It was a quiet early afternoon, a few days after Christmas, and Old Possum did not feel like going for a walk. It was damp out, as the morning fog had lingered until lunchtime and, besides, he was far too cozy by the fire — and far too full of cheese-and-crackers and shortbread cookies — to want to leave the house.

And so he collected his stationery box from the hall closet, pulled out notecards and envelopes and a bottle of purple ink and his favorite fountain pen, and began writing his customary year-end letters to faraway friends and distant cousins. In each individual letter he shared one amusing story and one favorite new recipe from the past year, and the title of one book that he thought each letter-recipient might enjoy reading.

(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.