Editor’s note:Amos is a church mouse, who types by hopping on the computer keyboard keys, but he can’t operate the capital shift, and he shuns punctuation marks — except hyphens and dashes. tangled in christmas boss i don t know if you ve noticed the wonder of the lighted world around us at this time of year but sometimes it takes my breath away like yesterday for example i decided to decorate my own little humble matchbox abode with a string of multicolored blinking lights actually i thought about those lovely icicle-looking white lights but by the time i hung them in lustrous array around my matchbox home they spread out a half-mile in all directions and nobody could come visit me and i could never leave home without tippytoeing through the lights and burning my little pink paws but the little red green blue and yellow blinking lights will do just fine thank you boss — at least i hope they won t burn up my little matchbox house in the process so you can imagine my excitement when i opened up the box and the string of lights tumbled out all over the floor of course boss i had to find the plug end so i waded in like a crazy dimwitted fool it wasn t long before i found myself completely engulfed by strands of electrical wire and brightly colored bulbs of varying intensity i had wires and bulbs around each of my four legs around my throat circling my ears and wrapped fifty times around my tail and boss i suspected i was in trouble i knew i was definitely in trouble when i saw freddy the flea hopping by and laughing uncontrollably whatcha doing amos says he trying to find my feet says me just look down says he you are such a clown and off he hops boss with nary a frown but it got worse because the ladies songbird choir came chirping by singing christmas carols in the frosty air they chirped here and they chirped there all seeming without a care first about we three kings and ending with god rest ye merry gentlemen i wasn t a cheerful audience boss now i know how a bird in sing-sing feels says me mournfully trying to sit on my heels then the worst happened boss marcellus the mean ol nasty cat found me but worse than that he found the plug end to the light set oh god help me i prayed with fervent intensity and closed my eyes fearing my destiny but lo and behold boss marcellus grinned a big cat grin and said here have a merry christmas my friend and boss i fainted dead away in joyful yuletide hilarity amos p s — merry christmas to one and all — and a happy new year as well