The Wish List

It's that time of year when Sylvanians start preparing for Christmas. It's a time when our crittizens become even more caring and jolly, trying to think what special things they can do for their friends and family. It is a wonderful time, but it may be a surprise to some that Mellowdene did not always celebrate the period.

We had Christmas when I was a child, but when my grandfather was young it was a new-fangled occasion, brought into the village by newcomers who had moved here from elsewhere in Sylvania. I'm not sure of the origins of the tradition - explanations tend to vary. Why, there is even a legend that it originated in the Land of Men! Maybe it doesn't matter; no doubt our spiritual adviser Kelvin Waters would have a reasonable tale to tell, he being knowledgeable about traditions, beliefs and such. The point is, however Christmas began, Mellowdene is as much involved now as other villages are throughout Sylvania.

One early aspect of the celebrations is the preparation of wish lists. I suspect that, being so soon after Mellowdene Day, our children are in the right frame of mind to do this. After being encouraged to think about gratitude, it is perfectly natural to think about how they can show this. Obviously part of the list is dedicated to things they would like for themselves, but the other part relates to other folk - what they would like to do for them, having recently expressed their gratitude.

In some parts of Sylvania, it is not unknown for critters to use wish lists as the basis for resolutions or even legal documents. We discovered this after an unexpected visitor turned up on our doorstep.

o 0 O 0 o

The visitor was an otter called Tiberius Rivers, an official from the Sylvanian Department of Child Services. He was here because of Orton Butterglove.

"As I said," said Tiberius, "we are grateful that you let us know what had happened to young Orton. His running away has been of great concern to us."

Cecile glanced at me before addressing the official. "It concerned us too. That he should be unhappy enough to run away. It's fortunate he found his family."

Tiberius's smile was pained. "Ah, yes. That's where we have a slight problem. We have no record of him having a family. That's why he came to us."

"We have a shared ancestor," I explained. "Orton is descended from my great uncle Hubert."

"We could look into that, but I'm surprised it didn't come up in our research. Until that is confirmed, the boy will need to come back with me."

Cecile's mouth dropped open. "What?"

Tiberius regarded her but didn't answer, instead saying, "Where is Orton now?"

We hadn't noticed at first, but Brendan had slipped into the room and had witnessed the exchange. When I caught sight of him, he was standing by the door, wide-eyed.

Cecile had rallied. "Never mind that. Why should he leave with you? He's lost his parents. Now you want to tear him away from a stable family?"

He regarded her with a condescending smile. "It isn't just the question of validity of your familial claim, there is a document signed by his parents. It is a legal wish list deposited with us last Christmas."

From his case, he extracted a piece of paper and proceeded to read it aloud. There was one particular section of note.

"In the absence of any other family, we wish to ensure the safety of our son Orton Butterglove should we die or become unable to provide the care he needs. In such circumstances we wish the official Sylvanian authorities to step in to provide that care."

During this recitation, Merlin and Eliza had entered along with Beverley, Russell and Orton. They were briefed on the situation, and unsurprisingly no-one was happy.

Russell wanted a cuddle from Cecile. Eliza held on to Orton. Merlin tried to persuade Tiberius to allow common sense to prevail.

"How about this?" said Merlin. "Kelvin Waters is the village's spiritual leader and a member of the council. He's very much respected and he maintains the records of births, marriages and deaths in Mellowdene. From his interest in genealogy he has contacts all over Sylvania and he is very efficient. He was able to locate previously unknown members of his own family, so I'm certain he could provide the proof that we are related to Orton. We could go and see him now."

"That would only go part way. Go and see Mr Waters if you wish, but bear in mind that the Christmas wish list from the boy's parents must still be considered."

"I don't want to go," Orton sniffed. Eliza held him even more tightly.

"I'm going to see Kelvin anyway," said Merlin, turning and striding towards the door. I noticed Brendan grab his sister's hand and they followed their uncle out of the room.

There was an uncomfortable silence that was eventually broken by Tiberius. "I know this is an unfortunate situation, but we must take Orton's parents' wishes into consideration. And I have to inform you that we're scheduled to catch the riverboat in less than an hour. Unless significant facts to the contrary emerge before then, Orton will be sailing with me. I suggest you say your goodbyes and we will move on to the docks."

Orton extricated himself from Eliza's arms. "Do I really have to go?" he said, wiping his nose.

Tiberius bent down to speak to him. "Yes, lad. I'm sorry you're not happy about it, but it's for the best. It's what your parents wanted."

Orton nodded. "I want my coat if I'm going."

"Alright. But I want your word that you won't try running away when we go to the docks."

"Okay." The boy looked at Eliza. "Don't cry, auntie. I'll be fine."

Tiberius waited until all the hugs were shared and goodbyes were said, then followed him to the hall passage, keeping an eye on the door while Orton went to get his coat.

o 0 O 0 o

The traipse down East Docks Lane was a sad journey. Cecile had remained home with Russell, leaving Eliza and me to accompany Orton and Tiberius.

Oddly, as we approached the wooded area separating the snack bar from the docks, Orton started to walk a little quicker. It was as if he wanted to reach the docks sooner than anyone expected. We were starting to process this information when events accelerated. Tiberius yelled as Orton broke into a run, heading towards the trees. I noticed that Hughie Grunt and Nolly Persis were playing near the foot of a particularly large gnarled tree.

"Orton! What are you doing!" shouted Eliza.

"So much for the boy's word," said Tiberius, clearly exasperated, and he started to run after the fleeing little rabbit. He stopped running when he saw Orton grab a rope from Hughie Grunt and begin to climb rapidly.

When the young rabbit had reached a naturally-flattened wide branch high in the canopy, he sat down and wriggled to get comfortable. It looked as though he was prepared to stay quite some time.

o 0 O 0 o

The riverboat had gone. Tiberius had gone through the phases of frustration, anger and acceptance, and then I accompanied him into the snack bar, uncertain as to the next steps to take. Eliza had stayed outside to keep an eye on Orton, alongside Hughie and Nolly who both wanted to know what was going on.

"Does he go up there often?" asked Tiberius. "And more to the point, how long is he likely to stay up there?"

"Actually," I said, "I've never seen him go up there before. He's never shown that much interest."

"This is a mess. What am I going to tell my colleagues in the office?"

The door opened and Merlin came in, slapping some documents on the table. "You can tell them that we are his family and we are staying together."

Tiberius looked at the intense expression on my older brother's face, and then leafed through the pages set before him. The official sighed. "Very well. I accept this is suitable evidence of a family connection, but we still have to address the issue of the legal wish list. We'd need something equally binding."

The door opened again and this time Beverley came in with a small piece of paper, handing it to Tiberius, who accepted it with a confused expression.

"Uncle Merlin sent me to see Mayor Nettlefield with Orton's Christmas Wish List," Beverley said, triumph echoing through her words, "and it's been officially stamped."

"It's a legal document, now" said Merlin. "Do you want to read it out?"

Tiberius scanned it, and relief crept onto his face. "This should do it," he said before reading it aloud.

"My Christmas Wish List by Orton Butterglove. I wish that Uncle Merlin and Auntie Eliza will always be there with me and even when mamma and dadda come back we can all still live in Mellowdene."

"There you go," I said.

Tiberius laughed. "Even though he didn't keep his word and ran away, it should be enough."

"I do keep my word," said a voice. We looked, and there was Orton. We hadn't seen him enter. "I didn't go to the docks with you. I went with Beverley to see the mayor."

"Then who..."

Two more people entered the snack bar -  Eliza and the small figure in the hooded coat.

Once the hood had been removed and the wearer struggled to remove the coat, we were no longer surprised.

Brendan handed the coat back to Orton. "You should go to Kittie Camp next year, cousin. But don't climb in your coat. It makes you too hot."

o 0 O 0 o