Christmas in New York

"Ari discovers that all the children in the world, at a time of year known as Christmas, receive presents and see all their wishes fulfilled by writing a letter to Santa Claus. Knowing nothing about Christmas, he seeks information from Winner, Fox and the Owl, his closest friends. Even they do not know very much, although Winner remembers the time with pleasure (when he lived among the humans) and Fox insists that he saw Santa Claus in his town. Ari writes a letter to Santa Claus and asks to see his parents again. He also asks for three presents: one for Winner, one for Fox and one for the Owl. Thanks to the Owl’s foresight, he gets clothes which are suitable for winter in the city. With the help of Arbor, they move to New York on the day before Christmas Eve. The city is whitened by snow and the lights from the shop windows, as well as crowds of busy people in the streets, amaze little Ari. Fox takes him to the place where he knows he will find Santa Claus. They are very disappointed when they find out that this is not the real Santa Claus, but only a human, one of the many helpers involved in picking up the children’s letters. Fox takes his two friends to St. Patrick’s parish church. There he finds an old friend, the cook of the soup-kitchen. He gives Fox and Winner something to eat, while Father Ramirez and Father O’Neill look after Ari. They take him to the room where the poor people eat and Ari, speaking to two children, learns what poverty is. He gives Father Ramirez a button from his jerkin, which actually is a ruby, saying that he found it in the street, and moves away with Fox and Winner. Father Ramirez realizes that he has received a precious stone as a gift only when the boy has gone, and cries out that this miracle will enable him to provide a wonderful Christmas for the poor of his parish. Ari is disappointed and desolate because he does not know where to find Santa Claus. As the sleigh used by Santa Claus is pulled by reindeers, Winner thinks that Bimbo, making his way through the Black Forest, will surely know how to find him. Once again, with the help of Arbor, they are transported to the Black Forest. Bimbo takes them to a secret mountain hut where elves, gnomes, marmots and squirrels are preparing the packages for Santa Claus. The chief of the elves explains that they never see Santa Claus, because when they have finished preparing the packages they always fall asleep from exhaustion and Santa Claus comes and takes everything while they are asleep. Nor can he pass on Ari’s letter, because unfortunately the time for requests is now closed. However, Ari can still send it in time from New York because, thanks to the time difference, Santa Claus’ helpers in the city still have time to forward his request. Ari and his friends return to the Big Apple, find a mailbox and send Ari’s letter. Having taken part in the big Christmas dinner organized for the poor of St. Patrick’s, they decide to wait for Santa Claus to arrive on the steps of the church. The three fall asleep and Santa Claus arrives, granting little Ari’s wishes, and making him spend a wonderful night with his parents. While little Ari and his parents are building a marvellous snowman, Fox and Winner go to the old meeting place for stray dogs, the Meatball Club, and have a party with their old friends, wolfing down all the hot dogs from a cart that appears from nowhere… The next morning, our three heroes wake up on the steps of the church, convinced that it was all a dream until Ari finds that the snowman he made with his parents is there. They then find the parcel with the ball Ari had asked Santa Claus to bring for Winner, along with the gift of new glasses for the old owl. In this way, Fox too understands that the feast of hot dogs with his friends was also real and not a dream, and that it was the very present Ari had wished for him. Together they return quickly to Owl to tell him about everything, give him his present and wish him a Merry Christmas. "