With all the changes around my abode, I was happy when Christmas finally arrived. It was, at last, the morning that I would learn what was in the hall closet, and hopefully the morning after which my staff would restore everything back to normal.
Image my surprise when my staff decided not to awaken at dawn, as I normally expect from them, and slept in, instead. Because it was Christmas, I allowed them to sleep in and awoke them only when the pangs of hunger were so bad that I feared for my life.
After I was served breakfast, my staff fetched socks from the wall. Both of them were for me, naturally, but one was full of things I had no interest in, so I gave it to my staff. They seemed pleased.
After I ate my post-breakfast gift, I waited for my staff to show me what was in the closet. Instead, they proceeded to tear paper from boxes, littering the floor with scraps. This annoyed me, but to their credit, they emptied boxes and left them round for me to climb into. Unfortunately, the mess they made with the paper was too troubling for me to be able to relax.
When at last my staff turned their attention back to me, they opened the closet and brought out an enormous and puzzling structure and placed it in the room. I could see that they were determined to make as much of a mess as possible, moving from paper to abstract sculptures. They commented to me on how expensive it was, and how pleased they were with it, and how I should be pleased with it. I was not pleased, but because it was Christmas, I ignored their new decorative tree.
Strangest of all, my staff has left the new tree in the room for days now, so lately I have decided to claim it for myself. My staff tend to get upset when I climb on things that are too high, since my safety is their primary concern in life. And yet, with this new tree, they take exception; they do not shout at me when I climb onto it so that I can give them their orders without straining my neck by looking up at them (they are unnaturally tall, my staff). It is working out quite nicely, and I have come to see this structure as a podium from which I can better survey and rule my domain.
All in all, this Christmas has been better than last year. My staff seemed happy, and I have gained a perch from which I can manage everything more efficiently. The only thing left to do is to get them to stop shouting and clapping whenever I go to scratch something. My house staff can be strange, but I love them.
