THE CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS CONCERT
WRITTEN BY EMMA STEVENSON
High up on the rolling green hills overlooking a small sleepy seaside town, there is a very special place.
It is the Donkey Sanctuary, home to a thousand donkeys, of different colours and sizes. The Sanctuary is a place where all donkeys can go, to be cared for and looked after for the rest of their lives.
Some donkeys are old and retire there.
Some donkeys move there when their loving owners can no longer look after them.
And some donkeys have been cruelly treated and neglected and have been rescued by the Sanctuary.
At the Donkey Sanctuary NO donkey is turned away.
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Oh my, on any day, with a thousand donkeys, all with different personalities and needs to cater for, the Sanctuary is a very busy place indeed!
But today is going to be the busiest day of the whole year.
Why?
Because; as any donkey can tell you; today is the day of the Christmas Candlelight Candle Service. The donkeys invite humans to come from far and wide to join them in celebrating the Seasons festivities.
Donkeys are very sociable creatures and enjoy the company of humans. Even the donkeys who had been previously mistreated now appreciate humans after all the love and care they have received from their new staff.
The manager of the Sanctuary is a lovely lady named Susan, (although really the donkeys are in charge, they just let her believe she is the boss).
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Susan looked down at her clipboard; mince pies, mulled wine, candles, costumes, brass band, carol song sheets........She muttered to herself 'so much to do, I hope the weather will remain dry'
But before Susan and the donkeys' staff can prepare for the evenings celebrations, they need to deal with the daily runnings of the Sanctuary first.
Donkeys like routine, in fact they INSIST on it!
Donkeys are naturally early risers and they expect their staff to get up early too.
Even before their staff has arrived the donkeys will be already queuing in the main yard, eagerly awaiting their breakfasts.
Dillon always grumbles to himself 'Why can't breakfast be ready for me as soon as I get up?' and most of the donkeys agree with him.
Joey says 'It is almost important to train humans properly. but most usually try their best'
Megan butted in 'but we are lucky here, we can trust and depend on the humans here' all of the donkeys nodded in agreement with her.
Breakfast is always at 8:00 am. Buckets of food are distributed to their eager recipients. Meanwhile the blind donkeys, Dinky, Tom and Lola are led to their buckets by their friends (friendships are always close between donkeys) and they are all fed together.
It is very important to mention, if a donkey is not eating as normal, there is usually something wrong. Donkeys LOVE their food, so if they aren't eating with their usual delight, this indicates a problem. Luckily at the Sanctuary, a vet visits every single day,come rain, shine or even heavy snow. Donkeys don't mind vets but they do HATE dentists. Fortunately they only have a check up once a year. Donkeys think there is something undignified about having a human looking in their mouth!
As always the first group of donkeys to be seen are the 'oldies'. That's what the cheeky younger donkeys call them, they think it's funny. The 'oldies' are aged between 30 and 50 and are now living out their retirement. Many can tell you a sad story, such as Joey, who was chased by some children and had stones thrown at him. But now they are happy, being kept warm and fed during the winter, and grazing and sunbathing away their days during the summer.
By 12:00, everything should be done. Susan walks around the Sanctuary checking to see the donkey's water troughs are clean and full, and that their yards are tidy. Donkeys need a constant supply of fresh, clean water, they don't like dirty water and they will refuse to drink it!
Susan turned around, Charlie and Oscar poked their heads over the door of their stable, 'Phew, this morning went smoothly didn't it? said Susan, Charlie and Oscar nodded.
Susan continued 'We will have to get a move on, so much to do before your guests start to arrive at 5.00! And we need to get you two into your costumes'
'Hee-haw, hee-haw' replied the two donkeys as Susan rushed off to the main yard to get everything ready.
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It was approaching 5:00pm. the sun had gone down and had been replaced by a starry night sky. The donkeys can barely contain their excitement waiting for their guests to arrive. The donkeys agreed Susan and their staff had done such a good job at decorating their home. Gary, the oldest donkey at the Sanctuary thought to himself....'In the 50 years I have been here, I haven't seen this place look so beautiful' And Gary was right.
The 20,000 lit candles lit up the sky, making the Sanctuary look magical. The donkeys and their staff made the Sanctuary a wonderful and cosy place for their guests to come.
The warmly wrapped up gusts made their way through the candlelit pathways and displays, some in lines and others in Christmas shapes; stars, trees, angles......The candles led them around and past the stables where the shy donkeys quietly rested, although they raise their heads to say a friendly 'hell'.
Eventually, the candles led them to the main yard. In the yard the humans found stalls serving warming Christmas goodies such as mince pie, mulled wine and hot chocolate. Donkeys certainly know how to look after their guests.
Megan and Dillon are dressed in Santa costumes, with baskets attached to them filled with sweets. They walk through the crowd handing them out to the children.
Mean while the real Father Christmas is in his grotto, Charlie and Oscar are his little helpers. The children love seeing Charlie and Oscar dressed as elves just as much as meeting Father Christmas and receiving a gift.
Once all the guests have arrived they are asked to make their way to the big barn. This is where the carol service is being held. Inside ready to start was a brass band; they had cornets, horns, trombones, tubas and a drum. Donkeys believe that the carol service adds an exciting and special Christmas feel to the night.
Also donkeys enjoy singing and they like their human friends to join in with them. Together they sang many carols into the night; Once in Royal David's City, Silent Night, Away in a Manger.........................but
naturally there was only one carol the night could end with, have you guessed? That's right 'Little Donkey'.
That night, once their guests had gone home the donkeys lay awake in their stables unable to sleep because of the days excitements, thinking to themselves 'I don't know who enjoyed it the most us or the humans? But there was one thing they were sure of they were lucky to be safe and warm in the Sanctuary.
THE END
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