Secret, the Santa Ferret. (by Susie Lee) Oh, sure, everyone knows Santa's obvious animal friends, the reindeer, and all their names and most of their magickal attributes, but did you ever know about Santa's best little Ferret freind?, Well, maybe not before now, because little Secret has been, well, Santa's special little Secret! A little white ferret who likes to snuggle up under the beard (fluffs it out nicely, too! :) or curl warmly under his hat, or even blend in with that wooly white collar and "Secret"-ly watch out for Santa's back while he's unpacking you-know-what for good children on you-know-when! Little Secret is a magickal ferret, of course, and has been with Santa since the very "begining", bequeathed to the Jolly Old Elf by a grateful farmwife from centuries and centuries ago. Secret's special magick is in helping Santa get into houses with no chimneys by squeezing flatter than flat under the tightest door and leaping with a magickally merry ferret-bounce to touch his little nose to any lock so that it will open for Santa and then close and re-lock safely afterwards. (Aha! say all the city, folks, Now we know how Santa gets into umpteen-gazillion apartments! He had a special Secret, all along!) . Ah, but how did we ferret out Santa's Little Secret? All our ferrets did it...knowing a magick ferret when they sense one, nearly every ferret tail in the shelter went merrily a-wagging with exitement and joy until Secret swftly touched a friendly nose in greeting to every one. Then , as quick as a ferret, Little Secret raced back to Santa and in a blink was back up to blend around his white wooly collar, with a little tail-wag farewell of his own to wave back. So take good care of al your ferret friends...they know a Little Secret! :) (Susie & Wes at the Ferret & Dove Sanctuary http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/ferret_rescuer/index.html [Posted in FML issue 4362]