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In Deceber 2017 The South Pacific Christmas Writing competition was to write a poem or a short story (not less than 500 words) inspired by the following gif. This was Volaworand's winning submission.

A Penguin Holiday Poem:

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the flock
Not a penguin was stirring, not even a squawk;
The stockings were hung by the nests with such care,
In hopes that Cat Nicholas soon would be there.

The young chicks were nestled all snug in their nests;
While visions of yummy fish danced through their rests;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the water there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my rest to see what was the matter.
Away to the iceshelf I flew like a flash,
Jumped over the clutter and dove with a splash.

The moon in the crest of its wintery glow,
Gave a lustre of midday in the ocean below,
And before my wandering eyes and my bill,
Appeared a miniature sub and eight tiny krill.

With a plump furry driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be Cat Nick.
More rapid than seals his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and purred, and called them by name:

"Now, Custae! now, Baleen! now Plankton and Minke!
On, Fatty! on Greasy! on, Oily and Stinky!
To the top of the berg! to the top of the ice!
Now splash away! splash away! splash away nice!"

As snow that before the wild storm fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the iceshelf the coursers they flew
With the sub full of fish, and Cat Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard with a thrill
The prancing and pawing of each little krill.
As I drew up on the rocks, and was turning around,
Into the flock Cat Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his tail,
And his whiskers were frosted with snow and with scale;
A bundle of fish he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a turkey or some sort of snack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his whiskers, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the tip of his chin was as white as the snow;

The tail of a fish he held tight in his teeth,
And the steam encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a soft looking belly
That shook when he meowed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old cat,
And I laughed when I saw him, as he slipped in some scat;
A wink of his eye and a purr from his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
Putting fish in our stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his paw up aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, off the iceshelf he arose;

He sprang to his sub, and to his team gave a hail,
And away they all swam with a wake like a whale.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he dove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

2018 update:

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Thank-you nations of the South Pacific!

We are pleased that the Volaworand design won the 2018 TSP Christmas Flag competition, and wave it proudly on the regions World Factbook Entry flag this month!