Chloe's Christmas Wish - Advent Calendar (Day 25)

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“Let's go outside and take pictures in the snow!” Megan squeals in delight as she watches the cats roll around in the wrapping paper. “We can send pictures to Mom of Baby Bean and Chloe playing together in the snow.” Megan grabs the camera from the living room table; then she and John each pick up a cat and take them outside. As soon as they put the cats down on the snow in the backyard, Chloe runs around the snowman, then plops down in the snow beside Baby Bean. Baby Bean, meanwhile, is staring curiously around her. She lifts her paw up and shakes the snow off of it, only to get snow on it again as she trudges through the snow to sniff the snowman. Then she runs around and tackles Chloe, playfully biting her ear. While they play, Megan excitedly takes photographs of the cats, occasionally putting herself or John in the picture.

After a while, Baby Bean and Chloe tire from playing and running around in the snow. So Megan places them next to the snowman to take a picture. Baby Bean stares at the camera curiously while Chloe looks around and up at the sky. Suddenly, she sees reindeer in the air pulling Santa in a sleigh. Dakotah sits next to Santa with her tongue hanging out. She winks at Chloe, then the sleigh flies out of her sight. A little bit of snow falls from the sleigh and lands close to a nearby tree. Baby Bean waddles past the snowman over to the tree to inspect the mysterious fallen snow. As she peers at the little pile of snow, a large clump of snow falls from the tree and plops on top of her head, some of which splatters onto her nose. She startles and her tail fluffs up in surprise. She shakes off the snow, looks around her, and then stares up at the tree while Megan and John laugh and Chloe purrs.

Chloe's Christmas Wish - Advent Calendar (Day 24)

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“Chloe, meet Baby Bean. Baby Bean, this is Chloe.” Megan pets them both on their heads, then turns to the Christmas tree.

“Now she won't have to sneak outside to play,” John says to Megan.

Megan winks at John; then she says “time to open up presents!” as she picks up a gift wrapped in red paper. As Megan and John open their presents to each other, Chloe and Baby Bean paw through their stockings. Chloe decides she likes Baby Bean, so she bats one of her toy mice at her. Baby Bean bats the ball and chases after it, and she skids onto the wrapping paper strewn on the floor from opened presents. She jumps up from the unexpected noise, then starts patting the paper with her paws. Chloe joins Baby Bean in playing with the noisy paper. 

Chloe's Christmas Wish - Advent Calendar (Day 23)

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She glances around the room quickly, but when she doesn't see John or Megan, she walks quietly to the box and peers over the edge. Inside the box lies a tiny gray and white kitten with a big red bow around her neck. Chloe stretches her neck and sniffs the kitten's head. The kitten startles and jerks her head up, staring up at Chloe with huge brown eyes. Chloe stares at the kitten for a few more seconds, then licks her nose. The kitten then meows and begins to purr.

“So you found your Christmas present already!” Megan walks into the room and scoops the kitten out of the box. She then picks up Chloe and takes both cats to the living room where John sits on the couch with a present wrapped in silver paper on his lap. Megan places them on the ground next to two stockings filled with toys and cat treats. Now Chloe understands why there's an extra stocking.

Chloe's Christmas Wish - Advent Calendar (Day 22)

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Soon Chloe hears Christmas music coming from the living room. Megan dances into the kitchen, still in her pajamas, holding a tiny Christmas hat in her hand. Chloe turns from her bowl and sees the hat; then she darts away into the living room, but Megan catches Chloe and laughs as she puts the Santa hat on Chloe's head, securing its band under Chloe's chin.

“You're so cute!” Megan exclaims as she hugs Chloe to her chest. Every year, Megan either buys or makes a Christmas hat or reindeer ears for Chloe to wear, but Chloe doesn't like to wear them, so she hides them under the bed or behind the refrigerator. So when Megan lets Chloe down, Chloe dashes into their bedroom and knocks the hat off her head, and then she hides it under the bed. As Chloe crawls out from underneath the bed, she again sees the large box.

Chloe's Christmas Wish - Advent Calendar (Day 21)

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Just then, Chloe hears a door open and she runs to investigate. Megan is leaving her bedroom and walking towards the bathroom. John is sitting up in bed, his mouth open with a wide yawn. A huge box sits in the corner of the room. Curious, Chloe starts to walk towards the box (she loves to play in all kinds of boxes), but John scoops her up from the ground as he gets out of bed and takes her through the living room into the kitchen. Chloe forgets about the box and runs towards her food bowl as John opens a can of tuna for her favorite breakfast. John leaves the kitchen as Chloe happily licks up the tuna.

Chloe's Christmas Wish - Advent Calendar (Day 20)

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The next morning, when Chloe opens her eyes she sees wrapped presents underneath the sparkling Christmas tree. Four stockings, full of goodies and toys, hang above the fireplace. It must be Christmas day, Chloe thinks to herself. Megan always fills the stockings on Christmas morning. Chloe looks at the stockings again. Her ears flicker and her tail begins to move. Four stockings? Chloe doesn't understand why there's a fourth stocking, since they only need three for Megan, John, and Chloe. Maybe Megan gave her an extra stocking this year! She had been good all year, not trying to escape the house to go outside.

Chloe then remembers Dakotah and the magical golden tag that took her safely home the day before. She meows happily to herself as she thinks about playing with Tabs, Mitzy, and Fluffy at the pond and in the woods. Did it actually happen? Or was it all a dream? Chloe doesn't have the golden tag on her collar anymore. Even if it was a dream, it is the happiest dream of her life.

Chloe's Christmas Wish - Advent Calendar (Day 19)

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Chloe touches the collar and wishes she is home. Tabs, the pond, and the woods vanish from her sight; in their place, she sees the red-brick fireplace and the lit Christmas tree in her living room. She is home! Christmas music is still playing on the radio. She quickly runs around the house, but, to her relief, John and Megan aren't home yet. Chloe yawns again. She walks back to the living room and lies on the blue couch. Exhausted, she closes her eyes and drifts to sleep.