It's that wonderful time again when we enter Susanna Leonard Hill's Holiday Contest. This year, a story in no more than 250 words that contains a surprise. Here's mine!
It was dusk on a mid-winter evening when Tansy ran away.
The gate was open and
I could just make out her footprints in the snow. She was heading for Dark
Mountain and I had to get her back. That little donkey was the only friend I
had.
Hour after hour I climbed, battling the icy
wind. At first the beam from my torch only followed donkey hoofs. But then the
tracks of other creatures began to appear in the snow. Why were they climbing
Dark Mountain in the middle of the night?
Faintly I heard music and saw a halo of light.
The night no longer seemed so cold and the climb was not so hard.
Then, in a single
moment, the mountainside was transformed. Menorahs, kinaras and Christmas
candles cast their shimmering glow to the skies. The stars were spinning,
angels were singing and children of every race were dancing together in the
snow and singing the angel song. There were reindeer dancing with them, camels
and wildebeest, and one little donkey named Tansy, the happiest dancer of all.
Just as it came, it
all faded away and I led my donkey home.
But who was this
coming to meet us? A party of village folk.
“There was no light in
your window, Sam. You didn’t answer your door. We were worried, so we came
looking for you. Happy Holiday!”
And I was warmly
wrapped up in hugs and smiles. I did
have friends after all!
