Mio and the Magic of Christmas

The whole Oultre world was preparing for the Christmas festivities.

Mr. Badger had hung his finest socks on the mantle of his fireplace, Miss Squirrel had hung her Christmas star at the top of her old oak tree, and Baron Toad had sent his letter to the great north… with a gift list far too long… just like every year.

In Father Walrus's workshop, deep in the far north, the hustle and bustle was in full swing and the air was filled with worries. 

Christmas was approaching, and yet, the great sleigh, pulled by the sturdy seals of Father Walrus, remained frozen in place.

The magic necessary for his flight seemed to have vanished. Father Walrus, our good old debonair walrus, dressed in his eternal red coat, called for his faithful penguin aide, Mio.

" My », he said in his deep voice, « "Christmas cannot happen if my magic does not return. We need a special force to awaken the spirit of Christmas!"

"What to do Father Walrus?" Mio replied to him, worried.

"We need a solution, at least a lead," replied the old walrus. "I can't be absent so close to Christmas, so it's you who will go find the answers to our questions, I can only count on you for this most important mission!".

Mio, realizing the importance of this task and the honor that was bestowed upon him, left immediately.

"I have to find that old tomcat Hector!" Mio thought immediately. "If anyone can help me find the magic of Christmas, it's him!".

Indeed, the old cat was famous throughout the Oultre world for having been a seasoned adventurer who had never hidden the fact that he possessed a magical compass that indicated to its user where the object of their desires could be found.

After some searching, Mio found Hector dozing under a large fir tree in the strawberry woods.

When the penguin explained the urgency of the mission to him, the adventurous cat smiled and took an ancient compass out of his pocket.

"This magic compass will lead us to where Christmas finds its breath... wherever that may be," declared Hector with a mysterious air. 

And so, following the compass as their guide, the two companions set out, their hearts full of hope.

Their journey took them across the green plains of the lily of the valley country, over the windy passes of the mole mountain, through the dams of Beaver Lake and the marshes of Baron Toad, sometimes along the misty paths and sometimes along the terrible outer roads, the land of Men, where they had to be very discreet.

The compass led them to golden landscapes, where the sand stretched as far as the eye could see under a sky sparkling with stars. The compass finally stopped spinning when they reached an ancient pyramid, halfway between the mists and the outer lands, a rift between worlds, where the real and the imaginary touch, where the Otherworld and the land of Men become one, sometimes for a brief moment, sometimes for centuries.

At the foot of the imposing pyramid waited a young fennec on guard named Ramses, dressed in a vest embroidered with ancient symbols that no one had understood for a long time.

"Welcome my friends! Welcome! What brings you here?" asked Ramses, "it has been a long time since I have seen anyone around here."

"The magic of Christmas," replied Mio after quickly introducing himself. "We need extraordinary strength for Father Walrus to take off, otherwise Christmas will be irreparably ruined."

"After a time of reflection, Ramses led them to the top of the pyramid, into a room where a stone shone brightly, illuminating the surroundings of the monument through openings in the walls, like a lighthouse once night had fallen for what seemed like millennia." 

All around grew small shrubs whose leaves filled the air with scents of fig, date, and grape.

"These leaves," said Ramses, "are imbued with centuries of adventure, history that has traversed the ages, hopes and ambitions of Men. Infused, they will remind everyone of the magic of dreams, the desire to be together, and the joy of sharing. Perhaps this will be enough to rekindle in the seals the spark necessary for their flight?".

Mio and Hector carefully gathered the golden leaves and took the path back. But before leaving, the fennec handed them his letter for Father Walrus. Undoubtedly the last from the Otherworld that had not reached him.

"The postman doesn't come by often," declared the sand fox, it's been a long time since I last sent my list to Father Walrus and I haven't really celebrated Christmas... but this year I made one again, just in case...".

Mio took the letter swearing that she would arrive safely.

Back at the workshop, Mio hurried to recount his journey to the old walrus over a cup of the delicate infusion brought back from this trip.

Father Walrus, after a sip, felt a warm glow envelop him, as if every memory of adventure and Christmas was being reborn within him. He carefully took the letter from the guardian of the pyramid and read it, a slight smile on his lips, and ordered that the gifts for the latecomer be prepared as quickly as possible.

Christmas was here and the last missing gifts were wrapped and shipped in record time.

Father Walrus poured himself a new cup whose aromas spread throughout the seal barn. He drank it, then took his place, confident on his sled.

Without a second thought, the craft slid on the ice and took off.

Many years later, Mio still wonders: was it the leaves or the letter that the compass had sent him to find? Perhaps both...

"Still, since that day, Father Walrus makes sure that all the letters from the known Otherworld reach him, and before leaving, he drinks a delicious cup of this tea with a delicate fragrance."