The night before Christmas, and all through the store
No critter was reading, including these four:
They had hung no stockings, the stove was unlit;
The shelves were all packed, such a tight fit!
"These books are too many. No end is in sight!"
The otters wailed loudly, bemoaning their plight.
"Can we take a quick break? A rest or a nap?
Let us dream of gum drops, some snacks, and gift wrap."
(Wee Rollo, meanwhile, was been tossed in a bin,
Who left him in there? we thought with chagrin.)
"Get up! Oh get up now!" Colby made such a clatter
The others were startled. What was the matter?
"We have a guest," Colby said to his bone-weary crew.
"We didn't expect him. He's special and new."
"Ho ho!" cried the stranger, red, plump and jolly.
(Later, Podge would attest he smelled of rhubarb and holly.)
"I need your assistance," the rotund man said.
"My packs, they are empty. Just look at my sled!"
"Now Christmas won't happen," he signed with great fear.
"Unless, of course, you all can find me some cheer."
"Oh, come look at our shelves!" Hodge then did attest.
"They're chock full of good books, the brightest and best."
"How lucky a stop I have made here this evening."
The snow-bearded fellow couldn't stop from grinning.
"To work," Colby did cry. "You know what to do."
"Go fetch him books, all tidy and true."
Get manga, some poetry, and books about diction.
Along with noodles, star signs, and oodles of fiction.
And don't forget books with pictures and books about fishing!
The otters were eager upon hearing his wishing.
His face was filled with laughter, amusement, and glee
"That's it! You have done it. Now leave it to me!"
Then he jumped to his sled and said to his team.
"Deliveries we must make, while they still do dream."
So up away, up away, the sled did fly,
Leaving our critters to all wave bye-bye.
"He was so nice," said Hodge. Podge mentioned his hat.
"Glom-glom," said the moose. (Well, he was round and let's leave it at that.)
"Where's Rollo," someone asked with a hint of misgiving
And that's when they realized a hedgehog was missing.
"He was right there," Podge said. "All stuck in a box."
"He had a red nose," Dash remembered. "Like that of a fox."
"No, not a fox," Colby said. "I'm sure I recall,
"Much more like a reindeer, most famous of all . . ."
Happy holidays from your bookstore crew!
(With many apologies to Clement C. Moore)
