Page 25 - Publishing Inspiration Christmas Card 2020

was in New York, there was a place that trained

cats to be like watchdogs. They called them attack
cats. But the problem was, the cats could not
quickly distinguish their owners, and the cats

often attacked their owners.
Near the end of the line came the boy who
had hugged me. When it was his turn, I pulled

him onto my lap.
"What would you like for Christmas?" I

asked.
Though he was plenty old to speak, he said
nothing. Instead, he threw his arms around my
neck and hugged me tightly for some time. I

hugged him back and felt there was more to his
hug than just a child's love for the magic of

Christmas. When he finally let go, and I looked
into his face, he was smiling a happy smile.
"Is there anything else you want?" I asked.

He shook his head, so I grabbed a pretty blue
candy cane. "I'm sure you could use this."
He gave me another big hug, smiled, took

the candy cane, and headed on his way.
His mother said, "I'm sorry he hugged you so
tightly and for so long."

I smiled. "It's okay. Even Santa needs hugs
now and then."

"He lost his father some time ago," she said,
"and he hasn't spoken a word since then. He also

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