The kitten shivered, bedraggled and forlorn on the bank, sleet feathering around him. His mother’d gone… he raised his little head, unfocussed eyes moving, nose sniffing to catch her scent. She’d been there one minute, licking him then he’d been thrown into a dark sack with his brothers and sisters.
Bumpety-bump, their mewling went unheard until light shone, and they were dropped into water. Scrambling out, the sack floated away carrying his siblings with it. Ice crept into his bones as he waited to die.
“Ho-ho-ho.” A white-gloved hand picked him up. “You survived? Come, little Santa-Claws. You’re safe now.”
Bumpety-bump, their mewling went unheard until light shone, and they were dropped into water. Scrambling out, the sack floated away carrying his siblings with it. Ice crept into his bones as he waited to die.
“Ho-ho-ho.” A white-gloved hand picked him up. “You survived? Come, little Santa-Claws. You’re safe now.”
