Since everyone seems to be writing a Christmas story, I thought I'd take a try. As always, please R&R…Enjoy and Merry Christmas! -Jordyn
Welcome t' Hazzard County. This here is the Duke Farm… and that good-lookin', dark-haired fella sittin' in front of the fire is Luke Duke. That there in the kitchen, feedin' a baby lamb is Jesse Duke, the clan patriach. The purty little thing in the Santa hat and short shorts puttin' cookies on a plate is Daisy, and that tall blond fella that just swiped a cookie is Bo. 'Twas the night before Christmas…
"Bo Duke, you leave my cookies alone or there won't be enough t' take to the orphanage tomorrow!" yelled Daisy, giving Bo a playful slap as he went laughing by.
Every Christmas, the Dukes go to the county orphanage and spend the day with the kids. Having been orphans, too, Bo, Luke and Daisy had a special bond with the kids and it was something they all looked forward to every year.
"Aw, c'mon…" drawled Bo. "I ain't hurtin' nothin',"
Luke shook his head, smilin' as his cousin walked into the living room and proudly displayed two more cookies he had hidden in his sleeve.
"You're somethin' else, Bo."
"Am I? Gee, thanks, Lukas!"
Luke laughed. "Who said that was a compliment?"
Daisy and Jesse walked out of the kitchen, Daisy leaning affectionately on Jesse's arm. The lamb followed Jesse, bleating, and when he sat down in his favorite chair, the baby lamb curled up contentedly at his feet.
"Looks like you made a friend for life," observed Daisy.
Jesse looked down and, smiling patted the woolly head. "Yeah, I guess I did at that."
"The tree sure looks pretty, don't it?" asked Daisy staring at the large decorated evergreen by the window.
"Yeah, 'cept for this thing here," said Luke playfully swinging a small ornament.
"Hey, now, I made that in kindergarten…" began Bo.
Luke laughed. "Yeah, but what is it?"
"That just happens to be the baby Jesus."
"Looks more like a rock to me," teased Luke. Bo gave Luke a playful punch as Daisy and Jesse laughed out loud.
"You know what day today is?" asked Jesse.
"Why, sure… it's Christmas Eve," answered Daisy.
"It's much more than that… ain't it Luke?"
"Yes, sir. It's been twenty years ago today that I came to live with y'all."
"It has? Ya know, I don't 'member your folks dyin' so near Christmas…" began Daisy.
Luke sighed audibly and turned the ring on his pinky. Sometimes, it was still hard to think about his folks… and Christmas was one of those times.
"You was only four, Daisy, and Bo was just a little baby, still livin' with his folks."
Daisy nodded. She vaguely remembered the day Luke came to stay with them. It was the day of the funeral. Daisy had stayed home with her aunt Lavinia, while Jesse attended the funeral and brought her cousin home with him. Daisy had run out to meet Jesse, as she always did…
"Unca Jesse!" shouted Daisy as she raced towards her uncle, her long brown hair flying in the wind. She stopped short when she saw the small boy climb out of the passenger seat of the truck. His eyes were red, as if he had been crying, and he carried with him a small suitcase and a toy car. A ring hung on a string around his neck.
"Daisy, ya 'member your cousin, Luke, don't ya?"
Daisy looked questioningly at Jesse. Was this the same cousin who had spent last summer with them at the farm? The same cousin who had swung on a rope fearlessly from the rafters of the barn, wearing a wide grin and his sparkling blue eyes smiling down at her while she watched in awe? It couldn't be…
"Luke, ya 'member Daisy?"
"Yes, sir," answered the boy quietly.
"Well, now Daisy, why don't ya take Luke in t' Aunt Lavinia and show'm his room?"
"Yes, sir. C'mon, Luke." Taking the boy, by the hand, Daisy led him into the farmhouse.
"You sure were quiet," remembered Daisy. "I just couldn't believe that you were the same cousin I knew."
Luke nodded, smiling. "I know. Ya woke me up sometimes, coming into my room and staring at me."
Daisy giggled.
Luke picked up his steaming cup of cocoa. "That was so… hard. I 'member just prayin' ev'ry night for God t' take me t' my momma an' daddy. He never did, though."
"You had us all mighty worried, Luke... you wouldn't say much. Just sat in your room by yerself," said Jesse looking into the face of his eldest nephew with mingled sorrow and pride: sorrow for what the boy Luke had been through, pride for the man he'd become. "That was a sad Christmas," said Jesse quietly. "We wouldn't have even celebrated had it not been for these two," he continued, pointing at Daisy and Luke.
"I'll never forget that Christmas," began Luke.
"Well, why don't ya tell us about it?" asked Bo, stretching out on the floor by his cousin's feet.
"Well, let me think here," began Luke, taking a sip of cocoa. "Well, I was only six or so when my parents died and I had a very small wish list. Momma and Daddy had told me that thing's were tough that year and that maybe I should figure out what I wanted more than anything….
"I want another little brother and a puppy… that's all," said six-year old Luke as he dried the dinner dishes.
"That's all, huh?" asked his mother, ruffling the boy's dark, curly hair.
"That's all, Momma."
She smiled down at him. "Well, son, those're mighty big wishes…"
"Santy Clause can do anythin'!"
"Well, now, I don't know 'bout another brother… that's kinda short notice. But maybe a pup he could manage…" she said, trying not to let Luke see her tears at the memory of the son she had lost in the hospital fire the year before.
"I know he could!" cried Luke happily. "I'm gonna go make'm a bed right now!"
"Now, Luke, I never said…" But Luke was already running to his room.
"Ya sure was a cute little tyke," recalled Jesse. "I remember your daddy callin' me, askin' if I knew of anyone with free pups 'round here."
"I don't know, John… I ain't heard o' no pups."
"I hate t' disappoint'm, Jesse. The boy only asked for the two thin's… and the one ain't happenin'."
"Now John, the boy'll understan'."
"Hope so, Jesse. Well, let me know if anythin' comes up, y'hear?"
Tears formed in Jesse's eyes as he thought of his little brother, taken away so early in life. "He sure loved ya, Luke. They both did."
Luke nodded, a tear escaping from his eye. He brushed it away quickly.
"So did ya get your puppy?" asked Bo, pretending not to notice his cousin's tears.
Luke cleared his throat. "Well, when my folks passed on, I kinda forgot all about it bein' Christmas. An' I sure forgot about my puppy. I just wanted my folks to come back… an' I knew that wasn't 'bout t' happen.
"Now, Luke, ya gotta eat, honey," said Lavinia as she watched the boy sitting with hands folded under the table that night. Luke stared down at the floor.
Jesse looked worriedly at his nephew. Tomorrow was Christmas. For Daisy and Luke they had put up the tree and hung stockings just like normal. 'Course little Luke didn't seem to care, one way or t'other.
"Luke, ya not hungry, son?" asked Jesse kindly.
Luke bristled at the word 'son,' "No, sir."
"Well, then, why not go t' bed? It'll be Christmas when ya wake up."
"I'll never forget what you said to me," said Jesse quietly, staring into the fire.
"What did I say?" asked Luke.
"Ya got up, looked me straight in the eye, an' said, 'I don't want Christmas, Uncle Jesse. I just want my family.' It broke my heart."
"Well, what happened then?" asked Bo.
Luke couldn't help smiling. "I woke up the next morning. Heard Daisy out there, tearin' the paper off her gifts and squealin' like a banshee."
Daisy laughed, blushing.
"I walked out there and just sorta stood there watchin' her for a bit. Then Uncle Jesse saw me. He called me over t'him. Aunt Lavinia came out o' the kitchen and set a box in front of me."
"Merry Christmas, Luke!"
Luke looked up at his uncle with sad eyes. "No thanks, Unca Jesse."
"Now, Luke, ya wouldn't wanna disappoint your folks would ya? They'd gone t' a lot o' trouble to find this for ya… picked it out themselves…"
"They did?" asked Luke, with tears falling from his eyes.
"Sure did."
Luke wiped his eyes and slowly lifted the cover off of the box.
There, nestled in a soft bed of old towels lay a small black and tan puppy. Seeing Luke, it woke from its nap and stood on its hind legs to reach him.
Luke carefully lifted the pup out of the box and held the bundle of wiggling soft fur close to him. "He's mine?"
Jesse grinned. "He's all yours. He was the runt o' the litter, but your folks just fell in love with 'm."
"What's his name?" asked Luke tenderly stroking the pup's small paws.
"Well, he's your dog. I reckon that gives you the right t' name'm."
Luke thought a moment. Then his face brightened.
"I'm gonna call him Tiny… 'cause he is."
Jesse laughed and stroked the puppy's soft fur. "That he is, Lucas. That he is."
"Tiny? That was Tiny?" asked Bo. "I always wondered how that dog got that name when he was anythin' but…"
"Well, he grew," answered Luke with a smile.
"Sure never had t' worry about anythin' with Tiny around…least not J.D.," recalled Jesse.
Luke chuckled softly. "Ya know, pigs don't fly, but that Hogg sure flew up a tree when Tiny caught him tryin' t' steal your moonshine recipe."
Jesse laughed. "An' he didn't come back, least not 'til Tiny was gone."
Luke smiled and looked down at his ring once more. It had been his dad's wedding band, given to Luke on the day he passed on. "I'll never forget that dog."
"An' last year ya got your brother, too," put in Daisy, resting her hand on Luke's shoulder, "even though he didn't stay long."
Luke shook his head. "I had my little brother long before Jud came around," said Luke tousling Bo's blond curls. "Y'all are all the family I could ever want."
Luke wasn't the type to get emotional, and his words took everyone by surprise. The little lamb woke briefly at let out a short baa before cuddling up to Jesse again. Bo laughed and began to sing:
Said the night wind to the little lamb
Do you see what I see?
'Way up in the sky, little lamb
Do you see what I see?
A star, a star
dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite
The rest of the family soon joined in.
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king Luke couldn't help letting out a sigh of happiness. He might have been an orphan, but he would never be without a family. Bo must have been reading his thoughts, because he grinned at him, with a nod and the two kept on singing. Said the king to the people ev'rywhere There now, don't y'all just love happy endin's? But then what d'ya expect? It is Christmas… and it is Hazzard County. The End.
Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing thru the sky, shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song
High above the tree
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea
Do you know what I know?
In your palace warm, mighty king
Do you know what I know?
A Child, a Child
Shivers in the cold
Let us bring Him silver and gold
Let us bring Him silver and gold
Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people ev'rywhere
Listen to what I say!
The Child, the Child
Sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light