Paula, Callie, Mack and Muff

 Paula’s Christmas Adventure for 2025

Once upon a time there was a possum named Paula. She was a very special possum, because she could fly. That skill led her to have many adventures with Santa Claus. Her mother made a cape for her, since every superhero should have a cape, and everyone called her Superpossum.

Paula loved flying around on Christmas Eve, enjoying all the pretty lights and visiting her animal and human friends. She made new friends, too, both human and animal. Many of them were confused when they saw a possum that could fly.

Paula was flying around one Christmas Eve under a bright bright moon having a wonderful time. On this night she was wearing her new diamond earrings, a gift from her friend Pete the Possum. She liked the earrings; in the moonlight they looked like the Christmas star. She had visited her friends the rescue horses and the old hunting dog who helped her save them from the Evil Weasels. She had dropped by the nursing home where her other friends were therapy animals, and wanted to go see Mr. Blake and Big Boy, who helped save a bunch of dogs from some mean men, and maybe go see Judge Doug and Miss Vickie, since they always had good snacks on Christmas Eve.

Paula was also planning to go see the Wildman and the Allmother before heading down to the beach to visit the birds at Miss Mary Ellen’s bird hospital. It was going to be a busy night, but she always stayed out late on Christmas Eve, in case Santa needed her help. She kept her cell phone in her pouch just for emergencies like that.

She was far, far out over the Big Woods, following the road beside the river, and enjoying how the moonlight sparkled on the frost. It was very, very cold, but she had a warm fur coat and had enjoyed a cup of cocoa at the horse farm.

Far below she saw a car moving along the road, and she watched as it came to a stop beside a bridge. Someone got out of the car.

“What in the world is that person doing?” Paula said to herself. “It’s too cold to be fishing, and who would go fishing on Christmas Eve, anyway? I better go see if they need help.”

Paula angled downward and headed for the car. Just as she was about to land, someone jumped back in the car and drove away very fast, throwing gravel. Several flying rocks almost hit Paula.

“Well, that was rude,” she said. She started to climb back into the night sky, but just as she angled upward she heard someone calling for help.

Callie had never really trusted the man; the woman Miss Jane, was okay, since she fed Callie and the kittens, and the little girl Sarah was nice, except that she wanted to take the kittens to the house. The man caught her carrying one and said some very mean things, and after that, the little girl didn’t come to play with the kittens anymore.

Jane still fed Callie, but not very much; still Callie found plenty of mice to eat in the barn, and  Sarah sometimes sneaked food out where Callie could find it. She would watch through the windows while Callie and her babies ate. The girl called Callie’s babies Muff and Mack. Callie liked their names.

The man was always mean and angry, and there was always a lot of yelling in the house. One day the woman and the little girl ran out, jumped in her car and left. The little girl was crying while they drove away and waved to Callie.

The man never fed them after that, and the kittens were very hungry, although Callie tried catching more mice. One day he put some food inside a box; Callie tried to keep the kittens away from it, since she didn’t trust him, but it was very cold, and Callie and her babies were hungry. They carefully explored the box, then went inside after the food. The door of the box slammed down behind them – it was a trap!

Callie yowled and scratched and hissed, and Mack did the same (Muff tried to hide), but the man wasn’t scared of them. He laughed at them, but not in a nice way.  He put the box in the back of his truck and drove them down the road. Callie wrapped herself around the kittens to try to keep them warm.

“It will be okay,” Callie said, licking her kittens and purring. “It will be all right.”

Callie smelled water, and she felt the truck stop. The man got out of the truck and grabbed the cage. It was almost completely dark, but she could see a bridge in the headlights.

“Nasty things!” he said, grabbing the cage and walking toward the bridge. Callie growled and hissed, trying to claw his fingers through the cage, but he was wearing thick gloves. “I should have done this before those kittens were born,” he said, and turned the box on its end.

“Mama!” Muff and Mack cried as the man opened the box and dumped them down the icy hill. Callie tried to hold on, but she couldn’t get a grip on the rocks – and her babies were sliding toward the cold, cold water!

Callie hit the edge of the creek and began sliding – the creek was partly frozen. She scratched and clawed at the ice, but couldn’t hold on. Her kittens were sliding farther out.

Stretching as far as she could, Callie grabbed Muff, but Mack kept sliding. In the center of the creek was a spot that hadn’t frozen, and he yelped as he slipped into the water and under the ice.

Callie screamed and tried to scrabble toward Mack, kicking Muff toward the shore. The orange kitten slid beneath the ice, holding on with just one paw, then he disappeared.

“MACK!”

Callie was skidding toward where the orange kitten disappeared when suddenly something flashed in front of her, going straight down into the ice and smashing through it. Callie managed to get a grip and stop herself, and stared when the ice broke apart again, this time from underneath – and of all things, a possum came flying up through the ice, carrying her kitten.

Paula flew past Callie, scooping up Muff, and dropped both kittens on the bank. Then she flew back to Callie and reached out a paw.

“I’m Paula – grab hold. I’ll get you off this ice!”

Callie didn’t argue. She held Paula’s paw and in a moment was on the bank. Muff was kneading Mack’s chest.

“Mama, do something! He won’t breathe! Mack? Come on, Mack!”

“I got this,” Paula said. She grabbed Mack around the middle and squeezed. He coughed up a bunch of water, then hissed and spat at Paula.

The possum laughed and set him down.

“We need to get you warmed up, little buddy. I won’t hurt you. What’s your name?”

“I’m Callie,” the momcat said, “and these are my kids, Muff and Mack.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, but I wish it wasn’t under these circumstances,” Paula said.

“How-how can you fly?” Muff said. “I mean, you’re a possum.” Paula laughed.

“It’s a long story. Let’s work on getting you guys warmed up. Goodness it’s cold, and we’re both wet!”

Paula unclipped her cape and shook it several times, then felt around the edge until she found a pocket. In the pocket was a switch. She turned it on, and the cape began to glow!

“Come on, Callie. And you kids especially. Get under here and get warmed up. Santa gave me this new cape last year, after we had to go to Canada on an emergency. It heats up really nicely.”
“Is there room?” Callie asked. “I didn’t get wet. I’m not that cold.” Paula gave her a smile.

“There’s plenty of room, Callie. Come on. Beside – my fur is made for this type of thing. Maybe not for hitting the water at Mach One, but still – come on. We can snuggle close.”

The kittens were warming up quickly, although Mack shivered and sneezed once or twice. Muff sniffled.

“Did you say you know Santa Claus?” Muff said. Paula nodded.

“We’re old friends.”

“We’ve never met Santa Claus,” Mack said. “I don’t believe in him.” Then he sneezed. Callie washed between his ears.

“He doesn’t mean that, Paula. I’m sorry. Things have been kind of rough for a few years, even before they were born.”

 “It’s okay,” Paula said. “Sometimes people and animals slip between the cracks, and Santa doesn’t know they need a hand. That’s why he has friends like me.”

“We had a nice barn, and a lady who fed us,” Callie explained. “I lived in the woods for a long time, then I found the barn right before I had these two. The lady and her daughter, they went away, and the man – well, he was always mean to us.”

“He fooled us with some food!” Muff said.
“And tried to dump us in the water!” Mack meowed. “If I ever catch him, I’ll – “

“You’ll do no such thing,” Callie said. “We’re going to be good, and maybe find us a nice new home somewhere. That man will get what’s coming to him someday.”

“Miss Paula,” Muff said, “I’m really hungry. Do you have a mouse anywhere?” Paula shook her head and reached into her pouch. She pulled out a can of sardines.

“I have something a lot better,” she said, and popped open the can. “You guys enjoy. This was awfully heavy, anyway. I need to make a phone call.”

Paula pulled her new satellite phone out of her pouch and squinted at the reception bars.

“I’ll be right back.” She raised one paw toward the sky, and clutching the phone close to her side with the other, shot up into the night.

High above the trees, Paula finally got good reception. She called Santa Central, where the elf on dispatch took down her information.

“The Big Guy has already gone through there,” the elf said. “Santa’s a little behind because of some weather over France, but I’ll see what I can do.” Her phone chimed. “There’s the information you asked for. Sounds like this guy has never been anywhere but the naughty list.”

“Thanks, Hermie. How’s your dad?”

“Never thought there would be so much business for a dentist at the North Pole, but he came out retirement.”

“Give him my best. Paula, over and out.”

 Paula hovered for a minute, thinking. It was already very late, but she had to find a safe place for Callie and the kittens. Plus she wanted to find the mean man who had tried to toss Callie and her kittens in the frozen water on Christmas Eve.

She snapped her fingers.

“I know just who will help.”

Paula flew back down to where Callie’s kittens were sleeping around her, snug and warm under the cape. She had moved them under the bridge, up in a corner.

“I’m going to go get you some help,” Paula said. “Will you be okay here?”

“We’ve seen worse,” Callie said. “Do you need your cape?”

“No,” Paula said. “I can actually fly faster without it, but don’t tell my mom or Santa. I really like it, and I wouldn’t want to hurt their feelings. I’ll be back. Oh, here.” She handed Callie a small device with a button and a strap. “If anything happens, anything at all, push that button, and I’ll know it’s an emergency. I can find you that way.” Mack sneezed again, and cried a little.

“Thank you, Paula. I’m worried these two might have caught cold. Mack has been sneezing for a couple days.”

“I’ll hurry,” she said, and rocketed into the night sky.

Blake opened the last one of his oysters and sighed. It was the kind of Christmas he liked best – quiet. He was enjoying sitting around the fire with his two huge dogs, Big Boy and Thor.

Thor looked up at the night sky and growled. Blake laughed.

“Calm down, boy. You ain’t going to bite Santa Claus are you?”

“I hope you won’t bite me, either,” Paula said, hovering over Mister Blake’s truck. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Paula!” the dogs barked.

“Well, if ain’t the flying super possum! Paula, Merry Christmas! I like those new earrings. I’d offer you an oyster, but we just finished the last of them.”

“I didn’t realize that was you,” Thor said. “I’m sorry.”

“Not a problem. Mister Blake, I need some help.” Paula hovered by the fire and explained about Callie, the kittens and the mean man. The dogs rumbled deep in their throats. Blake stood, leaning on his walking stick as he kicked dirt toward the edges of the fire. He headed for his big truck and opened the door.

“Load up, boys!” The springs creaked as the big dogs jumped inside.

The Mean Man, whose name was Rory, sped down the dark country road. It was Christmas Eve, but he had never really care for the holiday. Rory didn’t care much for anything. He actually enjoyed tossing those nasty cats into the creek.

He caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye, and almost wrecked – it was the mother cat and her babies – and they were flying along, being carried by a possum wearing a cape!

Rory growled and swerved to the left, but the possum flew up and away. He rubbed his eyes. He had to be seeing things. Possums can’t fly.

“That’s about like believing in Santa Claus!” he laughed, and sped up as he went around a curve.

The truck skidded as he slammed on the brakes, and Rory fought with the steering wheel, barely stopping. The engine stalled, and he found himself bathed in red light.

Parked across the highway was a huge sleigh, with reindeer harnessed in front. Standing beside the sleigh, with his arms crossed, was a tall, wide, strong looking man with a white beard, wearing a red suit.

For the first time in years, Rory was scared.

The big man in red was not happy.

“Santa, this is Paula. We have confirmation,” Paula said into her microphone.

“Copy that, Paula. We’ll handle it from here. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!”

Paula zoomed away, heading toward the coast.

“I still wish you’d have let me at’im!” Mack hissed.

“Hush and hold on,” Callie said.

The drone followed closely behind Rory’s truck, invisible in the night sky, its camera seeing  everything. Hermie zoomed in on the license tag of the truck, then keyed the plate into the computer.

“He sees you if you’re sleeping, he knows if you’re awake,” Hermie sang to himself as the screen lit up. Hermie’s eyes went wide when he ran the plate on the truck. Rory was wanted in three states and had a bunch of outstanding warrants. He adjusted the frequency on his control panel, checked it against his list, and pressed the talk button.

“All units, all units, this is Santa Central. Be advised we have a suspect for switching heading east in a pickup. License number ….”

Miles stretched out across the back of the sofa. It had been a busy year, teaching the new kittens in the Good Citizen Academy, and helping his human Jennifer with the sick kittens and cats. There were just so many. Jennifer was almost asleep, and Miles was purring happily, wondering which of the ornaments he could knock off the sparkling Christmas tree.

Something flashed across the sky in the backyard, and Miles turned his head, curious. It was flying, whatever it was, and came around the horse pasture before heading toward the front of the house. He slid from the back of the couch, careful not to disturb Jennifer, and headed to look out the front window.

Just before he got there, someone knocked at the door. Jennifer jumped up.

“Who in the world is coming up here at this time of night on Christmas Eve?” she said.

“Nothing good happens after 10 p.m.,” Miles said.

Jennifer opened the door, and was confused at first. There was no one standing under the porch light.

“Ah, pardon the intrusion,” Paula said. We’re down here.” Jennifer gasped.

“Paula the Superpossum! It’s great to finally meet you.”

“The honor is mine, Miss Jennifer,” Paula said. “I’ve heard all about how you help the lost kittens. You’re a hero to me and to a lot of people. That’s why I’m here.”

Callie crept up the steps, carrying Mack, who was wheezing. Muff tried to hide behind Callie.

“These are some friends of mine, Callie and her kids. Mack is very sick. Can you help?” Lies sighed.

“Just when I thought we had some time off.”

Rory shook his head. He ignored the headlights behind him, and the sound of a big truck engine. Santa Claus was coming toward him, shaking his finger.

“You have been a naughty, naughty boy,” he said.

“You – You aren’t real!” Rory said. Santa cracked his knuckles inside thick leather gloves.

“Ho, ho, ho. You want to bet on that?”

Rory took a step backward, then turned around to run back to his truck.

He stopped and stared.

A big man in a baseball cap was standing there, leaning on a long walking stick. To enormous dogs sat beside him, growling loud enough that Rory could hear them over the rumble of the big truck’s engine.

“Merry Christmas,” Blake said. “You goin’ somewhere?”

Chief Corey wanted to be home with his family, but he also wanted his officers to be able to enjoy the holiday, so he took the night shift for Christmas Eve. He was surprised when a strange voice came on the radio with a call for any available officer to respond, just down the road from the lake, but Chief Corey was happy to have something to do before heading for home. He flipped on his blue lights and sped off.

Rory blubbered an apology. He had never been so scared in all his life. He was trapped on a long dark country road, with an angry Santa on one side and a dump truck driven by a huge burly man with two massive dogs on the other. He wondered how cold the swamp was on either side of the road, and decided the bull mastiffs could probably swim and bite at the same time.

Even the reindeer were frightening, especially the one with the red nose that kept glowing brighter and brighter.

Santa pulled out a long sheet of paper, and began quoting dates and bad things Rory had done, things he’d forgotten about from when he was a little kid. It was a long list.

Blake sighed, spat chewing tobacco, and hefted his walking stick.

“Santa, okay if me and the boys handle this?” Santa chuckled as he folded the paper and put it back in his coat.

“Now, Blake. Let’s do this the right way. Look, here comes one of our friends now.”

Rory had never been happy to see blue lights before in his life. He ran past the big man and the dogs and got on his knees in front of the policeman, lacing his fingers on the back of his head.

“Please arrest me, Officer! Please! That – Santa – reindeer – he’s – I…”

Chief Corey cautiously approached the man and handcuffed him. Blake and his dogs came walking over from the big truck.

“Merry Christmas, Blake. You know anything about this? What’s this about Santa?”

“He was right there!” Rory yelled. “Don’t let him get me!”

Echoing through the trees they heard someone laughing.

“Ho, ho, ho!”

Miss Lucy was tired, but she made sure the new clients were safe and warm. The little girl kept crying about missing her cat and kittens. Lucy hated when her clients had to leave their pets behind. She hoped someday the shelter would be big enough to help the animals, too. At least she could help the moms and dads and kids who were having a bad time.

Her telephone rang, and Lucy sighed. She didn’t recognize the number.

“This is Lucy.”

“Miss Lucy, this is Paula the Superpossum. The Wildman said I should call you.”

“Paula! Merry Christmas! How can I help?”

“Did you get a mom and a little girl named Sarah in this evening?”

“We did. Sweet little girl is crying about her cat and kittens.”

“Whew,” Paula said. “Please tell Sarah that Callie, Mack and Muff are okay. They’re at the cat rescue with Miss Jennifer and Miles. The kittens are a little sick, but they’re going to be okay. Oh, and the Wildman and Allmother are trying to find a new home for Sarah and Miss Jane.”

“Paula, thank you so much!”

“I haven’t done anything,” Paula said. “Merry Christmas!”

“And Merry Christmas to you!” Lucy said.

Paula zoomed high into the sky, enjoying the crisp cold air. She flew some barrel rolls in front of the moon, and was thinking about how her earrings sparkled in the moonlight when her phone rang.

“This is Paula.”

“Paula, this is Hermie. Santa needs a hand.”

“Send me some directions,” Paula said. “I’m on the way.”

“Merry Christmas, Superpossum!”

Paula flew off into the night, heading for her next adventure.

Editor’s Note—Jennifer Witkowski and Miles operate Miles to Go Kitten Rehab, serving all of Southeastern North Carolina. If you’d like to help Miles and Jennifer, contact them at milestogokittenrehab@gmail.com. You can also learn more about Miles To Go on their Facebook page.

Lucy Byrd is part of the dedicated team at Families First, a non-profit dedicated to helping domestic violence survivors as well as those who have suffered abuse. To find out how you can help, email info@familiesfirstnc.org. If you are in need of assistance, call the 24 hour crisis line at 910.641.0444.

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