An American Tail: Fievel's New York Tails Volume 2

Christmas/Hanukkah Special: A Holly Jolly American Tail

SCENE 1A

-The episode opens on a cloudy winter's evening in New York City. A montage of wagons and pedestrians moving on various snow-covered streets is seen before we turn our focus to Hester Street. Camera pans to the alley behind the corner store and zooms in to reveal the mouse neighborhood. There, the adult mice cheerfully at work, some tend to their mouse-sized shops and houses, a few men walk along carrying green fir tree branches, while the children laugh and play in the snow, making snow forts and throwing balls of snow at each other. The a group of caroling mice walk into the front view and begin singing, with the action continuing behind them-

🎵SONG STARTS 🎵

Joy to the world, the Lord is come

Let Earth receive her King

Let every heart prepare Him room

And Heaven and nature sing

And Heaven and nature sing

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love

And wonders of His love

And wonders, wonders, of His love

🎵SONG ENDS 🎵

-Just as the song ends, we pan over to the Mousekewitz family house on the front end of the alley, and zoom into the front door. Cut to inside, the Mousekewitz family are preparing for Hanukkah. Mama is at the kitchen table, mixing some batter with Yasha watching her. Meanwhile Papa takes a faded, brass menorah out of a wooden box and sets it on his workbench, and Fievel, behind him, takes a day-per-page calendar off a pin on the wall. He turns the page reading "Dec. 20" over, and hangs it back up, now reading "Dec. 21", the same moment as Papa is placing the candles-

FIEVEL: (looking at the calendar) Wow, tonight's the night, Papa. (turns back toward Papa)

PAPA: Yes, my Fievel. This is going to be our first Hanukkah in America.

FIEVEL: Papa? Is Hanukkah the only holiday that is celebrated during this time of year?

PAPA: (chuckles) Well, my son, there are actually many holidays, but two are most common. One is Hanukkah, and the other is Christmas.

FIEVEL: (curious) Christmas? What is Christmas?

PAPA: Well you see, Christmas is another holiday celebrated in early Winter, Hanukkah is celebrated by Jewish mice like us, while Christmas is celebrated by other mice who have different beliefs. And while Hanukkah lasts eight days and nights, Christmas lasts just one.

FIEVEL: (dismayed) One day? Then, that means those mice have more work to do and less time to celebrate, I don't think that's fair for them.

PAPA: (nods) It does seem a shame, every year I think the same thing. But they seem fine with it, so why criticize? Mice who aren't Jewish, simply prefer shorter holidays,

FIEVEL: But why? PAPA: (sighs) Just because. (he puts the last candle in)

FIEVEL: Oh. (he looks down at his feet)

PAPA: (comforts his son) Oh, don't worry, my son. Let's light the first candle now.

-Papa strikes the match, he lights the middle candle (shamash) and then the first on the left end. As Fievel watches, his sadness begins to lift-