Every hour or so throughout the day after his Yule party, Old Possum’s doorbell rang with visitors, just dropping by for a minute.

Nearly everyone brought gifts wrapped in crinkly tissue paper or leaves or soft bits of leftover fabric, all tied with ribbon. Each of these were placed among the growing pile of book-shaped packages under the community tree.

Several of Mama Chipmunk’s grandchildren brought pawfuls of dried orange slices, tied with loops of string, ready to be hung on the tree.

Squirrel brought a bowlful of nuts for Possum’s lunch.

And, precisely at three o’clock, Rabbit, Mama Chipmunk, and Raccoon arrived for tea, bringing with them a giant thermos of hot spiced tea, mince pies, and shortbread cookies studded with dried cranberries and fragrant orange peel.

(Late December 2023)

Story © Jennifer Singleton / Read+Purr

This is another vignette in my ongoing series of Tiny Garden Stories: peaceful 1-minute tales that let you read like a kid again. Click one of the first two buttons below to go to (or back to, if that’s where you fell down the rabbit hole) either the “Public Garden” archive page or (if you’re a Story Club member) to the members-only “Private Garden” page. Or click the third button to learn more about my Tiny Garden Stories. If you’re new to Tiny Garden Story-land and would like 10 days’ worth of stories from our first year, visit ReadPurrNewsletter.com.