The Strangest Gift I Ever Received

One Christmas I unwrapped a gift from a relative. I held it. I stared at it. I turned it over and looked at it from another angle. I squeezed it. I smelled it.

It was a combination of yarn, leather, possibly metal, and other substances hitherto unknown to man, and I had no idea what it was. At first I thought it might be a potholder. Then a miniature hassock for one foot. Maybe a saddle for a small pony.

I sent a generic thank-you message to my relative, then deposited the unsolved mystery into the trash.