Hey Madelyn,

The pup you knew as Nooker has turned town hero, melting your coin-clutching heart into a Yuletide fountain of giving! I’ve fetched more than sticks; I’ve fetched you a new spirit. Now the scrooge is loose, and Pawsburgh cheers! Our walkies are now charity marathons and the jingle of my new toy is the sound of your newfound generosity. High-paws to us!

Tail wags and wet noses,
Nooker 🐾🎄✨

Listen to the story here

Upon an ordinary dawn, one might’ve simply trotted one’s ordinary trot; but not I, Nooker by name, most resplendent of Pitbulls by reputation. You see, my tale tails that of a transformation most extraordinary in the quaint town of Pawsburgh, snuggled within dreams and the lonesome space between hearty barks.

Madelyn, my mistress, was a collector of coins first, affections second; a woman known for her frugal heart a trifle more than for her open arms. The latter, as scarce as treats in the hands of a miser, left much to be desired. Yet, in the innermost burrows of my canine heart, I espied the flicker of compassion, shrouded in cobwebbed kindness.

On one fateful eve, when human thoughts are lost to the land of Nod, and all of us dogs convene at Pawsburgh, I bounded with Ziggy the Beagle through Diamond Doberman Dunes. Aestival winds shimmied through our furs, merriment hung ripe for the plucking; but my thoughts wandered afar, to my Madelyn ensnared in her vaulted halls of greed.

“Ziggy,” I barked softly, my voice a trickling stream amidst the boisterous rapids of Terrier Town, “this Yuletide, I yearn to sow the seeds of charity within Madelyn’s frostbitten heart.”

Ziggy cocked his floppy ear, a manner most contemplative, and with a wily grin spoke, “Might we turn her ear with a canine Christmas Carol, dear friend?”

With conspiratorial whispers beneath the indigo scruff of Eskimo Estuary, plans were forged. Before the sun renew’d its daily toil, I, Nooker, would be the witness to a miser’s metamorphosis.

I awoke at cockcrow, the world hued in beguiling stillness, save for Madelyn’s telltale muttering, “Penny saved, pound earned,” like an incantation against prosperity’s gentle embrace. With tail in honourable wag, I followed her through doors and dealings clenched tight.

Pawsburgh’s spirit proved a pursuing poltergeist, haunting me through every miserly move Madelyn made. In spirit, resemblant of the philanthropic phantoms of olde Yuletide lore, I contrived to thwart her scroogery at every turn with fetching furrowed-browed pathos.

Through windows of jewelers and the doors of haberdashers, I espied my chance. With every chime, the shops of Pawsburgh emerged in my mind’s eye. Instead of The Fetching Feline Pet Emporium, I saw Dave’s Diamond Delicacies; for Pawsome Pet Pharmacy, there stood Jolly’s Jewels; The Doggie Daycare replaced by Carl’s Coal Emporium.

Never did dead men wear their riches; and thus, I nudged Madelyn towards the hearth, where penury met its match. Where once was avarice, little tales of Pawsburgh eked in, of Terrier Tacos and Barking Brunch.

Our jaunts became more than the sum of their steps. By each day’s twilight, Madelyn liberated coppers into charity tins, swiped dust from neglected toys, shared smiles not miserly meagre.

As the grand Yuletide day dawned and humans gathered, Madelyn’s transformation took its final form. In a room brightly lit by seasonal cheer, my mistress became benefactress, giver of joy, unshackled from her own Ebenezer-esque chains.

As her laughter mingled with human carols, I, Nooker, a loyal dog, witnessed a heart thrice-grown. And there, beneath the twinkling tinsel, I found my greatest treasure—a squeaky toy and an olive.

The olive I discarded with haste, but the toy, ah! That was a jubilant jingle amidst the chorus of newfound generosities, a slobber-soaked ball rolled by the hand now open.

With an arc like the reaching of one soul to another, it landed with a jovial thud, marking the spot where a miser melted, and a friend appeared. For from that Yuletide forth, Madelyn and I romped ‘cross the snowdrifts, bounteous in benevolence, as if transported to Diamond Doberman Dunes themselves.

As Pawsburgh’s invisible paw touched the earth, and so too would mine henceforth prove to touch human hearts.

The End.