Eight Maids A-Milking

I peer through lace cloth, and then I see nothing, and then the light flashes once more, only to be extinguished again. Rhythmically, it brightens my world, and then vanishes. I try to collect my bearings. Where am I? My arms are wrapped around a bristly pole. I get poked by needles if I venture too far from the center. So I use my eyes to take in my surroundings. When the twinkling light goes out briefly, I can see that there are stars all around me. By their light I see branches jutting out from the center, where I am standing. I creep out onto one of these sticks, hoping it does not break under me.

A huge red orb looms in front of me, and I nearly fall from fright. I scoot backwards until I have reached the safety of the pole. Once I am there, I slide down until I am on the next level of branches. Perhaps this time, I will be more fortunate. As I move slowly forward, I see a brown man, his face obscured, as one of the stars shine behind him. I do not trust his generic shape, and I shimmy down the pole again. I see a different shape further down, a clear diamond. It is the relief of three bells. When I get closer, I see that it is not a window, as I had hoped, but just a decoration. Disappointed, and getting very tired of this whole adventure now, I decide to try one last time. On this bottom layer of branches, I see a little wooden angel. She does not speak as I approach, and this comforts me. Her little halo is bent in such a way that seems to point to her right. I inch past her, a little further on the branch, and see a string of crimson berries. I glance back at the little angel. A gust of wind blows past us and she seems to nod in approval of what I am about to do. I grab hold of the berries and jump.

My landing is surprisingly soft. The ground appears to be a blanket of some sort. Eight enormous boxes with my name on them stand in my way, so I climb over and around each of them to get away from this wacky wonderland.


On the eighth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me eight perfect presents, seven souls a-singing, six sweet surprises, five Christmas treats, four different books, three great dames, two hands two thumbs and a volunteer named Mary.