Night Before Christmas retold

The Night Before Catsmas
By: Jordan Harvey

It was the night before Catsmas and all through the apartment
No mice were stirring, not even in the toy department;
The stockings were hung on the bookshelf with care
In hopes that Santy Paws would soon be there
The kitties were nestled, all snug in their beds
While visions of catnip danced in their heads.

And Precious in his tower and Frodo in mama’s bed
Had settled down after being fed;
When all of a sudden there popped such a spark
Precious jumped up to find it was all dark
A streetlight went out and trees covered in ice
No longer dimly sparkled, which was very nice.

The moonlight upon the new fallen snow
Covered up the paw prints where dogs like to go;
When what to my wondering cat eyes should appear
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny catdeer
With a little furry driver so quick with his claws
I knew we were getting a visit from Santa Paws.

More rapid than chasing eagles his coursers they came
And he mewed and growled and called them by name
Now Snowball, Now Princess, Now Fluffy and Jingles
On Patches, On Smokey, On Sassy and Jangles
To the top of the porch, To the top of the wall
Now dash away, dash away, dash away all.

As dry leaves that before the wind devil fly
When they meet with an obstacle mount to the sky
So up to the balcony, the coursers they flew
With a sleigh full of toys and Santy Paws too.

And then, in a twinkling I heard down low
The prancing and clawing of each little toe;
As I drew in my head and was turning around
In the door Santa Paws came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot
And his clothes were tarnished with smoke and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back
And he looked like a shoplifter opening his sack
His eyes, how they glowed, his ears how hairy
His cheeks were like walnuts, his nose like a cherry.

His little droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And his wispy whiskers were as white as the snow;
The cold air his jaws held tight in his teeth
And his breath encircled his head like a wreath
He had a broad furry face and a round belly
That shook when he purred like a bowl of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old cat
And laughed when I saw him right off the bat;
A wink of his eye and twist of his head
Soon gave me the know that I had nothing to dread
He meowed no words but went straight to work
And filled all our stockings and turned with a jerk.

And laying a claw aside of his nose
And giving a nod, out the door he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a yowl
And away they all flew as if they heard a wolf howl
But I heard him exclaim before he drove out of sight
Meowy Catsmas to all and to all a good night.