This is another Christmas legend that I have written for either my kids, Grand-kids, or Great Grand-kids over the course of the last 60 years or so … I hope you enjoy
Oh this indeed was going to be a wonderful evening for Jimmy Mouse. His friends Jimmy, Patrick and Bobby were all coming over. Whew they were large Mouse families, and each of the boys’ parents had taken all the little mice out to borough hall to be there for the Christmas tree lighting. All the older boys loved to play around the Lighthouse and all lived close enough they could meet there every day.
For the parents and little ones going to Borough Hall, they all knew they had to hide in the corner and be very quiet. There were lots of ladies who weren’t very fond of them. The mother Mice were always sad about that. They figured if they just took the time to know the little ones, they might like them. Sure, they all had nibbled on any food left out on the table, and yes, they did tickle feet when they ran over them. But they were kind and nice, and just liked having a little fun. So tonight, just because all the parent Mice wanted their little ones to enjoy the magic of Christmas and the beauty of all the lights, so they were going to be extra careful so as not to be seen.
Not so Jimmy. He had put out the word to all his friends he was going to be alone in the family nest in the corner of his house tonight. Jimmy lived in a big cozy in the woods close to the Twin Lights and he and his friends had a great secret they had been keeping for a long time. Tonight seemed the perfect night to carry out their plan, what with the parent Mice being down in Highlands. So Jimmy had told his mom that no, he didn’t want to see any lights. He just wanted to stay at home and play by himself, maybe read his newest comic book, “The Big Cheese.”
The truth of the matter was, Jimmy really did want to see Christmas lights. But he also knew he, Bobby, Patrick and Jimmy had all plotted that the very first chance they could get, they would climb all the steps to the top of one of the Towers of the Twin Lights and have a look around. They kept telling themselves they were big mice now. Their parents had all warned them, “You better never climb either of the towers until your fathers take you up there on a bright sunny day. We don’t ever want to take the chance you will slide through one of the sides and go crashing down to the floor. Nor do we want you hanging out around one of the window on your way up.” All the parents had warned their little boys that the towers were no place for them to play.
Surely they were always happy running through the tall grass, or hiding under the steps into the Museum. Or even jumping from display case to display case in one of the big halls inside. There were all things they did, of course only, when the museum was closed, the lights out, and no one was around. All the Mice knew if they were ever seen, why, oh, they couldn’t think about it. They just knew if they were caught, something terrible would happen. The little boy mice did not want that, of course. They all lived close to the Twin Lights, and loved going up there to play.
The little mice enjoyed their days playing outside and their nights exploring all the magic and wonder inside the museum. The boys were all close friends, and never a day went by that they didn’t get together to tell each other something else they had learned, something else wonderful they had seen. Bobby loved being in the room where all the Highlands people were pictured on the walls; Patrick liked seeing all the sail boats and life saving equipment, the two Jimmy’s especially liked all the post card pictures that made up a beautiful display of the Twin Lights and the story about the hero lighthouse keeper from the Spanish American War.
But now, Jimmy, Bobby, Patrick and Jimmy felt they were old enough. Surely they could make a quick trip to the top of a tower, see the whole town of Highlands, look out for ships out at sea, then scramble back down the stairs and get back to a safe place before anyone got home. It was very exciting to think about.
So the four met at the edge of the woods and decided they would try the South Tower. Patrick thought maybe he could see his own house from there. Besides, they already knew it was the easier door to squirm under to get inside.
There was a bit of a struggle at the very beginning. It was easy enough to get inside the Twin Lights, there was always some little cranny they could use to get inside. But they had never tried the door to the tower. First, they had to figure out how to through the door at the foot of the tower steps. They finally realized they could squeeze very tiny, hold their breaths awfully hard, and just manage to get under the door, though a bit out of breath and with sore little tummies. But once on the stair side of the door, they were elated.
Oh the trip up was wonderful. The four friends scampered up and down a few stairs at a time. They giggled when they got a paw caught in the metal, knowing they could pull it out quickly enough. They were even brave enough to peek over the side of the railing as t hey climbed higher and saw how far up they were. They all agreed it was a wonderful adventure.
When they got close to the top, the boys wiggled under another door to get outside and see the view from there. It was magnificent! They could run a complete circle and see everything from every side. They could see the lights on the CAPT. Azzolina Bridge, they could hear the owls on the trees closer to Henry Hudson School and they could even see the tippy tops of some of the mansions in Monmouth Hills. They could also look down and see the river rushing past Bahrs Restaurant, and see all the Christmas lights welcoming people to the shops in town. They saw the lights flickering on the dock in front of Bahrs and even saw some lights over on Sandy Hook. That reminded Jimmy of the stories his Great Aunt Edna Mouse had told him about Sandlass Beach, the wonderful seashore resort across the bridge where she lived. If only he could have lived there, he often thought.
But tonight was tonight and it was special! So the boys finished their tour around, then scampered inside to see if they cold go any higher. They knew they could, but knew there was another door they had to squeeze under, and quite frankly, they did not know what they would see up there. But they wanted to go on and try.
Once at the top, faced with that door and not knowing what they would find, the mice were getting frightened. Maybe we should have just gone with our parents to see the tree in town, one of them murmured. Yeah, said another, this is fun and I’m glad we’re doing it, but we’re missing the lights on the Highlands tree. Maybe we should have saved this for another time, the third one grumbled.
Well we’re here and let’s make the most of it, the boys finally decided! So they got together and helped each other squeeze under that last door. And once inside the very top of the tower, each of the four of them simply gasped in surprise. They couldn’t speak for a second, so taken by the wonder of what they could see.
But here it was. In all its glory. The boys couldn’t ‘t believe their eyes! There, right in front of them, well, of course they had to look up but they quickly scampered to the ledge so they could get a better look. There, to their surprise, was the most beautiful Christmas tree they had ever seen. There, right smack in the middle of the very top of the South Tower of the Twin Lights they loved so much, was a beautiful lighted Christmas tree, with colors of red, and green and gold and more, all as bright as, well ,they thought, as bright as a lighthouse should be!
Each of the four sat in awe, for the first time ever, no one spoke. Each secretly made a silent wish, blinked twice to be sure they were seeing what they thought they were seeing, then pledging friendship forever, turned and scampered back down the stairs, out the door, into the woods, and back in their own homes, safe and snug before their parents came home.
Each of the boys was in his own bed when his parents came home. But as each mom and dad kissed their sleeping sons and wished them a Happy Christmas, each smiled the smile only a parent knows. Just like the grandparent people knew when their sons and daughters jumped off the old bridge over the Shrewsbury as their rite of passage, the Mice people knew their bigger children had made the climb to the top of the tower for their own rite of passage. And those who did it when the Christmas Tree was in the South Tower had the best time of all.
