A new Christmas tale
caennaise reply to a sweetsaint-lois poem.
Once upon a time, on a cold December night, when it seemed that 
even the breath of wind in the clouds could disturb the urban silence, the strange story of a fairy that the moonlight was keeping awake.
In her attic in the east of Caen, she was reading some poems by candlelight to dream without sleeping to pass the time. The wax oozed down and the flame of the candles swayed from the draught slipping in through the half-open window.As she was reading a sweet saint-lois poem, she suddenly heard a melodious song far down in the street. She couldn’t make out the words of the song that sounded familiar. Going to the window, she noticed that the song stopped from time to time, and then the shattering of glass could be heard! Intrigued, she went out into the night in search of the singing creature … on her way she discovered bus shelter advertising hoardings in thousands of glittering pieces. One, then two, then three, then five, then ten, and still more, here and there. What a mystery, but what a beautiful surprise! She who had been so saddened and resigned by this excess of consumerism couldn’t but rejoice to see these commodity symbols on the ground. What liberating poetry in these shards of glass, she said to herself.
Suddenly, around the corner of an avenue, the song got louder. The creature was coming by! The fairy hid behind a dustbin and discovered a little imp singing at the top of their voice:
” Ôooo sweet night, Ôooo beautiful night,
In the town, I feel alive again,
Your welcoming darkness protects me,
I’ll smash them even if the wind blows even if it snows,
The Clear Channeeee-eeel hoardings
Down with the factory down with Christmas!”
And the imp disappeared after destroying yet another hoarding.
Back in her attic, the fairy said to herself: ” what planet does this imp live on, doesn’t he know you don’t say Clear Channel any more but Cityz Media? It’s no better or worse than JC Decaux, but in Caen, for advertising in the town, it’s this big company that got the contract. the Christmas market hahaha hohoho » « I need to find them to make this clear. Some night soon, I’ll go and sing and smash some glass me too to make the imp reappear and vent my rage against this dear over-comsumption!”
Caen, December 2025
Translated by Act For Freedom Now!