Well, Happy Holidays, everyone. I didn’t think I would get my entry done in time, but I did! Anyway, I was assigned Stirfry for this year’s Secret Santa. Despite the fact that he said something that offended me the day before I got assigned to him, I still went ahead and did the fanfic he requested.:
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It was Christmas time in Grutely. Pongo and Perdita’s puppies were getting ready for the big holiday. Many pups were buying and wrapping presents for each other at this glorious time of the year. Every pup was ready to have fun with each other and have another exciting Christmas together.
However, unbeknownst to the pups, something very unusual was going on. The presents they had for each other were mysteriously disappearing.
Two-Tone had a present wrapped for Lucky. She knew where she left it, but when she went to put it under the tree, it was gone.
Clayton had a present for Bishop. It too vanished before his eyes.
Nemo had a present for Shadow. She was shocked when she discovered it went missing.
Belchic had a present for Tippy. He set his in a safe place, but after he turned his head away from it for just a couple seconds…poof! It was gone!
Many pups had no idea what was happening to all their presents. Even the ones who tried to be extra careful with their presents were still losing them by the numbers. Nobody knew what was going on.
One pup in particular who took notice of this was a fairly tall, liver-spotted, female Dalmatian pup named Sandy. “This is quite a mystery,” she wondered. “How can all these presents just vanish out of thin air? Well, somebody has to solve this mystery, and what better pup to do it than me?”
Sandy went around and interrogated the pups. She took notes from all the pups who were victims of losing their presents. Once she got enough notes, she did some investigating around the areas outside of the farm.
Sandy’s first suspect was at Villa De Vil. She had a hunch Cruella would be the most likely culprit. She investigated the whole house and found no trace of presents or any clues that Cruella might have taken them. She even interrogated Scorch and Vandella. They too were victims of this robbery, which surprised Sandy even more.
Her next stop was El Perdido. Swamp Rat was infamous for stealing stuff from the farm and selling it to his fellow swamp neighbors. Once again, she found no evidence in the swamp. She interrogated Swamp Rat, and he was 100% clean.
Sandy felt like she was getting nowhere. Though she figured now, she’d have to settle for her last resort and investigate the Heartbreakers. Of course, she knew the Heartbreakers would tell them nothing, and even if she tried, Stealth would likely beat her up. Instead, she just peeked into their hideout to see what was going on. It turned out some pups were also having the same issue with their gifts disappearing. Malinda made her lament to Diana, and even she was shocked. “Well, I think I have all I need here,” said Sandy as she returned to the farm.
Back at the farm, Sandy looked over her notes and tried to see if she could figure out this mystery. “This just doesn’t add up,” she said. “Presents don’t just disappear out of thin air for no reason. Someone must be stealing them. But I’ve interrogated all the likely suspects. Maybe it’s someone unlikely. I think the only thing to know for sure is to set up some bait for the thief and find out who the culprit really is.”
Later that day, Sandy wrapped up a present she was going to give to Camera. She laid it out in the wide open and hid in a bush. She recorded it with her phone and did not keep her eyes off of it. A few moments later, the present vanished. She looked back at the video she recorded, and was shocked to see the present floating in mid air and drifting away.
“Unbelievable!” she said in shock. “I don’t see how this can possibly be happening, but I gotta find out how!”
Sandy went to an undisclosed area and set up a computer and lots of other high tech equipment. She plugged her phone into a jack. “There’s no way those presents can just float away all by themselves,” she said. “It has to be some kind of paranormal activity.”
She watched the video again on her computer. This time in an infrared mode. The screen was all blurry showing blue and green colors. The present was indicated by a purple color. Suddenly, something red came into the picture floating towards the present. Sandy could see it form hands, which picked up the present and took it away. She couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Well, there is no doubt about it,” she said. “There is definitely some kind of paranormal activity going around stealing all the gifts. But I’m not going to take the amateur route and start telling all the pups. They’ll just think I’m crazy. No, I’m much more professional than that. I’m going to solve this mystery myself and give the others real proof!”
The next day, Sandy set out another present as bait. This time she watched while wearing infrared goggles. A few minutes later, a figure approached the present. It was a full-bodied ghostly dog figure.
“So this is who has been stealing all the presents,” she thought. “I gotta find out why it’s been doing this.”
As soon as the ghost picked up the present, Sandy jumped out and shouted, “Hey, you!”
This caught the ghost’s attention. It quickly flew away. “Wait!” said Sandy chasing after the ghost. “I just wanted to ask you something!” But try as she might, the ghost just kept flying away from her, so much that it wore her out, and she lost it.
“Dang it!” Sandy groaned. “Guess I have another mystery to solve: why that ghost won’t let me talk to it.”
Sandy thought carefully of a way she can talk to the ghost. Maybe it was scared of her. Maybe if she knew how to approach the ghost without it recognizing her in some way, and she thought maybe there was a pup who could help her with that. Then, it dawned on her the one pup on the farm who was a master of undercover work: Belchic. Although, she couldn’t ask Belchic directly since she knew he would want to perform such a task a certain way, and since he was larger than her, it was out of the question. Instead, she decided to ask one of Belchic’s closest friends, Joey. He’d be the perfect pup to help her with this job. So Sandy went around the farm looking for Joey.
Joey was sitting by the side of the barn working on a Christmas poem. Sandy found him and approached him.
“Hi, Joey,” said Sandy.
“Oh, hi, Sandy,” said Joey. “I’m in the middle of a poem I’m writing for my friends.”
“Well, that’s sweet of you,” said Sandy. “Hey, I was wondering if you could help me out with something. Are you available?”
“I guess I can set this project aside for now,” said Joey. “So what’s going on?”
Sandy explained, “I’m sure you are aware of all the disappearing presents?”
“Of course I am,” said Joey. “All my presents have disappeared, and it has me pretty sad.”
“Not to worry, Joey,” said Sandy. “I found out what’s happening. The presents have been taken away by a ghost.”
Joey blinked. “Are you being serious,” Joey asked, “or are you just trying to scare me? You know I don’t like being bullied.”
“No, I’m being quite serious,” said Sandy. “I even have proof.” Sandy showed Joey the video she took. Joey was shocked at what he saw.
“That certainly does not look like Photoshop,” said Joey. “I believe you.”
“I figured you would,” said Sandy. “I know you’re autistic, so you see things differently than other pups.”
“Is that why you’re asking me for help?” asked Joey.
“Actually, there’s another reason,” explained Sandy. “The ghost won’t let me talk to it. It keeps flying away from me whenever I try to come near it, but with your help, I think we should be able to track it down.”
“Where is this ghost?” asked Joey.
“Stick with me,” said Sandy. “We’ll find out where he or she is going.”
Later that day, Sandy set out another present in the open. She and Joey hid behind a bush and watched carefully. A moment later, a ghostly figure came towards the present and picked it up.
“Well, I’ll be,” said Joey. “I guess there are such things as ghosts after all.”
The ghost flew away with the present. “It’s getting away,” said Sandy. “Let’s follow it, but quietly.”
Sandy took out a tracking device as she and Joey slowly and quietly followed the ghost. They were lead to an undisclosed area where they saw the ghost adding the present to a mountain of other presents. It was all the presents that have gone missing.
“So this is where all the presents have gone,” said Sandy.
“Indeed,” said Joey. “I even see mine within that stack.”
“We need to find out what this ghost wants with all these presents,” said Sandy.
“Yes, but I’m still puzzled why you asked me of all pups to help you,” said Joey.
“I have a pretty good reason that I think you’ll love,” said Sandy as she pulled out a trench coat and fedora. “Climb on my shoulders.”
Joey was a little surprised that Sandy came up with this idea, but he would never turn down an opportunity to be carried by a girl dog, so he climbed onto Sandy’s shoulders. “I didn’t think you were into this kind of stuff, Sandy,” said Joey as he put on the coat and hat.
“Not normally,” said Sandy, “but I figured it was the best way to get some answers from the ghost without being recognized.”
“Usually when Belchic comes up with this idea, the other pups always turn it down,” said Joey. “Especially Clayton. He’s probably the most infamous for telling Belchic that it won’t work.”
“Well, then I guess this is our chance to prove him wrong,” said Sandy with a grin. “You ready, Joey?”
“Yeah,” said Joey, then he added, “but no funny business, Sandy.”
Joey knew that Sandy could get a little perverted at times, but in this case, she knew she had to take this seriously. With their disguise all buttoned up, Sandy started walking carrying Joey over to the pile of toys. She stopped to allow Joey to look at them. A few seconds later, the ghost emerged. It floated up to Joey. Turns out this ghost was a female.
“Oh, hello,” said the ghost.
Joey blinked. “Amazing,” he said. “An actual real ghost.”
The ghost was a little confused now. She asked Joey, “You’re not scared of me? Usually, whenever I first greet people, they always immediately scream in terror.”
“Well, I am not like those people,” said Joey. “I am actually very fascinated seeing a ghost with my own eyes. I didn’t know ghosts were real. Even if they were, I’m sure they can’t do anything to hurt me.”
“Well, your assumption is right,” said the ghost. “My name is Cascara. Pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m…uh, Joey,” Joey responded. “I am hear to ask you about all these presents you found here.”
“Oh, these?” replied Cascara. “I’m actually a giving ghost. I come around at Christmas time to collect presents I find lying around so that I can give them to living souls who are less fortunate.”
“Is that so?” Joey responded. “Well, that’s is a very wonderful and thoughtful thing for you to do, give toys to charity. However, those presents are not yours. Stealing things without asking is not a good thing to do.”
“Oh, it isn’t?” asked Cascara.
“Not at all,” said Joey. “You should always ask before you take things from others. These presents were for all my brothers and sisters from each other. They worked really hard to get these for them for Christmas.”
“Hurry up, Joey,” Sandy whispered.
“I’m so sorry,” said Cascara. “I guess I should give them back, but what about the charities I’m trying to help?”
Joey thought for a bit, and then came up with a solution. “Say, I know,” he said. “My brothers and sisters may have a lot of old toys that they don’t want anymore. Those can definitely go to good cause. Maybe you can donate those instead.”
Cascara responded, “I think that’s might be a good idea. They may not be the highest quality condition, but they’re better than nothing.”
“If you promise to return all the presents on Christmas, I will go around and ask all the pups if they have any toys they’d be willing to let go of,” said Joey. “There’s 101 of us total, plus some outsiders, so you’re sure to get a lot!”
“Great!” said Cascara. “I look forward to seeing what you bring me! Thank you very much!”
With all that taken care of, Sandy walked away from Cascara. Once they were far enough away, she and Joey took their disguise off.
“That was a great compromise you came up with, Joey,” said Sandy.
“I’m glad I convinced her,” said Joey. “You’re not such a bad pup to work with after all.”
“We do make a pretty good team,” said Sandy. “Now, let’s go talk to all the pups and see if they have any old toys to donate!” Then off they went.
Joey and Sandy split off around the farm to see if any pups had old toys they didn’t need anymore. With so many pups living on that farm, there were a lot of opportunities to find some. Joey and Sandy managed to collect a plethora of toys for donation, and they brought them to Cascara.
“This is wonderful,” said Cascara in surprise. “How did you two find so many in such a small amount of time?”
“Well, it helps when you live on a farm with lots and lots of dogs,” said Sandy.
“That’s right,” said Joey.
“Thank you so much,” said Cascara. “This will make the children so happy. How can I ever repay you?”
“Well, for one thing, you can give back all the presents you stole,” said Sandy.
“I promise I will,” said Cascara. “On Christmas morning, you should expect to see all your presents under your Christmas tree. As for these old toys, I’m going to give them all away to needy families, and I will collect old toys from other places as well.”
“But make sure you ask first,” said Joey.
“I will, just so long as they don’t scream in terror and run away from me,” said Cascara.
“I’m sure you’ll find a way around that,” said Sandy with a wink.
“Thank you again,” said Cascara, “and Merry Christmas.”
Feeling accomplished, Sandy and Joey went back to their normal lives with their friends and siblings.
On Christmas morning, the pups woke up in surprise to see all their presents back and under the tree. Cascara kept her promise. It was a true Christmas miracle on Dearly Farm that year.
“Well, it looks like our mission is accomplished,” Sandy said to Joey.
“Yeah, and I got lots of compliments on my poems too,” said Joey. “How can this day get any better?”
Suddenly, Sandy’s stomach growled. Sandy laughed nervously and said, “I guess my stomach is wanting some gingerbread cookies.”
Joey looked at Sandy’s stomach as it growled again. He smiled and wagged his tail.
Sandy blinked, “Oh? You like hearing my stomach growling, don’t you?”
Joey blushed a little, “Uhh, well…sorry if I’m making you feel uncomfortable or anything.”
“Aww, come here, little buddy!” Sandy said as she wrapped her paw around Joey. Joey laid his head up against Sandy’s stomach as Sandy gently stroked his back. Joey was very happy to have gained a new close friend this Christmas.
“Merry Christmas, Sandy,” said Joey with a smile.
Sandy responded, “Right back at ya, Joey!”
The End
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I hope I followed the formula you wanted correctly, Stirfry, and I hope you like how it turned out. I did my best.