The Last House

An Australian Christmas tale

F

ather Christmas leaned back against his sleigh and wiped his brow. All night long he’d been heading across Australia and now the sleigh was on the ground in front of an isolated farm house. The reindeer sensed that this years deliveries were almost done and soon they could be back home near the North Pole.

In the silence all were paused as if waiting for something. The Milky Way draped across the Southern Sky to the horizon like a jewelled shawl, gleaming silvery white, so different from the Northern lights. Then they felt it! A very faint damp breeze coming it seemed from the Milky Way itself. Hardly a leaf stirred and certainly there was no sign that anyone was awake in this last house.

Here lived a hardworking farmer and his wife with their three young children. It had been a good year and all were so looking forward to Christmas Day. When the children had given all the animals their Christmas the family would have visitors from the neighbouring farms and most important Nana and Grandpa would be there too. Right now though little Philip was dreaming of being as grown up as his older brother Peter and as wise as their sister Alison.

Father Christmas tiptoed into the passage to the living room where the Christmas tree was trimmed with bright shiny balls, tinsel, little angels, pretty lights that flashed on and off and a bright star to top it all off. Underneath were presents for Mummy and Daddy  that they had saved up for, It was very special what they gave each other.

Checking to see that all the children were asleep Father Christmas carried his, not so heavy anymore, sack over to the tree and opening it up started taking out the toys that the children had written on their lists. He looked to  see if they had been good all year. Well they had tried very hard. It is after all very hard to be good all the time. One by one he took out the presents and carefully placed them under the tree. It was a little bit sad to get to the last house after all this was the only time that he saw the Southern Cross and the Milky Way and all the things that were so different to a life where there was ice and snow.

As he took out the last present he looked around the room. It was a pleasant room, clean enough to be healthy and untidy enough to be happy. Special awards lined the mantlepiece along with, family pictures and one  of the night sky just as it was tonight. Someone in the family certainly was a very good artist.

At one end of the mantlepiece was a plate with some home made biscuits and home made lemonade. No wonder Father Christmas thought, I’m lucky to have this! After all it is hard work delivering presents all over the world!

Right alongside the biscuits and lemonade was a small box wrapped up in shiny paper. On the card was written “to dear father Christmas, thank-you for bringing our presents”. This is for you from Philip, Peter and Alison.

As he carefully unwrapped the box he thought back over all the years and houses he had been to.  Inside were three gumnuts that someone had taken the time to paint very carefully and these were  tied with a leather bow to two leather gum leaves that  smelled just like the gum tree.

 

Someone had very, very carefully cut them out and painted the gum nuts and made this wonderful present that looked so much like a real gumnut flower. Father Christmas was surprised!.

Could Phillip have made these, perhaps, but even though he would have wanted to he was very little, After all, at four, he was doing so many things with his daddy on the farm.

Peter was good at making things and he loved to make presents for others from pieces interesting, unusual pieces of wood he found laying around the farm. Yes it might have been Peter but it was not this sort of thing. Peter made animals like lizards and kangaroos from his pieces of wood, once he even made one like a bird. But somehow it didn't seem like Peter.

Looking very closely at  the gumnuts and silver Father Christmas could see what  fine painting had made the gumnuts gleam with silver, just like the stars in the picture. Surely the picture would have the name on it of who has painted it. Taking out his glasses, which fitted near the end of his nose he peered very closely at the  painting. Yes there it was in the corner.

Surely it was a miracle that this picture was painted by a very brave girl called Alison. Father Christmas thought back to the first time he had come to the last farmhouse and remembered the very first  time he had come here. There was a picture with a letter from the farmer and his wife. From the letter he could tell how hard they worked and how much they wanted a child and just how special Alison was.

How she smiled and laughed, how everyone thought that she was someone very special, how kind her eyes were.

Yes this wonderful present must have come from Alison.

Father Christmas opened the envelope and started to read the letter. The writing was like someone who was clever with their hands and the words certainly were like someone who knew a lot about caring and love for other people.

It started, Dear Father Christmas, we know that you work very hard all year making toys and tonight bringing them to the girls and boys all over the world. This is to say thank-you for bringing us all the nice things you bring. We are very happy to be living here and very lucky to have such a good Mummy  and Daddy. We are lucky that we can all work and play together and help each other do special things.

For a minute he stopped, these children certainly knew some very special things about other people and how important they were. Making them happy could make us happy too. There must be something even more special here than an ordinary family. There must be a very special person.

Reading on the letter said, this present is from all of us. Alison had the idea, Peter went into the bush to the special gum tree to find the right gum nuts. I cut out the leaves and Alison painted the gum nuts and Mummy tied the bows. We are all very proud of the painting that Alison does. You can see her picture of our hill with the Southern Cross and the Milky Way.

Yes thought Father Christmas this family does have a very special person. A father  who worked hard to be a good farmer, and loved his family and helped in the house too.  A mother who worked with her husband making the farm work and taught them all the  things about being good people and showed them how much they could learn from their father. A little boy who worked with Mummy and Daddy, a bigger brother who even though he teased sometimes, really loved his little brother and very special sister who with her heart helped them to understand and  thought of special things they could do together.

The last part of the letter was from a grown up, it said “we are a very lucky family, we have our health and a nice place to live. We also have Alison who is very good at many things including painting.

The gum nuts and picture you see here she painted holding the brush in her mouth. You see she can’t use her arms.

Father Christmas looked again at the wonderful paintings that lined the mantlepiece. Yes there was the same very fine painting. He knew that some very special people do wonderful things, not just painting but showing love for others and helping them to be better people.

Quietly he closed the door, murmuring to the patient reindeer. Inside his vest pocket the gumnut flower felt like it was trying to say something. It would have a special place in his workshop to remind everyone of courage and love and how important families are. It would be a reminder too of a farmhouse under the Milky Way. 

© Copyright
Kim Stedman
1997

Wishing you a warm, sincere

and meaningful Christmas.