Christmas with the Twitchells

Mr and Mrs. Twitchell lived in a farming town , with a neighbourhood full of cats. Curious cats who loved to sit   and stare into their house.Especially when the television was on. Mr. and Mrs. Twitchell  had been married forty years. It was a very long time. Every Christmas they made something.

 Last year Mr Twitchell made his wife a peg board of grocery bags.. But the pegs never stayed in properly and all the bags kept falling down. Mrs. Twitchell knitted her husband a hat. It was so big it looked like a snake  was swallowing his bald head.That was last year.

 This year HAD to be good. This year they came up with an excellent idea they thought. Something useful.Something they would BOTH like.

 They decorated their tree, while it was still sunny enough.

 Days came and went. Leaves still fell in the yard. Winds blew cold .

 The neighbourhood cats dozed on the fence and gathered in the back yard. There were a lot of cats.  They liked to line up by the back door and stare in . They liked the t.v. best. The Nature shows were  their favourite .

 Mr. and Mrs. Twitchell were quite partial to the cats who came to visit. Their gift this year would be something for the cats.  Mr. Twitchell started building. Mrs. Twitchell baked cookies . Lots of cookies.

 Mrs. Twitchell's baking had reached a feverish pitch. She had made about ten dozen cookies. Mr. Twitchell had no idea how he was going to eat them all.  But still he kept hammering away, nails flying, as he tried to get their  gift ready for Christmas Eve.

 The cats looked in the windows watching them. Their ears twitched. Eyes big as saucers. The elves on the trees smiled.

 Sunsets came and went.

  Mr. Twitchell was almost done. Mrs. Twitchell had run out of flour.It was now or never.

 They brought out all their best china and laid it out on their old dining room table.

 It was all laid out in rows. Everything gleamed and shone. It was Christmas Eve.

 Mrs. Twitchell arranged her baking on a plate. Mr. Twitchell boiled water and made tea.

 They opened the door. The cats saw his gift right away: A special bench.  Just for cats. Perfect for watching t.v. One  by one,  cats came in and perched on the bench. In front of the t.v. They purred.

Mrs. Twitchell turned on the t.v. then she and Mr. Twitchell settled in their chairs, with the cats on their bench, and proceeded to watch "It's a Wonderful Life."

And it was the best  Christmas with the Twitchells.