Yul, a baby Blumaroo, awoke very early one morning. He turned to look over at his best friend, his fuzzie bear.

�So you�re awake too,� Yul whispered to his fuzzie bear.

Yul looked over at his roommate, a blue Tuskaninny named Tunny. Tunny was still asleep.

Getting out of bed, he wiped the rest of the sleep from his eyes. Then he tugged a bit at his pajamas. It was winter time, almost Christmas time too! So Ms. Snowflake had bought him a pair of pajamas with padded paws and tail in them to keep him nice and warm while he slept. Grabbing his bear, Yul went over to the window and looked outside.

It was a cold and blustery day outside of the Neopian Pound. A winter storm had just passed through and left behind several inches of snow. The sky outside was a brilliant icy blue, broken only by the sun shining down upon the wintery scene. If a visitor didn�t know any better, they may have thought they entered the snow covered Happy Valley. The temperatures were above freezing but still considered very cold. However, if you stood in the warm rays of the sun, it didn�t seem so cold. At least, that is what Yul believed. He was going to test out this theory today!

After a hearty breakfast and being bundled up so tightly that he could barely move, Yul was ready to go outside and play in the snow. His first order of business was to catch a sun beam, which he did quickly. Unfortunately, the sun beams kept moving around, so Yul lost them as quickly as he caught them.

Yul�s attention was caught by a group of pets having a snowball fight. He toddled over to them and plopped himself down behind a tree.

�You can�t get me!� yelled Patty, a purple Poogle.

Fly, a yellow Buzz was flying around, trying to throw a wet snowball at Patty. Yul started laughing as he saw Fly manage to get Patty. In the spirit of the moment, Yul started to throw snow at the others too. Only he forgot to make the snow into a snowball. He just threw loose snow that flew back at him. The other pets saw this and started to laugh at the funny sight of this bundled up baby covered in snow. Then the pets decided to make a baby Blumaroo snowpet, using Yul!

Much to his delight, several pets were paying him much attention and covering him with snow.

�Now all you have to do, Yul, is just sit there really still so we can make you a snow pet,� Patty instructed with a laugh.

So Yul, did just what he was told and sat really still.

�Teww me bout krismus,� Yul excitedly asked.

Yul had heard the pets talking about Christmas for weeks and he was just as excited, even though he had never celebrated anything like it before. As Patty began telling him about Christmas, Yul was looking all around him. He had a good view of the playground and the front of the pound. Everywhere he looked, signs of Christmas were around. The trees outside the pound were all glowing with Christmas lights and there was a holly wreath on the door. Yul could see smoke rising from the chimney into the sky. He could also smell the mouth watering aroma of Mr. Pickle�s gingerbread cookies being made. He could see pets running around, playing and laughing with glee.

It was a perfect winter scene which Yul enjoyed gazing at. In fact, he loved everything he saw about this season right down to the last bobble on the trees. The part he loved best was that on the morning of Christmas, he would get a stocking full of candy and toys! All he had to do was hang his stocking by the fireplace!

�There is an Advent Calendar,� Patty stated with excitement. �You go there every day for the whole month of celebrating and you can get toys or candy or even neopoints! Most of the pound pets don�t really get to go to the Advent Calendar because it�s a long trip and there are so many of us.�

Yul notice a look of sadness when Patty was talking about the Advent Calendar, but she seemed to snap out of it and go on telling about the wonders of Christmas.

�Oh and you have to be a very good boy otherwise you won�t get your stocking filled with candy and toys,� Patty continued talking as she covered Yul in snow.

�Wealy?� questioned Yul in awe.

The pets kept sharing all they knew about the food, advent calendar and celebrations until Yul was completely covered in snow, except for his head of course.

�What�s going on here?� came the questioning voice of Ms. Snowflake.

The pets turned to find Ms. Snowflake standing behind them with a look of amusement on her face.

�We�re making a snow Yul,� said Jubbine, a Christmas JubJub.

Laughing, Ms. Snowflake said it was time for lunch and then for Yul to take his afternoon nap. She went over and pulled Yul out of the snow mound he had managed to be buried in and set him on the ground. Then Ms. Snowflake held his paw as they walked into the pound together.

Inside the pound there were just as many decorations as there were outside of the pound. They had a large Christmas tree decorated with many lights, bobbles and bows. The pets made strings of popcorn to wrap around the tree as well as homemade decorations. Mr. Pickles had made gingerbread pets to put on the tree along with candy canes and chocolates. There were even some store bought decorations as well. Each pet had at least one of their ornaments on the tree as well as one stocking hanging up by the fireplace. All around the walls were ribbons and wreaths, winding their way into the various rooms.

The days until Christmas seemed to take forever to Yul. Everyday the excitement would build as he heard the talk of the pound turn to nothing but Christmas. Then pets and staff would be moving around, getting ready for the celebration. There was no doubt that Yul was living with pure anticipation running through him.

Then one cold morning, Yul woke up very early. He was so excited! Christmas was here!

�It�s here! It�s here!� Yul whispered with excitement to his fuzzie bear.

Yul knew what this meant! His Christmas stocking would be hanging up on the fire place filled with toys, candy and presents, along with all the other pound pets� stockings. This was the moment that Yul waited for! This was the most exciting moment of his young life!

He got up quietly, grabbed his fuzzie bear and toddled his way down the stairs. Yul noticed that the halls were dark and deserted. He walked to the recreation room, where the most wonderful Christmas tree stood. The room was dark, except for the lights illuminating the Christmas tree.

Yul was very confused. He continued to look around him, not knowing what to do. It was Christmas morning right? Yet, none of the other pets or staff seemed to be any where around.

Well I�ll go take a peak at my stocking, Yul thought to himself.

Moving to the fire place, Yul looked up at the stockings. To his surprise, he saw only empty stockings hanging on the fireplace. Even though Yul was a baby pet, he understood that he wasn�t going to get his Christmas stocking! Yul was devastated!

�Was I bad boy?� Yul asked his fuzzie bear.

Yul began to cry, �I no wan be bad boy. I try be good boy.�

�Whoa there little guy,� came the cheery voice of Mr. Pickles, the pound chef. �Why are you crying and why are you up so early?�

Yul sniffled. �I�I no get Kr�Krismus stking.�

Mr. Pickles looked at Yul with an amused expression.

�That�s because Christmas is tomorrow!� Mr. Pickles said with a laugh.

Scooping Yul up, Mr. Pickles carried Yul back up to his room and tucked him back into bed.

EPILOGUE
The next day brought Yul his very first Christmas! Once again, he awoke very early on the morning of Christmas. This time the other pets and staff were there, ready to celebrate. Needless to say, he did receive his stocking full of sweets, toys and presents! His most favorite toy of all was his new Pull Along Scarab!
Later that day, there was a huge celebration full of games, food and fun. The grandest turkey dinner ever, was served and for desert, one of Mr. Pickles famous Apple Pies! It�s no doubt that this Christmas was the best time in Yul�s young life. Not to mention this holiday becoming his favorite time of year.
The day ended with the pets going to bed, holding their new treasures, dreaming of what is to come next Christmas.

The End

Author�s Note: This is a short story of many I have written from my collection titled �The Neopian Pound Chronicles�. I hope you enjoyed my short story.
My story has been published in the Neopian Times! Check out Issue 121!