Aura's Lesson Is How To Be A Friend

 "Hush now you little puppies. Let me get situated. This is quite a long story to tell. It's been a few years ago so give me a minute to think. Now that it's Christmas time again the memories are most clear.

"Yes, I had given the little girl a place to sleep in the barn and yes I had given her treats as many times as I could. I didn't want to get caught and I didn't want the little girl to get in trouble. Little did I know that I was being watched! Guess by who! Can anyone guess who was the most feared person in the Enchanted Forest? Yes, Jinx. It was the Wicked Witch! That was a very good guess. I should have been more careful, but I was very young just a little older than you when all of this happened. I was just leaving the barn when there she stood staring at me! I was so scared I couldn't think and I could barely move."

"I can remember the terrifying screech of a laugh she had. I just knew I was going to be put in a pot and part of her potion. I would never again live in the palace or be given a treat in the Royal Kitchen. I so did love cookie dough. There she stood just staring at me and continued to laugh."

"Why did she laugh? asked Jinx. It doesn't sound like a laughing matter to me. I would have run as fast as I could!"

Aura said, "I couldn't run. I was literally scared stiff. I could not move a muscle. Sitting beside the witch was a chicken with a dress and Santa hat on it's head and a green frog in a crystal ball. I knew something horrible was about to happen to me any second. Then the strangest thing happened."

"Oh tell us, please! You have had the most exciting life ever! How did you get away from that terrible witch?"

Aura smiled and looked especially at Jinx. "Remember when I told you how important it is to make friends and to be kind to others? Well, sometimes that kindness comes right back to you in the strangest way."

"Oh please tell us, please!" the puppies begged.

"Alright, alright, she laughed. Just when I thought I was a dead duck for real I realized that I wasn't alone. That little girl had come out of the barn and was just standing there staring at that witch. She quietly said, "Aura, everything will be just fine. She lifted her little arm and pointed at the witch and suddenly all of the forest was alive with lights; blue and red lights; yellow and green lights. Those lights were so bright that even the Queen could see them from the palace. The forest seemed to glow and the witch started to melt right before my eyes"

"But what about the chicken and the frog? Did they melt too? How did you get away?" asked the puppies.

"It seemed like I just barely blinked and there stood the Queen. I was so scared. I thought for sure she was going to make me leave the Royal Family. But instead, she put her arm around my little friend and when she did so the lights changed. They were orange and purple! The witch was gone and so was the chicken and the frog in the crystal ball."

Is that the end of the story, Aura? Did the Queen yell at you and punish you? Is the Queen magic? Where can we find friends like that? Huh? We all want friends like you have."

Aura smiled and said, "Settle down little ones. The first rule of finding friends is to be one." The puppies interrupted her and said, "How do we do that? Please tell us."

Aura said, "To be a friend you have to be kind. You can't be mean to other dogs and humans if you want them to be your friend. The second thing you need to do to be a friend is to listen. Sometimes we and humans  have troubles that they need to share with someone. Sometimes it helps just to have someone to listen to us. That part humans call empathy." Another rule to being a good friend is not to tell anyone else your friend's secrets. If you do that it's the fastest way I know of to lose a friend. That part humans call trust."

Jinx said, "Well, I don't think that mean old witch ever had any friends. I sure don't want to be turned into a chicken or a frog."

Aura thought to herself, "I don't think they are ready for the witch story. Someday when they are older and have puppies of their own I might share the witch's story, but for now I think that Grandma Lu wants to wish all of her readers, friends and family a very Merry Christmas.

By the way Jinx now can patiently stand in line in the Royal kitchen for a bite of cookie dough and Penuche and Aura are becoming friends and both are tolerating little Jinx, the newcomer to their very own castle.

The sad princess story will continue after the first of the year!

Aura Tells Jinx To Make A Friend And Be Happy

 Aura got busy and gathered the Royal pups to her room. "Alright little ones. This is the scoop. The Wicked Witch that lives in the Enchanted Forest has made the little princess sad which in turn makes the Queen sad. So what do you think we should do about it? Jinx, do you have an ideas?"

Jinx was the youngest and the most different of all of the royal puppies. He was very young; not even a year old plus his fur was black. The other puppies and Royal Dogs of the castle had lighter color fur and were much bigger than he would ever be. They would stand patiently in the castle kitchen and wait for treats from the Royal Chef and always get their favorite; cookie dough. At this time in his life he had not even been allowed in the kitchen. He decided that he would tell Aura what his life was like. He too was sad. He didn't even know what happy was like.

Jinx told Aura how he felt about being sad and different. Aura smiled to herself and decided that she would get into her special box of toys and things that she treasured. She found the little picture and lifted it out so that the puppies could see. "Jinx, does this look like I was a happy dog? I think not. I was sad, just like you are. That dog that is white? Well, that dog is the oldest of us all. Her name is Penuche. She is favored by the Queen so therefore the chefs in the kitchen pretty much gave her what she wanted. The day that picture was taken was one of the worst days of my life. So do you know what I did? I didn't cry about it. I did something about it. Yes I did. I made a friend. She was a poor little girl and seemed like she was always dirty. For some reason she liked me right away. She let me snuggle up to her and go for walks with her. She was so different than the people that lived in the castle. She told me secrets and told me how lonely she was. She said that she didn't have a bed to sleep in nor a family to love her. I started bringing her treats that I found on the floor and taught her how to wash her face in the little stream behind the castle. I found a little place in the Royal barn for her to sleep. We always had to be careful because I didn't know if the Royal Family would like her being there."

" I learned that every Christmas the Queen had the forest decorated with lights. It was so beautiful that it made everyone smile. That's when I decided that Christmas was a special day for humans. Most everyone smiled when the Queen had those trees decorated. Everyone except the Wicked Witch that lives out there.

"You know, Jinx, something happened to me after that little girl and I had been friends for awhile. I became happy and it seemed like people liked me better because I was happy. The chefs in the Royal kitchen started giving me treats too. Some I took out to the barn for my friend and some I ate. Life was getting so much better."

The puppies had all gotten closer to Aura as she told her story. "What happened to the little girl you made friends with? Did the Queen make her leave? Did you get into trouble? What happened to the Wicked Witch? Please tell us!"

"Oh my, so many questions. There is a lot to tell so just be patient and I will tell you the Christmas story of the little girl in the Enchanted Forest. You see it was Christmas Eve..."

A Second Cousin Twice Removed Could Mean Trouble!

 Aura listened quietly as  Queen Marlee stood at the window. Aura could see the tears roll down the queen's cheeks as she talked. "Oh, Aura, I so wish you could talk to me. You have been my friend for a long time. You know all of my happiest moments and all of my troubles. Today there is another on the trouble lists. It's Princess Whitlee. She should be the happiest of all the little girls in the land, but she is not. She is sad. She seldom smiles anymore. What shall I do? What can I do to make her a happy little girl again?"

I have wracked my brain trying to figure out what is troubling her. She has toys and beautiful gowns. She has a beautiful bedroom and special food is fixed especially for her. Why oh why is she so sad?"

Aura also knew about the little princess. The young princess had also come to her telling her story to the one friend she knew that would keep her secret. "Oh, these humans. What a lot they are. Well, I guess I had better get a plan in place to get that little girl happy again or I won't have any peace and quiet in my home. As soon as the Queen leaves I will gather my puppies to the classroom and give them a lesson about humans that do not live in castles and do not dress in satin and velvet.

Queen Marlee came and hugged Aura and left a trail of wet tears on her fur. Aura stretched out on her satin cover, turned over and looked at the picture of her and the Queen when she was about the age of the princess. "I have helped you and now it's time to help Princess Whitlee. This shouldn't take long; at least I hope it won't I have some royal puppies to train about Royal Rules and wicked witches.

Watching in the darkness of the forest was the Wicked Witch. She smiled as she watched the Queen walk back to the castle wiping tears from her face. "Hee, hee. My spell has worked! This is the happiest time of the year for me. I overheard some of the forest creatures whisper that I'm too old to make those humans unhappy near Christmas time. I proved them wrong! Hee hee. I'm off to my hovel to celebrate another year of making people sad." She heard her bones creak and groan as she climbed onto her broom to make the long trip. "I need to make myself a potion . That's all I need is a potion to drink for my bones. I'm not old. I'm just now getting to the age of my second cousin twice removed; the Grinch. He's old as dirt and he gets away with spoiling Christmas last I heard anyway. He got himself famous with books and movies. Least I can do is make a princess sad. I might be a mite worried that I made the Queen sad, but all will be well as soon as I get myself out of here."

If you were close by the Enchanted Forest you might have heard a crash and a flurry of dried leaves with chattering of birds and squirrels with some threats of spells upon those that dare laugh at the Witch.