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Master storyteller Dolores Hydock recorded the story of Stubby Pringle at the We Piddle Around Theater to be aired on WTBF Radio.

Stubby found the real story of Christmas on a mountain on cold Christmas Eve night.

The story of how Stubby Pringle found Christmas will be aired again on WTBF at 7 p.m. on December 23; 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve; and 9 a.m. on Christmas Day.

“I’m glad the “Stubby” recording will be heard again this year,” Hydock said. “I especially love that we aired that program during a COVID year, when everyone had to stay isolated and apart from other people. Nobody knows isolation like a cowboy living way out on the range, so Stubby in  the story is/was a wonderful example of how, even when we feel alone or cut off from others, there are still ways we can be a blessing to those  who do happen cross our path.”

Hydock said she loves that Stubby is so generous, giving, as the story says, “of what little he has and what little he is” to others he accidentally met along the way.

“We often imagine we only have an effect on the major players in our lives, but this story is a reminder that sometimes we have the greatest effect on people we encounter in small, unexpected ways,” Hycock said. “I I love that the story ends with Stubby realizing that, even though his evening did not quite go as planned, it turned out even better than he imagined it would.

“It was great to be reminded that the surprises in our lives often turn out to be better than anything we ever could have planned. And even with all these important ‘lessons”’embedded in the story, it’s still funny and charming and beautifully written.

“And, of course, I love that I get to tell the story with a “score” provided by the amazing Bobby Horton. His trail-ride tunes under the words add to the feeling of wide-open spaces. I can almost feel the horse trotting along through crusted snow as Stubby spurs him on!

Dolores Hydock and Bobby Horton shared the story of Stubby Pringle to a “radio” sized audience at the We Piddle Around Theater in Brundidge.

(Jack Schaefer is the auhor of “Stubby Pringles Merry Christmas.”