‘Twas about three weeks before Christmas, and Michael* (nickname Mickey) and Minerva* (nickname Minnie) Vole* sought an adventure away from home. But alas, packages might be delivered. What to do? Ah, those pesky, jolly, amusing neighbors, the Pranksters*. They could be tapped to guard against package burglars and keep an eye on Mickey and Minnie Mouse’s first year on the front porch. Little did Michael and Minerva dream that these frolicsome friends filled with holiday humor might cart Mickey Mouse all over town.
He sat to watch holiday singers at the farmer’s market. Mickey enthusiastically approached, then peered longingly into, Lane Stadium. They tried teaching him to drive, but his air-filled feet could not reach the pedals. He attempted to call Minnie from an emergency phone that he first thought was a candy dispenser. Twice disappointed, no candy and no Minnie, Mickey went to drown his sorrow in liquid solace.
When he finally made it back home, Minnie was so happy that she tromped on one of the neighbors right there on the porch, so the whimsically-minded Prankster* teenager could not get up and take her beloved Mickey on any more Christmas excursions. The Voles now know there are holiday adventures to be enjoyed right here in the New River Valley, and they plan to guard their own packages this year. Whether the Voles and the Mouses will make a double date and go to town remains to be seen.

*Names changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent