The nuns were feeling rather down when they got to know that they were not going to receive any presents this Christmas. I thought Head Nun was rather harsh on them but then one never knows what's going on in her mind.
As it turned out, we had a big surprise on Christmas Eve, a really unforgettable one. We had just finished dinner and had gathered round the Christmas tree in the sitting room. Some of the nuns watched TV while the others just sat and chatted.
Then we heard singing outside the door and to our astonishment, two Christmas trees walked in! One of them was singing "Noel" while the other hummed along. When we took a closer look, we saw that it was Bruce Lee and T.L. inside the Christmas trees! We had even a bigger surprise when we saw a flock of hens all dressed up in Santa hats following behind them! Together they stood in front of us singing (and clucking) some Christmas songs and carols.
It was unbelievable! A turkey, cockerels and hens singing their hearts out! It was a splendid if not amazing performance interspersed with a few cock-a-doodle-do's, and even though a few hens clucked out of tune occasionally, they managed to touch the hearts of the nuns, some of whom shed tears. When the performers had finished, they bowed, turned and began making their way out.
It was then that Head Nun spoke up. "Wait! Don't go yet. All of you come over here by the Christmas tree."
"Yes," cried APK. "Let's have a group photo of you all." Since none of the nuns had phones, Ah Ying who had joined us for the evening, kindly obliged and took the photo.
Head Nun then continued, "Thank you, my dears, for such a lovely Christmas surprise. You must have all worked hard to give this performance and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for bringing us cheer on this festive day. Bruce Lee, now we know why you were hiding from us, you wanted this to be a special surprise, and T.L., I never knew you could sing so well! Thank you again and may the Buddha bless all of you. I am sorry we have nothing to give you as presents but I promise you a special menu for your meals for the next few days!"
All the hens started cheering and in that merry mood, they danced and hopped about before Bruce Lee stopped them and shooed them out. And of course he had to have the last word. "Our pleasure, Boss! We are indeed honoured to have performed for you. Now we bid you all goodnight and sweet dreams. May your Christmas be merry and bright and oh, don't forget the special Christmas menu you promised us!". With that he no tottered out, Christmas tree and all.
When they had left, the nuns started talking excitedly. "Wow, I never knew turkeys could sing". "Bless Bruce Lee for giving us such a lovely surprise". "Where did they get those hats?". "Didn't they all look so cute?". It looked like they had all enjoyed the evening and forgotten their disappointment.
Then came another big surprise. Head Nun suddenly whipped out a basket and it was full of presents! The nuns were taken aback and gaped as she distributed them.
"I'm not such an ogre as you all think," she said. "But I believe in being practical. I am not giving you tinsel and trash but new prayer beads in the hope you will be more diligent in your prayers."
The nuns looked at each other, then burst out laughing. Someone started singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" and one by one, they went up and hugged Head Nun. It was a most happy and touching scene and I was right after all, Head Nun did have something up her sleeve!
Later I heard from Ah Ying that she (Head Nun) had used her own money to buy the prayer beads for the nuns. Head Nun hadn't forgotten me either and I also received a new string of prayer beads!
The next morning I went by the coop, curious to know who had taught the whole gang to sing. Bruce Lee was sitting outside looking very pleased with himself. When I asked him about their performance the previous night, he puffed out his chest, then said, "Firstly, you should know that it was all my idea! I wanted to do something for the nuns. They're after all a decent lot, always minding their own business and never interfering with what's going on in the coop."
"But who taught you all to sing?" I asked. "I've never heard you utter a single note except for your daily wake-up call. Was it T.L.?"
Bruce Lee nodded. "Ya, it was that runaway turkey. He grew up with the children of the turkey farm where he lived and they spent many Christmases together singing carols etc. That's how he became so familiar with Christmas songs. Then one day, the children overheard that T.L. had been sold to someone for Thanksgiving. They immediately freed him from his cage and told him to run for his life! That's how he came to be here with us. Dang! I didn't know that turkey could sing so well. Now it's gone to his head and he wants to go on YouTube!"
I laughed, popped inside the coop to say thanks to T.L. who was teaching some chicks how to sing, then made my way to the Palace. I wanted to see HD and PH to wish them Merry Christmas. I went to their niche and called out to them, but there was no reply. Then I peeped inside and saw that there was a note there which read "Gone away for Christmas".
I couldn't help laughing. Well, I guess even ghosts need a holiday!
So all ended well and our Christmas this year will go down in the temple's records as one of the best in years, thanks to the special bond between humans and animals, not forgetting ghosts!
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