Cooper the dog and Tiger the cat were very silly. Besides doing the usual silly dog and cat things - Tiger liked chasing his own tail, while Cooper sometimes liked to bark for no reason at all - they also did silly things that only a little girl named Emily knew about. The rest of the family didn't know it, but Tiger and Cooper got into all kinds of mischief all the time. For a very long time, even Emily didn't know about the funny things that her cat and her dog did; that all changed on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve morning was a very busy one for Emily. First, she helped her mommy mixed dough for a fresh batch of cookies; these were for Santa and his helpers. Then, Emily went outside to watch her daddy blow all of the snow that had fallen the night before off of the sidewalks and the driveway. When her daddy was done, he took Cooper out for his morning walk and Emily got to watch the dog play excitedly in the snow. She didn't join them on their walk, though, because she was cold and the hot cocoa her mommy has promised sounded so good.

Emily sat at the kitchen table with her brother Bobby and her sister Katie; they were both bigger than her, but they always shared with her. Katie and Bobby were both bursting with excitement about the following morning. "Emily, make sure you go right to sleep tonight," Katie told her. "That way, Santa and his helpers can drop off all of the presents on time."

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, Emily. They won't bring our toys and stuff if anyone is still awake."

"What about Cooper and Tiger?" asked Emily, a worried look spreading over her face.

Katie and Bobby both giggled. "Don't worry, silly," said Katie. "It's okay if Tiger and Cooper are awake when Santa comes. They are probably the only ones in the house who have seen Santa delivering presents." She finished up her hot cocoa and left the table.

Bobby chimed in, "Tiger and Cooper might even get some treats from Santa. He gives treats to the pets to keep them from knocking over the presents and stuff like that. So you have to make sure that you don't let the cat or the dog in your room tonight, or they'll miss their special treats."

Emily was confused. Not only did she have to get to sleep as early as possible, but she had to keep Cooper and Tiger out of her room? That seemed like an impossibly tall order. Worried, she called over to her mommy to ask her more about this.

Wiping her hands on a green and red kitchen towel, Emily's mommy listened to what she had to say. She smiled when Emily finished telling her what Bobby and Katie had been saying. "Well, it is true that you have to go to sleep - but you always fall right to sleep, so it will be okay."

"I don't want my door shut, but Bobby says that if Tiger and Cooper get in my room they will miss their treat from Santa!" Emily said worriedly. "I do not want to keep my door shut, Mommy!"

Mommy smiled again. "It's okay, Emily. I'd never make you keep your door shut, even on Christmas Eve. Cooper and Tiger will know when Santa gets here. Even if they are in your room, they will know when Santa is ready for them and they will go see him."

Another thing popped into Emily's head at that exact moment. "What if Cooper and Tiger follow Santa when he leaves?" After all, Emily thought, Santa would be giving them wonderful treats and everybody knows how much those two furry little guys like to eat.

Once again, Mommy smiled reassuringly. "Honey, Tiger and Cooper love all of us very much. Even the best treats in the world couldn't make them go away. Besides, they will want to see what kinds of presents you get the next morning. Don't worry for one second about it."

Feeling better, Emily went off to play with her toys. The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur; everyone was busy getting things ready for the evening. Before she knew it, it was dark outside and all of the pretty, twinkling, sparkly Christmas lights were lit. Katie, Bobby and Emily had their evening baths and each of them got into their comfy pajamas.

"Before you all go to bed tonight, there's something special we have to do," said Daddy. All three of the children looked at him excitedly. "Katie, you get to go put this cup of milk on the hearth for Santa. Bobby, you get to set this plate of cookie right next to it - Santa is always very hungry. Emily, you can place this baggie of carrots next to everything - they are for his reindeer."

The three kids excitedly set about their tasks. When they were finished, everything was arranged just so; Santa was going to be so excited!

Mommy and Daddy tucked Emily into bed for the night. "Remember, just go to sleep like usual. Before you know it, it will be Christmas morning and time to open your gifts!"

Emily scanned the room for Cooper and Tiger. The coast was clear; she fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

She didn't sleep very long, though!

In the middle of the night, she woke up; in the glow of her nightlight, she saw Tiger and Cooper sitting side by side on the floor of her room. The two pets were eating something - it must be their treats from Santa! - and each of them had something on their furry little head.

Emily squinted; she couldn't believe was she was seeing! At the tip top of each of their heads, the dog and the cat was each wearing a red Santa hat. The hats were cat-sized and dog-sized, and the pets didn't seem to notice that they even had them on.

Giggling, Emily jumped out of bed to see the hats better. Cooper and Tiger ran out of the room, their snacks finished. They vanished down the dark hallway.

At just that moment, the door to Katie's room burst open; Bobby's followed soon after. "IT'S CHRISTMAS!" they shouted in unison. "Let's get mommy and daddy up!" cried Katie.

"Go see Tiger! And Cooper! They are silly, they have Santa hats on their heads!" squealed Emily. Bobby and Katie looked at her funny, laughed, and went to wake up the parents. Emily told mommy and daddy about the hats, too, but both parents were bleary-eyed; daddy mentioned something about it being ridiculously early as they all headed out to the family room.

A pile of gifts surrounded the brightly lit tree. The two pets were curled in front of them, sound asleep. Although the Santa hats weren't on their heads anymore, mommy and daddy both gasped when they looked where the cookies, milk and carrots had been.

Two impossibly tiny, cat-sized and dog-sized Santa hats sat on the hearth. Emily giggled, then joined her brother and sister to start opening her presents.