Santa Pops His Button

It's Christmas Eve, and Sarah is so excited to see the falling snow mounding up around the windowpanes. She could hardly wait to help her mother hang the strands of popcorn and fresh cranberries on the Christmas tree along with all the bright lights, tinsel, and decorations. Dusty, the family's dog, is enjoying all the fun, too, as he sniffs out all the Christmas fare lying around the room."It's now time to get ready for bed," Mother says. "You too, Dusty." Sarah asks to stay up so she can see Santa. Mother says, "No more questions tonight, dear." "Go to sleep," she whispers softly from the doorway. "Remember, Santa's on his way!"Sarah closes her eyes and listens, hoping to hear the sound of Santa's reindeers on the rooftop, but there is not a sound except for the crackle of ice on the windowpanes. Sarah hears a Clink clunk clunk sound coming from the parlor across the hallway. She opens one eye to peek out, and there, standing in the parlor across the hallway, is Santa Claus. She peeks out over the covers and sees him with a big button in his hand. "Looks like Santa popped his button, Dusty," she whispers. Sarah runs out to tell her parents about what she's seen, but they both laugh and say it's only a dream. Sarah tries to convince them that it isn't a dream and describes the scene again in full detail as they take her back to her bedroom to tuck her in for the night. But they can't convince Sarah that seeing Santa here tonight is nothing more than a dream. No way!