It’s Christmas Eve and all the little panda kindergarteners are snug in their beds, hoping that Pandy Claws will come down the chimney with lots of gifts, conveniently overlooking how very NOT good they have been this past year.  Do we need to count the ways?  I think not…we are hoping that Pandy Claws will overlook one …or …um…3,679 slightly naughty things they have done this year.

Those of us who are devoted to pandas have already gotten one very big gift this year, and that is of course our “little gift”  Xiao Liwu, affectionately called “little Mr. Wu” by those of us who love him and would like to get our hands on his furry little patootie…oops.  Excuse me…I get carried away when thinking of his cute Wu self.  So today’s cartoon is dedicated to Mr. Wu.

Leaping out of his holiday wrapping, we want to take this little gift home with us!

I’m taking tomorrow off from posting, but I’ll be back with more pandas on Wednesday!  You may have noticed that Mehitabel has been taking some time off from the pandas, but rest assured she is well and will be back in January to whip those panda kindergarteners into shape!

We do not forget the sadness we all felt earlier this fall when the new cub of our beloved Mei Xiang, did not survive this fall.  No one said being an endangered species was going to be easy.  We love our smallest bear in San Diego no less, and perhaps a bit more, than we might have otherwise.  To those of us who are having a less than jolly holiday, we hope we  pandas have lightened the darkness just a little at least. There is much in the world both at large and personally that makes us wonder if there will be light after all the darkness. Keep the faith, and be the bears.  I couldn’t do it without you.

Be the Bear,

Bob T. Panda