It was morning on December 25th, the day known to Arthur and his family as Christmas. Waking up at 6 a.m., Arthur and D.W. waited impatiently, watched TV, and ate candy until 10 a.m., when it came time to open the presents.

As their parents, Grandma Thora, and Grandpa Dave looked on, the two kids tore into the pile of presents in search of articles marked with their names.

D.W. picked up a box-shaped present with a red bow. "D, W," she read carefully. "That spells D.W. From...Mom...and...Dad."

"Open it, dear," said Mrs. Read.

Ripping off the paper and opening the box, D.W. was delighted to find a stuffed Arnold the Antelope toy. Grinning, she started to push the button in the antelope's stomach repeatedly, causing it to say, "Don't miss my show on PBS. Don't miss my show on PBS. Please change my batteries soon."

"Thanks, Mom and Dad," said D.W. joyfully. "But how did you know Santa wouldn't bring me one?"

"Santa has X-ray eyes," Mr. Read explained. "When he saw the antelope under the tree, he left you something else instead."

Arthur came toward his mother, clutching a small box present with a blue bow. "Before I open any of my presents," he said meekly, "I want you to open this one."

"How thoughful of you, Arthur." Mrs. Read opened the box and found a small, blue glass duck inside. "Oh, it's lovely!"

"I didn't break it this year," Arthur boasted.

A moment later the doorbell rang. Arthur answered it, and was greeted by Francine, who held two wrapped presents in her hands. "Merry Christmas," she said, smiling.

"Happy Hanukkah," Arthur replied.

Francine, clad in a dark down coat and scarf, strolled into the house without waiting for an invitation. "I got some great stuff this year. This new coat's warmer than my old one. And I got the latest Seriously Unfortunate Events book. And no dolls."

She held a small but elongated box present in one hand, and a bulky, clumsily wrapped present in the other. She placed the larger present in Mrs. Read's lap, and she opened it. "Oh, it's a ham," she said, trying to sound grateful. "Thank you, Francine."

"It's from the Crosswires, isn't it?" asked Arthur.

Francine ignored his question, and handed her other present to D.W. "When I found this, I knew it was perfect for you."

Excited, D.W. removed the wrapping paper. Inside the box she found, wrapped in tissues, a long, pointed, golden-colored horn. She stammered with surprise and wonder. "It's a...it's a..."

"It's a unicorn horn!" Francine exclaimed, smiling. "From a real unicorn." Arthur opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but stopped himself.

"Awesome!" D.W. waved the horn in the air as if conducting a marching band. "Is it magic?" she asked.

"Yeah," Francine answered. "You get wishes."

"I wish I had a unicorn to go with this horn," said D.W. Nothing happened. She glanced around, disappointed.

Francine crouched down next to her. "Try again," she said insincerely. "You have to wish with all your heart."

D.W. waved the horn wildly. "I wish, I wish, with all my heart, that I was a unicorn...uh, had a unicorn."

She suddenly dropped the horn, placed her hands over the bridge of her nose, and started to whine.

"What's wrong, D.W.?" asked Grandma Thora.

"My...my face hurts..." the girl mumbled weakly.

Sinking to her knees, D.W. clutched at her forehead and groaned in pain. Arthur and her parents rushed to her side, and shortly Grandma Thora and Grandpa Dave surrounded her as well.

"Where does it hurt?" Mrs. Read asked, but her daughter didn't answer.

"I'd better call a doctor." Mr. Read jumped to his feet and hurried to the phone.

Then Arthur and Francine watched something unbelievable happen before their eyes. "Uh, Dad, don't call the doctor just yet," called Arthur.

Francine, terrified, began to stutter. "It...it r-really is m-magic..."

Before the astonished eyes of all assembled, D.W. underwent an almost spontaneous transformation. White horse-like hair sprouted from her skin, her nose grew longer, and--most amazingly of all--a spiraling, glowing horn grew out of the middle of her forehead, pushing her fingers apart.

"What's happening?" asked Grandpa Dave, who was the only one who could speak. "I don't understand."

Arthur and Francine shot each other knowing looks. "Greta!" they cried in unison.

As they stood and raced toward the phone, D.W. stopped moaning and began to curiously run her hands over the golden protrusion on her forehead. Without warning, she burst through the surrounding throng of concerned relatives and sped up the stairway toward the upstairs bathroom.

After a pause of a few seconds, during which her parents and grandparents could only assume that she was looking at her reflection in the mirror, they heard a loud cry. They weren't sure whether it was an expression of extreme horror or extreme delight.

"WHOOOOOOOO!"

As they gathered at the foot of the stairway, they saw a creature emerge from the bathroom who appeared to be part D.W., part horse, and part hatrack. Its face was twisted in a joyful, triumphant smile.

"It worked!" cried Unicorn D.W. "I got my wish! Francine, I'm a unicorn!"

Ecstatic, she leaped down the stairway and toward Francine, who was talking on the phone with Arthur standing behind her. "Fern, you need to contact Greta right away. It's an emergency."

Hearing D.W.'s shouts, Francine turned just in time for D.W. to affectionately throw her arms around her waist...and ram her in the gut with her horn.

Francine grimaced and gasped agonizingly for breath.

"Thank you, Francine," D.W. gushed. "This is my best Christmas present ever!"

----

As Arthur, Francine, Greta, and the still-overjoyed Unicorn D.W. gathered in Arthur's bedroom, Greta closed the door after them and scowled at Francine. "You told me you used all the wishes," she said angrily. A wisp of golden smoke emerged from her forehead, gradually reshaping into her partially regrown horn.

"I'm sorry, Greta," Francine replied contritely. "I didn't believe it was really magic. I gave one wish to Marina, and one to Sue Ellen, and then I was about to wish to be a boy, but I..."

"You what?" Arthur stared at her, astonished. Francine gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Meanwhile, D.W. stood on a chair in front of Arthur's dresser mirror and admired her new unicorn face.

"Never mind that." Greta continued to look at Arthur and Francine sternly. "We have a serious problem on our hands. D.W. will have to be trained to keep her unicorn identity a secret."

D.W. turned to her. "Why should I keep it a secret? Being a unicorn is cool."

Greta raised a finger and tapped the point of D.W.'s horn. "Your horn has wishing powers, D.W. There are people who would do anything, even hurt you, to get your horn. And since they know nothing about unicorn magic, they can make careless wishes that change their lives forever, just like you did."

"Greta, did you just say 'forever'?" asked Francine.

"I don't mean forever literally," Greta replied. "I mean, for the rest of her life, which could be two thousand years or more."

"Two thousand years?" D.W.'s horse face lit up. "Wow! That's forever!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Francine waved her hands. "D.W. is not gonna live two thousand years. There's a way to change her back...isn't there, Greta?"

Greta's expression became somber. "No, there isn't."

(To be continued...)