“There’s no such thing as Santa,” Sally told her. “Oh yeah? Then how come the cookies I put out are always eaten? And where do all the presents magically appear from?” Lily retorted. “It’s just one of your parents putting out the presents under Santa’s name,” Sally snorted, “They’re probably eating the cookies too. Though that could just be your dog.” “Not true! I’m going to stay up and wait for Santa and prove you wrong!” Lily declared determinedly. Sally just rolled her eyes. Christmas Eve seemed to take an eternity but finally the sun set and Lily snuck out after dark when her parents thought she was asleep. Creeping downstairs, she hid behind one of the large arm chairs to wait for Santa. After a long wait, Lily was about to give up when she heard a scrabbling in the chimney. She excitedly peered around behind the chair to see what was causing the commotion. Some soot came out of the chimney but moments later out popped a squirrel. The squirrel paused for a second, standing up in a typical squirrel pose, twitching his nose. Smelling cookies, he made his way over to the table with the chocolate chip goodies and glass of milk and climbed up to the top. Picking up a cookie, he began to snack. Lily watched with fascination. “I didn’t know Santa was a squirrel!” Inspiration: All those children who waited up for Santa, the beautiful belief in magical stories and all those animals who got down my chimney.