“The gear,” Mickey whispered. “It’s the key.”
“A gear? Worthless!” Scrooge kicked it. The gear flew into a snowbank and vanished.
Suddenly, time began to loop.
Scrooge opened the door a crack. “A gear? Worthless, I tell you!” Mickey-s Once Upon A Christmas
“Oh, very well,” he grumbled, putting on his top hat. “But I’m not singing the high part.”
The sun rose on a true Christmas morning. Donald finished the train, and its whistle blew a cheerful “Happy Birthday” tune. Minnie’s cookies, though spicy, were a hit. And at the door of Scrooge McDuck, there was a knock.
Mickey woke up to the same perfect snow. Minnie added the same pound of nutmeg. Goofy’s star landed on Max’s head. And Scrooge counted the same money. “The gear,” Mickey whispered
Scrooge opened his mouth to refuse, but Pluto ran in, licked his hand, and dropped a new, un-chewed red ribbon at his feet. For the first time in years, Scrooge McDuck smiled.
The instant the gear touched Mickey’s hand, the town hall clock chimed one final, real chime. The loop broke.
In the kitchen, Minnie was in a sugary panic. “Clara Cluck’s recipe said a pinch of nutmeg, but I used a pound !” she sighed, waving a handkerchief to clear a cloud of spice. Daisy, helping to frost cookies, just smiled. “Don’t worry, Minnie. The spirit of Christmas covers a multitude of baking sins.” The gear flew into a snowbank and vanished
And Pluto? He finally got his wish. A giant, squeaky bone-shaped bow, which he wore proudly on his nose for the rest of the night.
The first repeat was a nuisance. The second was frustrating. By the tenth, Donald was screaming, “WHY CAN’T I FINISH THIS TRAIN?!” Huey, Dewey, and Louie just shrugged. “Maybe it’s a lesson, Uncle Donald,” said Huey.