Quoth The Raven 404

Boxing Day began in HQ with a standout presentation by Private of The True Meaning Of Boxing Day, completed by Marlene's touchy feely addition of give only what you want to give because intention is everything.

Skipper felt all eyes settle on him. If his baby Sally weren't at the Doc's having her two month checkup, he assumed she would be casting him a daughterly expectant look, too.

"Since you think you're my employees," he said shortly, "reconvene at 1600 hours. That is all."

Marlene dismissed his words with a wave that said oh honey you're being silly and appeared excited during her first official Boxing Day as Team-Member-On-As-Needed-Basis. She left her love, him, behind as she led Rico, Kowalski, and Private to her own habitat for an exhilarating thirty laps of her own pond to be followed by a hostess-y round of hot cocoa on this chilly day. The crowds of Christmas turkey-sated humans stayed away in droves, and that was okay with Skipper because he needed time to think of what to give.

By 1330, he had changed his mind three times. As Alice tromped her way over to their island via the gangplank that dipped into a crescent with her robust weight, the zookeeper in her oblivious way seemed not to notice that only a solitary penguin was on hand to receive his baby daughter back into custody. He tucked away Sally after shooting a dirty look towards the woman sprouting red colored long thermal underwear from beneath her khaki shorts.

"'Bye, baby girl. Don't pick up bad habits from your dad," Alice snickered as she straddled the wood for an out of character conga line dance step while dragging the gangplank back to the zoo storage building. If she thought she inspired memories of the sainted Steve Irwin with her clothing and exuberance, then she was mistaken.

"You pathetic excuse for a zookeeper - never mind. Sally, we're going to visit Uncle Phil and Uncle Mason since your Mama and the team are still goofing off, doesn't that sound like fun?"

Sally bubbled three blobs of spit in reply. After feeling the wetness of her fur in his brood pouch, Skipper held her high as he thought there was no time like the present to start water training for his pengotter daughter. "Into the drink, mavourneen!" he called as he plunged them both into the chlorined blue for the prescribed five second beginning of the training. Upon surfacing, he laughed at her astonished face and kissed away a droplet from her cheek. "Way to go, sweetie pie! You're one of us aquatic themed display animals now!"

Phil and Mason provided holiday ribbon candy and they all sucked on it as Skipper directed what he required of Phil, the only literate animal he knew. Mason provided translation and general commentary and by 1530 hours, Skipper declared the gift complete. Mason supplied a puzzle box, which the keepers gave to chimps to "stimulate their minds with play," but as Mason put it, "Phil and I put one over on Alice and Doc by undoing the screws to the hinges, removing the hook-and-eye latch, and putting it all back together again in two minutes right in front of the human crowds. Color the scientific types confused, eh wot?"