 Special Holiday Event - Santa Claws!
Twas the holiday season, and on Fox Hollow Road,
Birds were all waiting… hawks, vultures and crow.
Their stockings were hung on their cages with care,
With great hope that Santa Claws soon would be there.
Some raptors were nestled, heads under their wings,
While visions of rodents danced in their dreams.
The owls were waking, bathed in moonlight,
Performing their yoga to greet the long night,
When out on the lawn arose such a clatter,
The kestrels’ alarm-called in response to the matter.
Noses pressed to the windows, the dogs rushed to respond,
(They are very protective of the avian throng.)
The moon shone through clouds, so nothing could hide,
And gave the luster of mid-day to the objects outside,
When, what to the wonder of eyes should appear,
With a miniature sleigh and prey dressed like reindeer,
But a magnificent owl, large enough to give pause,
We knew in a moment it must be The Claws!
More rapid than falcons his coursers they came,
He hooted and hooted and called them by name,
"Now, Chicken! Now, Rabbit! Now Rodent and Trout!
On Cricket! On Mealworm! On Quail and the Mouse!
To the top of the flight cage, to the top of the clinic,
Dash away, dash away, quick as a minute!"
As young ducks that before the wild peregrine fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So, on top of the clinic the coursers they flew,
With a sleigh full of treats and Santa Claws, too.
And then in a twinkling we heard on the roof,
The scratch and the scurry of each little "footl"
His coursers secured and settling down,
Onto the driveway Claws flew with a bound.
He was dressed in all feather, from his head to his toes,
With his glory untarnished by shoes or by clothes,
A bundle of treats he had grasped in his talons,
An obvious athlete, all grace and balance.
His eyes---how they shone! A bright golden yellow!
His beak--- black and curved, a formidable fellow!
His wings were spread in a breathtaking display,
And his flight had been silent to his dinner’s dismay.
His ear tufts stood tall, a sign of his pride,
No feather displaced, despite the sleigh ride.
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he hooted, like a bowl full of jelly.
Feather perfect and strong, a dignified owl
Both dogs relaxed, they knew not to howl,
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Let all the birds know they had nothing to dread.
He made not a hoot but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And rousing his feathers and flexing his toes,
And flapping his wings, to the rooftop he rose.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a glare
And away they all flew, the fish, rodents and hare
But we heard him exclaim as he flew out of sight,
"Season’s Greetings to all, and to all a good-night."
Adapted from the original by Laurin Huse |
