MerryChristmas from The Tree-eating Rats

Christmas time is finally here.
With songs that always rhyme year with fear,
And stuffy noses and things of the like,
And cheap hot cocoa from your friend Mike.

You stare at rain falling from the gray sky,
Wishing it was snow and wondering why
Your mom chose today, today of all days!
To pick out a tree and buy some mayonnaise.

You could’ve gone to your friends Christmas party,
The kid with the hair and the last name McCarty,
But you decided with all the rats running about,
you’d rather stay home and wait this one out.

Oh yes, the rats, almost forgot about them!
They came December first around eleven pm.
Covering the whole town with their icky-ness
Creating havoc, chaos and quite a large mess.

These red-eyed rats weren’t just any old rats,
These rats were lab-developed, tree-eating rats.
You saw that in the paper, didn’t know if it was true.
You just pet your cat and looked at the view.

Though most of the Christmas trees were already gone,
You reached for your coat and so did your mom.
You told your cats that you’d be back soon,
But didn’t reach the store until just around noon.

The devastation was complete.
The tree-eating rats had used their whole fleet.
All the huge Christmas trees, the proud and the tall,
Had been devoured, even the small.

You were angry at the rats for ruining your Christmas
So you went back home with an idea fit for a genius.
Always having the power to talk to your cats,
You rounded them up and gave them some tasks.

Gwen and Nonny each nodded their head.
They knew what you wanted: word to spread.
Soon the streets were over flowing with cats.
Siamese, Persians, skinny and fat.

You could see they had fun chasing the rats everywhere.
When they were done, look, you didn’t dare.
For you’ve seen before what cats do with their pest,
Kill them and eat them when they pause to rest.

When that whole episode was over;
When the cats went home, except for Jaylen and Rover,
The very next day you got quite a large tree
Glad that, from rats, the city was free.

Christmas Eve was that very night
And a smile crossed your face in the warm firelight.
Sipping your cocoa, which now tasted fine,
You sang O, Christmas Tree, your foot keeping time.

Merry Christmas!