Old Long John the Twelfth glanced at the clock on the wall as it ticked away the last few hours of his life. He knew well that the stork who brought the Baby New Year, would also be sounding his death knell. He was content to go as had each of the years before him, all knowing that they had lived the four seasons of life. Now with the last hour fast approaching he, as is common for the aged, thought back over the year of his life. He remembered well when he had arrived at precisely one nano second past midnight last January First, and had been welcomed with loud cheers by those who now awaited his demise that they may welcome his successor with the same fanfare they had accorded him.  At first he was called Happy, and this continued for the first few days of his life, but as the bitterly cold mornings for which January is famous continued, the names became much less flattering.  In February, he was called simply “the short” but in March “long and hungry”. April brought the first day of Spring and longer, warmer evenings and people appeared ready to accept his reign. He felt pleased too with the new life that was springing up all around him. As Spring turned into the lazy days of Summer, he watched as children and adults alike spent more and more time swimming and splashing in the cooling waters. With Autumn drawing near, he knew that he must accept the fact that he had passed his prime, and was entering his declining months. When October arrived, and since no one had given him a name for sometime now, he elected to call himself Octavius the Tenth, Guardian of the Falling Leaves.  November brought colder temperatures and he adopted the name Nunavut the Eleven.
He sighed with the arrival of December, and realized that besides feeling old and tired, he was now almost as long as he was going to get. The name Old Long John the Twelfth seemed as appropriate as any and he accepted it without reservation. The midnight hour was almost upon him and as he heard the crowd begin the final countdown ..10, 9, 8,7, he turned to the open window and saw one again the familiar faces of his many friends who had come to accompany him home….and flying through the window into history, he heard the refrain … 3, 2, 1..HAPPY NEW YEAR!