Reading time: 6 minIt was St. Nicholas Eve, and Leo’s family was expecting a visit from their nieces. A wave of excitement filled the house that Leo couldn’t quite make sense of. From his warm spot on the windowsill, he listened curiously to the two girls chatting away.
“Tonight St. Nicholas is coming to give presents to everyone who’s been good!” the younger girl told her big sister. “And guess what — he always comes in the middle of the night, once everyone’s fast asleep!” she added, eyes wide with excitement.
Eyes shining, the two sisters told Leo’s family about the boots they planned to polish and set outside the door before bed. “I hope St. Nicholas finds us here and fills our boots with lots of treats,” said one of them.
The cat listened closely and learned, for the first time, that St. Nicholas wore a red coat you could always recognize him by. He also had a donkey with him, his faithful companion. “The donkey carries all the children’s presents on its back, in one big sack,” Leo heard his human mom explain.
“So my family knows St. Nicholas too?” the cat thought, surprised. “We mustn’t forget to put water and bread outside the door!” the children called out together, “or the donkey will get hungry and thirsty, going from house to house.” Buzzing with anticipation, the children could hardly sit still and hurried off to find their boots.
Leo sat listening with his ears pricked up. Of course, he’d heard about the mysterious St. Nicholas before, but it had never felt quite this exciting.
It made the cat terribly curious. Once the children’s boots stood outside the door and everyone had gone to bed, he started wondering how he might finally catch St. Nicholas in the act.
For a moment, he considered setting one of his own slippers by his basket. But he thought better of it. Instead, he wondered how St. Nicholas managed to slip past him, year after year, without Leo ever once laying eyes on him.
“Meow. Tonight, I’m staying awake to keep watch,” he decided bravely.
The cat crept to the windowsill, leapt up in one bound, and peered outside. But all he could see was thick, swirling snow.
It was dark out, and only the streetlamps lit the snowy paths with their soft glow. “Maybe I should go out and look for tracks in the snow,” he thought.
Leo hopped down and slipped out through his cat flap. “Ugh, now my paws are cold and wet,” he grumbled.
He padded a few laps around the patio but found no sign of St. Nicholas anywhere — and certainly no donkey. Then, suddenly, he jumped. A little mouse darted past him in a flash.
But instead of scurrying off the way she usually did, she stopped a safe distance away and told Leo about her own encounter with St. Nicholas. Leo listened closely.
She told him that St. Nicholas sometimes brought treats for animals too, just to make them happy. Leo stood there, astonished, and watched the little mouse dash cheerfully past him through the deep snow.
Leo shook the snow from his fur and padded back inside, curling up on his cozy blanket by the fireplace to think it all over. Between the long wait and the fire’s warmth wrapping around him, the cat began to grow drowsy. He fought to stay awake with all his might, but it grew harder by the hour.
In the quiet darkness, his eyes kept drifting shut, and Leo battled his sleepiness. Then, all at once, St. Nicholas appeared — Leo blinked awake for a moment, but he couldn’t quite manage to lift himself from his spot.
He watched as the children’s boots were filled, and heard, as if from far away, St. Nicholas ask, “Leo, would you like to help me tonight?” The cat agreed eagerly, and felt a light breeze stir beneath his blanket.
Suddenly, he was sitting beside St. Nicholas on the sleigh, the donkey harnessed and ready up ahead, and together they soared through the night. They looked down over the town and took in the glow of windows strung with fairy lights.
Together, they landed at house after house and handed out the presents. Leo helped tuck nuts and clementines into all the children’s boots, and even tried a bite of the delicious gingerbread himself.
With that warm smell still in his nose, Leo suddenly woke up. “Meow, what a night that was,” he thought, still a little dazed as he padded into the hallway.
Everyone was still asleep, but the family’s boots were brimming with treats. Leo dashed back to his basket and, to his surprise, found a slipper there too, filled right to the top. “Meow — St. Nicholas really did think of me!” Leo thought, overjoyed.
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