Chapter 1:
     Those silly children laugh and scream at those bumbling idioten who portray me. If they only knew that I lay lurking in the woods just behind their houses, just waiting for the day that they believe in me again. I cannot enter their houses, unless they believe in me and in their dreams invite me in. I “kidnap” a few children from time to time, but I let a human do my bidding when it comes to killing the little brats. Humans are so easy to control, and it allows me to do my job if they are the ones getting caught. Usually, if a child killer hasn’t been caught, or the body is never found, one can safely assume that I have eaten the body. One day, I will snatch and switch my tasty, rotten children again. Bis dann.
     After I was fed-up enough with the humans’ festivities, I left. I was walking down the streets, per usual, until I heard a noise. A child was crying in an alley, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her tear-stained dress shook with her sobs, her loose pigtails quivered with each noisy exhale. A snack! Perfekt! I proceeded with my usual stalking in the shadows, until I stood squarely in front of her. My muzzle was practically dripping saliva, and I was prepared to devour my meal, when she looked up at me. Her expression was one of tantalizing fear that slowly morphed into confusion and curiosity, then it settled on relief and overwhelming grief. She all but knocked me over with a lunge and an embrace. Her sobbing intensified and began to soak my stomach fur. I couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t attacked her yet, or more importantly, why she was so grief-stricken and helpless feeling that she clung to the monster that was about to eat her.
     "Bitte, hilf ihnen! Bitte, wecke sie auf!" Her voice was muffled by my fur, and she began to wail louder. Perfect German? I thought she would have spoken English first, instead.
     "Wer?" I gazed at her with my arms still lifted and my eyes still wide, waiting for her response. Her little right fist flew up immediately with a tiny index finger pointing out in the direction that I had never once glanced. I turned my head to my left and found to grown bodies, barely illuminated by the moon. Her parents in a puddle. I glanced back down to the crown of her golden-haired head, my arms gently encircled her. She wouldn’t let go of me. I found my arms cradling her, and raising her above the ground. I had just taken a step to start walking away, when she began to scream.
     “Was? Was ist das?” I tried to get a grip on her screaming form.
     “Nein, mein teddybär!” She wailed. I glanced down to see ein teddybär propped up in a sitting position against the wall that she had been sitting against. Her dress must have hidden it. I stooped down to pick it up and hand it to her. It was a ratty old thing, fur matted, covered in dirt and water. It even smelled of a street puddle. She hugged it tightly to her body though, and off we went.

     We finally arrived at my höhlenpalast. I walked briskly down the halls, until I came to the main room, meine bibliothek. She was asleep and I didn’t want to wake her, but I had to get into the room somehow. I carefully shifted her weight into one arm, and quickly pressed down the handle and nudged the door open some. Her weight started to burn my arm, and she was slipping. I swiftly rebalanced her weight in both arms, before I stirred her awake. I pressed my back against the door and pushed it open, all the while my eyes never leaving her face. She was quickly becoming heavy, but I didn’t know where to set her down. That’s when I spotted it, a child’s bed snugged up against the wall on the left side of the room. I swiftly walked over to the bed, and gently laid her down. I placed her head on the pillow, and made my way to the bottom of the bed. She couldn’t sleep with her shoes on, after all. I unbuckled the buttons on either side of her pale pink, puppeschuh and eased them off. Next, I grabbed the delicate lace on the tops of her wet socks, and pulled those off as well, revealing little wrinkled feet. Her light pink and white dress was still soaked through, and I knew I shouldn’t let her sleep in that. Where would I find dry clothes, though. Ah ha! I walked over to the wardrobe that I had in the room. I flung open the door and began rummaging. At last, I found something, although I wasn’t sure if it would fit. I made my way over to her and lifted her heavy torso. The cloth covered buttons gave me a little trouble, but the dress was off. I pushed the cuffs of the night-gown I had chosen up to my wrist and flipped the tail of it over my arms, so that it was inside out on my arms. Then, I gingerly raised her arms, her tiny hands engulfed by my paws. I straightened my arms, so that the bottom of the silky dress fell over her head. With my teeth, I pulled the sleeve from my trapped wrist to hers, then the other. Her arms fell limply to her sides, and I shimmied the rest of the dress down her body. It fit perfectly! Lastly, I pulled out her curls from beneath the fabric and lifted her to draw back the covers. I tucked her in, and gave her head one last curious stroke. Once I was finished, I sauntered over to the rug in front of the roaring fire. I curled up there, my body facing her, when I heard her make a noise. I looked up to see her face scrunched up in a dream. I smiled to myself, with half-lidded eyes. Her arm tumbling softly over the edge of the bed was the last thing I saw before I, myself, fell asleep.

Chapter 2

     I awoke to a strange sensation repeating itself upon my cheek, and the sound of soft laughter. My eyes slowly opened to see a blurry outline of a human, but it was small and golden crowned. I smiled and blinked a few times to clear my vision. A much less blurry finger reached out and poked my cheek, and a soft giggle ensued soon after. I prepared for the inevitable finger returning, for she mustn’t have realized that I was awake. As I predicted, the finger lowered again and just as it touched my face, I licked it. A squeal of surprise quickly turned to a laughter of delight, and I chuckled along with her. I sat up carefully. My head turned towards her.
     “Wie wäre es mit einem frühstück, kleine?”
     “Ja, bitte!” She sat up excitedly, shoulders squared, and hands clasped in her lap. With that, I picked myself up off the rug.

     I wasn’t sure what to fix her. I looked around the kitchen, then back through the door to the dining room. She was sitting in one of the large chairs nearest to the kitchen, at the sprawling oak banquet table. Her hands controlling ihr teddybär arms, and lifting him up and down to make him dance on the table. I smiled to myself, my heart practically melted at this. That’s when I really went to arbeit. A few moments later, I came out with a grand feast of meats, breads, sweets, jams, fruits, and a few vegetables. I sat the huge array of foods on the table. In front of her, I sat a large chalice of goat’s milk. I sat in the chair at the head of the table, at the other end of the table, and began eating. I heard a slight clattering, and looked up to see her rise out of her chair with her plate and chalice in her hands. She began to jog towards me, her nearly full cup spilling just a little bit as she moved. She sat her plate down next to mine, and her cup in its proper place beside her plate. Once she had climbed up into her chair and had seated herself on her knees, she looked back to where I was staring. Milk had been spilled in a stream of droplets, all the way to where she now sat. She looked at the frothy, white line in distress and fear of what I might do.
     “Ich ... es tut mir leid.” I just burst out laughing, my laughter causing her to jump and face me with wide eyes. She had caused such a raucous and mess just to sit next to me? How could I have not laughed at that? Finally, once she had realized that she was not in trouble, her laughter joined in. We continued our breakfast, and our days, each one of them blending together, and soon blending into years.

Several Years Later…

     “Sei vorsichtig.” Heidi twirled around to face me after putting her tea cup in the sink basin.
     “Ich werde” She called over her shoulder, her curls tumbling over her shoulders.
I stood, leaning against the counter, with a cup of coffee in my hands. Watching her wash the dishes, and spring over to the coat and hat rack. She fastened her cloak around her, the thick off-creme fur coating her shoulders.
     “Ah Ah.” I leaned forward, and tapped a finger on my cheek. She giggled, and leaned in to peck my cheek. Then, a flash of pink and white crossed my vision as she pivoted on her toes, and opened the side door.
     “Tschüss.” She called over her shoulder once again, and with that she left, leaving the door open to let the spring air in. That spring air that I crave every year, that I’ve craved every year since I was a boy.

     That afternoon, Heidi returned with more finesse in her movements and an extra skip in her stride. She was fixing lunch, whilst humming to herself. She practically danced around the kitchen, adding dashes of gewürze she had never used before. I stood dumbfounded in the doorway, watching her with extreme vorsicht.
     “Heidi?” My eyebrow quirked.
     “Hmm?” She didn’t stop, but her bewegungen slowed.
     “Sie scheinen heute unglaublich glücklich zu sein. Etwas passiert heute im Wald?” She blushed. Hmm. Interessant. I made my way over to one of the chairs in the kitchen and patted my knee, once seated and well adjusted. She followed suit, and seated herself on my knee. She was blushing like verrückt now.
     “Was ist heute im wald passiert?” She laughed quietly, and lächelnd widely.
     “Ich traf einen Jungen.” She tried to hide her blush in her hair, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. A boy? Oh no! I froze, my eyes glazing over with my deep thinking.
     “Krampus?” She looked at me concernedly, waving her hand in front of my face.
     “Ein Junge?!”