A year had passed since Miles Knight first met Tia. He had caught her gobbling up all of his Christmas turkeys just before the holidays. Miles was an 11-year-old little boy with brown hair and blue eyes, and Tia was a big, green snake with a scaly, yellow belly, bright yellow eyes, and a big appetite.
Since last Christmas, Miles and Tia had grown to be the best of friends. Little Miles went everywhere with his big, snakey friend; they even slept in the same room every night since they'd met.
One especially cold night, during the week before Christmas, Tia woke up shivering in her bed of pillows and blankets.