Haimish Sneaks a Peek

Well hello! Steve, the narrator here. It’s getting really close to Christmas. I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait to see the joy on people’s faces as they open their presents. I know that, for kids, it’s more fun to open them. In fact, today’s story is about Haimish’s excitement. It’s so great that he decides to see what he got before Christmas morning. Let’s drop in and see what’s happening.

Haimish comes into the family room. There’s no one there. There’s a fire going in the fireplace, but the sound of the fire is the only sound. He’s acting sneaky, looking around to see if anyone is nearby, then slowly creeping toward the Christmas tree. He sees one of his presents under the tree and slowly pulls it out. Looking around again, he leans over the gift.

“Ah dinnae ken wut is in here,” he says to himself. “But ah can find oot right quick!” He begins to peel back the paper on the present, to see what’s inside.

Behind him, his father comes into the room. He sees Haimish with the present and quietly steps back out of the room. He waits a moment, then makes some heavy walking sounds in the hallway. He steps back out into the family room.

Haimish had covered the gift up and pushed it back under the tree. He is sitting by the fireplace, trying not to look guilty.

Pa hides a smile as he says, “Wut’s the craic?” to Haimish. (What’s happening?)

Haimish looks everywhere but at Pa. “Nought, Pa. Ah’m joost kippin’ by the far.” (Nothing, Pa. I’m just sitting by the fire.)

Pa stares at Haimish. “Ah see, laddie.” He sees the gift with the messed-up gift wrap. He looks at Haimish and asks, “Ya wuidnae be snoakin’ the gifts, wuid ya?” (You’re not sneaking a look at the presents, are you?)

Haimish begins to stammer, “N-n-nae, p-p-Pa…” Before he said anything else, Pa picked Haimish up and put him on his lap. Pa points a finger at Haimish.

“Afore ya speak, laddie, wut ‘av ah said aboot haverin’?” (Before you say anything, what have I said about lies?)

Haimish swallowed. “Haverin’ be a sign the Devil is aboot.” (Lies are a sign of the Devil.)

“Aye, laddie. So tell me true.”

Haimish starts to sniffle. With tears in his eyes, he tells Pa he was sneaking a peek at his gift. He looks down, expecting the worst. Pa takes a deep breath and blows it out.

His voice is low as he says to Haimish, “Och, ya wannae see wut ya got early. So did ah at yer age.” With a finger he lifts Haimish’s face so he can look into his eyes. “Lemme tell ya wut mae Paw said tae me.”

“Paw said, ‘Snoakin’ Christmas gifts chores joy.’ Do ya ken?” (Sneaking a look at Christmas gifts steals joy, do you understand?)

Haimish thought a moment, then shook his head. “Nae, Pa. I dinnae.”

Pa smiled, “Och, lad. Dae ya like the look on Ma’s face when she opens her gifts? Dae it make ya happy?”

Haimish smiled, “Och, aye, Pa! Ah luv tae see her smile!”

“Pa nodded, “That be joy, laddie!” He continued, “Dae ya ken she wuid look the same if she ken the gift afore?” (Would she look the same if she knew what the gift was before she got it?)

Haimish thought a moment. He shook his head, “Nae, Pa, she winnae.” (No, Pa, she wouldn’t.)

Pa leaned in toward Haimish and lowered his voice. “So, if she nae feels the joy o’ the surprise, ‘ow can anyone else feel joy at ‘er surprise?”

Haimish’s face bunched up, “They cannae, Pa.” Suddenly a thought came to him, and his face brightened. “Och! ‘Snoakin’ Christmas gifts chores joy,’ I ken noo!” (I get it now!)

Haimish turned serious and looked up at Pa. “Pa, ach, tha mi duilich.” (Ah, ha mee doo-lich. I’m sorry.)

Pa wrapped his arms around Haimish in a big hug. “Och, laddie! Ya make mae heart yoong rememberin’ wut was! Nollaig Chridheil dhut!” (No-likh chree-yell ghoot! Merry Christmas!) 

“Nollaig Chridheil dhut, Pa!”

So there you have it. Haimish tried to sneak a peek at one of his gifts. Was that a good thing to do? Pa told Haimish, “Snoakin’ Christmas gifts chores joy.” (Sneaking a look at Christmas gifts steals joy.) What does that mean? Have you ever ‘snoaked’ the Christmas gifts? Is that a good idea? Why or why not?

It’s OK to be excited for Christmas to get here. Just be patient, and think about how excited you’ll be when you’re surprised on Christmas morning! Merry Christmas!