Summary:  While on his journey out west with his Pa, five-year-old Adam asks Santa for a very special Christmas present.  A/N: Inspired by my favorite holiday song “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas”.

Rating: G   Word Count: 9,397

The blackberry sky was studded with stars, each one winking and twinkling like a jewel, and all the stars together glamourized the night with their ornate splendor – as well as held in their thrall the five-year-old boy who stood under the canopy tent erected just outside of his father’s wagon. The stars’ jeweled lights reflected in his bright hazel eyes.

Even at five, Adam knew the names of many stars and could point out most of the constellations – Cassiopeia, Andromeda, the Pleiades forever running through the heavens to escape their overly amorous suitor Orion – Adam could point them out to the amazement of his father.

Five-year-old Adam had plenty of time to learn about many things as he travelled with his father in their covered wagon, their horse-drawn home as they travelled to a place that called to his father. For a while now, Ben had this dream about a land in the west where they would make their home…in a land fertile with undiscovered riches and unravaged beauty. Ben knew it was on this western land that he would realize his dream and build his home.

Ben worried about his young son’s loneliness and lack of schooling, so whenever they stopped at a town for supplies he would buy little Adam books to keep him company on their travels.

At present, Adam’s favorite book was a book on “Stars, Constellations, and the stories behind them”, a book on “Wild Animals of the Natural World”, and a book of “Poetry and Nursery Rhymes for Children.” Adam poured over those books through the long hours he spent in the wagon, while his Pa drove their team of horses, Castor and Pollux. Adam had named them after the twins that made up the Gemini constellation. His Pa had bought the team in May and said Adam could have the honor of naming them. So, as he was on his celestial hype at that time, Adam named them after the Gemini twins.

“Adam, come to supper,” his Pa called to his starry-eyed son.

Adam didn’t want to leave his celestial friends but the mouth-watering aroma of the beans and bacon made his stomach growl in protest of not having eaten anything since mid-day, so he went to the campfire and took the plate of beans and bacon and bread from his father, sitting on a cushion under the canopy as they ate together.

“Pa, it’s only a month before Christmas… Do you suppose Santa Claus will find us?” Adam asked a little worriedly. Learning to read the stars and the constellations as he had, Adam could see the signs of the changing seasons. Not only in the colors of the landscape as Lady Autumn donned her gown and then Winter slowly undressed her with her chilly breath, but Adam could tell the rotating of the seasons by the constellations – the celestial clock hanging in the sky. And with all the travelling that he and his Pa did, he worried about Santa being able to locate them.

Ben gave a little chuckle and replied kindly “Ah, don’t you worry, son. Santa Claus can find us wherever we are. After all, he’s magic and so are his reindeer. Have you made out your list for Santa yet?”

Adam’s hazel eyes brightened and his little cherub face glowed with a smile as pure and sweet as only childhood’s innocence could invoke – and of course Santa’s upcoming arrival too.

“What should I ask for?” Adam excitedly asked.

“Ask for anything you wish for, son. With Santa, anything is possible,” Ben replied, not realizing that telling his five-year-old son to ask Santa for anything, maybe asking for trouble.

~~2~~

   A deep thinker even at the tender age of five, Adam gave a lot of serious thought to what he should ask Santa for. It was while he was engrossed in one of his other books “Wild Animals of the Natural World” that he knew what he would ask Santa for. What little Adam set his heart on for a Christmas gift from Santa Claus – was a hippopotamus!

He saw pictures of the chubby hippos bathing in the rivers in Africa and they looked so friendly, especially when their big open mouths gave a huge toothsome smile (Well, at least to Adam it looked like the hippos were smiling!). He could just imagine what the other kids on the wagons they passed by would think when they saw Adam sitting next to his new best friend, his hippopotamus straight from Santa Claus! Surely they would be jealous, those other kids without a hippo of their own. When they saw little Adam going for walks and playing fetch and bathing in the creek with his new hippo friend, surely the other kids would be green with envy. And Pa…well, Pa was always worrying about Adam spending so much time alone and not having any real friends besides his books…surely Pa would be delighted to see Adam with his hippopotamus friend!

His wish list to Santa now written, one night at dinner around the campfire Adam thought it was time to tell Pa.

“Pa, I wrote my letter to Santa,” Adam said in all seriousness.

“What did you ask for, Adam?” Pa asked as he looked at his son bundled up securely in fur pelts against the increasingly chilly December wind.

“A hippopotamus! I’ve seen pictures of hippos look so friendly and in my poetry book there are pictures of hippos even dancing! I just know Santa will bring me a hippopotamus for Christmas! He will be my best friend,” Adam said in all sincerity.

“A hippopotamus! Adam, you can’t ask Santa to bring you a hippopotamus for Christmas!” Ben cried, clearly shocked.

“But why not? You said that I could ask Santa for anything and that he would surely bring it since Santa is magic!” Adam cried, indignant.

“I know what I said, but Adam, a hippopotamus is so big…I don’t think Santa would be able to deliver a present that big, son,” Ben said gently, trying to reason with his little man.

“He can so! I just know Santa will bring me a hippopotamus for Christmas. You said nothing is impossible for Santa and Santa works by magic and by faith. And I believe in Santa’s magic and I have faith in Santa. I just know that Santa will bring me a hippopotamus for Christmas. He will be my best friend,” Adam said, showing his stubborn streak that would be with him all his life.

Ben looked heaven-ward, clearly at a loss for words when faced with his son’s steadfast faith and the strength of his belief.

Not knowing what else to say, Ben kissed his stubborn son on the forehead, lovingly smoothed down a wayward black silken lock of his hair, and bid him goodnight as he tucked him into bed in the wagon.

~~3~~

  In the days that followed, Adam never wavered in his belief that Santa Claus would bring him a hippopotamus for Christmas, and he even was able to convince his Pa to mail his letter to Santa in the next town they stopped in for supplies.

The few weeks leading up to Christmas were a whirlwind of preparation for little Adam as he was getting ready for the arrival of his new best friend.

Adam had already decided that the hippopotamus would sleep in the wagon beside him and he laid out a place beside his own bedroll with furs and a wool blanket. He even had an extra tin plate and a tin drinking cup set aside for his hippo friend.

Ben just looked at this flurry of preparation in utter dismay. He felt that Adam was just setting himself up for profound disappointment if Santa didn’t bring him his much-anticipated hippopotamus for Christmas… On the other hand, what if the impossible happened and Santa actually did bring Adam his friendly hippo? How would they ever fit a hippopotamus inside their covered wagon? And if they could fit him inside, would Castor and Pollux, their team of horses, be able to pull their wagon with a hippopotamus inside? Ben didn’t think so, but he just didn’t have the heart to squash his young son’s faith in the magic of Santa Claus and his belief that the impossible could actually become reality. After all, Christmas was the season for miracles…and boy, did he really need one now. Ben hoped that whatever outcome came to be, that he would be able to handle it. He just couldn’t stand to see the bright light be snuffed out in Adam’s sparkling hazel eyes.

Then it was Christmas Eve and all was quiet except for the gentle rustling of the tall pine trees surrounding the clearing like noble sentinels. It was here that Ben had parked their wagon and unhitched Castor and Pollux, the pair of chestnut horses now enjoying their evening meal of oats, while the chilly fingers of the wind gently ruffled through the pine’s evergreen needles, fragrant with sap and wishes that are waiting to be brought into the shy dawn of reality.

But right now, twilight had a firm hold on the land as she left her messy fingerprints over the sky like some child’s painting…her fingers streaked across the celestial expanse leaving behind streaks of amber’s drunken light. Soon the amber fire was doused with the brushstrokes of blueberry speckled with crimson. Each color blending into the other, as smooth and succulent as the creaming together of apple butter.

Their Christmas Eve meal consisted of their usual staple fare of beans and bacon, but with the addition of a rare treat of brown sugar to sprinkle on their brown bread. Ben had managed to buy some brown sugar at the last town they had passed through and had been saving it as a special treat for after dinner on Christmas Eve. He knew how Adam loved brown sugar on brown bread.

“Now son, it’s time for bed,” Ben said as he turned to the wagon to prepare their bedrolls and blankets.

“In a minute, Pa,” Adam said as he placed an old burgundy cloth with a golden fringe on the upside-down wooden crate that they used for a dinner table. Adam smoothed out the wrinkles from the old cloth and placed his freshly washed tin plate in the center of the small table. Then with his little hands he dug into the front pockets of his breeches and pulled out several broken pieces of what looked like sugar cookies. Adam carefully arranged the broken pieces on the plate.

“Where did you get those?” Ben asked, surprised.

“In town this morning. When you stopped in the general store for the brown sugar, Mrs. Johnson, the storekeeper’s wife, gave me some sugar cookies. I’ve been saving them to leave for Santa Claus tonight,” Adam explained.

“You’ve been carrying those sugar cookies around in your pocket all day?” Ben asked in amazement. He couldn’t help but shake his head in amused wonder at the things little boys will carry around in their pockets. Though carrying around a pocketful of broken sugar cookies was a vast improvement over some things parents discovered in their children’s pockets. Ben remembered little Jimmy Whitaker and the baby corn snake that his mother had inadvertently discovered one day while she was emptying the pockets of his breeches before washing them. Ben could still hear her scream of horror echo through the pages of his memory and was relieved that Adam never carried baby snakes and toads in his pockets. Sugar cookies were much better.

They’re for Santa, to thank him for bringing my hippopotamus friend,” Adam said earnestly. Then satisfied with how the simple table looked with his plate of broken sugar cookies on it, Adam went to bed in the wagon.

Ben was still worried about what Christmas morning held in store for him and his impressionable young son.

But little Adam was not worried. He fell to sleep without a care, secure in his faith that Santa Claus would come and in the morning he would find his friendly hippopotamus waiting for him, his living gift straight from Santa Claus and the magic of the North Pole!

That night, Adam’s dreams were filled with sugar cookies, the sing-along chorus of twinkling stars, and the cheerful jangle of sleigh bells.

~~4~~

 Dawn’s rosy eye peeked over the horizon, shyly at first, then bolder as her golden orb made her ascent soft and slow, her honeyed rays scattering the caramel shadows as her warmth wafted over the land. One stray beam found its way through a tiny slit in the Cartwrights’ covered wagon, smiling over the small boy’s slumbering repose, its light gently nudging him awake.

Adam sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then blinked at the light.

“It’s Christmas! Pa, it’s Christmas,” Adam said excitedly as he threw back the blanket and ran out of the wagon – in his long underwear, not even bothering to get dressed first, such was the abundance of his excitement.

Once outside, Adam moved with care as he took in the beauty of this very special Christmas morning…the frost-embroidered grass, the warm puffs of mist that left his mouth with every excited exhale, the birds singing with dawn’s gentle unfurl…but behind the birdsong, Adam heard another sound, a crunching sound he wasn’t sure what it could be, until he rounded the corner and came to the side of the wagon where the wooden crate that served as their table stood. The very same table that little Adam had covered with that old gold-fringed red cloth and then placed his tin plate of broken sugar cookies in the center of it. There, sitting at their makeshift table and polishing off the last of the broken sugar cookies on the plate…was a hippopotamus! And not just any hippopotamus, but Adam’s Christmas hippopotamus delivered to him straight from Santa Claus and the magic that fuels every child’s dream!

Adam gave an excited gasp as he took in the scene of the chubby hippopotamus sitting there, looking back at the small boy after he just finished eating the plateful of sugar cookies. His hairless skin was an earthy brown, with an underlayer of pale pink blushing through the brown. His giant mouth was covered in cookie crumbs, and his eyes – Adam wasn’t sure what color they were. They looked brown but if the light struck them in a certain way they looked blue…or green…so much like Adam’s own mercurial hazel eyes. But whichever the true color of the hippo’s eyes were, there was no mistaking the gentle friendliness in them.

A sudden cascade of lonely emotion built up in Adam and choked the breath from his throat. Tears shone bright in his eyes as Adam ran over and threw his arms around the hippo’s neck.

Finally stirred awake by the sounds of this very special Christmas morning, it was at this moment that Ben stepped from the wagon.

“What’s going on out here…?” Ben started to say, but stopped as he saw Adam hugging a giant hippopotamus. A hippopotamus!? What is a hippopotamus doing in front of our wagon and why is Adam hugging him like he’s his long-lost friend…oh no! Santa really did bring my son a hippopotamus for Christmas! Thanks a lot Santa…

“Look Pa, Santa brought me a hippopotamus. Now I have a friend who will never leave me,” Adam cried. The tears that were once just sparkling in his eyes were now spilling freely down the five-year-old boy’s flushed cheeks.

Ben was also moved by the emotion behind his son’s outcry. He knew that constantly moving from town to town as they made their way out West was not easy on Adam. No sooner would he make a friend, then they would have to leave and continue on their western journey on their wagon. Ben knew that being constantly on the move was no life for a child – no chance to have friends – no friends but the books Ben bought for Adam in the towns they passed through, but for now this is how it had to be. Ben knew that his destiny awaited him on a land out west and it would be there he could put down roots and give Adam a proper home.

Ben was certain that Santa knew all this too, and so he brought Adam a friend that he wouldn’t have to leave behind. But a hippopotamus? Ben wasn’t sure how this would work out…he would just have to trust Santa’s judgement.

~~5~~

  In the weeks that followed, Adam and the hippo were inseparable. They did everything together – starting with sharing their meals where Adam always gave his best friend a portion of beans and bacon and brown bread…and of course sugar cookies! Whatever town they stopped in for supplies, Adam always asked his Pa to buy his hippopotamus some sugar cookies. How he loved them so – the hippo that is. Adam always insisted the sugar cookies were for his hippo friend, but more than once Ben caught Adam with a sugar cookie in his own mouth. Ben would just laugh to himself and indulge his son and his hippopotamus best friend by buying them the requested sugar cookies.

“You know son, it’s been several weeks and you still haven’t named your hippo friend. Isn’t it about time you gave him a name…something that’s easier to say than hippopotamus?” Ben asked kindly one night.

“I know Pa. I’ve just been searching for the right name – and I think I found it! In the last book you bought me, this book on Swedish Myths – there is a story about a friendly giant and his name was Hoss. The story says that the name Hoss means “a good man with friendly ways.” Now doesn’t that describe my hippopotamus perfectly?” Adam said in all earnestness.

“Yes, it does, son! So Hoss the hippo it is then,” replied Ben.

And so, life on the wagon continued as usual, but with one noted exception. Adam was no longer alone. He had his best friend Hoss the hippo always with him.

Adam spent the long days in the wagon reading poetry and other story books to Hoss. He was convinced the friendly hippo could understand everything he was reading to him – Hoss the hippo listened to Adam so attentively. Hoss also liked to sit at the back of the wagon with his huge head hanging out, looking at the scenery they passed by. Adam would sit right next to him with his arms around his best friend’s thick neck, and together they would look out, whispering secrets to the other and imbibing the nectar of a pure friendship. Neither of them was bothered at all by the astounded stares and speechless pointing of the people on the many wagons they passed by.

Ben’s fear that the tremendous weight of the hippopotamus inside would break the wagon or the horses’ backs – or both – proved to be unfounded. Santa must’ve somehow recalibrated the hippo’s weight at the North Pole so he didn’t weigh as much as he looked like he would, because Castor and Pollux had no trouble pulling the wagon with Hoss the hippo inside. Leave it to Santa Claus to take into account the smallest – or not so small – details.

~~6~~

   Soon they were passing through Illinois and during a stop-over, Ben had the good fortune of becoming acquainted with Inger, a lovely Swedish lady with long wavy hair the color of golden corn silk and sparkling eyes as blue as cornflowers. Her voice was pure music. Ben and Inger had a whirlwind romance and were married on Valentine’s Day. Adam – and of course Hoss the hippo – were in attendance at the wedding.

After spending over five years of his young life motherless, Adam finally had a stepmother. Inger adored little Adam and Adam came to love Inger like the mother he never knew – especially after Inger nursed Adam through an illness accompanied by a fever.

As the chilly breath of Winter gave way to Spring’s maidenly footsteps tiptoeing over the landscape, causing green to sprout fragrant and fresh over the earth’s bodice, the Cartwright wagon was passing through Missouri when Ben stopped to rest the horses.

Little Adam climbed out of the back of the wagon, accompanied by Hoss the hippo, his constant companion and faithful friend.

Now Adam, don’t go far,” Ben called as he saw his young son start to wander.

“Yes Adam, don’t go far. Lunch will be ready soon,” Inger also called as she helped Ben to set up the cooking utensils around the campfire.

The cerulean blue nearness of the river beckoned to Adam as he walked over to her grassy bank, golden reeds gently swaying under the wind’s caressing fingers that played them like a flute, their hushed notes filled the air with a melody only heard by those who knew how to listen.

Usually, Adam knew how to listen, but this time he didn’t listen well to his father and his stepmother warning him not to go far. The water was just too blue a temptation to resist, her depths too mysterious to the curious boy.

Pebbles shone in the dappled sunlight, their edges softened by the river’s watery kisses before they washed upon the bank, a treasure waiting to be discovered. It was a treasure that Adam couldn’t resist. Silently, he walked along the riverbank, picking up the shining pebbles and putting his newfound treasures in his pockets. Hoss slowly walked beside Adam, gently nuzzling against his leg.

“They are all so pretty Hoss, like jewels for a royal crown,” Adam said to the hippo, as he saw a particularly big pebble shining like a lustrous diamond before him. It was a little harder for him to reach as it was closer to the water’s edge down the bank, but Adam – the stalwart boy that he was – was not going to give up on trying to reach that sparkling pebble, so climbing over some rocks he laid on his belly and reached toward the stone that had him so mesmerized, but the rocks tumbled from under him and with a startled cry, Adam fell in the water!

At only five and a half years old, little Adam had spent most of his tender life on land – on his Pa’s wagon – and had never learned how to swim yet. Adam cried and splashed about, but his frantic flailing only caused the water to pull him down, holding him firmly in her embrace like a mermaid not willing to let go of a fisherman once he fell to her charms.

Adam’s strength started to weaken as blue waves convulsed around him. He couldn’t fight much longer against the river that held him an unwilling thrall in her submersive cocoon…but suddenly he felt a tugging on his shirt. Something had him by his shirt and was fiercely pulling him upward!

It was Hoss the hippo! Adam’s best friend had seen his young master tumble into the water and jumped in at once! Since hippopotamuses are as at home in the water as they are on land, it was not difficult at all for Adam’s ever loving and faithful best friend to maneuver his bulky body in the river. Hoss the hippo dived down, grabbed the struggling boy by his shirt and swam to shore with him. Adam laid panting on the grassy riverbank with Hoss beside him, when his father and Inger ran over. They had heard the commotion.

“Adam! Oh dear lord, Adam,” Inger cried as she scooped up the drenched boy in her warm embrace.

“I’m alright, Ma,” Adam said as Inger rained kisses on his flushed face.

“Adam, son, I told you to be careful near the water,” his Pa said as he reached his side, relief washed over him as surely as the river had washed over Adam taking him away – forever, if it wasn’t for Hoss the hippo.

“Hoss saved me Pa,” Adam replied.

“I know, son. We saw Hoss jump in the river. That’s when we knew something had happened and rushed over,” Ben said, his voice catching a little at the thought of how close he came to losing his son if it were not for Hoss the hippo.

That evening the Cartwright family had dinner in a small restaurant in town, to celebrate Adam’s good fortune and Hoss’ heroism too. But unfortunately, the restaurant didn’t allow hippopotamuses, so Hoss had to wait in the wagon. But Adam brought Hoss the hero a generous portion of his ham dinner and apple pie.

Just as he had set out those broken sugar cookies on Christmas Eve to thank Santa for the hippopotamus that Adam was so sure he would bring him, so now Adam did the same thing with the ham dinner and apple pie. He set up the upside-down wooden crate and put the same gold-fringed red cloth over it, then placed his dinner plate of ham, fried potatoes, green beans, bread…and of course the apple pie in the center of the table.

Then as Hoss the hero hippo started to eat the dinner, Adam wrapped his little arms around his best friend’s thick neck and hugged him, saying “I love you Hoss. Thank-you for saving me.”

Hoss stopped eating for a moment as he turned to look at his young friend. Then giving Adam a quick kiss on the cheek, he turned his attention back to his dinner.

~~7~~

   Soon April bloomed her way into May and May blossomed with all viridian smiles and cherry blossoms in her cheeks. Her warm breath sang, soft and low, over the tall prairie grass, laughing through the lush greenery of the trees they passed by on their wagon.

One of May’s annual delights that the Cartwrights were to celebrate was a birthday…little Adam was turning six years old!

“What would you like for your birthday, Adam?” Inger asked one night as she tucked in her stepson, one mild night when the sky was smitten with stars and the stars shone down their affection on the little family below them.

“Oh I don’t know,” Adam replied, thinking. “I have Hoss, my hippopotamus. He’s my best friend…and now I have a mother too. I have everything I need.”

Inger smiled as she caressed Adam’s soft boyish cheek, then bending down she gently kissed his forehead and was about to exit the wagon when…

“Don’t forget Hoss,” Adam piped up.

“Now how could I ever forget about Hoss sleeping right next to you?” Inger laughingly said and Adam laughed too as she tucked in the hippo and even gave him a kiss on the nose. “Such a friendly and gentle beastie he is. Santa truly blessed us last Christmas with giving us the gift of Hoss.” Tears misted Inger’s blue eyes when she thought of how close she and Ben came to losing Adam if it hadn’t been for his hippo Hoss.

Inger joined her husband outside where he was enjoying his pipe in the campsite. “Ben, I want to do something really special for Adam on his birthday. This will be his first birthday since I joined the family and became his mother…he is such a dear sweet child…I shudder to think how close we came to losing Adam to the river a few weeks ago.”

“I know, Inger, so do I,” Ben sighed, in a contemplative mood. “I don’t have much money. I don’t know what we can get for Adam…”

Inger thought for a moment, then said “I know…”

~~8~~

   Inger’s birthday plan went into effect at the next town where they stopped for supplies. While there, she discovered a small restaurant and after some discussion, the cook agreed to let Inger have the use of her kitchen so she could bake a birthday cake for Adam. She even knew what kind of cake too – a chocolate carrot cake! Her mother had always made Inger a chocolate carrot cake with mocha frosting on her birthday and now Inger would carry on the family tradition for her stepson’s birthday!

On the morning of Adam’s birthday, Ben dropped Inger off at the restaurant while he took Adam and Hoss fishing. The cook opened the door of the closed restaurant when she heard Inger’s knock.

“Oh, thank-you so much for the use of your kitchen, Rosa,” Inger expressed her gratitude again to the cook as she set down her bags of ingredients on the counter. She had everything she needed: flour, carrots, nuts, sugar, spices, coconut, chocolate, coffee…now Inger began her baking fun.

Meanwhile at the fishing hole, Ben had only caught one trout and Adam two. They would’ve caught more if it were not for the fact that Hoss the hippo was in the water, partially submerged, and blowing bubbles under the water and scaring the fish away.

“Hoss, stop scaring the fish away,” Adam reprimanded his friend. Hoss’ response was just to blow more bubbles accompanied by loud underwater gurgling sounds.

Ben just laughed as did Adam…in fact, Hoss sounded like he was laughing too as the volume of his submersive gurgling rose and fell.

Adam did manage to catch two more trout and Ben one more. Altogether they had six fish – that would make a nice birthday dinner for Adam, Ben thought to himself as he and Adam headed back to town by late afternoon. Hoss was reluctant to leave the water, but did so when he saw Adam walk away with his Pa. Hoss eagerly trotted after them.

Ben dropped the fish off at the restaurant with Inger. “Come back in about an hour,” Inger said to Ben, smiling as she took the fish from him.

“Now onto the second part of our plan,” Ben said with a wink at his wife. Even covered in flour and cocoa she was a most beautiful vision. Her smile was brighter than the sun, more pure than a field of smiling daisies.

Adam just looked back and forth between the two. Clever boy that he was, he knew they were up to something but he didn’t know what. Adam just walked away with his Pa, bewildered.

Ben took Adam to a house a few blocks away and knocked on the door. Old red paint that was already peeling away – now fell off under the vibration of Ben’s knocking.

A middle-aged man answered the door. He had brown hair that was turning silver at the temples. He smiled slightly, allowing Adam to see the crinkles around his grey eyes that bespoke of a man with good humor.

“Hello Chris Mason,” Ben said as he reached out to grasp the man’s hand.

“Hello. So this is the young man…and his hippo friend,” Mr. Mason said as he took Ben’s hand.

“Come in,” he said as he led Ben, Adam, and Hoss to a room at the back of the house. Sunlight streamed through the giant window in the far wall, making the room bright and Adam could easily see paintings sitting on easels throughout the room and several stacks of what Adam assumed were more paintings, covered by white sheets, leaning against the walls. The only furniture in the room besides the easels were a set of wingback chairs – one blue velvet and the other burgundy – by the window.

“Adam, Mr. Mason is a painter. I met him yesterday at the general store. While I was buying feed for Castor and Pollux and your mother was buying her spices and other ingredients, Mr. Mason here was buying painting supplies. We got to talking…and well, once I heard Mr. Mason say he painted portraits, I asked him if he would paint your portrait for your birthday.” Ben explained. “With Hoss of course.”

“Oh Pa! A portrait! I’ve never posed for a portrait before!” Adam said excitedly. “And with Hoss too. A painting of me and my hippo hero is the best present I could ever want for my birthday.” With his right arm around his Pa’s waist, he reached out with his left to include Hoss in the embrace too.

“After the way that Hoss saved you in the river, he deserves to be in the portrait too. He’s a member of our family after all,” Ben said, smiling at his son’s excitement and happiness.

Mr. Mason positioned Adam in the blue velvet wingback chair with Hoss beside him and over the next hour he painted a portrait of the two best friends. For his young age, Adam did pretty good not squirming around too much. He really wanted this portrait of him and his hippopotamus to be good and not marred by any juvenile wiggling about – so he stayed in the position that Mr. Mason put him in, as did Hoss.

“Mr. Mason, that is exemplary,” Ben said as he saw the finished portrait.

“Thank-you, Mr. Cartwright. It’s best to let the paint dry a bit more before taking it. You can pick it up after your special dinner,” Mr. Mason said.

Thanking him again, Ben left with Adam and Hoss and headed back to the restaurant. Once they entered, they were greeted by the most delicious aromas.

“Well, hello again! How did it go?” Inger asked, wiping her hands on her apron.

“The portrait is all done. We will pick it up later,” Ben said as he greeted his wife with a kiss. “Thank-you for your wonderful idea.”

“Oh Ma, it’s so beautiful! A painting of Hoss and me together! I will hang it up in the wagon right over our bed,” Adam said excitedly as he hugged Inger around the waist. Inger bent down to his eye level and took the excited boy in her arms.

“I’m so happy for you, my darling. Now come sit down, the both of you. I’ve made a special dinner.”

Ben and Adam – and Hoss the hippo too – sat at the table while Inger brought out the fried trout accompanied by thin potato slices that she fried with the fish. They had tall glasses of fresh milk with their delicious dinner.

Then – it was time for the cake. Inger carried out her special birthday chocolate carrot cake with six candles already lit and placed it in front of Adam. After singing the Happy Birthday song, and after Adam successfully blew out the six candles, Inger cut the cake. Both Ben and Adam said it was the best cake they’d ever had! And the mocha frosting…they’d never tasted anything like it before. They loved it!

As promised, the Cartwright family picked up the portrait of Adam and Hoss on their way back to their wagon. Mr. Mason wouldn’t accept any payment for the portrait…he said it was his birthday gift to little Adam who reminded him so much of his own dear son. Mr. Mason’s son had tragically died in a fire when he was six years old. Adam’s age. Ben shook his hand; Inger kissed the kind man’s cheek and gave him a box of leftover cake. They said they would always remember his kindness. And they did.

Back at the wagon, Adam showed his Pa the spot on the wall where he wanted his painting and Ben hung it up for him: right above his son’s sleeping area. That night, Adam and Hoss curled up together as Inger read them a bedtime story, then in each other’s embrace they fell asleep, right beneath the portrait of the two best friends.

~~9~~

   In no time, Spring somersaulted into Summer and Summer left behind her a memoir of happiness and love. Each day was a precious pearl that Adam and Hoss the hippo discovered together and together did they cherish her immeasurable wealth even as they sought to quench their thirst with the ambrosia of one of the most pure friendships that ever lived under the earth’s bold blazing sun.

When Ben would stop the wagon to rest the horses, Adam and Hoss took the opportunity to indulge in some play. One of their favorite games was “Hide-and-Seek”. For hours, they played among the tall prairie grasses or among a scattering of young trees nearby.

Hoss would hide, crouching down low among the tall swaying grass and Adam would pretend he didn’t know where he was as he crept forward…but of course he always did. No matter how tall the grass was it was never tall enough to hide a giant hippopotamus crouching down amidst it. Then as Adam got closer, Hoss would excitedly bound out of the grass and rush toward Adam, taking care not to knock the young boy down, and Adam would laugh and giggle at his hippo’s excitement.

Sometimes Hoss would even choose a young sapling tree to hide his bulk behind. He was always so mystified too, how Adam always knew where Hoss was hiding. He couldn’t figure it out. He didn’t realize that a hippopotamus trying to hide behind a tree – not much thicker than one of Adam’s shoes – was even more obvious. Adam would play the game though, pretending he didn’t know where Hoss was hiding, then he would suddenly “discover” him and Hoss would leap out and together Adam and Hoss would laugh…Such was the innocence of their play.

Then there was swimming…Hoss, being a hippopotamus, loved the water and took every opportunity he could to indulge in a good long soak…but Adam, since his near drowning in the Spring, was afraid of the water. But how he wished to join Hoss in the water.

Hoss would frolic in the water, then, half submerging himself, he would gurgle and blow bubbles underwater, trying to coax Adam to join him by showing him how much fun it was.

“Why don’t you go in the water Adam? Hoss wants you to join him,” Ben said to his young son as they stood on the bank, watching the giant hippo’s antics.

“I don’t know…” Adam replied, unsure.

“Nothing will happen to you. Not with Hoss here to watch over you. You do trust Hoss don’t you,” Ben reasoned and tried to reassure his son.

“Oh yes, I trust Hoss!” Adam said. “He’s my best friend. We’re like brothers, Hoss and I.” Then after a few moments of thought, Adam started to remove his clothes to join Hoss in the water. He didn’t want to show fear in front of his Pa, but even more importantly was that he didn’t want Pa and Inger to doubt the love and trust that he shared with Hoss. So, Adam went in the water.

The friendly hippo approached Adam slowly and gently – he could sense his young friend’s trepidation – then with his hand resting securely on Hoss’ head, Adam followed him out into deeper water.

Inger had left the campsite and joined Ben on the riverbank as together they watched Adam’s fear dissolve away as over the rest of the afternoon Hoss taught Adam how to swim.

“I’m so glad Adam has Hoss, not only as a playmate but to help him overcome his fear and teach him to swim,” Inger said softly to Ben.

“Yes…now Adam can swim and he won’t be in such danger of drowning,” Ben replied, as the two continued to watch Adam and Hoss frolic in the water.

~~10~~

   Soon, Summer’s kaleidoscope of pleasures gave way under the soft-soled tread of approaching Autumn. The leaves fell in a disarray of burgundy and orange, antique gold and copper coins, they cushioned the ground as Autumn’s gentle decay added her familiar spice and friendly bite to the air.

The world was slowing down in preparation for Winter’s repose…while November undressed her charms even more it was at this time that Adam noticed a difference in Hoss, his hero hippo.

He seemed to be slowing down too. Gone was the healthy glow of his earthy brown skin, the pink undertones failed to blush through like they used to, and his eyes didn’t sparkle like the stars in the night sky anymore. Most disturbing was that Hoss didn’t have that playful exuberance and curious vibrancy that was his signature trait – he would just lay around the wagon – or if Ben forced him outside, Hoss would just lie on the ground. He was no longer as interested playing with Adam in the falling leaves nor even splashing about in the river and make those delightful gurgling sounds as he blew bubbles under the water’s surface.

Oh he still loved Adam as much as ever, none of the Cartwrights had any doubt about that. Whenever Adam tried to coax Hoss to get up, pleading with him to eat his sugar cookies or Inger’s famous apple pie, Hoss gave Adam an affectionate lick on the cheek and then lay back down, looking up at Adam with sad eyes.

“What’s wrong with Hoss, Ma?” Adam tearfully asked one night as another attempt to

interest Hoss in a game of Hide-and-Seek failed. Adam was deeply concerned about his best friend hippo.

“Can you help him get better like you did with me when I was sick with that fever?” Adam tearfully asked.

“I’ll try, Adam,” Inger said with tears of her own pricking her eyes. Hoss had become such a part of the family and she hated to see the look of devastated heartbreak in Adam’s soulful hazel eyes. She knew how close they had become and how it would just tear apart dear Adam’s sensitive heart to lose Hoss. They had become inseparable this past year. They were more than best friends…they were soulmates, like kismet brothers.

While reading one of Adam’s many books she had come across the word “kismet” and learned that it meant “one’s destiny.” She thought it certainly applied to Adam and Hoss…as if they were fated to be together.

As promised, Inger did try to make Hoss well again. She made a broth with the same special herbs that she’d used to treat Adam when he was sick with the fever last Winter. It took a lot of coaxing and cajoling to get Hoss to drink Inger’s broth.

“Please, Hoss…try to drink the broth. Do it for me…I love you so,” Adam tearfully pleaded with his sick hippopotamus. “I don’t want to lose you,” and with this heartrending plea, the six-year-old boy tearfully threw his little arms around his big friend, his tears dampening Hoss’ skin. With a groan, Hoss forced his head up and licked Adam’s flushed cheek, kissing away his tears. Then Hoss drank the broth. As soon as he was done, he laid his head back down, panting hard. The effort seemed to take a lot out of him.

“What’s wrong with him, Pa?” Adam turned his tear-streaked face to his Pa standing beside him, concern deeply etched in his face. Ben remembered how concerned he was when Santa Claus had actually brought Adam his requested hippopotamus. Ben had watched the relationship between Hoss the hippo and his young son blossom like a beauteous flower this past year. Now it looked like that rare flower was withering away…and Ben was still concerned. Though this time Ben was concerned about what it would do to Adam if Hoss should die.

“I don’t know, son…Hoss was brought to you by Santa Claus and the power of faith…and by Christmas magic. Maybe that magic has run its course,” Ben said gently to his six-year-old boy.

“No! It can’t be…I won’t let it,” Adam said stubbornly.

“Everything has to die sometime, Adam. You have to accept it,” Ben said, tears in his own eyes at his son’s pain.

“You said everything is possible with love. I won’t let this be the end of Hoss!” Adam ran outside of the wagon to find solace among the stars. Their celestial shine and sparkling immortality had always been a balm to young Adam’s pain in the past. Even now their silent ministry didn’t fail him in his time of needing comfort.

Adam looked up at the stars, a prayer on his trembling lips. He just realized that tonight was Thanksgiving. So consumed had he been with worry over Hoss that Thanksgiving could’ve passed him by and he wouldn’t even have noticed. In the past, his Pa would take him outside to look at the stars and Adam would make a Thanksgiving wish on a falling star. If none were visible, then on the brightest star seen. This year there was only one wish Adam wanted to make. He dug into the front pocket of his breeches and pulled out a star-shaped sugar cookie. He still carried sugar cookies in his pockets to feed to Hoss. But this one was whole, not yet broken like all the other sugar cookies he carried around in his pockets.

Adam looked at the star-shaped sugar cookie in the palm of his hand. His vision was blurred with tears, then he blinked and his vision momentarily cleared…except for one lonely heartbroken tear that had escaped the over-brimming shoreline of his eyes. It trickled down his cheek and splashed on the face of the sugar cookie.

Suddenly, that little splash caused the sugar cookie to come to life. Adam’s vision sparkled and blurred as if caught in a whirlwind of color. Adam blinked again to try to clear his vision, but what was happening was too real to be ignored. And it could not be dismissed with simple blinking.

The sugar cookie really was a whirlwind of color, as it twirled and spiraled in the palm of his open hand. Its speed increased until it pulsated like a party of drunken fireflies, slowly rising, rising into the air faster and faster. It hung in the air, a breath of color and magic, while it stayed momentarily suspended above Adam’s outstretched hand for a heartbeat’s second. Then it shot upward into the night sky and gave off a final brilliant blinding flash of color and dancing light as it anchored itself in the heavens among the vast population of stars. Adam’s last star-shaped sugar cookie had become a real star in the night, brought to life by the magic and love that was shed in that one single teardrop…it was transformed with a simple splash…

~~11~~

   In the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve very little had changed, except for the ground now wearing a dusting of bridal white and frost laced intricate floral patterns over the tree limbs, changing the few leaves that still clung to their memory of life on the tree. Now the frost knitted over them a new beauty of rebirth as they became a part of Winter’s bouquet.

Hoss the hippo still lingered on, not at all well but far from death too. He still looked up at Adam with sad eyes and would even rouse himself to nuzzle against Adam when he started to cry and lick away the six-year-old’s tears. Through this, Adam persevered in his faith that somehow Hoss would make it through and be well again. Every night when Pa and Inger were asleep – and Hoss’ slumbers were not as restless as they usually were now – little Adam would go outside and look up at the stars studding the night and think about that Thanksgiving night when the sugar cookie had come alive in his hand. When with a frenzy of color and light, it flew up into the night sky and became a star. Adam looked up at that sugar cookie star now, sparkling so brightly from its home in the heavens and wondered what it all meant.

As the sun made his decline on Christmas Eve, dousing his fire with an iridescent splash in the approaching tides of night, Adam was outside, his eyes searching the canopy of stars, for what he wasn’t sure. Oh, he could easily find his living sugar cookie star – it was the brightest star in the night sky, its radiance eclipsing all the others for miles around. Adam felt there must be something else for him to see, some tiny sparkle of magic that he could draw down and use to heal Hoss. After all, Christmas Eve was the night for miracles to happen. It was the night that Santa Claus had brought Adam his hippopotamus…Hoss, his best friend, his brother…

Adam turned around at the sound of heavy footsteps coming up behind him. It was Hoss. He had roused himself from his place by the wagon with great difficulty, but Hoss knew he had to be with Adam this night. He knew nothing would be the same after this Christmas Eve. So, with lumbering unsteady steps – each one seemed to be heavier and more difficult than the last – Hoss made it to Adam’s side, then collapsed.

“Hoss!” Adam cried as he bent down and threw his arms around his best friend. Then Adam pulled back and looked in the fathomless depths of Hoss’ eyes. He looked deep and saw more than just his hippopotamus friend…looking back at him Adam saw the grace of God, the face of love, he saw the other half of his soul. In that moment Adam knew that he and Hoss would be together forever…somehow.

“I love you,” Adam said as he kissed Hoss on the nose.

Then the silvery silence of this most magical of nights was interrupted by the sound of bells. The sound was some distance away, but they steadily grew louder and they definitely were the jingle of bells. Sleigh bells to be exact.

Adam – and Hoss too – looked up. Adam’s eyes grew wide at the sight of Santa’s sleigh being pulled by eight prancing reindeer through the starry night…but Hoss didn’t look surprised. In fact, he looked like he had been expecting Santa to appear all along.

Upon the glistening virgin snow Santa landed his sleigh. The reindeer, full of spirit, threw back their heads as their hooves pawed at the ground as in a dance step.

“Ho ho ho! Hello, Adam,” Santa said cheerfully as he jumped down from his sleigh. “Hello Ben. Inger.”

Adam turned around to see that his Pa and Inger had come out of the wagon once they heard the sound of sleigh bells.

Ben rested his hand on Adam’s shoulder.  “Santa,” Ben said, nodding in greeting. Inger just beamed her brightest smile. She was glowing.

“Oh Santa! Thank-you so much for bringing Hoss, my hippopotamus, to me last Christmas. I love him so much,” Adam cried. “But Hoss is sick. Can you help him get better? Please, Santa?” Adam’s voice quivered with emotion as he felt the tears burning to flow free again.

“What’s this? Hoss is not well?” Santa asked in his concerned and compassionate way as he went over to Hoss and laid his hand on the hippo’s head. Hoss just gave a low groan.

“Oh Hoss, you poor dear,” Santa said kindly to the sick hippo. “Hoss is not meant for this type of climate, Adam.”

“What do you mean? Then why did you bring him…?” Adam cried, confused.

“Hoss is no ordinary hippopotamus. He was created from the stardust of Christmas magic for a lonely little boy who needed a friend he wouldn’t have to leave behind,” Santa said kindly as he looked into Adam’s eyes, glistening with unshed tears.

“Me?” Adam said softly.

Santa nodded and continued. “Hoss knew how much you needed a friend, how much you needed him. Hoss wanted to be that friend for you – for as long as he could. So you wouldn’t be alone anymore.”

“Can you make Hoss better again?” Adam asked in a small voice.

“Hoss needs to go back to the North Pole with me so he can get better. He will be as good as new once Mrs. Claus gives him a mug of her magical peppermint cocoa.

Though Adam was glad that Hoss would be alright once he was at the North Pole again, he was still heartbroken to lose his friend.

“But, Adam,” Santa said as he put one finger under Adam’s lowered chin, lifting up his face so the little boy was looking at him. “You won’t be alone.” Santa looked meaningfully at Inger.

“Santa is right, Adam,” Inger said as she stepped forward, kneeled down to take her stepson in her arms. “Your Pa and I were waiting for the right time to tell you…I am with child, Adam. Next year you’re going to have a brother.”

“A brother?” Adam said with a small smile.

“Yes. I just know this baby I’m carrying will be a boy, as strong and healthy as any boy who has ever lived. You will have a brother to add to our small family,” Inger assured Adam.

“I’m happy to have a brother…but I still love Hoss…I still want to be with him,” Adam said.

“Why of course you do. And Adam, having a brother won’t change the love you share with Hoss,” Ben said as he kneeled down beside Inger. “Just because a friend goes away doesn’t mean that the friendship ends. The love you share with Hoss will go on forever. As long as you remember to look inside to that warm spot in your heart you and Hoss created together – Hoss will always be with you.”

“And Adam,” Santa said. “Remember your sugar cookie star…the stars are just portals from where our loved ones who are temporarily apart from us – either kept apart by death or in Hoss’ case, by magic – can look down on their loved ones left behind on earth and through their starry portal they can always watch over them…shining down their love on them. Your own sugar cookie star is the portal between you and Hoss.”

Hoss the hippo nuzzled his head against Adam’s for a few moments…their souls seemed to touch in their intimate contact…then with another affectionate kiss to Adam’s cheek, Hoss climbed into the back of Santa’s sleigh. Adam felt like he was watching half of his heart fly away…but he knew that he had experienced something very rare and precious that very few people of any age are ever privileged to experience. Adam knew he would see his hippopotamus again…meanwhile Hoss would be looking down on Adam through their sugar cookie star – their celestial portal of love and eternity.

That night as Adam laid on his bedroll beneath the painted portrait of himself and Hoss the hippo, he allowed himself to be gently lulled to sleep by the kindling warmth of the love they shared and will always share.

That Christmas Eve as he slept, Adam’s dreams were filled with sugar cookie stars, a friendly hippopotamus with soulful eyes…and the promise of a baby brother.

~THE END~

End Note: Recipe

Inger’s Birthday Cake for Adam

Chocolate Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

¾ cup walnuts, chopped

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut

3 eggs

¾ cup packed brown sugar

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup vegetable oil

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

3 cups grated carrots

Mocha Icing:

1 pkg. (250 g) cream cheese

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1 teaspoon instant coffee, dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

2 cups icing sugar

Directions:

1. In bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Stir in walnuts, coconut, and chocolate chips.
2. In large bowl, beat eggs; gradually blend in brown and white sugars. Add oil and melted chocolate. Stir in carrots.
3. Add flour mixture all at once. Mixing until evenly combined.
4. Grease 9×13 inch cake pan. Pour batter into pan, spread evenly throughout pan.
5. In 325 F preheated oven, bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Let cool.

Mocha Icing:

1. In bowl, beat cream cheese until light; add melted chocolate and dissolved coffee. Gradually beat in icing sugar.
2. Cover and chill in fridge for 30 to 60 minutes or until spreadable. Spread over cooled cake.