Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Fright
Part 1

TaleSpin and its characters are property of Disney. All other characters are mine and cannot be used without permission.

December 25, 1938
Early, Early Morning

Moonlight spilled onto the tropical city of Cape Suzette, now peaceful in its slumber. The dark, moonlit-speckled water in the harbor gently splashed against a yellow and orange Conwing L-16 seaplane tied to the dock. The same waves rocked a houseboat moored to the seawall close to a small wooden building. The crow's nest of that wooden building reached towards the sky, ending in a fluttering windsock. Suspended above the front door of that building was a white life preserver with the words 'Higher for Hire' stenciled in red. The door itself was adorned with a wreath and a pair of jingle bells tied to the doorknob with a crimson ribbon.

Through that door, the room that doubled as an office and a living room was decorated for the holidays. An ornamented pine tree occupied one corner, under which was piled several brightly-colored packages. Strings of silver and gold tinsel were tastefully draped along the railings, tacked around the windows and doorways, and dangled from the desk situated at the rear of the room. Five red stockings with the names Baloo, Rebecca, Kit, Molly, and Wildcat hung from the front of the desk, each bulging with goodies. Upstairs, all of the inhabitants - a family of four bears - were dreaming sweet dreams. All, that is, except one.

Baloo von Bruinwald, a large grey bear, was stretched out on the king-sized bed, hands folded behind his head. He was listening to the quiet, even breathing of the bearess curled up next to him. Peeking over his wife's head, he glanced at the alarm clock on the night stand - 5:15 AM. He was becoming more impatient with each second that the clock ticked away.

His wife Rebecca, a petite brown bearess, sighed in her sleep and rolled over onto her back. With his eyes, Baloo traced her pretty, peaceful face, which was illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the window. He smiled. Ever so gently, he placed a paw on her stomach. Though it was barely evident in her slender frame, she was expecting a baby. Their first baby, their third child.

A torturously slow fifteen minutes passed during which the pilot anticipated the coming day's events. What could be better than opening gifts, stuffing himself silly, and then taking a luxurious afternoon nap in his favorite easy chair? Unless it was opening gifts, stuffing himself silly, and napping with those he loved.

Finally, Baloo could not wait any longer. He felt ready to jump out of his skin with excitement. Christmas had always been a special time, but this Christmas was extra special. It was their first as a real family.

"Becky! Becky, honey!" he hissed, shaking her shoulder gently.

"What?" she murmured groggily, tersely.

"It's Christmas, Beckers."

"What time is it?" She removed her sleep mask from one eye and blinked a few times to clear her vision. Seeing the time - 5:30 AM - she burrowed under the blankets.

"Becky!" Baloo whispered more insistently, removing the earmuffs from her ears.

"It's 5:30, Baloo. Go to sleep!" Rebecca slapped the earmuffs back into place.

"Doncha wanna see what Santa left ya?"

"Later. Much later."

"Aw, c'mon, Becky," Baloo whined.

"The one day I can sleep in, you want to get up early, but when there's an urgent delivery, you'll sleep 'til noon! I'm a mother with three children," Rebecca mumbled grumpily.

"Almost four," Baloo whispered, kissing her cheek.

"Four," she echoed drowsily. Suddenly, she was wide awake with a pressing urge to use the bathroom. She pulled on her blue robe, yawning.

Baloo sprang out of bed and ran down one flight of stairs to the second story. His first stop was his son's room. Thirteen-year-old Kit was curled up in a ball on his bed. All of the bedclothes except for the red comforter hung off the end of the bed. The big bear grinned at the sleeping brown bear cub, one of two pride and joys in his life. Baloo gently scratched behind Kit's ears and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Li'l Britches."

Kit yawned, rolled over, blinked a few times, and grasped his father's large paw in both of his smaller ones with a sleepy smile. "Merry Christmas, Papa Bear." Noticing that it was still pitch black outside, he inquired, "What time is it? Midnight?"

"Nope, kiddo. It's thirty minutes to six."

Kit chuckled. "A.k.a. five-thirty." He knew only something special like Christmas could get Baloo out of bed voluntarily before the sun was high in the sky.

Next, Baloo headed to Molly's room. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he watched his seven-year-old daughter, a small yellow bear cub, sleep. The way she scrunched up her eyes was so charming. After a few moments, Baloo gently tapped her shoulder. "Molly. C'mon, Button-nose, it's Christmas!"

Molly's eyes flew open as if her father had said the magic word. Her face glowed with a sunshiny smile. "Christmas? You hear that, Lucy?" she addressed her beloved doll. "Daddy says it's Christmas. Did Santa come?" She held out her arms.

Baloo picked both her and Lucy up. "Dunno. Ya hafta go scout it out." He rubbed noses with her and put her restless little feet on the floor.

With Lucy in her arms, Molly peeked through the bars of the railing at the tree. "Presents! Presents! Santa was here!" she shouted, skipping down the stairs in her pink padded feet.

Rebecca leaned over the upstairs railing. "Don't open any presents until everyone gets downstairs, Pumpkin."

Molly skidded to a stop on the stairs. Her face - and hopes - fell. "No presents?"

"You can look in your stocking," Rebecca suggested.

"Stockings! Come on, Kit!" The little girl sped back upstairs and grabbed her brother's paw. Together, they raced down the stairs, over to the desk, snatched up their stockings, and plopped down on the sofa.

"Ooo! Lookee what I got, Kit! Lookee!" Molly dangled a blue yo-yo before him. "You're not looking!"

"Nice, sis," Kit answered absently. He was engrossed in examining his new Swizz army knife.

"And candy! Lots of candy!" Molly dumped her stocking contents in her lap - colorful foil-wrapped chocolates, miniature candy canes, a small sack of gum drops, and a chocolate-coated marshmallow Santa. She popped a chocolate in her mouth and stealthily reached for one of her brother's.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kit perceived her hand closing around one of his pieces of candy. "Drop the candy, Danger Woman, or you'll have to face Blade Boy's slicing saw of doom." He swung his pocket knife - all blades safely tucked inside - in her direction.

With a saucy smile, Molly swiftly unwrapped the chocolate and shoved it in her mouth. "Danger Woman knows Blade Boy's one weakness. Tickling!" Her little fingers flashing, she mercilessly tickled his stomach, under his arms, and under his chin.

"Mollee-hee-hee!" He guffawed uncontrollably, tears coursing down his cheeks. "Stop! Molly! Stop it! This...is...not...fair! Mol-ly!"

Innocently, she said, "Who's Molly? There's no Molly here."

Kit was relieved when his tormentor was lifted by a strong pair of arms. "There ain't?" Baloo said. "Guess Santa made a mistake deliverin' all them packages tagged 'Molly'. We'll hafta drop 'em off at the North Pole. C'mon, Kit, let's load 'em in the Sea Duck."

"Daddy, you're silly! I'm Molly."

Baloo feigned surprise. "You are? Well, knock me over with a feather!"

She giggled and squirmed out of his grasp. "What did Santa leave in your stocking?"

"Prob'bly a big ol' lump of coal." Baloo unceremoniously emptied his stocking on the desk. He surveyed his pile of candy with satisfaction. "Pretty good haul. Candy, an' what's this?" He unfolded a tiny scroll of paper. It read: Good for one free Krakatoa Special at Louie's. Baloo grinned from ear to ear. "Santa knows what this bear likes."

Baloo pecked Rebecca on the cheek as she passed him on the way to the kitchen. "Thanks, Santa," he whispered.

He was rewarded with a lovely, loving smile and a return kiss from his wife. "Merry Christmas, darling."

"Look in your stocking, Mommy! Look!" Molly tugged on the sleeve of Rebecca's robe.

Rebecca smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm and patted her on the head. "I will, honey, after I get the turkey in the oven so it'll be ready for dinner. After breakfast, we'll open presents."

"Presents!" Molly shouted gleefully as they all trooped into the kitchen.

Five Miles Southeast of Cape Suzette

The self-proclaimed feared pirate Don Karnage and his dumber-than-advertised pirate crew were flying full-tilt towards Cape Suzette. The Iron Vulture, their huge mother-ship, was painted like a candy cane - red and white striped from stem to stern. On the flight/landing deck, there was a miniature Santa's village, complete with pirates dressed as elves. The larger-than-normal 'elves' were scurrying about, putting up last minute touches. They were hanging lights and tinsel to the beat of Christmas carols.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, plunder all the way. Oh, what fun it is to steal on a Christmas holiday!" Their cacophonic voices rose over the propellers' whirring.

An irate voice cut through the holiday cheer. "No, no, no! How many times to I have to tell you imbecilic snowflakes?"

A debonair Santa Claus, otherwise known as Don Karnage, stormed through the village and over to Hacksaw. The muscular orangish canine was clad as a leprechaun; he stuck out like a sore thumb amidst a village of elves. Karnage knocked the green derby hat off of Hacksaw's flinching head and stomped on it repeatedly.

"You are Santa's happy helping elves." He slapped Hacksaw across the face with the squashed hat, making his nose redder than Rudolph's. "Not leprechauns!" SLAP! "Not little green men!" SLAP! "Not fairies!" SLAP! "Elves! Elves!" SLAP!

"Sorry, Captain," Hacksaw said contritely, slinking off to change.

"Think Christmas, not St. Patronymic's Day!" Karnage yelled after him.

"Dur, Captain?" asked a low, Norwegian-accented voice.

Karnage whirled around to face Dumptruck. "Yes, yes, yes? What is it, you oversized fruitcake?"

Dumptruck, a grey dog about the size of his namesake, nervously tugged on the collar of his very tight elf costume. Karnage had stolen a whole bunch of one-size-fits-all elf costumes, but one size didn't exactly fit all. "Exactly vat are ve doing again?"

Don Karnage impatiently yanked on his Santa beard, which was now becoming ragged from abuse. "Why must I put up with these know-nothings for brains? Listen up with the ears, because I am only going to tell you but once more. We, disguised as Santa's floating village, will sneakity-sneak into Cape Suzette and plunder all of the holiday-type gifts and goodies. Just think, men - money!"

The pirates sang out an admiring, "Fabulous!"

"Jewels!"

The pirates cheered again.

"All the candy you can eat!"

Silence from the pirates. A few even looked scared.

Karnage asked, "What is wrong with you eediots? Don't you like candy?"

Gibber, a short, stocky brown canine and Karnage's first mate, whispered into his ear.

"No, there won't be any ballerinas there that throw the hard candy at you this time, you estupid, scare-dy baby pirates!"

"How to we get past the cliff gunners? They're real smart," said Mad Dog, a scrawny ferret pirate with a droopy moustache. His costume hung off his thin shoulders like a burlap sack.

"There are some things I need to know that you do not need to find out!" snapped Karnage harshly. "Back to your posts, men! Get ready for Operation Break Into Cape Suzette...or something like that."

Once again Gibber whispered a hasty message in the pirate captain's ear.

"Excallamundo!" Karnage's face lit up like a boy who had just received a much-wanted Christmas present. "At long last, Cape Suzette will be mine!"

Karnage and Gibber hurried to Ratchet's workshop where the skinny canine mechanic was welding the last of eight metal reindeer to the front of a CT-37 disguised as a red sleigh.

Gibber whispered a question into Karnage's ear.

"How should I know which one is Blitzen?" the captain shot back, causing Gibber to blink with confusion.

Karnage climbed into the 'sleigh'. He irritably pushed the beard away from the controls. "Is Santa's carry-age ready for take off, Ratchet?"

The mechanic grinned evilly and gave a thumbs-up.

The single engine of the CT-37 started up. The song - Santa Claus is Coming to Town - blasted from a speaker mounted on the fuselage. "Merry Christmas, Cape Suzette. Here comes the spectaculous Santa Claus!"

Cape Suzette Cliffs
Dawn

Cliff guard Ralph, a lanky brown coyote, snoozed in his lawn chair; his feet were propped on the cannon nicknamed 'Big Bertha'. A second cliff guard named Sam, a husky beige canine, sipped coffee nearby.

Over the radio, Broadcast Sally cooed in her velvety voice, "Thank you for tuning in to K-CAPE on this beautiful Christmas morning here in Cape Suzette. As my present to you, here's Bing Cherry Crosby singing his newest yuletide hit - White Christmas."

Mingled with the crooner's melodic voice was a tinny version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It was getting louder by the second.

Sam flipped the tuning dial on the radio, muttering under his breath, "Dang interference. Must be the coffee maker again."

Then he spied a tiny speck on the horizon. As the speck came closer, he could see that it was a sleigh with eight reindeer. He dropped his coffee cup in astonishment, failing to notice the scalding coffee that splashed on his feet. "What the...?" He roughly shook Ralph's shoulder. "Hey, Ralph, do you see St. Nick coming our way?"

Ralph rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stared at the 'sleigh' for a long time before remarking, "Well, I'll be dipped. A little old driver so lively and quick. That's him, all right!"

On the opposite cliff, Steve, a small tan feline, peered through his telescope. When he spotted 'Santa Claus', he glanced at his watch. It was 6:30 AM. He held the watch to his ear to make sure it was still ticking. It was. "Santa Claus? At this hour? He's running late."

The cliff gunners stood in open-mouthed amazement as the fake Santa Claus flew over. Two packages floated down on parachutes - one for each cliff - accompanied by a heavily-accented, "Ho-ho-ho!"

Naturally curious, the guards opened the packages. Inside the first one was a colorful box with a handle. Steve turned the crank and out popped a jack-in-the-box, who bopped him over the head with a big mallet. He sank to the ground with a thud. The other box contained a clown doll. The flower in his lapel squirted sleeping gas in Sam's and Ralph's faces.

"Don't make toys like they used to," moaned Ralph just before he hit the ground.

Karnage circled over the unconscious gunners, chuckling deviously. "I know when you are sleeping, and I know when you're awake! Success! Now, for phase-gun two. I will unwrap the biggest present of them all! An entire city!"

Higher for Hire

Beside the Christmas tree, the cubs and Wildcat sat on the floor. They were surrounded by unwrapped gifts, discarded boxes, bows, and torn fragments of wrapping paper. Baloo and Rebecca were side by side on the sofa, holding hands and exchanging affectionate glances as they watched their children open their gifts. At that moment, everyone's attention was turned to Molly, who was opening her last and largest present.

"Oh, neat-o!" the little girl squealed. The green bow that Kit had placed on top of her head as a joke bobbed back and forth as she examined her new toy. It was a Blinking Betty doll. Her eyes opened and shut when she was rocked.

"Double neat-o!" cried Wildcat. He was also fascinated by the doll's moving eyelids. "Asleep, awake, asleep, awake..."

"Betty, meet Lucy. Lucy, this is Betty, your new friend." In a falsetto voice, she said, "Glad to meet you, Betty. We're going to have lots of fun together."

"Awesome!" was Kit's response to a new airplane model, a Boang AR-12. He beamed at his parents. "Thanks! It's just what I wanted."

"Yer turn, Wildcat," said Baloo.

Wildcat tore the wrapping paper off a heavy package to reveal a shiny silver toolbox. "Wow-how-how!"

"An' it's even got separate compartments for different sized screws an' nails ," Baloo mentioned.

"That's good," Wildcat said solemnly, "'cause sometimes they don't get along very well. The bigger ones pick on the smaller ones, you know." He hugged his toolbox like Molly was lovingly hugging her new doll.

"Your turn, Mommy!" Molly said, giving her mother a small package.

Rebecca carefully unwrapped a little box. Inside the box was... "A sock?" She stared at the worn argyle sock in confusion. "I guess you can't have too many mismatched socks."

"That's all I have," Wildcat said. Then he wondered, "If you put one sock in the dryer, do you get two back? Because I usually put two socks in, but only one comes back."

"Is this a joke, Baloo?" Rebecca asked.

"Nah." Baloo grinned slyly. "Look in the sock, Beckers."

She stuck her hand in, retrieving an even smaller white box. She lifted the lid off the box. "The diamond and amethyst earrings from Richelieu's?" she gasped. "These cost a fortune, and...wait a minute!" She shot a suspicious glance at her husband. "What did you do, Baloo? Get them on the black market? Trader Moe? What did you do to get these?"

"Nothin', Becky." With his index finger, he drew a big 'X' across his chest. "Cross my heart an' hope ta fly."

"How could you afford these?" she whispered, cradling the sparkling earrings in her palm. They were shaped like tiny flowers with amethyst pedals and a diamond center.

"The kids chipped in, an' I had some moolah saved up."

"You save money?" the bearess scoffed.

"Hey," Baloo retorted, offended, "I can save money for a special occasion like this." To himself, he thought, An' it helped to have a lucky day at the Tortuga turtle toss.

"They were waaaaaay on sale!" Molly chirped.

"Yeah, because Papa Bear waited 'til the last possible second to buy presents, like ten minutes before the store closed!" Kit laughed mischievously as he dodged a crumpled ball of wrapping paper that his father tossed at him.

"Thank you, everybody. They're beautiful!" Rebecca slipped them on, feeling very rich, but not just because she was wearing expensive earrings. Actually, Christmas came early for her this year - six months ago in June. She gazed around her little family circle with a fond smile. Wrapping her arms around one of her husband's, she nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder, prompting another big grin from the big bear.

"Anythin' ta make my Becky happy," Baloo whispered in her ear.

"I was happy before, darling," she whispered back. "The earrings are frosting on the cake."

There was only one present left underneath the tree - a large box wrapped in blue and silver striped paper. Kit picked it up and carefully placed it on Baloo's lap.

"It's from me and Kit. Open it quick, Daddy!" Molly said, clutching a doll in each arm.

"Pretty heavy." Holding the package to his ear, Baloo gently shook it. The present inside rattled dully against the box. "Hm...what can it be?" Just as he slid his finger under the seam in the wrapping paper, a loud, "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, Cape Suzette!" thundered across the sky.

Still in their pajamas, the four bears and lion flew outside. Their eyes met a truly amazing sight - Santa's village coming through the cliffs.

Over the loudspeaker, Karnage boomed, "Yes, it is I, that jolly man and my brood of merry-melody elves. We are here to collect all the shiny doodads and valuable thingamajibs that I gave you last night."

"Santa?" said Molly wonderingly, wrinkling up her nose in bewilderment.

Baloo frowned, sharing a look with Kit. "Looks more like a pirate ship to me. Whattaya say, Li'l Britches?"

Kit set his jaw in determination. "Let's bring Santa down."

Father and son threw on some clothes and sprinted to the Sea Duck with dizzying speed.

"Start cookin' that dinner, Becky. Me an' Kit'll be back ta help ya lick the bowls," Baloo yelled as they pounded down the dock towards the seaplane.

"But, Baloo!" Rebecca raced after him. Before Baloo boarded the plane, she stopped him by yanking on the back of his shirt. She warned sternly, "If you ruin my Christmas by getting yourself killed, I'll never forgive you as long as I live!" Her brown eyes were filled with fear.

Baloo embraced her and planted a tender kiss on her lips. Softly, he joked, "I better be careful, huh? Yer wrath ain't pretty." Then, he climbed into the cockpit. Over the roar of the engines, he shouted, "Don't open the door to any elves!"

Molly, standing beside her mother, cried, "Lucy and Betty say 'good luck'!" She waved for her dolls as the Sea Duck backed up.

Baloo flipped the switch to reverse the props and the Sea Duck taxied into the harbor, gained speed, and took off. "Let's give Karny a Christmas he'll never forget."

"Roger that, Papa Bear," Kit answered with a decided nod.

Meanwhile

The Iron Vulture hovered over downtown Cape Suzette. The pirate 'elves' broke into stores and homes, holding people at gunpoint as they seized their possessions from them. A pile of gifts was already forming in the Iron Vulture's warehouse-sized cargo hold. Sitting in his captain's chair much like an emperor on his throne, Karnage sorted through the loot that his minions brought him.

"I must have been a very, very bad boy this year," Karnage chortled. "One for me, one for them. Two for me, one for them. Three for me, one for them."

"Captain, there's a little brat down there that won't let go of his present," said Hal, an overweight orange feline. A big welt over his left eye was turning the most magnificent shades of purple and yellow.

"So?" Karnage asked impatiently. "Hurry it up to the point."

Hal held up a baseball bat. On the other end of the bat, hanging on for dear life, was a five-year-old rhino in his Space Riders pajamas. "It's mine!" the little boy wailed.

"Bring the little hoolihan to me, Elf Hal."

The boy was placed on Karnage's lap. "Now, Bobby..."

"That's not my name!"

'Santa' snarled, revealing a mouthful of dangerously pointed teeth. "Your name will be what I say it is, yes-no? Why won't you give Santa the pretty toy?" Without success, Karnage attempted to wrest the bat from the boy's grasp.

"It's MINE!" the rhino shouted, bonking Karnage squarely across the head. "And you're not the real Santa!"

Dizzily, Karnage said, "Of course, I'm the really for real Santa-type person. Do I not have his red suit, his white beard, his classic good-looks?"

'Santa' was once again smashed over the head with the solid hickory bat.

"Mommy, make the jingle bells stop...oh..." Karnage slumped in his chair.

The little boy dashed away, beating pirates off left and right with his bat.

Karnage shook his head to clear the sugar plums dancing around it. "Get him!"

Mad Dog and Hal lunged for the boy, only to collide with each other as the small rhino skidded between their legs. They sprawled to the floor in a heap. Dumptruck, his arms full of crystal goblets, tripped over Mad Dog and Hal. His loot shattered all over the floor, smashed to pieces.

"I hate children! Nasty nuances!" screamed Karnage, shaking his fist with rage.

The little boy nimbly scrambled down the wooden ladder, stepping on Gibber's foot during his escape into his apartment building.

Gibber hobbled over to Karnage and whispered in his ear.

"You want a Tootsie Roll, because a mere baby child stepped on your tootsies?" Karnage testily waved him away. "I think not. You can have some licorice instead. Have all the licorice you want. Icky stuff that turns my beautiful tongue black."

Higher for Hire

Rebecca peeled potatoes at the kitchen sink and peered through the green, gauzy curtains. She couldn't see much out the window. There were too many trees and buildings in the way. As she deftly cut the potato into cubes, she thought, It's just like Karnage to turn a perfectly wonderful holiday into a disaster. Why didn't I insist on going along with Baloo? I hate not knowing what's happening. Too jittery to cook, she gave up on the potatoes. Instead, she ascended the stairs to the outside walkway at the top of the lighthouse section of Higher for Hire.

That's where her daughter and mechanic were. Both were leaning against the banister with their eyes glued to the Iron Vulture. Wildcat had his hands to his eyes like a pair of binoculars.

Rebecca pushed her hair out of her face. The wind was tearing it to shreds. Wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulders, she asked anxiously, "Molly, honey, what's going on? Do you see Daddy and Kit?"

Molly, clad in her Danger Woman outfit - a red blanket 'cape' and a colander 'helmet' - replied, "I saw the Sea Duckland on the Iron Vulture."

"And what about the pirates? Have you seen any?"

Wildcat, armed with a fishing pole, said, "Nope, Ree-becca. No pirates, but lots of big elves with even bigger sacks."

Brandishing her spatula, Molly proclaimed confidently, "Don't worry, Mommy, Danger Woman will fight 'em off!"

Rebecca picked up her small daughter and leaned against the railing, staring at the Iron Vulture. "I feel better already, Danger Woman," she stated softly. She thought, Be careful, Baloo.

The Iron Vulture

The Sea Duck's landing gear touched down on the landing strip on top of the Iron Vulture.

"Whoa!" Kit exclaimed as a huge balloon snowman smashed into the windshield, bounced over the cockpit, and was shredded to bits by the starboard propeller.

Baloo slammed on the brakes, but couldn't avoid smashing into Santa's workshop. Bumping over plywood and cardboard, the seaplane fishtailed. It trailed tinsel and lights behind it as it skidded to a stop.

"What is all this stuff?" Kit cried after he finally opened his eyes. He gawked at the ruined remains of Santa's village.

"Karny's idea of the North Pole, I guess," Baloo said, hopping out of the plane. He untangled himself from a string of tinsel that had wrapped itself around his leg. Impatiently kicking it aside, he commented, "I haven't seen so much red since Rebecca's mid-air refueling station blew up. "

Bear and cub cast wary glances around the flight deck. Barring the cheesy decorations, it was empty. Not a single pirate was in sight.

"Wonder where the welcome wagon is?" Baloo said.

"I bet they're all out stealing."

"Let's not stick around an' find out."

They slipped down through a trap door and hoisted themselves into the ventilation system.

"The only way to travel, huh, kid?" Baloo joked as they crawled through the vents.

"It is if you want to be sneaky," Kit said quietly.

"Just wish they made these vents bigger." He sucked in his gut to squeeze through to the next section of the vent.

"Like in an extra-large size?" Kit giggled to himself. The small cub wasn't having any trouble making his way through the cramped vents, unlike his overweight father.

Baloo's shirt had caught on a rivet. He tugged and tugged on it. Ruefully, he replied, "Exactly, kid. Bigger vents for bigger people. Just like clothes."His shirt released itself from the rivet with a loud 'rip'. He looked at the long gash in his shirt. "Man, Becky's not gonna like that."

"All Baloo wants for Christmas is a bigger vent," Kit whisper-sang.

Baloo lightly swatted the boy's behind. "Hey, show some respect for your ol' Papa Bear."

"I thought Mom put you on a diet."

"She did, an' I lost about five pounds," Baloo grunted. His shirt was stuck on another rivet. "But I gained it all back an' more at Louie's second annual Carmen Miranda Night a coupla weekends back. Gimmee a hand, Li'l Britches."

Kit tugged on Baloo's hands. When Baloo popped from between the rivets, Kit tumbled head over heels backwards. He sounded like a bowling ball careening down a bowling lane.

"Hope nobody heard that," Kit murmured, rubbing his sore head.

Baloo fingered the second, larger tear in his shirt. "Becky's really not gonna like that."

They came to a crossroads where two vents intersected.

"Now, which way, kiddo?"

Kit hissed, "Shh!" when he heard Karnage's voice. He closed his eyes and concentrated. If he remembered correctly, the pirate captain's room was seven rooms to the right. "This way."

They took a right and Kit began counting grates. "Six...seven. This should be it."

Kit's hypothesis was confirmedwhen they heard Karnage say, "They're right. It's better to receive than to give. 'Tis the season to get presents, presents, presents. Hee-hee-hee! I'm sledding through the dough!"

Kit pointed down through the vent and mouthed, "Lower me."

Baloo carefully, quietly opened the grate and dangled Kit by his ankles into Karnage's bedroom. "Whattaya see, Li'l Britches?" he hissed.

"Karnage and a big pile of stolen stuff," Kit whispered. It was hard not to laugh. Karnage looked so silly as he basically swam around in his loot.

"Any other pirates around?"

"Nope. Karnage is all alone and talking to himself. He probably ordered the crew away so he could enjoy his haul."

"All alone, huh?" Baloo whispered, pulling Kit through the vent and softly snapping the grate back into place. "That gives me an idea, partner, an' it's so crazy, it just might work. C'mon, we gotta get Wildcat an' the gals." Unable to turn around in the vent, Baloo began backing up.

An Apartment Building

"Knock, knock! Happy Christmas!" Dumptruck sang out. He and Mad Dog were 'collecting' presents door to door.

"You mean Happy Christmas for us!" Mad Dog added with a nasal chuckle. "We're here for your presents!"

"Und nickels und dimes if you haf any!"

An eleven-year-old girl moose opened the door. Seeing the 'elves', she smiled cordially. "Grandma, Santa's elves are here."

A quavering, elderly voice answered back, "Tell them to come in, Darla, dear. They can have some of that fruitcake that I found in the freezer from twenty years ago. I scraped most of the frost off of it."

Darla held the door wide open. She looked expectantly up at the 'elves'.

At the mention of frost-encrusted fruitcake, terror registered on the pirates' faces.

"Uh...ve can't," Dumptruck stuttered.

"Allergies," Mad Dog added quickly, inching away from the door.

"Yah, that's it. Allergies."

Darla was disappointed. "Maybe next time, okay? Come back next year!"

After the door had shut, Mad Dog grimaced. "Fruitcake? Blech!"

"Next apartment."

Both pirates broke into off-key singing. "Oh, what fun it is to steal on a Christmas holiday, hey!"

Higher for Hire

Ten minutes later, the Sea Duck splashed down in front of Higher for Hire. Everyone ran outside to greet the plane. Baloo began loading the next day's flour shipment into the seaplane's cargo hold. He told the others, "Grab all the sheets you can find, some chain, and lotsa rope."

Wildcat and the cubs ran to get the items. Rebecca trailed back and forth behind her husband as he loaded sack after sack of flour into the plane.

"Baloo, what are you doing?"

"This ain't time ta play follow-the-leader," he puffed under the weight of the sacks. "Get a move on, Beckers!"

She stopped him in his tracks by placing both paws on his chest and digging in her heels. "Will you please explain what in the world you're doing with my cargo! What about Karnage?"

Baloo stacked four twenty pound sacks of flour on the deck of the cargo hold and sat down on them as he explained. "Here's the scoop. We're gonna give Karny the yuletide scare of his life."

"Like Darles Chickens' The Christmas Caroler, Mom." Kit piled sheets next to the flour and sped back to Higher for Hire for more.

"Balooooooo! We can't just barge in on Karnage. He's got guns. We'd be outnumbered five to fifty - at least! We need a plan."

"I've got a plan." Baloo briefly filled her in on the details.

"That's nice, but to make it convincing, we're going to need a few more props besides flour and sheets."

"We're gettin' chains, too." Baloo smirked.

Shooting him an annoyedglare, Rebecca continued to rant. "We can't slap this together willy-nilly when we get on the Iron Vulture. Who's going to play the ghosts?"

Baloo rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought me an' Kit an' Wildcat."

"You?" Rebecca laughed derisively. She poked at his stomach. "It would be impossible to lift you up on a rope. I can be a ghost."

"But, Becky..."

Arms crossed, Rebecca retorted, "I'm a lot lighter than you. If Kit can do it, so can I. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

"The baby." Baloo placed his paws on her shoulders and gazed directly into her eyes. "Honey, you can't dangle with a rope cinched tighter than a ham string around your waist. What if you hurt the baby?"

Reluctantly, Rebecca muttered, "That's a good reason." The fact that he was right irritated her to no end. "Okay, you win, but don't you dare gloat about it, Baloo. I'm sure it won't happen again." With an umbrageous toss of her head, she headed inside to gather up necessary props.

"Sure, Becky." Grinning, Baloo watched her stalk up the dock. Man, she's cute when she's all riled up!

The Iron Vulture

It was pitifully easy to board the Iron Vulture the second time. There were no guards posted. All of the pirates were off pillaging. Karnage was the only one aboard. However, he wasn't keeping a vigilant lookout, being too busy with his new 'presents'.

You may be asking yourself the following questions right about now. Why weren't Khan's planes buzzing the Iron Vulture? Where were the Cape Suzette police? It was just easier without them. Back to the story...

The Sea Duck landed in the middle of Santa's wrecked village. Our gallant heroes alighted from the seaplane, their arms full of props, costumes, and other gear. With Kit in the lead, they snuck down the halls, winding their way through the ship to Karnage's bedroom.

Baloo stuck his ear to the door. There wasn't a sound from within. He gingerly turned the knob. Except for the furniture and the big mound of stolen gifts, the room was empty.

"Why's he got all these mirrors?" Baloo wondered.

Mirrors were everywhere. In addition to two full-sized free-standing mirrors, there were several hand mirrors on the dressers, chairs, and ottomans.

Kit gave a short, sardonic laugh. "So he can see his big ego from every angle?"

Immediately, they went to work. Wildcat began setting up the pulley system while Rebecca passed out the costumes. Kit arranged a black curtain in one corner for them to hide behind and to allow them to work without their flashlights showing. He put the props behind it so that they would be easily accessible. Baloo pushed Karnage's plush chairs, ottomans, tables, fringed lamp, and curtained four-poster bed against the walls, being careful not to break a mirror. Molly, along with her friend Duncan, drew the heavy drapes over the windows and rolled up the Oriental rugs. Then they all got into costume.

"Everybody about ready?" Baloo turned to Molly's friend, a seven-year-old brown wolf. "Thanks for doin' this on such short notice, Duncan."

The boy's black eyes gleamed with excitement behind his horn-rimmed glasses. "This is great! I've never been on a pirate ship before. It sure beats watching my mom make her Christmas spaghetti and wheat balls."

"Doncha mean meat balls?"

"Nope. Wheat. She's a vegetarian. For Thanksgiving we had tofurkey."

"Tofurkey?" Baloo echoed, confounded.

"Turkey made out of tofu. It's processed soybeans," Duncan explained.

Kit and Molly wrinkled up their noses in distaste.

"Glad our mom isn't a veggie-tarian," whispered Molly.

Kit nodded vigorously, causing a dusting of flour to fall to the floor.

Rebecca tied a rope securely about Kit's waist and handed him a flashlight. In his other hand, he clutched a second rope with a hook on the end of it.

"Ready, kiddo?" Baloo asked.

The boy nodded and took a deep breath. "Let's do it, Papa Bear."

Wildcat and Baloo pulled on the other end of the rope, which was wound through a pulley attached to a pipe on the ceiling. Kit was gradually hoisted to the ceiling. The boy mentally prepared himself for his role in the scheme. This was going to be the toughest part - inserting the hook into Karnage's trousers' waistband without him knowing it. But it had to be done; it was crucial to their plan, and he had volunteered to do it. Kit perched atop a pipe to alleviate the pain of the rope cutting into his waist.

"Are you okay, Kit?" Rebecca asked concernedly.

"Fine, Mom." He slid a finger around the rope to loosen it a little. He knew that he would probably have rope burn there tomorrow.

Finally, they were ready. At the fuse box, Rebecca flipped off the breaker that controlled the room's lights. With bated breath, they waited in the dark.

End of part 1