The Day before Christmas

One Christmas Eve, Friendly was in charge of babysitting Zee-Zee the clever 2-year old squirrel, and Timothy the 3-year old raccoon. Both of the cubs were in training pants, so Friendly knew he'd have to check them periodically to see if they needed a change. Zee-Zee was better than Timothy at using the potty - Timothy hadn't quite got the hang of his pull-ups and how they worked yet. Friendly made sure he gave Zee-Zee lots of praise and encouragement when he did successfully use the potty, and also gave Timothy comfort when he didn't quite make it to the potty and changed him into a fresh pair of pull-ups.
As Friendly was in the kitchen, he heard a bulletin message on the radio, Friendly turned it up and listened:
"This afternoon, Santa Claus is at the local swimming pool giving out presents to good boys and girls, as well as photographs of your child with Santa Claus! If your kids want their photo taken with Santa Claus, head down to the local pool right away!"
Friendly smiled, he knew Zee-Zee's parents would love a photo of their clever little boy with Santa, as would Timothy's parents love a photo of him with Santa, and not to mention the presents too.
Just then, Timothy and Zee-Zee came into the kitchen.
"Would you like to go swimming, boys?" Friendly asked them.
"Yeah!" squeaked Zee-Zee excitedly.
"Okay!" joined in Timothy.

Friendly got his backpack and put the boys' swimming trunks, some extra training pants, and a few swim diapers into the bag. Friendly also packed Timothy's floaties and Zee-Zee's rubber ring inside.
"Can we ride our bikes to the pool Friendly?" asked Timothy, hopefully.
"Yeah! It's not snowy outside" agreed Zee-Zee.
"Um... well, I guess you could try. You might not get very far though, it's a bit icy outside"
"Okay!" said Timothy, running to get his bike out of the garage. Zee-Zee followed him.
Friendly went outside and locked the front door, slinging his full backpack on his back.
"Off we go!" said Zee-Zee, turning the pedals on his bike and riding slowly up the driveway, with Timothy following behind.
Suddenly, the rear wheel of Zee-Zee's bike began to slip on the ice. The squirrel turned his pedals harder to try and get up the hill, but the back wheel of his tigger bike just spun helplessly and he came to a halt.
"Oh no!" cried Zee-Zee, trying even harder to ride up the icy driveway, but his little tigger bike just couldn't get any traction.
The squirrel looked over at Timothy, who wasn't doing any better; as the raccoon turned his pedals the back wheel of his red bike just spun helplessly and he was starting to slide backwards.
Friendly stood inbetween the two boys and held onto their handlebars to stop them from sliding back any further, he smiled at them.
"I told you, didn't I?" he said, chuckling as he looked at the rear wheels of the cubs' bikes, which were still struggling to get a grip on the icy driveway.
"But, how are we gonna get to the pool?!" squeaked Timothy.
"Don't worry, we can catch the bus instead" said Friendly, "Come on, let's get your bikes inside the garage where they'll be safe"
Timothy sniffled as he dismounted his bike and walked it back down the hill. Friendly opened the garage door and helped Zee-Zee and Timothy to put their bikes way.
"Bye-bye, bike" sniffled Timothy.
"Oh, it's okay sweetheart" said Friendly, giving the little raccoon a hug and a kiss on his cheek. "We might see your dad on the bus, he drives the one that goes past the pool doesn't he?"
"Uh-huh" said Timothy, smiling at the thought of seeing his dad.
So, Friendly helped Timothy and Zee-Zee up the driveway and out towards the main road. The bus stop wasn't that far away, and they arrived there within minutes of leaving the house.
"How long do we have to wait for the bus?" asked Timothy.
"It should be here soon, let me check" said Friendly, kneeling down slightly to read the bus timetable attached to the bus stop post.
"Friendly's really clever!" squeaked Zee-Zee to Timothy, "He can tell when a bus is coming by looking at numbers!"
"That's right Zee-Zee" said Friendly, "The bus should be here in a couple of minutes, so we don't have to wait long"
"Yay!" said Zee-Zee.

After five minutes of waiting, Timothy and Zee-Zee were beginning to shiver as the cold wind blew into the bus shelter.
"Where's the bus, Friendly?" asked Zee-Zee, stuttering slightly as his teeth began to chatter.
Friendly looked around the corner.
"Here it is" said Friendly, as the loud roaring noise of the bus engine became audible to the cubs' ears.
"Let's go on the nice warm bus!" squeaked Zee-Zee, as it pulled into the bus stop and the doors opened.
Friendly helped Timothy and Zee-Zee up the stairs to where the farebox was, and paid his fare in coins. Timothy and Zee-Zee were free since they were both under the age of six. Timothy looked up at the driver - it wasn't his dad.
"Let's go sit down at the back, Timmy!" said Zee-Zee.
"Okay!" replied Timothy, running to the back of the bus with the squirrel.
Soon, they were all sitting comfortably together. Timothy and Zee-Zee shared the window seat, while Friendly sat next to them. As the bus left the bus stop, Timothy squeaked and looked down at his shorts, and he began to sniffle.
"What's wrong Timothy?" asked Zee-Zee, holding the raccoon's paw.
"I... I... wet my twaining pants" sniffled Timothy, looking sadly at the squirrel.
Zee-Zee then felt that familiar feeling that he had to go potty, and looked up at Friendly.
"I need to use the potty Friendly!" said Zee-Zee.
"You'll have to try and hold it Zee-Zee" said Friendly, "It's okay though, I've got to change you out of your training pants anyway when we get to the pool"
"Why?" asked Zee-Zee.
"Your training pants won't work in the pool, they'll just swell up and feel heavy on you" explained Friendly.
"I hate wearing swim diapers, they feel scratchy" said Timothy.
"But... but, I don't wear diapers!" protested Zee-Zee.
"Sorry buddy, you're going to have to wear a swim-diaper in the pool, it's the rules" said Friendly, "We won't be in there long though, so it should be alright"
Zee-Zee felt a little upset that he'd have to wear a swim-diaper, suddenly he realized he'd wet his training pants too and he sniffled. Timothy was quick to hold Zee-Zee's paw and look at him sympathetically.
"I don't like them either" said Timothy, "But at least our training pants won't get completely soaked"
Zee-Zee smiled as he realized what the raccoon meant, and he tried to stifle a little giggle.
"You're right, Timothy" he said.

About ten minutes later, they arrived at the pool. Friendly helped Zee-Zee and Timothy down the stairs and onto the pavement, before waving to the driver and saying thanks to him for the ride.
They entered the recreation centre, and soon they found Santa sitting just behind the ticket barriers, with a few kids already getting their photos taken and their gifts from Santa. Friendly paid the admission for himself, Zee-Zee and Timothy, and they went through the barriers together - making their way over to the small lineup to see Santa.
Suddenly, a funny smell reached Friendly's nose. He sniffed a little and smiled when he realized who it was coming from. Timothy sniffled sadly as he looked towards the seat of his shorts.
"Oh dear Timothy" smiled Friendly, "Come here, it's okay"
Timothy began to cry as Friendly knelt down and gave him a hug.
"Shhhh, it's okay Timothy, it's okay. Don't cry"
"But I'm supposed to be a big boy like Zee-Zee!" wailed Timothy, sobbing intermittently and burying his face in Friendly's chest.
"It's okay sweetheart, let's get you changed so you can see Santa" replied Friendly, rubbing Timothy's back and giving him a kiss on his cheek.
Timothy sniffled as Friendly tried to comfort him and took hold of his paw, heading off to the bathroom to change his training pants. Zee-Zee saw how upset Timothy was and gave him a little hug.
"It's okay Timmy, don't cry" said Zee-Zee. "I won't laugh at you"
Timothy gave Zee-Zee a little smile as he waddled into the bathroom with Friendly. The raccoon blushed as Friendly took off his soiled pull-ups and threw them into the garbage, before cleaning him up with some wipes and putting him in his swim diaper, and pulling his shorts up over it.
"Right, now it's your turn Zee-Zee" said Friendly, pulling Zee-Zee's shorts down and changing him into his swim diaper, and pulling his shorts up over it.
"It's not showing is it?" said Zee-Zee, blushing.
"Just a little" said Timothy, "It's okay though, nobody's gonna laugh at us"
Zee-Zee looked at himself in the mirror to make sure his swim diaper wasn't showing too much. He felt a little better about wearing it when he saw it was barely showing, and they went to see Santa before they went to take a dip in the pool.

That evening when Friendly brought Zee-Zee and Timothy back to his house they stood at the window together, watching the snowflakes falling. The snow had started a few hours ago, and it had already begun to settle on the ice-cold ground. Neither of them had their shorts on, but they didn't mind. It just made things easier for Friendly if they soaked their training pants.
"I hope it snows lots and lots so we can have fun in it tomorrow!" said Zee-Zee.
"Yeah! I love playing in da snow" agreed Timothy.
A few minutes later, two cars pulled into the driveway - it was Zed - Zee-Zee's daddy, and James - Timothy's daddy.
"Daddy!" squeaked Zee-Zee excitedly, running over to the front door and smiling happily as Friendly put his shorts on over his pull-ups.
As Friendly finished putting Timothy's shorts on over his training pants, he opened the door and let the grown-ups inside.
"Brrrrr, it's got real cold out there" said James, picking Timothy up and giving him a hug. "Were you a good boy for Friendly, Timothy?"
"He was, they both were" smiled Friendly, showing Zed and James the pictures of them with Santa at the pool.
"Thanks for that Friendly, I wanted to do that with Zee-Zee but didn't get the time, and today was the last day" sighed Zed, picking up Zee-Zee.
"Bye Friendly!" squeaked Zee-Zee, as Zed carried him off to the car.
Friendly got Zee-Zee's tigger bike out of the garage and put it into the car for Zed, and waved as the car backed out of the driveway with very little trouble. Friendly then got Timothy's bike out of the garage and helped James to put it into the trunk of the minivan.
"Thanks for doing that Friendly" smiled James, as he put Timothy into his car seat and closed the door. "Timothy's mom will love that picture"
"You're welcome" replied Friendly, "See you James"
"Bye Friendly" said James, closing the door of the car and putting it into reverse - but the wheels just spun on the ice and snow as he tried to back out of the driveway.
"Oh no, are we stuck daddy?" squeaked Timothy
"I think so... hang on, I'll try again" grunted James, moving the car forward a bit and reversing harder. This time the wheels didn't spin so much and the minivan was able to back out of the driveway.
Friendly chuckled and closed the front door, it had been quite an eventful afternoon. He walked over to the christmas tree in the lounge and looked at the presents underneath it... there were two there that hadn't been there before. He looked at them both.
"Dear Friendly, from Zee-Zee" said one, and "To Friendly, from Timothy" said the other one.
"Awww, thank you so much boys" Friendly said to himself, smiling happily.

-- The End --