This is Hare-iette's Mom at the keyboard. Here is the story of Hare-iette's Christmas time adventure. I knew part of what was going on, but never knew the whole story until it was all over. Finally, Hare-iette climbed on my lap and this is the story she told.

The car door opened, the children tumbled out and ran to the house, calling for Hare-iette. They were followed, at a somewhat slower pace, by their grandmother, Debbie, who was carrying a plate of Christmas cookies. This was my long-time friend and her grandchildren, Joseph and Allanna. We didn't get together often enough but we always managed a visit in the weeks right before Christmas. Hare-iette and the children really liked each other and looked forward to the visits, as well as the cookies and hot chocolate.

When the children had finished their cookies, they headed off to the living room to play and share Christmas secrets. Hare-iette offered them rides on her rocking horse. Allanna enjoyed the ride, but Joseph was too big, and too old, for a rocking horse. He wanted a real pony for Christmas. Of course, Allanna wanted one too.

The children lived with their grandparents, who had a small barn and a few farm animals. Still, they refused to let the children get a pony. They said that ponies can be dangerous. A well trained pony would cost a lot of money. They also said that a pony requires a lot work, and they were too old to do all that work. Joseph, however, felt he was old enough to take care of a pony, and he'd teach Allanna to help. The children were sure they could take care of a pony. The children had begged and pleaded with their grandparents. They had promised to do extra chores. They had promised to find a way to earn some money to help with the expenses. They had tried everything they could think of, but sadly, their grandparents continued to say "no" to a pony. Finally in desperation,they had written to Santa Claus and asked for a pony for Christmas. They were sure he would bring them one. They were really excited. That worried Hare-iette.

You see, Hare-iette knows that Santa rarely brings children real, live animals. In those rare cases, Santa has permission from the adults in the home, as well as their promise that they will be certain that the children take good care of the animal. That certainly didn't seem likely with Joseph and Allanna's grandparents. Of course, she didn't have the heart to tell that to the children.

That night, Hare-iette couldn't sleep. She kept thinking how disappointed the children would be. It made no sense. It would be different if the children lived in the middle of town, or in an apartment in the city, but they didn't. There was a barn and pasture room. After thinking it over, Hare-iette was sure that it was the cost of the pony, and the grandparents were afraid that the children would get hurt.

Even Hare-iette's friendship with Santa wasn't going to help this time. She wished she could do something to help the children get their Christmas wish. How could a little hare get a pony, let alone permission for the children to have it?

Just as Hare-iette was falling asleep, she had an idea. She fell asleep smiling.