The chilly winter season brings about frosted window panes with snowflakes and hot cocoa cups with marshmallows. For the Shiversby family of four, the holidays quickly turn into a family feud in which tension burns enough to keep them warm.
The prized thermostat. More like a display piece than a functioning device in the Shiversby household. Papa Shiversby is the one to keep it that way as he likes to keep counting his coins. “Why waste money when we have perfectly wonderful ways to stay warm during the winter?”
Papa Shiversby’s wonderful past ideas (which failed):
- Create a fireplace by burning old books: The flames were ablaze and did create heat, but at what cost? Little did Papa Shiversby know that those books were library books. They needed to be returned immediately the next day. So instead of a cozy night by the fireplace, the Shiversby home turned into a fit of constant shrieking over the shriveling remnants of the novels and a very long receipt of library fines.
- Layering contest to keep warm: Papa Shiversby dumped an 8-foot-tall pile of sweaters, jackets, and coats onto the floor as his family looked at him in shock. Through this five-minute contest, Papa Shiversby managed to wear 8 layers of clothing with his children and wife following in 7 layers. The clothes did create warmth but lacked effective mobility. Soon the Shiversby family were inflated balloons, floating about their home while the snow fell outside.
- Light up candles around the house: Papa Shiversby brought about 80 candles to the living room, and soon each family member began lighting them up. This candle challenge soon turned into a candle conundrum as soon as the smoke detector went off. The shrilling noise of the alarm pierced the Shiversby family’s ears as they screamed and ran around the room, trying to extinguish the candles.
Obviously, these ideas turned into a conundrum of chaos for the children to bear. One day, little Timmy Shiversby had enough. Eating his chocolate-covered s’mores was not enough to keep him warm. So Timmy Shiversby took matters into his own hands. Holding the skewer triumphantly like a sword, he reaches near the fireplace to roast another marshmallow. The flames engulf the marshmallow, and instead of extinguishing the flame, Timmy places the skewer near the family rug with a gleeful smile. “Let’s make a bigger fire to stay warm!” As the glowing flames flicker in the reflection of Timmy’s eyes, his gleeful smile quickly turns into dismay as the smoke fills the room. The flammable rug burns to a crisp, and the flames shoot up into the ceiling. Panic is apparent in the air as Papa Shiversby tries to stop the fire with a bucket of ice water.
It’s safe to say that Timmy’s idea didn’t go according to plan.
