Late in the evening on Christmas Eve, Henry, Jessica , Mom, and Dad lay sleeping in their beds.

Timmy,
their large German shepherd, rested near the front door, tossing and turning on his Doggy bed.

The lights on the Christmas tree had been turned off, and the fire in the hearth had burned out, but
Timmy was wide awake, with just one thing on his mind. Jessica had said that tonight, someone named
Santa Claus would be visiting the house while everyone slept.

She had instructed Timmy not to bark, but how was he supposed to keep quiet? Barking at strangers
was one of his primary jobs. Still, Jessica said he might scare Santa away, and if he did that, Jessica
wouldn’t get any presents.

Jessica had tried to prepare him for the stranger, however. She told him to expect a jolly old man with a
white beard in a red suit to come hurling down the chimney sometime after midnight. Wouldn’t that
make a loud noise? He’d wondered. How would this guy make it down the chimney, anyway?

What time is it now? And when will he get here?

Timmy knew only one thing for sure-that he would be tired tomorrow after all the sleep he would lose
tonight. It was already past his bedtime, and he was planning to stay up and wait for Santa-no matter
how long it took.

Timmy stood up and circled his Doggy bed one more time, dug a few times into the pillow-he wasn’t
even sure why he did it-it just made him feel better. Then he settled into another resting position. He
tried to relax, but his mind wandered as he remembered so many pleasant things that December had
brought.

There’d been a Christmas parade with floats, marching bands, and holiday carollers. Seven-year-old
Jessica had dressed as an angel in a school play. Ten-year old Henry had gone ice-skating with friends
and Timmy was there to watch. He’d even tried walking on the ice, himself, but all he’d done was slip
and slide, until finally, Henry helped him back onto solid ground.

Mom and the kids had also baked sugar cookies in the oven and let Timmy try one before the frosting
went on. Everyone had spent a whole day putting up festive decorations around the house. They’d even
brought a fir tree inside the house and dressed it in lights, ribbons, and ornaments. Timmy stared at it
from across the living room-it was beautiful even when its lights were off.

Timmy had also taken a horse-drawn sleigh ride with the family. It was a horse-drawn wagon ride, really,
but Mom had called it a sleigh ride, so everyone went along with it.

The ride had taken place at a farm in the countryside, on a chilly, dark evening. There had been no snow
on the ground, because snow didn’t often fall in the town of Harmony, where the McDonald’s family
lived. But it didn’t matter-it had still been delightful.

The family had donned mittens and hats as the horses whisked them through beautiful fields and
woods, lit by rows and rows of colourful Christmas lights. The horses wore jingling bells around their
necks as they dashed across the ground. The bells made them sound just like the horse in Jessica ’s
favourite Christmas song. The kids had sipped hot cocoa to warm up afterwards. Timmy had loved it!
Yes, December was a magical month in the world of his people. Timmy decided he, too, liked this festive
holiday season as much as they did. He ought to calm down and just go to sleep-it was time to stop
wondering when Santa would arrive.Anyway, his ears were top notch. He’d hear the guy, Right?

He gazed out a nearby window. Tonight, the air outside was cool and damp, but, of course, no snow lay
on the ground. Earlier today it had rained, and puddles had collected on the ground. Timmy knew this
kind of weather usually brought frost by morning, and often puddles turned into very slippery patches of
ice. He’d have to be careful tomorrow morning when he went outside.

Through the window, Timmy could see the red andG crystals of sugar that Henry and Jessica had Left on
the driveway before they’d gone to bed. Earlier tonight, the kids had mixed together uncooked oatmeal,
birdseed, and colored sugar crystals in red and green. Then they’d sprinkled the mixture on the ground
just outside the front door and across the driveway. They’d called it reindeer food-a snack for Santa’s
reindeer.

Timmy gazed outside at the colorful crystal Of sugar as they glittered under the strings of Christmas
lights decorating the house. Timmy Wasn’t sure if reindeer would eat birdseed, but He would be happy
to lick it up tomorrow if they Didn’t.

Oh well, nothing else to do now but wait, he thought with a sigh. A wide yawn finally escaped his face.
The tired dog snuggled into his bed and drifted off to sleep.

Hours later, Timmy awoke with a jolt. Had he heard right? Were those footsteps? He ran to the window,
then stopped in his tracks. It sounded like the footsteps were coming from overhead. Someone was on
the roof!

He remembered Jessica ’s instructions, because she knew he could make mischief sometimes: “Please,
please don’t bark when you hear him, Timmy! It’s really important!” She had made him promise, “Santa
doesn’t want you to notice him when he’s working. Just pretend you’re asleep.”

So Timmy obediently clamped his mouth shut, holding back the bark that wanted to come out. But he
just had to find out what was happening up there on the roof. He just had to be sure it was, indeed, this
fellow named Santa Claus. He could not just pretend to be asleep!

Sorry Jessica . Quietly, he tiptoed toward his Doggydoor at the back of the house. He passed the
Christmas tree, noticing the plate of cookies and carrots and the glass of milk that the kids had left for
Santa. But he wouldn’t dare touch the food. Don’t worry, Jessica . Santa’s treats are safe with me. If only
Jessica knew how hard that promise was to keep.

Glancing around the kitchen, Timmy slipped out through his dog door into the frosty night. He’d have a
good view of whoever was on the roof from the far edge of the backyard, if he could only get there
without being seen. He had to get a glimpse of Santa. Keep it quiet. Soon he made it to the outer edge
of the backyard, and turned to look up at the house. He gasped.

For there, perched on the roof, sat a large, beautiful, red sleigh! It seemed to have appeared out of
nowhere. Now, that’s what I call a sleigh, Mom.

But no one was up there-no jolly old man in a red suit, not one reindeer-just the sleigh. But this had to
mean that Santa Claus was here! So, where could he be? And where were the reindeer?
Timmy thought maybe he could get a better view from the other side, on the street-so he crept quietly
back across the damp lawn and out toward the driveway. Maybe I’ll get a lick of that reindeer food while
I’m at it. Like most dogs, Timmy was always hungry for a snack. He strolled carefully out onto the
sidewalk, noticing the pale moon in the dark sky. He sniffed about, carefully searching for traces of the
reindeer. They couldn’t have gotten far, could they have?

Although, Jessica did say they could fly... Just then Timmy heard a loud clunk on the rooftop, followed
by some jingling bells, like the sound that the horses had made on the wagon ride. He heard an animal
whinny and stomp its hoof. He thought he saw the tips of antlers moving about on the other side of the
roof. Aha!

His chance had come! He turned and sprinted across the driveway toward the backyard. Unfortunately,
he forgot about the slippery pavement. His paws made contact with a wide frozen puddle. Zip! Flop!
Timmy sailed across the ice! Slipping and sliding, he finally smacked the cold, hard, dry concrete with the
full force of his weight. Stars seemed to spin about his head as he lay staring up into space.

Ouch! Should’ve seen that coming maybe there was still time to get a look at Santa and his reindeer, but
he’d have to hurry. I’d better be more careful, though. He scrambled to his feet and dashed behind the
house. But in the backyard, everything was silent-not a reindeer in sight. His jaw dropped open as he
gazed up at the roof. Even the sleigh was gone! But it was just there a few moments ago!Timmy scanned
the bushes and the backyard.

He raced across the grass and sniffed. He listened, but nothing about this made any sense. Santa and the
reindeer were gone-just plain gone.Timmy sighed, lowered his head, and shuffled back to the
house.How had one jolly old man and nine very large, four-legged creatures managed to get by him? It
was a puzzle-a complicated, head-scratching puzzle. 

Back inside the house, he crossed the kitchen and headed through the living room. But something was
different. Foremost, hadn’t the tree been dark when he’d left? He stopped and blinked. All the beautiful
tree’s lights were now lit. Was his imagination playing tricks on his eyes? He blinked again. No. This is
real. Colorful presents surrounded the tree, and they were piled high-big ones and little ones, tall ones
and short ones, some in patterned paper with shiny ribbons, some not wrapped at all.

He glanced at the table and his eyes flew wide. The glass of milk was almost empty and one whole
cookie was missing! He checked for the carrots. Not even the stems were left. Santa! Santa had been
here, inside the house? He must’ve delivered all the gifts and then swept out through the chimney just
like Jessica said he would, in only a few minutes, flat! Oh boy, could it be true? Had Jessica been right?
But, how?

It must be magic-Christmas magic. That’s why he never saw Santa’s face. That’s why he never got a good
look at the reindeer! Timmy stood at the foot of the tree and gazed at the extra At long last, Timmy
yawned and made his way back to his dog bed. He settled in and closed his eyes, a smile across his face.
Next year, he’d know what to do.