Tea Leaf Tales: Vixen’s Hunt for Christmas Tree Demons

     Vixen held back and didn’t even nip at Jean and Eric when they positioned a pine tree near the living room’s heat duct, her mid-morning resting spot. Although she pretended to be upset, the tree actually provided her hours of exciting challenge and real purpose since it was loaded with shiny, twirling birds, squirrels, and other curious varmints that must be conquered. Come night, under cover of the darkness, in stealth predator mode, she sprang at a grinning pink demon and, with one masterful swat, knocked it to the floor and squeezed out its last traces of evil.

     The next morning, Eric yelled, “Cat, you do that again and your name will be worse than a nasty-tempered little vixen.” He shooed her away with his slippered foot, and muttered guttural sounds as he pushed the tree from where it rested against the couch. Why wasn’t she rewarded with hours of tummy rubs and Fancy Feast for dinner? Despite what Eric thought, she’d never caused any harm during her heroic missions.

     That afternoon, while Vixen sulked in a sunny patch near the front door, a card zipped through the slot. On it a hefty man in a red suit waved, and printed beneath his proud team of antlered deer she read, “Join Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph for Santa’s Christmas parade.” At last, some real appreciation, she thought and stood vigilent for the friendly white-bearded man to arrive.

Tea Leaf Tales is a series of original ten-sentence short stories by Marsha A. Moore, relating to photos/scenes that resonate with her. 

Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. 

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Read Marsha's COON HOLLOW TALES of paranormal romance and her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.