A Dog's Christmas

"My Dogs' Christmas"

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the hut
Not a creature was stirring, except Gracie and Tut.
Gracie's the boxer with a slim, youthful middle
And Tut's a Chihuahua who's louder but little.

When out of the silence,
Came a shout from my spouse.
'Cause something tiny and furry
Entered our house.

It came down the chimney
Its stop was abrupt
And the season's warm weather
Saved his tiny mouse-butt.

He wobbled and teetered
And stumbled from the ash,
Then noticed us staring
And made a mad dash.

He moved like a bullet
That a trigger set free
Laying toenail whispers
On his way to our tree.

Gracie's ears stood tall
At the faint scratchy sound,
Then she was off of the sofa
With an effortless bound.

The Chihuahua was slower
To join in the chase,
What he lacked in exuberance
He garnered from grace.

The boxer accelerated
Taking off like a blurt,
Scratching and sliding she shot past the tree,
With toenails and canines still clutching the skirt.

Tut came up behind her
More slowly of course
Pouncing on presents
With a minimum of force.

And in that short minute
The branches all shook
When the voice of my youngest
Escaped with a "Look!"

Our eyes followed his finger
To the top of the tree
Where a shaky little rodent
Tried hard to stay free.

Underneath him and climbing
And snapping at his butt
Was the fierce and relentless
Chihuahua named Tut.

But the story then ended
All too sudden you see
Because Gracie the boxer
Clambered right up the tree.

She teetered and tottered
And barked and growled
And swatted and clutched
All the way to the ground

The mouse got away
From his hunters that night
And the tree's back in place
With broken ornaments and one light

And the two furry mammals
Whom we love and adore
Sleep amid pine needles and icicles
Spread all over the floor.

J. Dennis, and I've still never been able to rhym.