Maureen the Christmas Moose loves cookies, but she loves children even more. Oh no! What should she do when she sees toys falling out of a hole in Santa’s toy bag?

—

Toys are falling.
One — then two.
Oh what’s a Christmas
Moose to do?

She snorts, bellows,
Calls, and yells —
But no-one hears
Above the bells
On Santa’s sleigh
High in the sky.
What can she do?
She heaves a sigh.

She doesn’t have
A nose so bright,
To shine ahead,
And light the night.
But she is magic.
She can fly.
She leaps and bounds
Into the sky.

She calls her friends —
They’re magic, too!
Pegasus,
With all his crew;
Fairies, dragons,
Birds on wing —
They work together
As they sing.

They catch the toys,
When they fall —
Each bike, each trike,
Each rubber ball.
Video consoles,
Smartphones, trains —
Until one single
Toy remains.

A kit with needles,
Floss, and thread —
They see it falling
Straight ahead.
They grab the kit,
And fly fast — fast —
They catch the sleigh
At last, at last!

To a helper elf,
They toss the kit,
He threads a needle,
Doesn’t quit,
Until the sack is
Whole again. …
He turns about,
And pulls a rein.

The sled slows down.
They load it up —
Each laptop, book,
Each baby cup.
’Til everything is
As at first,
Before the sack
Began to burst.

Santa, elf,
And reindeer fleet,
Smile and nod,
With each hoof-beat.
Then Santa shouts so
All can hear:
“Merry Christmas, my friends,
I’ll see you next year.”

Christmas Moose
And friends now share
Santa’s cookies
In the air.
They’ll meet next Christmas,
At the Pole —
Just in case,
There’s another hole.