HICKORY HOG AND THE CHRISTMAS RASCAL, part 11

PART 11, December 11

Hickory Hog was so startled that he hardly knew what to do. He sat up in his bed and gasped. All the walls of the shack shuddered with his gasp.

As he peered through the darkness the shadow began to take form. He still couldn't really see the expression of the face, but he could definitely tell that it was a face. Something about the way it was cocked to one side let him know that the owner of it was none too pleased with him. Then a voice came through the glass.

It was not loud or strident. It fact it almost had a hint of laughter in it. Some might even call it mischievous, "Hickory Hog, I've been watching you and your friends. If I'm not mistaken you're going to have the worst Christmas ever and there's nothing you can do about it."

That was all there was. With that the voice ceased. Hickory was paralyzed for just a moment, then he was galvanized into action. He didn't even stop to put on a coat or open the door. He was outside of that shack before you could say, "Hickory Hog Is The Biggest Hog There Is.” Well, almost that fast.

In his wake he left a whirlwind behind him. The little bird tumbled out of his teacup. He then fell into the little old man's coat pocket. Whizzer Worm began whizzing around the room in the middle of the air and ended up wrapped all around the little old man. They were all a mess as they were rudely awakened by the cold to see the door lying some twenty yards away outside the shack.

Hickory, in the meantime, had run his fastest, but it wasn't fast enough. There was no sign of the Christmas Rascal at all.

He returned to his friends. When he saw the damage he had done he picked up the door and angrily wedged it in place, at least good enough to keep out most of the wind until morning when he could fix it.

"What happened?" they all chorused.

"The Christmas Rascal was HERE!"

"HERE?"

"That's right. What's more, he told me that would have the worst Christmas ever. But I'm not going to let that stop me."

“What are you going to do?" asked the little bird, crawling out of the man's pocket.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do! I'm going to catch that Christmas Rascal and unrascal him."

© 1989 Kevin Don Levellie