(This is a sequel to “An
Under-the Pier Christmas” which I wrote and posted on my blog in 2011)
It had been
a rough year. The Under-the-Pier neighborhood had gone through a lot. First,
there was the sinking of the old tug boat tied up to the St. Simon’s Island
pier. Though the humans had raised it and taken it away, it had caused quite a
bit of damage to the sea creatures’ homes.
Then there
were the two big storms which had caused such damage with their winds and
messed up tides. The bottom had been badly affected by the shifting sands and
mud banks. Once again many sea creatures had lost their homes. Why, Billy Crab
was missing for a whole week before he managed to tunnel his way back out of
the mess!
Then there
was the invasion by the dolphins. These playful creatures often visited the
area daily, but this time they came in such numbers and were so playful that
they had unintentionally wreaked havoc on the community. Several of Billy’s
cousins had been playfully carried far out into the sound before they had been
dropped off by the dolphins. They thought it great fun to use the crabs as
objects to be playfully thrown across the waves and then rapidly retrieved. Then
teams of the dolphins would use the crabs to play keep-away, also.
All in all,
it had been a rough year for the sea creatures which normally lived somewhat peaceful
lives below the St. Simon’s Island pier. And now as Christmas approached, they
were exhausted from dealing with so many events. As some of their leaders
gathered to discuss how the holiday would be observed their meeting was somber.
So many homes had been lost and damaged. Few of their decorations were to be
found. “What to do?” they wondered.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Someone
later said they thought it had been Wiley Sea Turtle who came up with the idea.
No one really remembers for sure who it was, but a gentle voice spoke above the
din of discussion and asked, ”What about borrowing some decorations?” Sally
Starfish asked immediately, ”From where?” The crowd looked around as the
question sank in on them.
“Well… there
is the old abandoned cottage just near the lighthouse. Those people used to have
a lot of decorations around on their little pier. They just drove away one day
and never came back. At least that is what Herman Crab told me last year. Maybe
they left their decorations.” For a few minutes, no one spoke. The thought
began to bring smiles of relief as the creatures suddenly erupted into many “Maybes”
and “Could be’s” and several “Let’s go look’s”. Soon a decision had been made
and several brave crab folk volunteered to approach the long abandoned cottage along
the beach and scout out the possibilities.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The day
before Christmas several of the Under-the-Pier folk were hanging out near
Ralphie Crab’s lunch bar admiring the decorations gently swaying in the morning’s
current. “That was a GREAT idea!” stated Billy Starfish with a huge smile on
his face. “Yep!” chimed in the crowd. “Who all participated in bringing the
decorations back from the cottage?” asked Lily Starfish, as she looked around. “Oh
those guys are easy to spot,” said Herman Crab.
“They are the Crab folk with the long scratch marks on their shells,” he
said. “No one knew that a wild house cat claimed that cottage as his own and
they had to wrestle him into a knotted pile of garland in order to get the rest
of the decorations out of there.”
“Well, they
sure are brave Crab folk!” declared Lily. “Yes, they are!” agreed the crowd. “And,”
chimed in Herman, ”They have already agreed to return the decorations after
Christmas. Seems that now, every time that cat sees a crab, he spits and hisses
and runs off! They don’t think he will be a problem for them next time!” The
crowd laughed as they all admired the beautiful decorations.
THE END
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
READ THE REAL CHRISTMAS STORY HERE IN THE
BIBLE...Luke 2:1-20.
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