A funny little story I wrote

There was great excitement among the animals in the forest. Christmas was approaching, and for the first time, yes for the first time the animals had their own Christmas tree.

The inspiration had come from the old little owl Willi who spent his days asleep in the beams of the village church. Just in front of the church stood a big Christmas tree that he inevitably had to spot when he flew out for prey at night. And when he told the other animals about this glittering wonder of the humans in his pompous and somewhat circumstantial manner many an animal felt quite peculiar inside.

Of course it had been the cheeky shrew Anna who shouted out: “Bah, we can do that do”! The animals were immediately all for it when she uttered this. “Yes, let us have a Christmas tree like the humans, and on Christmas Eve there will be a big party” exclaimed Norbert the woodpecker who had an affiliation for all kinds of festivities and who had often left his wife and children alone at home for a hearty sip of dandelion wine, which had earned him the nickname “Boozepecker” among the animals. “A feast for the greater glory of God, arranged by those creatures who really follow His will” remarked Theodore the pious mole while shyly making the sign of the cross. And then there was a great chirping, whistling, cackling, snarling, barking and howling as all the animals tried to make their suggestions at the same time. Only the three bat sisters Miranda, Esmeralda and Violetta were unmoved by this, but then bats see with their ears and so this spectacle of light left them cold.

The animals formed a committee consisting of the roebuck Rudolph, the badger Bruno, the fox Freddy, the hoopoe Conrad and the starling Christopher that was supposed to organize the feast. They chose an old weathered fir tree that stood alone in a clearing as Christmas tree. A truce between the animals was formed for the time before Christmas so that those animals who usually were the prey to the animals that went on the hunt did not have to fear for their lives while the feast was in preparation.

All animals tried to surpass each other in contributing to the Christmas tree. The magpies stole even more shiny and glittering things than usual which the pious mole did not approve of at first, but then he conceded that God's ways were inscrutable and that the end justified the means while again making the sign of the cross. The hamsters and squirrels plundered their buffer stocks to equip the tree with nuts and acorns. Bruno the badger plucked out some silvery strands of hair from his underbelly which could excellently serve as tinsel. The male peacocks and pheasants plucked out some of their brightest feathers as decoration for the tree..

Only Freddy the fox stuck out unpleasantly when he wanted to decorate the tree with the bodies of some mice that had become his prey, a presumption that the surviving mice severely protested against. But he was finally allowed to contribute some down feathers that were the remains of his last feasting on a goose. The protest of the geese was turned down by the committee with the comment that he could have found these feathers anywhere. Since no-one had any doubts where these feathers came from this was a clear concession to the fox. The committee was just too afraid that he might break the truce in his irritation.

The squirrels had the task of hanging up the Christmas ornaments because they could easily move about in the tree and had the most dexterous paws. And the illumination...

Franz the old forester stumbled into the village pub on Christmas Eve and shouted to the barkeeper: “A brandy, and make it a stiff one”! He downed it in one gulp, turned around and told the other guests:

“Well, I have been walking this forest for forty years now, but I never saw anything like this before! I passed by that old weathered fir tree and saw hundreds of animals gathered around it - foxes, deer, wild boars, owls, really all kinds of animals. And in that fir tree - hundreds of glowworms! In the middle of winter! It looked as if the animals were celebrating Christmas! Another stiff one”!

And while the landlord served the forester his brandy and the other guests knowingly tapped their foreheads with their fingers Theodore the mole ended his Christmas speech with the words “Merry Christmas”!