Snow Melt

Christmas is carnage, said the duck.

"Invalid Entry"  At the time, the duck was standing on the enclosed back patio of the home of Sam and Samantha Ingalls. The duck was watching the Ingalls twins through the sliding glass doors. The twins were sitting at the dining table drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies, and reading. Samantha was reading the instructions her mother had left before going to work that morning. Sam was reading the morning paper.

“Well,” Samantha said putting the letter down and taking the paper away from her brother. “Mom wants one of us to deck the halls and the other to dress the duck.” She returned Sam’s glare with a sweet smile. “Which one do you want to do, Sam?”

“You’ve had more experience with dressing dolls, dogs, cats, and children then I have. I doubt that I could even catch the silly bird, much less put a pair of pants or a frilly dress on him.”

“Obviously, little brother, you inherited Dad’s sense of humor. That’s at least one thing I have to be thankful for.” She got up and picked up a small hatchet lying on the table beside the dish of Christmas cookies. “The boughs of holly are pilled on the front porch.”

“What am I supposed to do with a bunch of tree limbs, Sis?”

“Deck the halls with them, of course, Sam!”

Sam got up, walked into the entrance hall, unlocked the door and stepped onto the front porch. On the porch, he picked up a bough of holly in each and turned toward the front steps. At that moment, the next-door neighbors John and Marsha Hall climbed the front steps.

“I didn’t think it would be this easy,” Sam said hitting John Hall with one bough and Marsha with the other. Naturally, Marsha Hall let loose with a blood-curdling scream.

The scream brought Samantha, holding a dead duck in one hand and a bloody hatch in the other to the front porch.

“Why did you attack Mr. and Mrs. Hall, Sam?”

“Because you said I should deck the Halls with the boughs of holly!”

My response to the November 25, 2008 leading entry by objurgate