Hush, Little Penguin

✨🎄The Happiest Holiday 🎁🧸

Peso snuggled further against his father's side. Barnacles smiled at that. Peso had his eyes closed, and both flippers wrapped around his soft stuffed bunny. Barnacles went back to the book. "The children were nestled, all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plumbs danced in their heads..." Peso giggled a little. Barnacles smiled. It had been a perfect Christmas Eve. They' d watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Kwazii had jokingly given Peso a pacifier meant to mimic Rudolph's nose, blinking and glowing.  It had reminded Peso of the time he spent at school, as a Red-Nosed reindeer himself.

 They'd played with Peso, telling him stories about Christmas. He still didn't completely understand it, but they didn't care. What they cared about was the look of wonder on Peso's face when he saw the tree light up. His innocent eyes sparkling when he touched one of the ornaments. He especially liked a friendly elf that hung dangling above the floor.

And they loved telling him stories. They'd taken to telling Peso stories about him and his toys, going on silly, wonderful adventures. And Christmastime brought more stories with it. Stories of Peso and his Winnie The Pooh decorating a tree in front of Peso's palace. In the stories, Peso was a princess, and everyone in the castle helped him decorate a tree. But Winnie The Pooh had made special garlands out of honey, golden and glittering in the light.

Stories galore, mostly of Peso and his toys. His favorite one was where he and Snow Bear had joined the Winnie The Pooh gang hunting for Heffalump's and woozles.  They had found a way to keep Snow Bear alive.

They had found a way to distract Peso from the pain of the hard world.

So they sat in the den, with the tree all a-glow, telling Peso stories, and answering his questions. This Santa issue seemed to be on Peso's nerves. He had constantly asked why's and how's about him, despite seeing the movie. He seemed a little scared of some stranger just coming into the house in the middle of the night and leaving things. To cheer him up, they had helped the Vegimals make Christmas cookies, and put some out for Santa Claus.

And now Barnacles was sitting with Peso. It was his bedtime, and Barnacles thought this was a proper story for the night. Peso seemed to enjoy it. Maybe it would change his views on Santa.

And it did. But just a little.

It was a magical night. They had watched the Polar Express, and shown Peso the ornaments on the tree meant to look like the magical train, and the bell to match. Peso's eyes lit up with wonder.

Barnacles closed the book, and looked down at Peso. That dreamy, childish look on his face as there, and he was half-asleep. The captain chuckled, and patted his little head. "Sweet dreams, Peso my angel. I'm sure you'll have a merry Christmas."

He tucked Peso in, smiling. When he took Peso out to help him get gifts for his friends, the entre town had been decorated. There was a large Christmas tree in the square. Lights were everywhere. And there were happy littles elves ringing and singing in the streets. Everything caught Peso's attention, and he was curious and fascinated.

Peso was finally being the little child he really truly was.

And now, he wore his new Christmas pajamas, red and green plaid footie sleepers with a picture of Santa's sleigh on it, Rudolph in the lead. Peso's flipper wrapped around his bunny, and he wore the little elf nightcap that Dashi had made for him. Peso had clearly never gotten t see anything so wonderful.

Barnacles smiled as he gently closed the door, letting Peso sleep. He was certain Peso would be a happy little boy on Christmas morning. He just knew it.

He left into the kitchen, and sat at the table to wrap his final presents. He was sure he'd gotten the right presents for everyone. It was Peso's he was the most excited about. When you have a little kid who loves soft toys, it's pretty tempting when you pass a shop window full of brand-new bears. The teddy bears were all lined up, waiting to be purchased for and given to a child on Christmas day. They were soft and sparkly, and Barnacles had taken some time to find the right one. Finally, he chose a soft, brown bear with a little elf costume and a Santa hat in one paw, figuring he couldn't go wrong with the classics. He also bought a stuffed little penguin, with fluffy gray and black and white plush, wearing a Christmas tie/scarf combo.