It's
that time again--time for another advent calendar in story form!
Starting on Dec 1, feel free to read a chunk each day to your kids, pets, spouse or just enjoy it yourself. Distract yourself, and it will be Christmas in no time.
Starting on Dec 1, feel free to read a chunk each day to your kids, pets, spouse or just enjoy it yourself. Distract yourself, and it will be Christmas in no time.
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image by Catherine via Flickr |
Don't
know what an advent calendar is? Click here.
If
you'd like to see what our calendar looks like (hint: there's a story and...socks),
look here.
And
if this crazy story doesn't tickle your fancy, you could select one from a previous
year—they're all listed here.
And
now for The Christmas Cookie-Eating Shadow
DECEMBER 1
The
thing about your shadow is that it should be the same general shape as you.
That's what Oliver always thought anyway. A round head, two arms and two legs.
But Oliver's shadow wasn't like that at all.
DECEMBER 2
When
he stood in the sun's rays, a tall, dark shape stretched across the snow behind
him. One with NO legs and a wide, glowing mouth. And triangular ears that
pointed straight up. Or were they horns? Either way, it was not normal. And it was pretty scary.
DECEMBER 3
Oliver
tried to show his parents his weird shadow, but with winter days growing dark
so soon, it seemed the sun was always down when they had time to look. Or
sometimes, it was too cloudy. Oliver's friends never managed a peek at it
either. And even Oliver usually only saw it as he crunched over the fresh snow
on his way home from the bus stop.
DECEMBER 4
One
day after school, Oliver caught a glimpse of his creepy shadow. As he walked, he
was extra careful not to turn around since he didn't want to see it slinking
along behind him again.
With
a shout of "Boo," the shortest girl in Oliver's class, Bettina,
jumped out at him from behind a fence.
DECEMBER 5
Oliver's
heart leaped into his throat. He just barely held back an embarrassing scream.
But...he
heard a shriek nonetheless.
"What
was that?" Bettina asked as she
scooted around the fence. Then she stood completely still, her mouth hanging
open.
DECEMBER 6
Oliver
knew it right away. Bettina saw his strange shadow.
"I
saw your mouth," she said to Oliver. "It didn't open. Your shadow made that sound!"
She
heard it too?
DECEMBER 7
Bettina
raised her arm and pointed behind him. "Why does it look like that?"
Oliver
shrugged.
"How
come the mouth is so big? How long as your shadow been that way?"
She
sure asked a lot of questions. "I don't know. A month?" Oliver said.
"Since it started snowing, I think."
DECEMBER 8
Bettina
squinted as she stared at the shadow. Then she inched closer, tiptoeing around
Oliver. With a loud "Ha!" she leaped right into the middle of the
shadow.
"Watch
it!" yelped the dark shape.
Oliver
whirled around. Bettina's feet were planted right in the middle of the shadow's
belly.
"Who
are you?" Oliver demanded.
DECEMBER 9
A
sound like the clearing of a throat came. "Um...I'm the Secret Christmas
Cookie Eater."
"The
what?" Bettina and Oliver asked in unison.
"You
can just call me 'Cook.'"
DECEMBER 10
"Nope.
Back up, Cook." Bettina crossed her arms and glared at the shadow. "What
are you?"
The
shadow swayed back and forth. "You know...the one who eats the cookies?
When your mom says 'who ate all the cookies' and everyone says 'not me.' Well,
I'm the one who actually does eat the cookies."
DECEMBER 11
Oliver
scratched his head. Something didn't seem right. "How do you eat the
cookies if you're just a shadow?"
Despite
the sun staying put, the shadow slid all the way around Oliver like the hand of
a clock. "Well, that's the problem. I can't anymore. It works like this. I
travel by attaching myself to people as their shadow. Then I unhook myself and
hide behind a lamp or a couch. When no one's looking, I turn solid and snatch a
few cookies."
DECEMBER 12
"But
I can't turn solid, and I can't snatch cookies anymore. Without me"—Cook's
sigh was long and drawn out—"there are too many cookies in the
world."
Oliver
couldn't imagine there could ever be too many cookies, but Cook moaned like a
sad little puppy.
DECEMBER 13
Bettina climbed onto the fence and scraped some snow into a snowball. She threw
it at Cook's head. He jerked and giggled. Oliver rolled his eyes.
"Too
many cookies in the whole world?" Bettina asked.
"Yep."
Cook said, and his wide mouth stretched in a glowing grin. "I go on
airplanes all the time. Germany has some great Christmas cookies too. Oh, have
you ever had chrusciki in Poland? And
don't get me started on all the kinds of gingerbread in Europe. Yum!"
DECEMBER 14
Oliver
frowned. "What kind of cookies there are is not the point! Why are you
stuck on me?"
"Hmm..."
sighed the shadow. "I think it happened when your mom made those amazing
chocolate brownie cookies—with the cream cheese centers. Do you remember that evening?"
Oliver
nodded.
"Well,
I was originally latched onto your mom. Then I hid behind your couch. When she
left the room and turned off the light, I leaped out to grab those
cookies—"
DECEMBER 15
Oliver
was beginning to understand. "And I jumped up from under the table and
took one also."
"Right,"
said Cook. "Except it was dark and we grabbed the same cookie. When you
took a bite, so did I. Since then, I've been stuck."
DECEMBER 16
Bettina
was still standing on Cook's belly. "All right, Oliver, I'm holding him
down. You run off that way." She pointed up the street.
Oliver
didn't have to be told twice. In a flash, he was halfway down the sidewalk. He
whirled around. Bettina hadn't moved a bit, but Cook was still right next to
him.
DECEMBER 17
"Got
any other ideas?" Oliver yelled to Bettina, who skipped down the sidewalk
to him.
She
shook her head.
"Cook?"
Oliver asked.
"No,"
the shadow said, his wide mouth turned down in a frown.
"I'm
getting cold," Bettina said. "Let's go to my house and figure it
out."
DECEMBER 18
They
all agreed and walked past Oliver's house. Bettina called to her father who was
doing laundry in the basement: "Hi, Dad. I brought a friend!"
Her
dad's deep voice sounded from downstairs: "I made some cookies this
morning. Go ahead and take some."
Bettina
motioned Oliver into the kitchen, but with only one foot in the room, he stopped
short.
DECEMBER 19
"Whoa,"
said Cook.
Made some cookies? Oliver thought. There
were about a thousand cookies in the
kitchen. In tins, on plates and cooling racks. There were even two full baking
sheets. All different kinds—with nuts and without...chocolate and swirled...green
with pistachios...red with jam...covered in yellow glaze...vanilla frosted and
sprinkled in colored sugar.
DECEMBER 20
"Your
dad made all this?"
Bettina
selected a tree-shaped cookie and held out a plate to Oliver. "He's kind
of crazy about Christmas baking. Kind of...over-the top."
Cook
made a deep moaning sound.
"I
guess," Oliver said.
But
the longing in Cook's voice gave Oliver an idea.
DECEMBER 21
"Cook,"
Oliver said. "Don't those cookies look amazing?"
The
shadow made a gulping sound. "They sure do."
Oliver
sniffed loudly. "They smell so good. I bet you'd love to eat some,
wouldn't you?"
"I
sure would," said Cook, his tone almost desperate.
DECEMBER 22
Bettina
must have caught on, because she said, "We have so many cookies. They'll
surely all go to waste. No one can ever eat this many."
"No
one?" Cook asked.
Oliver
motioned Bettina to follow him out of the kitchen. In the hall, she pointed up
the stairs to her room, but she said extra clearly, "It'll be such a shame
if we have to throw them away."
DECEMBER 23
Oliver
nodded. "Such a waste."
They
tiptoed up the stairs and sat on the carpet in Bettina's room. Bettina picked
up a red ball and tossed it to Oliver. He tossed it back.
DECEMBER 24
"I
don't see any shadow," Bettina whispered.
Oliver
wiped his brow. "Whew! Good. I better stay up here for a little while
though, don't you think?"
Bettina
was just about to nod when her dad's voice floated up the stairs: "Who ate
all the cookies?"
Oliver
and Bettina looked at each other and smiled. Together, they called, "Not me!"