Everyone who lived alone had gone the night before, after the party, to the homes of relatives or friends.

But Old Possum had stayed at home, and Mouse and his entire family had spent the night, with all the children camping — slumber-party-style — on the floor of the living room, in front of the fire, where they had fallen asleep to the sight of firelight winking on glass ornaments.

____

In snug houses, nests, and burrows throughout the garden, Old Christmas morning was a time to sleep in and then enjoy a leisurely breakfast of strong tea with cream, and hot toast slathered with butter (Raccoon had given each household a fresh loaf of sourdough bread for Christmas).

And it was also, of course, a time to open presents: socks and new pens and pretty notebooks, oranges and boxes of sweets and knitted hats, tiny polished rocks and buttons and teacups.

____

After lunch, Crow and several others arrived at Possum’s house to help disassemble the tree.

The small birds plucked ornaments from the branches and handed them, one by one, to the mice, who wrapped them carefully in tissue paper. Crow fetched the wooden star from the top of the tree and placed it in its box.

And after the birds had unwound the garland, setting it in a pile on the floor, the mice and birds and Possum all gathered ’round to tell stories and snack on the remaining popcorn and berries.

(Early January 2024)

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.