Our tale begins on Christmas Eve. Bundled up in the comfy, festive HQ, the Penguins are all set up for their holiday traditions. In the incinerator, they've got a roaring fire to keep them cozy on the long winter's night. Outside it's lightly snowing. Looks like it's shaping up to be quite the holly jolly Christmas.
Private and Rico are snuggled together. Between them is a plate of Christmas cookies. With pillows and blankets strewn across the HQ floor, it looks as though they're preparing for a movie night. However, the TV is turned off. Skipper and Kowalski stand in front of the two. Under Kowalski's flipper rests some sort of mission file.
"All right, boys, settle in! Kowalski and I have a treat for the two of you." Skipper claps his flippers and rests them on his hips.
"Really?" Private perks up. First, they were all comfy and now there's more?
"Fish?" Rico tilts his head with puppy dog eyes. That's exactly what he asked Santa for this year.
"No, something much better…" Kowalski shoves the file out in front of him in a dramatic fashion. "Poetry!"
"Yay!" Private claps his flippers together, absolutely delighted.
"Poetry?" Rico sighs and slouches.
"It's not poetry – it's a story!" Skipper whines at Kowalski. Then, he turns to the team, with a wink. "A Christmas-y type story, but with our own penguin-y twist."
"Oh, okay…?" Private tilts his head.
Kowalski straightens up and clears his throat. He lifts the file up as if it were a book of carols. Clearly, the file has been repurposed as it reads CLASSIFIED on the front. "T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the HQ. Not a penguin was stirring, not even a Rico."
"Hehehehe!" Rico giggles at the mention of his name. He pulls up the blankets towards him in excitement. This story is already shaping up to be quite good. He even has a surprise cameo.
"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care," Kowalski gestures over to the stockings the Penguins have decorated their lair with. There is one for each of them. Alternating between green and red, the stockings are lined up meticulously. Not a single fiber is out of place. In each one, there is a present tucked away. Suspiciously, the gift wrapping looks to be fish-shaped. The most unique stocking of all is Private's. He had embroidered a little unicorn design onto his.
"In hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there." Kowalski finishes his thought and hands the file off to Skipper.
"Uhh…" Skipper's eyes scan the document. He struggles to find his place, but eventually clears his throat and continues. "The boys were nestled all snug in their bunks. While visions of pickled herring flapped in their heads."
Private and Rico are invested in the story completely at this point. They lean forward with anticipation. It also appears that they are rather hungry as well, as the mention of herring causes Rico to lick his beak. Though, Rico is always hungry admittedly.
Skipper goes on. "And Private with his lunacorn, and I in my cap had just settled our noggins for a long winter's nap… Nap?" He turns to Kowalski."I thought we were going to bed."
"Well, we are." Kowalski defends the poem. Working with Skipper on this is proving much more difficult than he originally thought.
"But when you say nap, I think of going to sleep in the middle of the day." Skipper explains. He begins to think that Kowalski is just trying to cover up his mistake.
"It's part of the poem." Kowalski sighs.
"Story." Skipper smiles coyly, correcting Kowalski.
Kowalski, with a flipper on his forehead, sighs. "Fine, Skipper. It's a story." Going back to the story, he regains his composure. "When out of the habitat arose such a clatter. I sprang from my bunk to see what was the matter." He cups a flipper to his earhole.
In a strictly, theatrical manner, he gestures to the hatch. "Away to the hatch, I flew like a flash. Tore up the ladder and tossed over the fish bowl."
Once Skipper gets the file, he flips through it. Again, he struggles to find his place. "Blah, blah blah… When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer!"
"Now Dasher!" Kowalski reads off.
Private eagerly joins in. He knows all of the names of the reindeer of course! How could he forget? "Now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On Donner and Blitzen!" He lifts his flippers in excitement.
"Blitzen!" Rico cheers.
"But where's Rudolph?" Private tilts his head.
"Huh?" Skipper hadn't thought about that.
"Rudolph." Private laughs at Skipper for forgetting the most famous reindeer of all. "He's my favorite!" In his flippers, he snuggles his lunacorn closer.
Skipper has to think on the fly. In a completely unconvincing response, he scratches the back of his head. "Oh, he uh… he had other commitments."
Private pauses. But just when it seems he is questioning Skipper's reasoning, his eyes brighten back up. "Oh okay!"
Kowalski clears his throat. Then, he springs forward, pointing up towards the ceiling. Private and Rico's gazes follow his flipper as it moves. In their imaginations, it's as if they can see the magic that Kowalski describes. "To the top of the bell tower! To the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away all!"
Skipper continues. "So up to the habitat the reindeer they flew. With a sleigh full of…" He taps his chin. What would his boys like most for Christmas? "Fish! And St. Nicholas too!"
Private and Rico look at each other excitedly. That is exactly what they hope Santa will bring them that night.
"And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof." Kowalski cups his flipper to his earhole again. This time, he lifts his head towards the ceiling.
When nothing happens, he clears his throat. Skipper is pouring himself a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, this means he is utterly unaware of his cue. Kowalski repeats with urgency. "I heard on the roof!"
"Oh! Right," Skipper laughs.
As Kowalski continues, Skipper begins to knock on the bottom side of the table. "The prancing and pawing of each tiny hoof."
Rico and Private are none the wiser. With amazement in their eyes, they look up towards the ceiling. Completely unaware that the knocking is really coming from inside the habitat. It appears that Kowalski's poem… or story is coming to life.
"The prancing and pawing of each tiny hoof. As I drew in my head, and as I was turning around. Down the chimney –" Kowalski slowly makes is way to the bottom of the ladder, when he is suddenly trampled by a flash of gray.
Julien lands, as proud as a gymnast "King Julien came abound!"
The Penguins scream. Kowalski, in his sudden terror, leaps next to Skipper. The sudden startle of Julien's entrance is a bit of a shock.
"Ringtail! We're kind of in the middle of something here!" Skipper gets back on the defensive.
"Yes, but you are telling it all wrong! Here let me try" he shimmies, wedging himself in between Skipper and Kowalski. Then, taking the file into his own paws, he starts to tell the story his own way. "He had the bushiest tail, and was dancing from his head to his foot. And his crown was polished as he swung his regal boot-…y."
Julien sways his bushy tail and booty, showboating his narrative.
Skipper yanks the file back. "And a bundle of fish he had flung on his back. And he looked like a broker, just opening his pack."
Next, is Kowalski's turn. "His eyes how – "
Julien reads over Kowalski's shoulder. "How they twinkled! His dimples how merry." He raises his eyebrows.
Kowalski scoffs, grabbing the file and nudging Julien back. "His cheeks were like roses; the tip of his beak like a cherry."
Private and Rico's eyes shift back and forth. They're not quite sure who to look at now.
Julien struggles with the words. "His drool, little – "
Skipper sighs, correcting him. "Droll."
"Hmm…" Julien squints. Rubbing his chin, he looks to be seriously considering Skipper's correction. However, in his pride and his own logic, he refutes it. "That does not make sense, so you have to… shut up a little."
This is when Skipper loses his temper. Frankly, Kowalski's surprised Skipper maintained his composure for this long. He throws up his flippers, sending the file flying up into the air. "Ugh! It's Christmas Eve! Don't you lemurs have somewhere else to be?"
Julien steps back and sniffles. His eyes are all big and teary. There is sincere sorrow in this realization. "You don't … want me?"
When this doesn't work, Skipper notices a tap on his back. He turns to find Maurice. The stout, gray lemur smiles up at him hopefully. In fact, the smile is so wide and unyielding that it is rather creepy. It causes Skipper to take a step back. What is the deal with these lemurs? Maurice then sighs, bringing Skipper aside. "Yeah about that… It looks like our bouncy house froze. We're kinda looking for a place to stay tonight" he points a thumb back towards Julien. "if the king wants to admit it or not."
"Can't we just have one lemur-free night?" Skipper sighs, rolling his eyes.
Skipper cringes when he notices Private waddling up to him. He knows where this is going. "But, Skippah. It's Christmas! We can't throw them out in the cold." His eyes are big, blue and pleading. He smiles kindly, knowing that Skipper can't turn him down when he uses this tactic. He truly had his commanding officer wrapped around his flipper. "P-please, Skippah."
Skipper sighs, completely resigned. "Fine."
"Yay!" Private skips happily back to his seat. He scoots around to get comfortable.
Kowalski, having retrieved the file, gets back to business. "And his beard was as white as snow."
Then, their attention is immediately drawn to the sound of whipped cream spraying in the kitchen. Everyone turns their heads nearly simultaneously. The refrigerator door is ajar. Spookily, there isn't a soul in sight who could have opened it.
Just when it looks like the Ghost of Christmas Present has made an appearance, Mort peaks out from the door. A very full, whipped cream beard nearly covers his face in its entirety. "Hehehehe!" He giggles. "I am being the Santa!"
Skipper rolls his eyes. This is a disaster. Why is it when they tried to do something nice for the boys, the lemurs had to come crashing in? "The stump of a flounder he held tight in his flipper, and the aroma encircled the lair like a wreath."
"I'll say." Julien holds his nose and fans the air. The Penguins' habitat sure did wreak of fishiness.
Just when Skipper is about to lose his temper once more, he hears giggling come from his team. Rico and Private are actually finding this amusing. Well, wasn't that the whole point of this anyway? So long as they are happy, he is happy too. Then, boom, the mission is a success, right? Even if it didn't necessarily go to plan.
Skipper continues. "He had a broad face and a little round belly. That shook when he laughed. Like a bowl full of Jiggles."
"Ha! Jiggles does shake!" Private laughs.
"He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf." Kowalski continues.
Julien pauses and looks to Maurice. "Yeah, on second thought… Maurice, you can be Santa now!"
"Of course." Maurice rolls his eyes at the typical behavior from Julien. As annoying as he could be, the king is family. He leans back against the wall and crosses his arms, getting comfortable. Mort eventually scampers in as well, licking the whipped cream clean off his own face.
Kowalski continues. "And I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself, and with a wink of his eye and a twist of his head. I soon learned that I had nothing to dread."
Skipper looks over the audience. Mort is now sitting in the middle of Private and Rico. Maurice is listening in. They are all getting along and enjoying their time together. Skipper sighs, a bit ashamed of his previous reaction. "He said not a word but went straight to his work. And then filled … all… the stockings, then turned with a jerk."
Kowalski continues, unphased by Skipper's epiphany. "And laying his flipper aside his nose,"
Rico cheekily turns to Private. With a flipper picking his beak, looking for a booger. He laughs manically.
His intention of grossing Private out works, as the little penguin recoils. His face contorts in disgust. "Ew, Rico!" He scolds.
Kowalski shakes his head at the typical banter. "And giving a nod, up the hatch he rose!"
Skipper exclaims "He sprang to his sleigh!"
"Yay! Blitzen!" Rico shouts in excitement.
Kowalski continues. "And to his team, he gave a whistle!" He tries to whistle but nothing comes out. He lifts his flippers to his beak once more. But again, nothing.
After watching his several failed attempts, Skipper takes over. "And away they flew…" His eyes seem to fixate on the challenging words. "something about a thistle?"
Kowalski recites with grandiosity. "But I heard him exclaim, 'ere when they drove out of sight:"
Kowalski hands the file over to Skipper. They had planned on him finishing the story. Instead, he sighs. Swallowing his pride, he smiles and offers the file over to Julien. He hopes the lemur doesn't make him regret this gesture of goodwill.
"Me?" Julien gasps in excitement, like an understudy that had just been given the starring role.
Skipper smiles, conceding. "Go for it, Ringtail."
"Merry Julianuary to all, and to all a good night!" Julien stretches out his arms for the big finish, before ending with a bow.
The audience, consisting of their friends and family, claps eagerly. Perhaps, it is even better now that the three of them were all working together.
"Yay, King Julien!" Mort cheers.
Once the story is over, it's just about time for bed. Upon Private's request, the Penguins found a way to accommodate the lemurs. The three mammals take over the blankets and pillows that Private and Rico had previously been using. They are already fast asleep. Quite contrary to their usual party animal nature, it is evident that they had had a long day.
As Skipper turns off the lights, he calls out to the others. "Merry Christmas, boys! You too, lemurs." He laughs when he hears Julien snoring. Now there's something he never thought he'd hear.
Just as Skipper is heading to his own bunk, a shadow rushes towards him. He jumps at first, unable to see who his assailant is in the dark. However, he is put at ease when he realizes the mysterious figure is only interested in a tight hug, rather than any form of combat. He looks down to find Private with his flippers wrapped around him.
"Merry Christmas, Skippah." Private whispers, grateful for both the story and his generosity.
Skipper smiles, confident that he had done well. Tonight's yuletide mission was a clear success. He pats Private on the head. "Merry Christmas, Private. Now, hit the bunk."
"You don't want to be awake when Santa gets here. You know, you won't get any presents, if he sees you up." Kowalski chimes in.
With that, Private dashes up to his bunk. Rico catches wind of this and hides his head under the covers. Skipper and Kowalski exchange a laugh. It appears their story really excited them for the holiday.
"Job well done, Kowalski." Skipper congratulates Kowalski quietly, before hopping into his own bunk.
"You too, Skipper." Kowalski salutes with a yawn.
And with that, silence falls over the Penguin habitat. Penguin by penguin, the team drifts off to sleep. Private eagerly cuddles his lunacorn, hoping that tomorrow is just as festive and fun. Rico lays awake a little bit longer, fantasizing about the tasty fish he hopes Santa will bring. Kowalski is exhausted from the back and forth banter, so he conks out rather quickly. Skipper rests easy as well, knowing that he had set his team up for a picture perfect holiday. Not a penguin, nor lemur, was stirring. All was peaceful as they settled in for their long winter's nap.
[The End]