A Christmas Treasure By Edward Kostro

“The value of a man resides in what he gives,
And not in what he is capable of receiving.”
- Albert Einstein


This tale begins on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve,
An awful blizzard is blowing – would you believe?

A little brown dog slowly trods through the night,
She’s alone and she’s starving, with no hope in sight.

She digs through the garbage, but no food is found,
The wind begins howling - what a frightening sound.

This homeless dog crawls into a box in a dark frigid alley,
She now lives in this box behind a bar named O’Malley’s.

This dog has only one friend – a discarded teddy bear,
She had found it in the trash – it had lost all its hair.

Now, every cold lonely night, she embraces her friend,
Now, this tiny dog would protect her only friend to the end.

While this sad little orphan sleeps, a fierce storm hits the city,
Everything is soon buried in snowdrifts – very deadly, but pretty.

The dog suddenly awakens in her box, and she hears quite a clatter,
She nervously peeks through the snow to see just what’s the matter.

She soon spots a man dressed all in wool from his head to his foot,
And his bright red clothing is completely covered with ashes and soot.

The stump of a long black pipe he holds tight in his teeth,
And huge white smoke rings encircle his head like a wreath.

He has a very broad face and an extremely round belly,
It even shakes when he walks, like a bowl full of jelly.

His eyes how they sparkle! His dimples how merry!
His big cheeks are like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His whiskered mouth’s drawn up very tight like a bow,
And the thick beard on his chin is as white as the snow.

The man speaks not a word, but goes right to his work,
He empties the trashcans, then bends down with a jerk.

He soon picks up the box with the little dog inside,
And he’s about to crush it, when the frightened dog cries.

The man quickly opens it up and is very surprised,
To find a tiny homeless dog and a tattered teddy inside.

No, this man is not jolly Saint Nick with his reindeer and sled,
He’s Lou the Trash Man, with his green garbage truck instead.

“Poor little doggie! You must be cold and lonely,
How about sharing some of my milk and baloney?”

The starving little dog eagerly gobbles up Lou’s gift,
This kind hearted garbage man even offers her a lift.

“You’re a very nice doggy, and you’re down on your luck,
How would you like to come home with me in my truck?”

The tiny dog’s eyes quickly brighten, and her tail begins wagging,
As she excitedly hops up in Lou’s truck – her teddy she’s dragging.

“We’ll have to give you a name, little doggie! Hmm? I know,
I’ll call you ‘Treasure’ since I found you buried in the snow!

“And your little teddy friend, we’ll call him ‘Tattered Ted,’
Now the both of you can finally sleep in a cozy warm bed.”

The little dog now excitedly barks and licks old Lou’s chin,
She and her Tattered Teddy will never ever be lonely again.

Lou the Trash Man did find a genuine Christmas treasure,
And the friendship that’s formed – is far beyond measure.

Our epic story ends as Lou’s garbage truck rumbles out of sight,
As Lou hugs his new dog, he waves and yells, “Have a good night!”

And how would I know that this very sweet Christmas tale is true?
I’ve been to O’Malley’s - and I’ve met the dog, the teddy, and Lou.

 

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