All I Want for Christmouse

## Stats

**All I Want for Christmouse** is the 25th episode of the series *The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures* that aired on May 24, 1998. The setting in this episode is Finland.

## Summary

Emily and Alexander are at Santa's Workshop in Finland, invited by their cousin Noel, who happens to be a mouse elf. The workshop is awfully busy with elves running around with presents for Christmas which is tomorrow. Noel wants to introduce them to Mr. and Mrs. Claus, which Emily wonders if it is okay since they normally don't speak to adults. But Noel thinks that they are the world's oldest kids. Mrs. Claus says there's a problem, and Santa reads a letter from a little girl wishing that her father could stop working and spend more time. The clock strikes noon, which means it is time to load the sleigh with presents. Santa is more worried about the letter, but Mrs. Claus is sure he'll think of something. Noel and the mice run off to Lapland to pick up their reindeer, and to get there they ride on Donner. However, the reindeer have been stolen by a man, Mr. Heinrich, in a car, laughing that they'll make him a millionaire.

The little girl, who is named Beata, hears sleigh bells, but her mom says that Santa doesn't come until everybody's asleep. She helps her put up the tree and her mother tells her that when her father comes home from work at Mr. Heinrich's toy factory he can help decorate. Beata is sad, and doesn't get why he has to work there anyway, as the toys he makes himself are better than the one's at the factory. Her mom tells her that she should go over to the factory to see if he gets off early, as it is Christmas after all. Meanwhile, Donner flies in a blizzard, but Noel brings up that because reindeer have a good sense of direction, he doesn't need to see where he's going. They arrive at the farm in Lapland, but the reindeer have since been gone. Donner found a toy soldier where on the back, it says Heinrich Toy Company. Another thing they find are deer tracks followed by tire tracks. Donner, who is the best tracker, soars off to follow them.

Unfortunately, Beata's father has to work late tonight, as so does everyone else at Heinrich's factory. He promises her that they'll spend all day tomorrow, but Beata is sure that he won't. The mice and Donner get to the factory, where they find the same H symbol on the toy on the door. The mice get into the place with a hole in the wall, and Alexander accidentally opens the door with a chain. They hear sleigh bells in a room, and so does Beata who thinks it is Santa. The mice find Heinrich trying to stuff the reindeer inside the door, and they get startled by Beata. When he leaves, Emily introduces Beata to her and Noel. Beata goes over to free the reindeer as according to Alexander the door had been unlocked, but there are a few close encounters of Beata getting caught. Unfortunately, Heinrich comes back and locks the door, laughing that the cost of his toys will be going up due to Santa being unable to get them. Beata runs along to get her father, Pepperson.

But Beata is unable to because Heinrich comes to him at the exact time. Heinrich sees some toy soldiers in a bucket because Pepperson says they are defective, as the heads are on backwards and they march in circles. Not to mention, the spinning tops don't spin, and the dolls say "papa" instead of "mama". Heinrich gets mad that he had pulled the lever to stop the assembly line to prove his point, as no one should do that. Pepperson thinks that nobody will want to buy his toys if they aren't in good condition, but Heinrich tells him that he'll be rich the day after Christmas, and also says to tell everyone they'll be working Christmas Day as well. He also speeds up the line as he thinks that the team is working too slow.

The mice and Beata have to come up with a plan to get the key to free the reindeer in time for Christmas Eve. Alexander tells Beata to go to the floor to get Heinrich's attention, and he and Emily sneak into his office thinking of a plan to take off his coat, and quietly so they don't alarm his cat, Lumpy. Emily turns up the heat, which gets Heinrich to take off his coat but it doesn't matter much as Lumpy sleeps on it. Heinrich bets this plan will serve Santa right as he always forgotten what he always wanted: a Super Duper Torpedo Toboggan. Emily is saddened, but Alexander reminds her that he is ending Christmas after all. Beata stops the assembly line and takes the lever off, making Heinrich leave. Alexander climbs up the coat to get the key, but the cat nabs him. Heinrich returns to grab his coat, but Emily holds onto it. Lumpy wakes up and begins to chase Alexander. Emily manages to get the key in the coat pocket, but a trip on a spinning top makes him fall, causing Emily to fly out and the key to land on the assembly line. Lumpy, who had escapen, chases Alexander once more after trying to get Emily.

Heinrich scolds some workers to get back to work, but they say the lever is missing. He looks at Patterson, who says he had nothing to do with it. Heinrich sticks a broom in it, and demands them to get to work. The assembly line starts moving so Alexander rushes to get the key, but he gets put in a dress and also gets a blonde wig on, and ends up being packaged. However, Beata opens a box and lets him go. The mice get to the back to unlock the door, when Lumpy appears again. However, he gets scared by the reindeer who are now free. Heinrich finds Beata and her father asks her why is she here, and she tries to explain. Heinrich denies what she says, but Santa's reindeer come out anyway. Beata opens the door, but it isn't enough. The workers work together to open the door, and the reindeer all leave. Heinrich fires all of them, making Beata realize she made a mistake. The mice return the reindeer back to Santa, and they realize that every year Heinrich asked for a Super Duper Torpedo Toboggan, but he was too naughty to get it. Emily suggests they can change the naughty and nice list rule, everyone can be happy. When Heinrich lets Lumpy out, he sees his long-awaited gift, and he is happy Santa remembered him after the bad things he have done. Beata opens her gifts as well, but she really wanted was her first wish, which she got, but as a result ending up making her dad lose her job. Heinrich arrives at their house wishing them a merry Christmas, and realizes that he has to make better toys with love and care after seeing the dollhouse her father made. So, he rehires him, but vows that he no longer should work long hours or on weekends. Back at home, Emily puts her final picture of her photo album, when Alexander gives her a new one. Emily gives Alexander a hairbrush for his new "hairstyle", his doll wig.