The afternoon before Christmas was going to be a relaxing time for me. I had just finished trapping a bunch of field mice that for some reason or another could not understand that the inside of our cabin was not a field and I was looking forward to a couple of hours of uninterrupted snoozing. It could have been a very relaxing time due to the fact that Bev had adorned the fire place with stockings for "Santa" to fill and I could envision Christmas cookies dancing around in my head given the smell coming from the oven. I knew I would not be interrupted by the Saturday mail delivery because Big Bear had gone to Hawaii for the holidays as all true Alaskan do.
Just as I was drifting off to nod land there arose such a clatter in front of the place I sprang from the couch to see what in the world was going on. As I through open the door I saw Clem Moore chasing letters and packages all over the snow covered ground due to the fact that his sled had turned over. The letters were flapping around like dry leaves during a hurricane. I immediately figured out that Clem had taken over in Big Bear's absence, his sled had turned over and the contents of the mail sack had spilled. He was a little round fellow but he was very lively and quick and I was impressed by his agility to keep his pipe lit.
The reason for the sled turn over was because his sled dogs (oh yes, Clem is a purest. He said all deliveries if delivered by a dog sled should be pulled by sled dogs) got a little rambunctious when they sighted a dear or two along the path. The lead dog dashed off towards the dancing dear and the alpha male of the second order pranced right behind them. One dog was a little vixen about the whole thing and refused to move causing the other dogs to fly up like a comet and the sled blitzing downward splintering like cupids arrow. Clem was lucky he didn't get his rosy cheeks pierced by the splinters.
I immediately started helping him gather the letters and packages. We took them to the door through them inside and went out to untangle the dogs. That didn't take as long as I had thought and luckily so.
In our exuberance in throwing the mail sack inside we through to hard and the edge of the mail sack was in the fire place. The canvas mail sack was smoldering and steaming and due to the sack being cold and damp did not burn. Recipients of the letters were lucky because nothing was destroyed,Clem too because he would not lose his job because and me, for I could continue to have a place to live and would not have to try and explain to Bev why her house had burned down after she returned from gathering fresh water down by the lake.
We both rushed in pulled the bag away from the fire. He sorted through the bag and found the packages addressed to Bev and I and went straight to work filling the stockings on the fire place. I asked him if he wanted some cookies and he replied he would much rather have biscuits but would gladly accept some to eat on his way. He had many places yet to visit before his shift was over.
We walked to his sled made some minor repairs, wished each other well and off he sped through the dawn and the thistle. He did turn around and yelled, "Happy Christmas to all," and to him I yelled back "and to all a good night."
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