Tippy the turtle, Vol. 2

The Adventures of Tippy the Turtle, Vol.2

Tippy awoke to find it had rained the previous night. That wasn't uncommon in the area Tippy lived, for the season. Mud made things more difficult for Tippy, being slow anyway, so going about his morning routine was tough today. Eventually though Tippy managed to get himself sorted, and with some hot soup to start the day he was ready to make preperations for the Christmas party.

Of course Tippy would have to do a lot before he was ready to invite his woodland friends. First he needed help, since Tippy wasn't very strong, and so he called his neighbors the Raccoons. The two Raccoon sisters came running up and after some quick promises of pumpkin pie they were convinced to help Tippy make some tables and chairs for the guests. The Raccoons rolled some thing logs up and cut them down, making perfectly round tables for eveybody to gather around. The scraps were turned into makeshift stools that each placed around the log-tables. With that the Raccoons' job was done, so they went off promising to come back for the evening.

Tippy set about making the pie since that was what everyone would be coming for. As he mashed up the ingrediants he saw out the window of his log-house the farmer's ducks walking around. They seemed to be the only things that enjoyed when it rained since they liked to play in the puddles. Tippy laughed at their fun-having, wishing he could also join them but Christmas was too special to slack off. After he got his pie ready and in the stone oven he slowly pulled the box of decoration out and went outside to decorate.

First Tippy put a big cross made of sticks and old wire in the ground, putting bright white lights all over it. Then he decorated the tables with wild red flowers that were still poking out this time of year. Garland and glass balls of every kind were hung from the low-lying limbs with the help of his other neighbor, Redbird. Redbird always worked harder than almost anyone around, except maybe the farmer. She was always finding food for her kids, or making new nests. Tippy guessed that was why she was able to string the decorations up so easily. Promising her an extra big slice of pie she could take home and share, Redbird went on about her day as Tippy went around making a few other adjustments and cooking some other dishes.

Eventually evening had come long before Tippy had realized. By the time he was taking his pie out of the stone-oven most of his friends had arrived. The Raccoon sisters helped set the tables, their nimble claws making things much easier. Before long the meal was laid out, with potato salad and baked-pasta finding it's way on every plate. The pie was set in the middle, and everyone complemented Tippy on another amazing Christmas party. Howie the Crow came by, no longer needing to watch the field anymore since it was mid-winter. Howie said he tried to invite the Squirrels but they were so far into their tree-hole that his cawing wouldn't wake them. The Ducks came waddling up late, but they also brought their friend Rabbit too. Rabbit had come with a grden salad, and everyone was extra happy to have even more good food to try. They all ate happily as Rabbit told them about how the Farmer was on the lookout for Coyote, whom everyone agreed could be a bully sometimes. It was a shame Coyote couldn't behave and enjoy Christmas too, because now Coyote wouldn't be able to eat any of this good food!

Eventually it was starting to get cold, so Tippy cut the still warm pumpkin pie and started handing it out as the Raccoons built a small fire. Everyone sat quietly and ate their pie, except for Redbird who couldn't stay away from her kids for too long and had to take her's to go. The rest of the animals just watched the stars come out, thinking about the star that lead the Sheppards. Everyone helped clean up after that, and Tippy was thankful to not have to take down the decorations yet since it was so busy that day. Eventually Tippy fell asleep by the fire reading Christmas stories in his old rocking chair, and so he didnt notice the light snow that had started to fall.