In the land of Whymsy lies the town of Sugarsweet, where rivers flow with melted marshmallow and the townspeople work hard to ensure there's enough sweets for stockings at Christmas.
Bastien's Strange Morning
That morning, Bastien, Mayor of Sugarsweet, awoke. He dressed in his mayoral garb, stepped onto the balcony, and leapt off. He welcomed the cool morning air as it rushed against him, chilling his skin and waking him up fully. He caught sight of the morning sun glinting off glazed windows around him as he sank beneath the iced gingerbread rooftops.
At the bottom he plunged deep into a ginormous jelly bowl, which had been placed there by an official decree. The jelly caught him in suspension above the ground, cushioning his fall and surrounding him in a sweet berry scent. With glee he took bite after bite out of the gloopy, nutritious jelly around him until he was full. Once he'd had enough he swam to the edge and climbed out.
Warlie and Chonka waited for him beside the bowl on the jellybean cobbles. They were his favourite titushunds, which, at the height of a person, were the largest dog breed in the world. Titushunds were loved for being tremendously loyal and strong. They were often seen pulling sleds of ingredients through Sugarsweet. Today, someone had dressed them in lovely new red coats with gold buttons. However, whether they were marvellously dressed or not didn't matter; they were still dogs. They licked the remaining jelly off Bastien, as they did every morning. So, now he was washed and wide awake. Bastien was able to start another day in Sugarsweet. He took to the streets humming a tuneless jig.
Odd Sights on the Streets
Bastien walked across the multicoloured jellybean cobblestones into the heart of the town. He couldn't help but notice that every dog he passed wore a red coat with shiny gold buttons, just like Warlie and Chonka's. They looked fantastic. He patted one's head and whispered, "Sharp as sherbet today, eh?", before moving on.
He wandered down Sugarsweet's main street where all of the shops were. Looking ahead he saw the local baker Charleston standing back from his shop, admiring fresh stencilled white artwork on his windows.
"Isn't it wonderful!" Charleston exclaimed as Bastien passed.
Bastien stopped, eyes bulging with amazement. "Wow, you've outdone yourself this time. What a beautiful scene. When did you find time to do this? That window was clear yesterday. Did you paint in your sleep?"
Charleston tore his eyes from the windows. "Me? You think I did this? No, no, no. I got here early this morning and it was already in place! I must admit, I keep coming out and staring at it between batches of baking. I wonder who did it? And why?"
"Beats me. Another thing, have you noticed all the new dog coats? Do you think there's a connection between your windows and the dog coats? Maybe someone's setting up a secret fashion parade?"
Charleston glanced around at the huge dogs wandering the streets in their bright new coats, which was the first time he’d spotted them. He'd been too distracted by his windows to notice. "Not a clue, Mr Mayor. Who arranged for those coats to be bought?"
"Some strange goings-on, Charleston to be sure. I'll get to the bottom of it." Bastien winked, twirling an imaginary detective's moustache.
Bastien continued. He spotted more changes. The jolly St Nick statue had fresh colours, a fresh coat of glaze made his bright red coat and black boots flash in the sunlight. Bastien saluted the statue with a theatrical bow, and it winked back. Post boxes had even been given some decorative woollen hats and seasonal decorations. He gave each one a slight bow, which the post boxes responded to by upturning the corners of their post slots to form a smile in recognition. *Wouldn’t it be grand if they chatted back?* Bastien mused aloud, chuckling as he passed, then paused to tip his hat to a lamppost that seemed to nod in reply.
Christmas lights hung everywhere. A festive scene of inflatable decorations showed giant dogs ice skating. Children skated through the inflatables’ legs, challenging each other to go faster and be more daring. Every now and then, a spray of bubbles filled the sky from a festively painted bubble cannon. The bubbles popped in rhythm to Bastien's skip.
Bastien couldn’t believe his eyes. The town had never looked better. While everyone had prepared for Christmas in their usual way, no one told him that additional works would be done. He couldn't believe all the changes overnight! He wondered who could have done it? Whooping, cheering, and rushing feet snapped him away from his thoughts. A group of townspeople were headed to the river. Curious, Bastien followed with a hop. "Excuse me! What’s going on? Where’s everyone off to? A jellybean jamboree?"
Mystery at the River
A young woman did a double-take at the mayor. She stuttered, "Jellyphins! In the river! No one knows how they got there!"
"Jellyphins? Ridiculous! How did they get into the river?" Bastien exclaimed, flapping his arms like fins.
"I think they swam?" she said without thinking.
Bastien stopped, flabbergasted, spinning on his heel. He called after her, "Swam? Really? I’ve seen them up close, they don’t swim at all. They glide effortlessly through water like living silk, movements in perfect rhythm with the currents, so perfect they barely disturb the surface as glowing tendrils trail behind!" She rushed on. He called louder, struggling to keep up with a comical jog, "My good folk! Any idea how jellyphins ended up frolicking in our marshmallow river? Did they tiptoe in on candy canes?" Too far to hear, or ignoring him, they ran on. Bastien straightened his coat, eyes sparkling. In addition to the decorations, this day gets stranger and stranger, he thought to himself, grinning wildly.
Bastien hurried to the bridge for the best view, looking out across golden biscuit islands. Sure enough, jellyphins hopped above meringue-peaked waves, water trailing in arcs from their fins. He clapped in delight.
"What in all the sweetness is going on?" he wondered aloud, leaning so far over the rail, a passerby had to yank him backward to stop him toppling over the edge. He thanked them heartily before stepping back and watching from a safer place. He was bewitched by their majesty, and couldn't help but mimic their leaps, turns, and graceful movements.
Reports of Theft
Flustered sugarsmith Kindee Cain approached, a large piece of solidified sugarglass hanging from one side of his twizzled moustache. "Mayor Bastien, sir! All the sweets have disappeared! I fell asleep working in the sweetlab last night and woke fixed to my desk by sugarglass!"
"Have you told the Sweetcorps? They handle burglaries," Bastien said, peering at the moustache sugar with fascination, poking it gently.
Kindee looked dismayed. "I have, but they’re dealing with other thefts from the night!"
"Like what?"
"All the red fabric from the tailors, golden buttons from the haberdashery, paint from the supply store, and more!"
Bastien nodded, eyes twinkling. "Looks like someone took them to make the town nicer, just see them in use everywhere. But I get your point. Theft is theft." He reached into his pocket to find a piece of paper and a pen to take note of the theft. The paper he pulled out was a note in his clerk’s handwriting which read, "I’ve set a town meeting for 3pm as per your request." Bastien looked around, confused; he hadn’t asked for it. He glanced about for his clerk, but there was no sign of his happy helper. He shrugged with a flourish. "A mystery within a mystery!"
The Town Meeting
Later, Bastien met with the townsfolk at 3pm. It appeared that everyone had received a summons for the meeting and those who hadn't had come along anyway. Looking out at them from atop an old soapbox, he addressed them with a grand sweep of his arms. "Greetings, good people. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what this meeting is all about. I will raise one thing that I'm aware of while we're all here, though. I'm sorry to report that there have been some thefts from our fine town, a black mark on our usual kindly ways. Sweetcorps are on it, I assure you. It would appear that goods were stolen to make the town look more festive. Don't get me wrong, I love what’s been done to make Sugarsweet look so wonderful, but stealing is wrong. Whoever’s behind this, hand yourselves to a Sweetcorps officer, reimburse the owners, and we’ll end it here." A rumble of agreement rose.
Bastien paused to continue when a sheepish young man’s hand shot up in the crowd.
"Excuse me, sir. I put some lights up that appeared at my house last night. I only did the lights. A box was left at my door with a note: put them up round the fountain, get a gift."
Another hand. "That was me; I put the box there. My note said take the starred box from the shop at 12.00 noon; it was paid for, I just had to deliver it, to get a gift."
A slower hand. "I got a note that said to put a star sticker on the lights box in the shop."
The shopkeeper chimed in. "Mine said feed the cat out back at 11:50, it’d visit, and I’d get a gift."
Hands kept rising. One released the jellyphins. Another apologised for spilling liquid sugarglass on Kindee’s workbench, thinking they were helping him finish a delivery. Someone owned up to painting the baker’s window stencils. Each simple task had chained together, turning Sugarsweet into the most wonderful place.
Bastien, pleased yet puzzled, wondered who orchestrated it, bouncing on his toes. He didn’t wait long.
The Secret Revealed
Sleigh bells rang loud through cool crisp air. Santa and his reindeer landed. A hearty "Ho! Ho! Ho!" nearly exploded from his lips.
"Greetings, one and all! Hope you enjoyed your gifts! Christmas is for giving, you don’t need to do much, just a simple task for another. My promised gift, the most important this season: community. Shop owners, don’t fret, elves replaced your missing goods. I hope I didn’t worry you too much. Thank you, Sugarsweet, for the amazing sweets in children’s stockings every year!"
Santa shook Bastien’s hand. Bastien beamed, doing a little victory dance. Everyone cheered, gazing in marvel at the town they’d all helped decorate. From that day on, they promised to work together to decorate the town next year, and every one after.
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