out, and the streetdogs all howled at them in respect while Lawrence, Clara and Maximus smiled and nodded friendlily at them, before they all wished each other a Merry Christmas.
Nothing however, could prepare them for the schoolyard where everywhere, puppies and children were playing. As the sleigh passed, they could hear Carrie call out excitedly, "Look everyone! It's them!"
At once, the mob of puppies, among them Carrie and her friends, Bullet and his siblings, Calvary, Ammo, Sam, and Katie, crowded along the sleigh, before the children and parents of both the puppies and children followed. As the sleigh stopped, they were engulfed in a sea of cheering pups, hugging kids, and gratefully watching dog and human adults. The group was even more heartened as they saw that each of the ex-wild pups was now sporting bright and shiny collars. Then at last, the coachman took off, with everyone saying one last round of Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday, and before they knew it, they were back at Park Avenue again.
"This is the best Christmas ever!" Patch exclaimed, jumping up and down as they all left the sleigh.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Pongo smiled, and at once, the puppies all stared at them in shock.
"Actually, heh, we've saved the best present for last," said Tramp. "Think we should tell 'em now?"
The other adults agreed, and so they all gathered on Jim Dear's front steps as the began to tell them everything.
"Ye know the good citizenship awards you got?" Jock asked. "The town gave ye a lot more than a photo and plaque."
"That's right," Trusty said. "Good dogs deserve a reward for good services, and the town gave us the letter with your full reward yesterday."
Now the puppies knew what the adults were so excited about, and they became just as excited.
"What is our reward!" Scamp asked eagerly as he and the others began to energetically pant.
"Let's just say that they've opened up a lot of doors for us," Spunky said excitedly, hardly able to contain himself. "Doors they've never opened for dogs and pets before!"
"The town organized a partnership," Peg explained. "Of places that hadn't allowed dogs before, but wanna make an exception for those of us who've earned it. And you won't believe this, but nearly every public place signed up."
"For example, you know how the zoo says no dogs allowed?" Tramp asked. "Well, now the zoo's agreed to let us in whenever we want!"
"Provided we keep our good behavior that is," Lady gently warned as Tramp chuckled. "All the stores who have so kindly sent us gifts have opened their doors up for us. As have so many nice restaurants, who are more than willing to give us a private corner and nice meal just for us."
"We've also got permission from the dog gym, library, school, dog park, playground and the groomer's to go whenever we want, without needing to be accompanied by our pets, among other places," added Pongo.
"Not to mention the town museum," CiCi pointed out. "Thomas and Anna say that some of the exhibits are actually interactive!"
"And so many other places," Perdita said, smiling. "You won't ever feel bored again, for basically the whole town has opened to us, and you'll never stop having adventures!"
"Our pets are just fine with this," Leo said. "But they want us to let them know whenever we're out. They're going to teach us to put a bone in our bowl every time we go out, and as long as we come back soon, we'll have their trust and they'll have no problem."
"So basically," Jock said. "If you use your privileges responsibly, don't flaunt or abuse them, don't do anything the humans wouldn't like, and keep acting like good citizens ..."
"You'll have more freedom and opportunities than any pups I've ever known," Trusty happily explained.
It took a while for all this to sink in for the puppies, who could hardly believe their ears. Then Rebecca said what they were all thinking. "My goodness ... This is a dream, isn't it?"
As the parents shook their heads, the puppies soon all began to start talking.
"Wow, I don't know what to say," exclaimed Penny. "But ... Thank you!"
"Yeah!" XL shouted. "This is gonna be awesome."
"Oh yeah!" Danielle laughed. "We're gonna have so much fun!"
"All those restaurants ... All that food ..." Rolly moaned dreamily.
"It'll be like living Thunderbolt every day!" exclaimed Patch.
"I never thought we'd have anything like this!" cheered Puffball.
"No more dogcatchers, no more walls, no more nos! Wahoo!" Scamp cried out in sheer delight as he chased his tail in celebration.
"I'm ready for some more adventures!" Lucky said excitedly.
"And some nice days to really enjoy ourselves!" added Collette.
"I can't wait to check out the gym," Tripod said happily. "They've probably got agility courses and everything!"
"Our possibilities for personal growth are endless!" Cadpig exclaimed.
"We've got the best of both worlds! Love from each other and our families, and more freedom than a streetdog could ever dream of!" Angel said excitedly.
"I wonder what new smells I can sniff out in all these places!" Scavenger asked eagerly.
"Or what else I still have to discover in this world!" Rebecca said curiously.
"And what kind of fun we'll all be having together!" said Annette.
"I'm so excited, I don't know where to go first!" Two-Tone said, still unable to believe it.
Pongo chuckled. "Well, our pets have sorted that one out. They're taking us on a surprise trip!"
This made the puppies even more excited. "Where?" Scamp asked at once.
"We don't even know, whirlwind," Tramp laughed, but at that moment, Roger drove his car, whose was the largest, over in front of Jim Dear's porch, where all the humans were already sitting inside.
"Looks like everyone learned the good news," Roger said, seeing how excited all the pups looked as he opened the window. "Jump in!"
Everyone filed into the car and Roger began driving off through the picturesque, snow-covered town. As they drove by all the stores, restaurants, attractions, and other things to do, the pets couldn't help but crowd upon the car windows and look upon their town in a new awe. It was all open to them now, and they couldn't wait to start exploring.
They finally stopped at the edge of town in a small parking lot right by a narrow forested path. Tramp instantly took a whiff. "This smells ... Strangely familiar," he commented. Then the whole group walked down the path, pets off-leash, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of nature around them.
Before long, they had entered a clearing, and no sooner had they did when a plump man with a thick red and white coat and pants, tall boots, a large belt buckle, a long white beard and an unmistakable cap arrived. "Ho Ho Ho!" Santa chuckled.
The group looked excitedly as they noticed that behind Santa was a big brown tarp. "Hello Santa," Jim Dear said.
"Merry Christmas!" he exclaimed as Darling gave him Junior, who giggled as he cradled and hugged Junior for a few seconds. "I hope you are having a Merry Christmas!"
"Santa!" Junior cooed. "Presents!"
"He sure liked his presents," Darling said happily. "He got a rocking horse, some stuffed animals, a pack of crayons, and a train set."
"Well, how would you like to ride the great big train set?" Santa asked, and at once, he walked over to the tarp, pulling it off to reveal a red and green miniature train, complete with several matching coaches, impressing all the humans, especially Junior who clapped and cheered excitedly.
"We'd love to," Anita said, and the humans began walking toward the train, the pets meanwhile approached more cautiously.
"Come on in!" Santa called out. "You all have helped Santa out so much this Christmas, so you get to be the first dogs, cat and fox who'll ever ride in Santa's train!"
So they filed in, somewhat reluctantly. All of them, especially Scamp and the streetdogs of the group, were a bit nervous of getting too close to a train due to the danger trains pose to dogs. But as their owners were all there to give them a reassuring pet and with Santa's jovial demeanor and having each other for company, they were all willing to try the train out.
"All aboard! Merry Christmas!" Santa exclaimed, and he began to drive the train.
At once, the whistle blew and the train began to slowly chug along. The easy, gentle pace of the train, smoothly meandering down the track, began to turn their apprehension to enjoyment as they began to pant to the steady beat of the chug-a-chug. Soon, they began to lie down, looking out of the coaches to see the beautiful white forest all around them, even seeing a few rabbits, squirrels and birds coming in to watch.
"Wahoo! Riding on a train sure beats running from one!" Scamp exclaimed as he and Angel laughed, remembering their prior incident.
After a few laps, the pups got an idea. "Let's howl along with the whistle!" Collette suggested, and so they did. Every time Santa blew the whistle, the puppies tried to emulate its sound, howling along to it. Santa too enjoyed the game, deciding to make the the train make different whistle patterns, which the puppies loved as they tried their hardest to keep up. Junior too loved it, and he cried along whenever the pups started howling. Once the ride was over, the humans were sure to thank Santa profusely, each pet gave Santa a thank you rub, and Santa waved at them merrily as they returned to the car.
The sky was beginning to darken, but Roger wasn't heading home. Instead, they parked at a very beautiful and familiar hillside.
"Remember this place Pidge?" Tramp asked.
"How could I not?" Lady beamed, remembering their first night sleeping on top of that very hill together. Then everyone got out, and the humans brought out the saucers from the car's trunk. Remarkably, there was no one else on the hillside, so they had the whole hill to go sledding on.
CiCi was the only one of the pets who had actually gone sledding before, so she led the others by example, grabbing a saucer with her teeth, taking it to the top of the hill, getting on it, pawing her way to push the saucer forward before sliding down the hill. This made the others, especially the pups, very excited, and they too began to slide their way down the hill. They tried all sorts of ways to sled down the hill - sliding backwards, sliding with two pups in a saucer, racing each other, lying on the saucer belly up, among other things. It was hard work for all of them getting up the hill carrying the heavy saucers in their mouths, but it was worth it when they reached the top, knowing they could have another thrilling ride down again. The humans soon began to sled as well, and none of them could be happier.
At last, everyone got tired and gathered together at the top of the hill to get their breath back. By this point, it had gotten dark and the moon had begun to glow.
"Hey," said Tramp, wagging his tail. "Why don't we all have a great big bay at the moon?" Everyone loved that idea, and after looking down upon the town they had helped save, they each lifted their heads and howled at the moon. Each of them felt liberated unleashing their inner wolf (or mountain lion), and afterwards, they snuggled among one another, especially the couples, before piling back into Roger's car and driving home.
When they arrived, the pets were all surprised to see that the lights were on in Jim Dear and Darling's home. None of the humans were perturbed however, so the pets figured it was another surprise for them. As they opened the unlocked door, they saw that the kitchen was steaming as Tony and Joe, dressed up in red and green festive outfits respectively, were cooking something smelling especially delicious.
"Buongiorno!" Tony exclaimed as they walked in. "Buon Natale! And what-a we have-a? La Natale Speciale for everyone, including ze-pooches."
"Tony, are we feeding-a these all to the dogs-a?" Joe asked.
"Si Joe!" Tony declared. "And ze owners! We're feeding-a big party of ze nicest pets and ze owners in town! Without whom there's-a won't-a be a Natale!"
"Oh all right Tony," Joe said, before putting one large platter of food on the table for the humans and one for the pets. The pets stared at their courses hungrily, unable to believe the rich selection of food they had. Their platter consisted of beef lasagna, chicken tortellini, salami slices, along with a wide variety of fishes including cod, salmon, herring, shrimp, and tuna, and of course, their signature spaghetti and meatballs. The humans had the same options, with the addition of bread products like panettone, an Italian Christmas bread, and struffoli, which were sweet fried dough balls, as well as a salad in the shape of a wreath festively decorated with tomatoes and olives like wreath berries, along with some wine and for Junior, a cup of grape juice. Tony and Joe too sat down to join the party, and together, they all savored the meal, eating until their stomachs were beyond satisfied. Then after thanking Tony and Joe profusely, the pets making sure to give them a surplus of loving, they left back to their homes. Jock and Trusty too headed home, for their owners, who were out for the day, would be returning home soon.
Then they all sat around in the living room, the humans sprawled over the couches and chairs, while the pets were on their dog beds and pillows. As Nanny was making some Christmas cookies, Jim Dear, Darling, Roger, Anita, Thomas and Anna were talking about Thomas and Anna's move to America and how they helped their pups deal with the wild dogs, and all of them were getting to know each other better.
As they talked, they couldn't help but to stare at all the pets in the living room. Lady and Tramp were nuzzling each other over by the Christmas tree, their eyes wide with blissful delight. Collette was lying down, letting XL stroke her ears as she and Annette were chatting. Patch and Penny were kicking a ball together back and forth. Cadpig, Rolly and Rebecca were talking about things new to Rebecca such as candy canes and the radio. Lucky and Two-Tone were playfully wrestling on their pillow, eagerly licking each other at every opportunity. Peg and Spunky were resting on a bed, their noses together as they gave each other flirty comments, Tripod and Scavenger were catching up on old times, Pongo and Perdita were watching over the pups as they lay side by side by the fire, Danielle and Puffball were flirting with lots of touches causing them both to laugh, Leo curled up into CiCi as she stretched her body out, and Scamp and Angel were tussling on their pillows and lovingly pawing each other. Everyone was finally at peace as they relaxed and heard the radio playing Christmas songs and carols.
Eventually the humans were getting sleepy, but for the pets, who had been sleeping for most of the past few days, they didn't feel like going to bed. They started howling along to the radio's songs, having more and more fun as each song progressed. Just before midnight, they began to hear a special arrangement of a beautiful two-part carol, and as they heard the music give way to an instrumental interlude, they were very excited to sing along. The group split in pups and adults as they began to sing: (Pups in underline, adults in italics)
Silent night
Silent as the snowflake in the night
Holy night
Holy is the spirit of this night
All is calm
All the world is calm and peaceful
All is bright
All the world is bright and joyful
Round yon virgin mother and child
Spirit of love and child of peace
Holy infant so tender and mild
Love unending that shall not cease
Sleep in heavenly peace
Peace, my children of good will
Sleep in heavenly peace
Peace my children, peace, be still
When the song was over, everyone was deeply moved, nearly in tears with the beauteous harmony they just created.
"And that concludes our broadcast day. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night," said the host before the radio went quiet for a bit. Everyone stared at the radio expectantly.
"Aw man, that was so much fun!" Danielle exclaimed, but no sooner did she say that did a soft banjo tune start playing on the radio. XL's ears perked up. This was one of his favorite songs, and as he looked at the group in their rainbow-colored sweaters, he realized how much this song fit them all. Whispering to Collette, she smiles and nods, and then XL begins to plaintively sing.
XL:
Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side
All of the pets in the room looked over at XL as he started, then Collette started to sing too
Collette:
Rainbows are visions
But only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
Intrigued, the group listened. CiCi, Leo and Scavenger were all impressed with their housemate's courage to start the song, for he had never tried singing. Lady and Tramp were heartened to see their daughter sing with such feeling, reminding them of their Bella Notte. Pongo, Perdita, Peg and Spunky also smiled, loving to hear the young couple's singing, and the other pups too were beginning to realize how well this song applied to them.
XL:
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong wait and see
The group kept listening as the two then stood up and walked to stand in front of the group, as if the room was now their stage.
XL:
Someday we'll find it
Collette:
The Rainbow Connection
XL:
The lovers
Collette:
The dreamers
Both:
And me
Collette smiled dreamily at her boyfriend. When she saw Scamp meet Angel and Danielle meet Puffball, she wondered how the two of them and their lovers could be in such fairy tale-like states of ecstasy at such a young age. But after getting to know XL, from the times he felt her fluffy ears to the time he helped his friend get home to when he saved her by scratching Joe the wild dog's nose, she too couldn't help but blissfully swoon, for she was so deeply in love with him.
Meanwhile, everyone began to feel really excited for the song, and Lucky then moved to stand by XL's left while Scamp stood by Collette's right.
Lucky:
Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
Scamp:
When wished on the morning star
Two-Tone and Angel then stood up and joined up with Lucky and Scamp respectively.
Two-Tone:
Someone thought of that
And someone believed it
Angel:
And look what it's done so far
More and more pups joined in on the fun as every pup stood next to each other, eager to sing as well. They quickly began to get into rainbow order as they kept on singing:
Danielle:
What's so amazing
Puffball:
That keeps us stargazing
Annette:
And what do we think we might see?
Rolly:
Someday we'll find it
Cadpig:
The Rainbow Connection
Penny:
The lovers
Tripod:
The dreamers
Rebecca:
And me
Scavenger:
All of us
Patch:
Under it's spell
All the pups:
We know that it's probably magic
Now they were all perfectly choreographed, standing together in rainbow order by their sweaters - Collette, Patch and Scavenger in red, Lucky in orange, Puffball and Rolly in yellow, Scamp, Tripod and Cadpig in green, Annette, Penny and XL in blue, Two-Tone in purple, Angel and Rebecca in pink, and Danielle in white, swaying together from side to side in perfect harmony. As a special radio treat, an instrumental interlude was put into the song, during which the pups put their paws around the shoulders of the pup on either side. The humans now were wide awake, stunned at this beautifully heartfelt display in front of them.
As the pups sang with glee, they each began to think of all their first moments meeting one another ... Those first memories of growing up with their siblings ... Making their first friends ... Their first dates with their crushes ... The times when a new pup joined their family they all grew to love ... The times they met new friends from the other families ... And how they all came together to be like one big family. As they thought, the parents, CiCi and Leo started joining in, taking their places in the rainbow behind the pups, while the pups began to sing harmoniously as a backup choir.
CiCi:
Have you been half asleep?
Leo:
And have you heard voices?
Pongo:
I've heard them calling my name
Spunky:
Is this the sweet sound
Tramp:
That calls the young sailors
Tramp, Pongo and Spunky:
The voice might be one and the same
Perdita:
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
Peg:
It's something that I'm supposed to be
Lady:
Someday we'll find it
Lady, Perdita and Peg:
The Rainbow Connection
The couples:
The lovers
All the pups:
The dreamers
All of the pets:
And me!
All:
La la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-lee-la-loo, la la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-lee-la-loo, la la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-lee-la-loo, la la-la-la-la, la la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-lee-la-loo, a-la-la-la, la-la-lee-la-loo, La la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-lee-la-loo, La la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-lee-la-loo!
And everyone put their heads together and howled one last time, causing the owners to give their pets a sustained round of applause. Lady and Tramp, Pongo and Perdita, Angel and Scamp, Lucky and Two-Tone, Peg and Spunky, Danielle and Puffball and XL and Collette all leaned into kiss, the last two blushing furiously with their surprised display of affection. And everyone knew that after that adventure, it was only the beginning for this big group of family and friends.
THE END
(For now!)