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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'>A An Unexpected Gift<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Lisa Swan snuggled into the beautiful capote her mother had made for her Christmas gift. She looked out of the bedroom window onto a white world of snow laden cedar trees and brilliant sun dazzled snow drifts. She watched as Dan Trabu stepped out of his back door and waded out in to the deep pristine snow of his yard. He held something small cupped in his hands. He bent and placed it in a drift against the fence between his garden and the side yard of her home. Lisa drew in a gasp of surprise. She spun around to race down the hall and out the kitchen door and around to the side of the house. She reached through the fence to lift a small black and white ball of downy fur from where it shivered in the snowbank. A tiny spotted Beegle pup trembled in her hands and gave out a faint whine. She tucked him inside her new coat against her heart. The puppy snuggled into the warmth of her body and slowly his shivers diminished.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Elijah Wind crossed the road from his house to that of his eldest daughter. He spotted his granddaughter Lisa crouched in the snow beside the house.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'>"What are you doing out in the cold Blossom?" he called.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'> "Grandpa, Officer Trabu just threw away a puppy out into the snow! Do you think mama will let me keep it?"<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'> "Let's go inside and see what you have there, little one," Elijah replied.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:.5in'>Lisa and her grandfather turned to retrace the path Lisa had made to enter the warmth of the kitchen where Mary Swan stood pouring a cup of coffee. Her two younger children, Mike and Ryan scampered into the room through the inner door. Lisa's words tumbled out in an excited flood as she filled in the story of finding the puppy. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Can I keep him?" she begged, holding the tiny ball of fur out toward her mother.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Oh honey, he is too little to live without his mother," Mary said as she examined the puppy cupped in her daughter’s hands. "His eyes aren't even open. Dan's dog Belle must have had her litter last night."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Why would he throw away a puppy?" asked Mike.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> ""I'm not sure, but Belle is a champion and this puppy looks a bit funny with his odd markings. Sometimes people don't want puppies that aren't perfect or that are too small. They call them runts and don't keep them," sighed Mary.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Dan Trabu is a hard man," commented Elijah. "I guess working as a tribal police officer for twenty years can do that to a fella. They see too much of the bad side of folks and their hearts have to grow a hard shell like a turtle to keep from feeling too much."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "But mama, I have an old baby doll bottle and if I feed him milk from it until he gets bigger, he could grow big enough to keep. Please mama, please, please. I promise I will take good care of him!"<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Ryan and I can help her mom! You won't even know he is here," offered Mike.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "That would work fine for a while, but what would you do when school starts up again after the Christmas break?" asked Mary.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "I could take care of the pup while the children are in school," offered Elijah. "He might not make it even so, but looking after him will teach the children the meaning of responsibility."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Oh papa, it will be so hard on them if he dies in spite of all they can do."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Not as hard girl, as putting that poor little scrap back out in the snow."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "I guess you're right," sighed Mary. "I'll heat some milk. Go find that doll bottle and let's see what we can do. Papa, you'd better go let Dan know so he won't get mad if this puppy survives."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'>"Will do, I'll ask him and his wife to come across for some breakfast fry bread too. You and the young’uns come across soon as you tend to the puppy. Your ma has got everything about ready to set down for a big Christmas breakfast," said Elijah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>