Terry the Turkey

Word count: 338

Terry the Turkey loved his family of humans.  They all took care of him, called him by name, and the kids played with him when they got home from school.  In the recent weeks as the temperatures got colder, Terry noticed a change happening among his humans.  Foliage, lights, coloured balls and ribbons, and cheery music began filling the house more and more.  Maybe it was due to their newfound sense of happiness, but they had been feeding Terry more than usual.  He didn’t mind the extra weight, as it kept him warm in those cold nights in the coop.

In his short periods of time in the house, he saw the little people in the bright, noisy box in the living room decorate their houses like his family did, and listen to the same music.  They all seemed to have the same feast waiting for them at some point, and he heard something about a “turkey dinner.”  While he held out hope that it mean the dinner was for the turkey to eat, he never saw a live turkey partaking.

The day he dreaded was upon him.  The smells that had been filling the house made him realise that the feast was being prepared.  Many colourful boxes surrounded the biggest tree in the house.  Today, the kids sat in the living room with Terry, reading to him from their books and snuggled against him a lot more.

The next day, well after the colourful boxes had been savagely ripped apart, his human father carried him to the table, all toasty and warm.  He was set down by the delectable dishes that had been prepared: roasted corn-on-the-cob, green bean casserole, and sweet potato pie, to name a few.  After Dad said a quick and thankful prayer, Mom set down a plate in front of Terry, full of food made specially for him.

“Merry Christmas, Terry!” Mom said, soon repeated by the rest of the family.

“Gobble, gobble!” Terry said, and then started “gobbling” down his own turkey’s dinner.