I thought I would start the Christmas season with a little Christmas cheer of my own. I give you the story of Oscar:
The Wilsons lived at 142 Treeridge Drive. It was a lively corner on a quiet street. From his normal perch in the window of the breakfast nook the family’s cat, Oscar, would look out at his busy corner of the world. In the spring the birds would taunt him from the branches that hung near the window. In the summer the Wilson’s boys would torment him by aiming water from the hose at him. This was particularly cruel when the family left the window open.
Fall was a time of deep reflection for Oscar. He loved to watch the leaves change color just before they started raining from the sky. Another fall had come and gone and from his perch Oscar stared at the sad, naked branches of the once fire-red trees. The birds that once had taunted him had already flown south for warmer climates. The kids seldom went outside anymore, preferring the warm shelter of the house.
As he sat there lamenting the quiet of his once busy corner, Oscar could not help but notice a loud noise coming from the living room. It lasted for what felt like 8 hours (in cat hours) before the house fell silent. Cloaked in the calm of silence Oscar decided to investigate. Quietly he hopped down off the window sill. He slunk across the empty kitchen, not making a sound as his paws combed the hard wood floor. He peeked around the corner, careful to stay unnoticed as he crept into the living room where…
He saw it! Standing in the middle of the room. A tree. Perhaps the tallest he had ever seen. Well, maybe the first he had ever seen. Well, the first he had ever seen so up close that he could touch it.
Surprised, Oscar did the only thing any self-respecting cat would do in this situation — he turned and ran out of the room and found a perfect hiding spot under Mr. and Mrs. Wilson’s bed.
The next day, when he thought it was safe, Oscar ventured back out to investigate the strange indoor tree. As he got close to the door of the living room he pulled up his courage and rounded the corner into clear sight of the tree. The tree was completely lit and shining brighter than any light Oscar had ever seen. Once again surprised, Oscar turned and quickly found a new hiding place — this time under the desk in Mr. Wilson’s office.
The next day around nap time strange noises accompanied by familiar voices started to come from the living room. Feeling a little less brave than he would have liked, Oscar felt it his duty to explore the commotion.
As he got near the living room, Oscar was determined not to let the inside tree surprise him. As he peeked into the room he heard a beautiful, musical sound. The Wilson’s oldest son, Carter, was holding something shiny that Oscar could only assume was a toy. Slowly and deliberately Carter held up the toy and hung it on the tree. How strange. Not a second later though, Mrs. Wilson hung a small, shiny red ball right next to it.
Oscar sat and watched as the family continued to hang toys from the tree. Having sat in the living room for a couple minutes, the shock of the brightly lit tree began to fade. Oscar couldn’t help but think that the tree was actually quite beautiful. He decided it was therefore safe to draw a bit closer.
Slowly he walked forward until he made it all the way to the lowest branches, lifted his paw and was inches from a low-hanging toy when Mr. Wilson yelled, “Oscar!”
Pulling away from the tree Oscar darted past Mr. Wilson, out the door and into Carter’s room, before anyone else in the family had time to realize what had happened.
Over the next few days, Oscar would from time to time come back to gaze at the brightly lit indoor tree draped in toys. At first he just wanted to play with the toys he assumed were meant for him, but each time he reached for one someone in the family would yell and quickly drive Oscar back into hiding. One time he did manage to get a toy that look like a funny old man in a red suit, but he quickly bored of it and left it lying lifeless in the kitchen for Mrs. Wilson to find.
The toy had been worth grabbing, but now Oscar’s fascination had turned entirely to the tree itself. But try as he might, he never found a time when no one from the family was around so he could do some real exploring. In fact, these days, there seemed to be more family members in the house than usual.
Another day of fruitless exploration had passed. It was dark in the house and Oscar was doing his nightly rounds when he came to the tree. He was shocked. The family had gone to bed already and it was so quiet that the house itself could have been asleep. But even in this midnight hour the tree stood shining as bright as ever.
By this time of night the tree would usually have lost its shine and turned back into an ordinary tree. But Oscar could tell that for some reason tonight was different.
He checked around him to make sure no one was hiding in a dark corner and then he checked again. The coast was clear. Bold as brass, Oscar walked up to the tree reached out his paw and swatted the bottom branch. The entire tree shook with a beautiful, jingling sound. He now crouched lower to the ground so he could slide underneath the tree. A huge waft of a powerful, fresh scent filled Oscar’s nose. It was a smell that filled him with joy and curiosity.
Looking up into the tree Oscar realized what he had to do now was climb. One branch at a time he climbed as carefully as possible. The limbs were strong and didn’t even bend to Oscar’s weight. Up and up he went.
After a few branches a sweet smell joined the fresh scent of the tree. Two branches above that Oscar started to hear a distant music. It sounded like it was coming from the top of the tree, egging Oscar to climb ever higher. After a few more branches for the first time Oscar faltered. He had climbed quite far and the branches were no longer holding him up with the same strength they had at the bottom. It might have been his imagination but Oscar could also swear that the air was getting colder the higher he got. In fact at that moment it almost felt like a brisk wind blew through the branches, tickling his whiskers.
But just then a loud cheer came from the music up above and onward Oscar went.
Higher and higher he went, feeling chillier with each branch when he felt something light and fluffy catch in his whiskers. He didn’t have time to figure out what it was before he had more flakes all around him. The tree was no longer green. Oscar was now surrounded by bright, cold white.
In a desperate panic Oscar broke through the tree branches, sailed several feet through the air and landed with a thud in a deep bank of powdery white snow. In complete shock and not recognizing where he was, Oscar ran for it. His paws already shaking from the cold snow he slipped and slid away from the tree he had just climbed and towards the bright lights of the house that now stood in front of him.
The house looked more like a tasty treat than a place a cat or his family would call home, but it did none-the-less look warm inside.
As he got closer the door flew open and three of the shortest people Oscar had ever seen came bouncing out. Each of the three jingled like music as they walked. They were in loud, joyful spirits — too distracted to notice a small tuxedo cat dart through their feet and into the warmth.
Happy to be out of the freezing night it took Oscar a little longer than it should have to notice just how sweet the house smelled. Looking around he saw that he wasn’t likely in a house at all. The room was full of candies, sweets and all the treats a cat could imagine. A pile of gum drops stood as tall as Mr. Wilson. Trays and trays of cookies shaped like little men were stacked as far as the eye could see. A huge pot of nuts sat roasting over a roaring fire at the far end of the room, sending a savory aroma to mix with the other sweet flavors.
As he stood in the middle of the floor, taking in all the wonders around him a young girl humming happily to herself walked in and, surprised by the site of Oscar, shrieked and jumped, spilling the bowl of cherries she was carrying.
The little girl’s shriek woke Oscar from the daze he had entered when he ran into this sugary house. Coming to his senses, he bolted out of the room, down a long hall and through a door into one of the biggest rooms Oscar had ever seen.
Oscar didn’t stop running as he entered the room, but dashed past table after long table — each completely bare except for an occasional hammer or teddy bear. He was almost to the center of the room when he paused to contemplate his next move.
The room looked plain enough at first, but when he looked up Oscar saw that the ceiling was actually an incredibly ornate work of art with elaborate designs dancing across intricate wood work.
At the far end of the room was an open door through which Oscar could hear loud cheering mixing with the music he had heard back in the tree. To his right was another smaller door that was also open. No sounds were echoing from this door, and seeming the safer option, Oscar chose to venture out the quiet door and back out into the night air.
Was he outside again? No. But he wasn’t inside either. This room didn’t feel like an indoor room, but it also wasn’t as cold as the outside. Oscar was sure he could smell other animals even if he couldn’t see them. Straw was littering the floor and small half doors were swinging on either side of Oscar every ten feet or so.
This “room” also seemed to be completely empty except at the far wall where a shockingly red sleigh sat silently gleaming under the flickering lights hanging above.
Oscar went over to the sleigh and considered it for a moment before he decided to hop onto the deep ruby-red cushion of the front seat. The cushion was soft and deep, a warm crushed velvet so comfortable Oscar could stop the purr that began instantly in his belly. Not even realizing it Oscar did three circles and curled up, resting his head on the cozy seat.
Comforted by his own purr Oscar started to drift close to the world of dreams when suddenly the whole sleigh shook. Too groggy at first to realize what was happening, Oscar missed his chance to hop off the sleigh before it started moving — effortlessly gliding forward towards two enormous doors that simultaneously opened outward.
The roar was deafening. Thousands of little people were looking at the sleigh and looking at Oscar, cheering so wildly that Oscar couldn’t tell one noise from the other. The cold night air hit his face as hard as the brilliant lights that were shining from every angle.
And there, straight ahead in the middle of the crowd, stood the tree Oscar had climbed so long ago. But this couldn’t be the same tree. This tree was at least as tall as an entire house. Two houses maybe.
In front of the tree the throng of cheers was clear enough that eight large animals were able to stand in two straight lines. They looked like the biggest and most terrifying dogs Oscar had ever seen. They even had horns springing out of the tops of their proud heads.
The sleigh kept sliding forward until it met the enormous dogs. For a moment everything stood still. The cheering stopped and the sleigh rested motionless. The huge dogs waited with bated breath and Oscar himself felt suspended in time. But as quick as it started the moment was broken with the almighty thud of a huge door as it swung open.
The crowd cheered louder and wilder than ever. Standing in the doorway was a tall, fat figure that towered over the short people crowded around him. As the figure started to walk towards the sleigh the crowd parted before him. No longer silhouetted by light, Oscar could make out the red suit and handsome beard of the man walking towards him.
The man was getting closer. The man was coming right for the sleigh. Realizing the man was about to see him Oscar panicked and buried his face in his little paws and started to shake with fear. But nothing happened. The man must have reached the sleigh by now, but Oscar didn’t dare lift his head to see.
He waited and he waited but nothing happened. He could hear wild cheers and the cozy velvet beneath him.
As he waited the cheers started to grow less frequent. Eventually it evened out to sound more like conversational voices than wild screams. Feeling curious if not brave, Oscar peeked through his paws…
Sunlight was all around him. It was daytime and right above him stood the brightly lit indoor tree strung with toys. He was back in the familiar living room of the Wilson’s house. Bright colored paper was thrown carelessly across every inch of the floor. Oscar could see Mr. and Mrs. Wilson in red stripped pajamas sitting on the couch while their three boys screamed and danced around the living room.
Immediately, Oscar darted out from under the tree, across the living room, through the door into the kitchen and hopped onto the window sill of the breakfast nook. Finally he felt like he had reached a safe resting place and he looked out his familiar window upon his favorite corner of the world.
Fluffy white snow was floating down covering everything Oscar could see in a peaceful blanket of white. As the stresses of his adventures started to leave his mind Oscar breathed a heavy sigh.
It was good be home.
Life In Hyperbole 