CHRISTMAS IN THE FOREST

Christmas in the forest is very like Christmas anywhere: the elephant brings the tree, the bats whistle carols, the squirrels tell of the first Christmas, the kangaroos pick cones and leaves to hang on the branches, the tiger strings berries, the monkeys put the ornaments on, the birds drop ""walnuts and apricots, chestnuts and plums"" upon the awed company watching the starry sky... The various kinds of animals behaving almost indiscriminately like human beings are more incongruous than inspiring, and the interjections of word-play (fir tree, animal fur) and rivalry (is a constellation a bear or a tiger?) further weaken the mood. Christmas in the forest is too much like Christmas at home.