Musings and Other Nonsense. Whimsical stories, poems and songs for children. Written and read by Peter G. Reynolds and read by Griffin Reynolds. That's me! This podcast would not be possible without your support. Please visit buymeacoffee.com/musings to donate or become a member.
This episode is called Santa's Beard
Let me tell you a secret,
One you might think is weird.
There’s a family of mice,
Who live inside a beard.
How many you ask?
Good question, let’s see,
There’s mother and father
And Clara and me.
We moved in one night
While the man was asleep
We were all very quiet,
And did not make a peep
Dad built five rooms,
All on one floor,
Which was just big enough
For our family of four.
And mom made the beard
Feel just like a home.
Thank goodness the man
Did not use a comb!
Sometimes we’d vacation,
Way up in his hair;
Though it could get cold
For there wasn’t much there!
But lucky for us,
He wore a warm cap.
Which he only took off
If he took a nap.
Dad stayed at home.
Mom worked in his boot -
It was quite far away
So she had to commute.
Now my sister and I
We loved to be chased,
And we’d run round and round
The man’s ample waist.
Being close to his belly
We could feel every chuckle.
We both loved our spot
Behind his belt buckle.
Then on Christmas Eve
We all sprang from our beds.
A noise woke us up
That rang in our heads.
What did it sound like?
Well, let me see...
Part hustle, part bustle
With a touch of frenzy.
So I poked out my nose,
One eye, then two.
I needed to know,
What did this man do?
The stars were quite bright
On that snowy day,
And I could see clearly
A shiny red sleigh.
And people, so many,
With sharp pointy ears.
They were smaller than children,
But older in years.
They wrapped gifts in paper,
Red, yellow, blue, green,
For girls and for boys
And everyone in between.
I couldn’t believe it
So I ran to my house.
This news was too big
For one little mouse.
And soon all our heads
Poked out from his beard.
We were all so excited.
Our beady eyes peered.
The man sat in his sleigh.
The sky was so clear.
He held on to the reins
Of eight mighty reindeer.
Then he shouted, HANG ON!
Something feels weird.
Who is that hiding
Deep inside my beard?
No one said a word.
We all felt too much shame.
But then I spoke up,
Since I was to blame.
I’m sorry I said,
We were just being nosy.
Please don’t kick us out,
Your beard is too cozy.
The man pulled out a list.
Checked it not once, but twice.
And said to us all,
You’ve been naughty AND nice.
I closed my eyes tight,
Expecting the worst.
We’d moved into his beard
Without asking first.
The man rubbed his chin.
The man scratched his head.
He thought for a while.
And then finally said,
Alright. You can stay.
And all of us cheered,
For this family of mice
Could live in Santa’s beard!
And the lesson we learned
Was always ask for permission.
Especially when dad
Adds that second-floor addition.
I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please check out my dad's picture book, Lost Hallway: Where Do Lost Things Go, now available on Amazon. It’s a magical tale of a young boy who discovers a world that contains all lost things. You can learn more at storiesbypeter.com
See you next time and Happy Holidays!