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The First Ever Christmas

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin. Once upon a time, many

years ago, on a bright summerʼs day there were three gods in Heaven:

Artemis, goddess of moon, forest and children; Aphrodite, goddess of

love and beauty; and Apollo, god of light, medicine, music, harmony and

civilization.

The three gods were looking down on Earth and talking about the

children they could see playing in an orchard. The girls were making

daisy chains and were putting them around their necks and the boys

were making swords out of wood and were play fighting with them. This

made the gods smile and they wanted to keep on smiling. They came up

with an idea that the entire worldʼs children would be given a free gift and

this would be there for the children once a year on a day to be known as

Christmas Day.

The toys in those days were simple things such as dolls, spinning

tops, swords and balls. When the children woke up and found gifts in

 

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their home for the first Christmas Day ever they would be so surprised

and would wonder where the gift came from, so a note would be left

inside the gift and this would divulge that the gift was from the gods and

it would also tell them that once a year on this date from now on there

would be a gift delivered to each child in the world by a man known as

Saint Nicholas.

The gods knew this would be an enormous task and they discussed

it in great detail and together they came up with a plan. All they had to do

now was to see their plan in action. In the orchard were lots of fruit trees

and on one particular apple tree was the biggest, reddest apple the gods

had ever seen. They decided this apple would be the one to do this

extraordinary task!

The gods sent the angel Gabriel down to the orchard and he picked

the apple from the tree and brought it up very gently to Heaven. He took

the apple to the gods, softly placed it down on a table and then left.

With a wave of his hand over the apple by the god Apollo, the apple

came to life and could understand what was being said to it. Artemis

spoke first. He said, “This may seem strange to you, but we are going to

turn you into a man. We want you to give a gift to every child in the

 

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world. This task will have to be done in one night and then all the

children can open their gifts on the same day, and you must leave a note

with the gift saying why you have left it.”

The apple thought, what an honour! Out of everything in the world

they could have chosen, they have chosen me! He wanted to hear more

and listened intently. Aphrodite leaned forward and, putting her hand on

her chin, she stroked a finger across her cheek as she smiled down at

the apple and continued the conversation.

“From now on you will be known as Saint Nicholas but you will be

called by many names. Children will write letters to you and they will visit

you, and this is how it will be.”

Apollo told Saint Nicholas, “There is a log cabin on Earth in a place

called the North Pole and itʼs waiting for you to move into. You will have

everything you need for now, but as time goes by you will need more,

and this will be there for you when it is needed and only when it is

needed. You have yet to see many wondrous things happen. You will be

taken down to the cabin by the angel Gabriel and this is where you

should get yourself prepared to become a man. Once you are a man you

will automatically know how to do everything a man can do.”

 

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Saint Nicholas beamed with pride and gave off a shimmering warm

glow.

The angel Gabriel was summoned again and asked to take Saint

Nicholas to his new home. The angel very gently picked Saint Nicholas

up and took him down to Earth and into his new cabin.

As they entered, Saint Nicholas could see a fire glowing in the

hearth and there was grandfather clock standing in the corner of the

room. There was also a bookcase against one wall and a big sofa with

cushions on, and sitting on the sofa was a small dog. The angel

introduced the dog as Daisy.

By the side of the hearth was a chair. The angel placed Saint

Nicholas on this and then said, “I will wait and show you around your

cabin once the magic of the gods has been completed.”

Saint Nicholas sat for a while and then felt a prickling sensation

right in the centre of his body. Feet, legs, hands and arms all started to

grow and soon he filled the chair as a man. He had rosy red cheeks,

white hair and a white beard. He wore a red robe with a white fur trim

and big black boots were on his feet which were touching the floor.

 

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For such an event to have happened he felt very relaxed and calm,

and as he stood up a “Ho, ho, ho” came from his mouth. A smile came

across the angelʼs face as he looked at Saint Nicholas and the angel

exclaimed, “You look very distinguished, and red actually suits you. You

look like you belong in this cabin. Truly you do. Iʼm sure you will be very

happy here, and now, please come with me and I will show you around

your estate.”

Saint Nicholas followed the angel through a door which led into a

kitchen and Daisy followed them. A beautiful smell of dinner was in the

air and a table set for one was in the middle of the room.

The angel told Saint Nicholas that after he had left and gone back to

Heaven he could settle down for supper and he would have Daisy for

company.

They went through another door, which led into a huge warehouse

with lots of very high shelves all around and on the shelves were pieces

of wood. There were also cupboards with pots of paints, drawers

containing glue, screws, bits of this and bits of that, paper, ribbon, string

and all types of tools for making things. On one side of the warehouse

were machines for putting things away on shelves and there were

 

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machines for picking things off shelves. There were rooms leading off a

hallway and they each had a different plaque on the door stating

ʻOFFICEʼ, ʻGAMES ROOMʼ, ʻTOILETSʼ, ʻQUIET ROOMʼ and ʻLEARNING

CENTREʼ.

There was a door which said ʻCONFERENCE ROOMʼ and inside

this were lots of chairs around a big table with a white board at one end

of the room and a big clock on the wall. Another door had ʻDINING

ROOMʼ on the plaque and inside were lots of tables and chairs. The

room led off to a kitchen with everything that was needed for a kitchen.

They carried on through the building and then went outside. Little

houses were positioned in a square and these were painted in the

brightest of colours One had ʻDOCTOR IVYʼ written above the door,

another had ʻSCHOOLʼ, there was one with DENTIST and another with

ʻCHEMISTʼ. There was also a library and an opticians.

A big clock stood right in the middle of the square and street lamps

lined the pavements. Side roads led off the square and a huge gate

stood where the houses ended leading out to stables, barns, fields and

beyond that to who knows where.

 

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Saint Nicholas was overwhelmed by this charming little village. The

angel told him all would be revealed in time.

They came back into the cabin and Saint Nicholas followed the

angel up the stairs.

There were three bedrooms, which were all very welcoming, with a deep

pile carpet, a wardrobe, chest of drawers, dressing table, patchwork quilt,

big fluffy pillows on the bed and a lamp by the side of the bed, and each

bedroom had a fire in the grate and the whole cabin was warm

throughout.

The last room was the bathroom with a big bathtub, toilet and sink.

It had a medicine cupboard on the wall with towels below it. The towels

were soft and fluffy and smelt of apples.

The angel spoke softly, “I will leave you now and please make

yourselves at home.”

After the angel left them Saint Nicholas went into the kitchen and

prepared supper. He gave Daisy her supper and they ate together. She

wagged her tail and he laughed. He cleared the dishes away and made

his way to bed.

 

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“Good night, Daisy,” he said, thinking she would stay downstairs,

but Daisy followed him and jumped up on the bottom of the bed and slept

there all night long.

In the morning Saint Nicholas awoke to Daisy wanting to play. She

brought her rope for a tug of war. They played the game for a while then

he said laughingly, “I have to get up now. Come on girl.”

They went downstairs and he let Daisy out. She rolled in the snow,

did her toilet and then came back in. He made breakfast, ate it, then

went and cleaned his teeth and had a bath. After his bath he put a towel

around his waist and went to the chest of drawers to look for pants –

which were red. In another drawer were red socks. He then went to the

wardrobe for trousers and a top. When he opened the wardrobe door

everything was the same colour and trimmed with white fur. Red

trousers, red tops, red coats; the only things that were not red were his

black boots in the bottom of the wardrobe.

He recalled the angel saying red suited him and he smiled. He got

dressed and went into the warehouse with Daisy and started to make a

few toy trains and a few dolls. It just came naturally to him how to do this,

but it did take him a long time.

 

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He remembered that the gods told him to write notes to accompany

the gifts, explaining why they had been left, so he wrote some notes.

On one shelf he found a pile of gold coins. He asked Daisy if he

made a sled and filled it with the coins and harnessed it to her, would

she be willing to help him deliver them and he would carry a sack filled

with gifts on his back and together they could deliver to the children. She

was very happy to do this, but to be honest he couldnʼt see how just the

two of them would go around the world in one night! Still he had to give it

a try!

The very next day he set about making a sled. He painted it green

and put silver bells on it. He continued to make toys for the girls and toys

for the boys. He worked hard every day and night and Daisy always

stayed by his side. When he took Daisy for walks he strapped the sled to

her, and on the way if they found any wood, which they often did, he

would put it in the sled so she could get used to pulling a heavy load. On

their walks they made friends with the animals and the birds. Some even

came into the warehouse when he was making gifts. One bird, Little

Penny, asked if it would be possible for her to live in the warehouse in a

tree and then he would have bird songs to listen to while he was working.

 

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“What a brilliant idea!” he remarked.

He planted a tree in a big pot and put it in the warehouse, and Little

Penny made her nest in the tree and laid her eggs in it. Saint Nicholas

put decorations on the tree and it did look very pretty. Little Penny told

Saint Nicholas about her family and friends that lived way over the other

side of the world and how she kept in contact with them through bird

telegraph – thatʼs one bird relaying a message to another bird and then

another, and news soon gets around. Saint Nicholas laughed. “If I ever

need a message sent, youʼre my bird!”

And he gave her a wink.

As the days went by he worked so hard and was getting very tired.

He said to Daisy with a sigh, “We do try our best, you and me, girl, but I

donʼt think between the two of us we can supply the whole worldʼs

children with gifts. We may need some help.”

That night when he went to bed there came a soft light in the

bedroom and the Angel Gabriel appeared with Little Penny, and the

angel whispered, “We have some exciting news for you. Help is on its

way.”

 

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Little Penny chirped, “Listen, Father Christmas, my cousin from a

faraway land has told me through friends of a friend what he has

witnessed and there are some beings that are in danger and need some

help.”

Saint Nicholas listened and together they came up with a plan.

Meanwhile, on a planet far away, lived elves no bigger than a money

spider. The planet was called Zoggy. It was a small planet with a small

population. It was green, grey and brown with no other colours at all.

Their clothes were just grey, black and white. The buildings were made

of ice and metal and they planted their vegetables in the ice and these

grew with no problem. Sadly, their planet started moving towards the

Sun and this caused the planet to start melting.

An urgent meeting was held to discuss what to do about the future.

In the meeting they decided to look for another planet before Zoggy

disappeared altogether, because when this happened it would be the

end of all elves. They had to find a planet that was chilly enough to

maintain their body temperature. So, they sent their top three scientists,

Jmax, Anto and Brandon, in a spaceship to find another world which had

the same atmosphere as Zoggy. Once

 

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a planet was found the rest of the elves would join them on the new

planet.

There was a planet called Beezee, which they thought would

support them, so the three set course for that planet. The scientist elves

would meet the beings in charge of that world and they would explain

their situation. If everything went to plan they could make a new home

there and make a living selling their wares.

They boarded their ship and set the navigation system for Beezee,

but after a few days in the ship the controls started to go wonky and they

were blown off course. There was panic aboard the ship and they sent

out an SOS message. The crew tried to get back in control of the ship,

but the ship went down, bumped to the ground and landed on its side.

Apart from a few bruises and being shook up they were not badly hurt.

The three did not know which planet they were on because the

navigation system was broken (and the arms had fallen off one of the

chairs as well. The comfy one. Damn! )

They were still in contact with Zoggy by radio and told them they

were okay, but some things on the ship were broken. They said they

 

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were going to have a look around the planet before they did anything

else.

A voice from Zoggy informed them, “Just watch your steps out

there, lads.”

Then they put on their astronaut suits to go outside. It took a bit of

effort from all the crew to open the door, but once the door was open

there was a wonderful sight which met their eyes – a winter wonderland

– and it felt just like the place they knew before their Zoggy started to

melt, but everything was enormous and the colours were vibrant and the

sky was blue with white clouds.

The crew were overwhelmed with joy. They stood for a while

looking at the view.

Jmax sounded excited and shouted, “Letʼs get our hover bikes and go

exploring! Come on, you guys, letʼs saddle up and move out.”

And off they went. One by one they came out of the craft, hovering

in mid-air. They were amazed when they looked more closely on the

ground. Their spaceship was the same shape and size as some things

already here on this planet but some were gold, some red, some mixed

colours – green, gold and red.

 

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“What astonishing things! We really do blend in well. No one would

know we were here just by looking,” Jmax commented.

They stopped and took a sample of one of the things that looked

like their spaceship, which they thought was really spooky. They found

out it was called a leaf, and leaves were everywhere, and they came

from trees and the trees were in the distance. Then they tested the air

and it was just the same as on Zoggy, so they took off their helmets and

took a deep breath. What luck! The ground had a light covering of snow

and there was no sign of life at all.

The day seemed to go by so fast and now it was starting to get

dark, so they headed back to the ship. They contacted Zoggy and told

the other elves about the atmosphere and the leaves being the same as

their spaceships and that they had not seen any life forms so far. They

would settle down for the night and get back in contact with them in the

morning.

The next day the crew were up bright and early. They were awakened by

the sound of something hissing, which they had never heard before.

“What is that noise?” whispered Brandon.

“I donʼt know. Letʼs investigate,” said Anto, yawning.

 

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Jmax opened the door a little and the three peered through.

“What a very funny looking creature!” they all seemed to say at the

same time and then they laughed at the sight of the thing. Compared to

them the thing was huge. It could have crushed them with no trouble, but

to their amazement it just flew off. It was taking no notice of them at all.

They all wiped their brows with the back of their hands.

“That was close!” uttered Brandon

They went to their computer and typed in the details of the thing that

they had just seen and the computer analysed it and told them that on

this planet it was called a bird. The computer could not tell them the

name of the planet or where in the universe they were because it was

not the computerʼs job to do this. That job was the navigation systemʼs

and it was still broken.

“Right, now to work! We have to repair this navigation system, and

letʼs be quick! Jmax, you get the tools and Anto, you get the breakfast on

the go.”

Anto cooked and then called to the others, “Wash your hands and

come and eat.” Again, he called to the others, “Come and eat!” This time,

 

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in a louder voice, he yelled, “JMAX AND BRANDON, WILL YOU COME

AND EAT!”

They finally came in, sat down and over breakfast told Anto what

they had already achieved and, considering they had only been working

for a short time, it was marvellous what they had done. They finished

eating and Anto cleared the plates away. He then went to help and as

soon as he walked through the door he heard the other two shout

“Hooray!” and they punched the air with their fists. There on the screen

was planet Earth.

“So this is where we are,” chuckled Anto. “Okay, Iʼll radio Zoggy.

Come in Zoggy. Can you hear me, Zoggy? Anto here.”

The elves on Zoggy answered, “Zoggy here. We can hear you loud

and clear. Have you anything to report? Over and out.”

“Yes. The planet we are on is called Earth and itʼs just to the left of

the Milky Way and itʼs known as the blue planet. There are colours here

we have never seen before and they are beautiful. You will have to see

them with your own eyes. Please, do come and join us.”

Anto also told the elves about the bird and how big everything was.

 

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The elves on Zoggy held another meeting and they told everyone

about what the crew had found on Earth and it was decided there and

then everyone would go to Earth. So thatʼs what they did.

They left their melting world and packed everything in their

spaceships and followed the coordinates given by Anto. There were no

problems at all coming to Earth; they all kept in sight and contact of each

otherʼs spaceships.

One by one they landed on this new world and everything was fine.

They planted their vegetables and they started to grow. They built homes

and schools from the wood of the trees and everything was going really

well, until the winter started turning into spring and out came the sun and

started warming things up! The ice under their feet started to become

very slushy and the vegetables stopped growing. Again, their world was

melting and this time even faster than Zoggy had!

Another meeting was held. They talked, but they just did not know

what they should do; they thought this would surely be the end for the

elvesʼ population!

Now, the bird had been keeping his eye on the little city that was

starting to grow. He had told Saint Nicholas through a friend of a friend

 

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about the elves being here and Saint Nicholas knew there would be

trouble, but he had a plan which he asked the bird to relay to the elves.

The bird flew down and landed on a rock. At first the elves ran, but

the bird said calmly, “Donʼt be afraid. Iʼm here to help you. My name is

Tom and Iʼm a swan. You have landed on a big frozen lake and now the

lake has started to thaw, but I know of a place where you can live and it

would never thaw. It would just be cold all the time. If you all climb into

my feathers I will take you to the next place where you will change birds

to carry on with your journey. I will fly very gently and you will be safe.

There is no need to worry. There will be a few bird changes along the

way because it is a faraway place called the North Pole and one bird

cannot fly that distance.”

The elves listened and decided they had no choice but to go, so

they climbed aboard the swan and he flew until they came to the first bird

change. They thanked Tom for his help and climbed aboard the next

bird. This went on until they reached the North Pole.

All in all there were ten bird changes along the way. As the last bird

started to come into land he told the elves to look down, and squawked,

“This is where we will be landing.”

 

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The elves peered out from the feathers and on the ground they saw a

little house with smoke coming out of the chimney. It looked so

enchanting and welcoming and the colours were just astonishing and

there in the doorway was a big man dressed in red and by his side was a

small dog.

The bird landed by the side of the man and the man walked into his

little house, followed by the bird. The house was warm and there was a

fire crackling in the hearth, but he carried on through into a massive

building at the back of the house and this was cold. He walked into a

room which had ʻCONFERENCE ROOMʼ written on the door and he

walked to the middle of the room. Then he stopped. The bird jumped on

to the table and squawked, “Please disembark.”

The elves all climbed down from the bird and then the man spoke.

“My name is Saint Nicholas. Some call me Father Christmas and

this is my dog, Daisy, and you are standing in my warehouse, which is

equipped with tools and everything one needs for making and storing

toys. You see, I would like your help. I have to make toys for all the girls

and boys in the world and they have to be ready in a few months time

and then I can deliver them. I need office staff, warehouse staff, catering

 

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staff, farmers, engineers, carpenters, cleaners and families. I canʼt do

this on my own. Believe me, I have tried.

“If you agree to stay and help me I would be so grateful, but I will

have to increase your size so you can make the toys, and in return you

can live and make your home here with me. Just outside this building are

some houses, and if you agree to stay, you can move into those. If you

donʼt want to stay here with me, I will find you somewhere secure where

you can build your city and live in safety.”

“How would you increase our size?” asked Jmax.

“Well, my friends, Loren and Naomi, cast spells and they have

already said they would help us.”

Saint Nicholas left them to talk amongst themselves and to make

their decision. They could see this would be a good place to live and they

would have a happy life here, so they agreed to stay.

A spell was cast and the elves sat on a conveyer belt and went

through a tunnel and when they came out on the other side they were

about three feet tall, bar one elf. For some reason he turned into a giant

of an elf; he became three feet six inches tall and they called him Big

Dave.

 

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The elves asked if they too could have bright coloured clothes like

Saint Nicholas. He said he would have some different coloured material

delivered and the elves could make their uniforms out of this. It would be

bright and cheerful and they could make big floppy hats and put bells on

them and their boots could have curly fronts and some could have bells

on those as well. When we see little people dressed in this way, we know

that they are Saint Nicholasʼs helpers, or whatever the name is you have

given him.

The elves were now living with Saint Nicholas but they started to call him

by the name of Santa. One elf, Richie, misheard the word ʻSaintʼ for the

word ʻSantaʼ; the elves laughed at first but then it just became the normal

thing to call him.

The elves have lots of jobs within their community. There are

doctors, opticians, teachers, farmers and housewives. Pamantha is a

housewife and she helps Saint Nicholas in his house. She cleans and

cooks for him, but every now and then she has to go and stand in the

warehouse where it is nice and cold and this is where she can cool down

because Saint Nicholasʼs house is very warm. You can often see her

 

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fanning herself just inside the warehouse and having a chat with the

other elves, usually Pat, Judy, Lou and Yvonne, and this is where she

finds out about all the gossip. She loves having a chat and laughter is

often heard coming from that corner of the warehouse.

The warehouse is a safe place – it has to be. There are strict rules

about health and safety. Everyone wears curly steel-toecapped shoes.

They are given training on how to lift and how to use the machinery

properly. They are shown how to carry a box the right way and how to

use tools without hurting themselves. They are always tidying up after

themselves and not leaving anything that would cause an accident on

the floor.

The health and safety officer is an elf called Sandip and he takes

his job very seriously. Everyone has to sign a form to say they have had

the health and safety training given to them.

Most of the elves work in the warehouse and help Saint Nicholas

make gifts for the children.

When a gift was finished it was put in a box with a note explaining

why it was there and then it was wrapped with Christmas paper. The

 

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name of the child, the country, the street and the number of the house

where the child lived were written on the gift; these were put into sacks

and then details were entered on to a computer.

Loren and Naomi were called on to cast a spell on the sacks to

shrink them. The sacks were put on to a conveyer belt and went through

a tunnel, and when they come out the other side they were shrunk to the

size of a pea. Then they were put on to the shelf of the appropriate

country in order of delivery. This helped Saint Nicholas to deliver them in

the right order when he went around the world on Christmas Eve.

Saint Nicholas did not know at this time how he was going to get the

gifts to each child, but he did start to make a big sleigh with the help of a

team of elves, and the sleigh was going to be big enough for gifts for

children from the whole world.

One night, he was visited by the angel Gabriel and the angel told

him about a baby reindeer that had been born. He remarked, “This no

ordinary reindeer. On a special night called Christmas Eve he will light

the way for your sleigh. He will be a shining beacon for you in the dark

and he will help to deliver gifts to all the children around the world.”

 

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Saint Nicholas was not sure what the angel meant, but he knew one

day he would find out.

The angel told Saint Nicholas to follow a star and this would show

him the way to a stable where the baby reindeer was. Saint Nicholas

thanked the angel and said he would go straightaway.

He took Anto, Brandon, Jmax and Daisy with him. They were

thrilled to go with him to see the baby and they followed the star which

came to rest over a stable. It was the brightest star in the sky that night.

They each took with them a gift for the baby. Saint Nicholas gave the

baby a silver bell, Jmax gave a red harness, Anto gave a blanket,

Brandon gave a gold coin and Daisy gave him red reins. The baby had

remarkable blue eyes and his nose was a shiny bright red. The babyʼs

name was Rudolph.

Rudolph started to grow. Saint Nicholas and Daisy visited him a couple

of times a week and soon they became very good friends. Rudolph

would wait by the gate for them. He could hear them coming because

Daisy would be pulling her sled and the sled had bells on. Rudolph loved

that sled and the sound of the bells. He had his own silver bell that Saint

Nicholas gave to him as a baby and he wore it with pride along with the

 

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gold coin that Brandon gave him. They were attached to the red harness

from Jmax and he did look very smart.

“Here they are, Mother! Can you hear them? Listen, itʼs the bell, itʼs

the bell! Itʼs old Saint Nick and Daisy!”

“Do calm down, Rudolph! You do get so excited! Just wait patiently.

They will be here soon enough and donʼt let old Saint Nick, I mean Saint

Nicholas, hear you call him old Saint Nick.”

Rudolph was bouncing up and down by the gate and as they came

into view he let out a bellowing sound and ran around. He showed his

teeth to his mother with a kind of smiling, smirky face and she just had to

laugh. Saint Nicholas waved a hand and Daisy barked. As they came

nearer Saint Nicholas called out, “Hello there!”

They walked up to Rudolph, stopped by the fence and Saint

Nicholas patted him.

“How are you today, boy? I hope you are in fine fettle? I have some

news for you. You knew that one day you would help pull my sleigh.

Well, today I can tell you I have a team of elves building a very big sleigh

for you to help pull. Itʼs a bigger version of the sled Daisy is pulling.”

 

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Wow! thought Rudolph, my very own sleigh! I will look magnificent

pulling that. Old Saint Nick might let me pull it by myself and everyone

will look at me and stop what they are doing and admire me with my

sleigh!”

Snapping Rudolph out of his daydream, Saint Nicholas chuckled.

“Although you will not be able to pull it on your own. We will have to get

some help. Itʼs far too big for one little reindeer to pull. However, you will

be the head lead with that nose of yours and light the way for me in the

snow. Next time we come to visit, if itʼs alright with you Mrs Reindeer,”

giving her a wink, “Rudolph can come home with us to see the sleigh.”

“Oh, Iʼm sure Rudolph would enjoy that,” and she smiled at her son.

Rudolph answered very quickly. “Yes I would, I surely would!”

“Itʼs settled then.”

Saint Nicholas confirmed it by writing it in his diary and then they all

went for a stroll and just talked about the day. Rudolph and Daisy were

running around, giggling and jingling their bells, and they were all very

happy.

 

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They stopped and had a picnic from Daisyʼs sled. The sun was

shining and they sat on a blanket in the snow and ate their picnic and

they all agreed it was marvellous.

Soon it was time to say goodbye. Saint Nicholas and Daisy left for

home and when they arrived they went to see how the elves were

coming along with the sleigh. They walked in and saw Jmax painting it

and Little Penny, her chicks, and a few of her friends were entertaining

Jmax with their chirping.

“That looks splendid! Outstanding job!” Saint Nicholas remarked.

Jmax looked up and stopped painting. “Hello Santa. We have nearly

finished. Just a few last touches and itʼs all ready for the big event.”

“Yes, we will have to get some more reindeer. We will advertise the

vacancies. I still donʼt know how we are going to deliver the gifts in one

night though! Letʼs hope the reindeer run very fast and the roads are not

too bumpy for them, and may I say to you lovely birds you sound like an

angelic choir. There is just wonderful work being done by everyone.”

The days passed and everyone worked hard to finish the gifts on time.

Saint Nicholas put an advert in a magazine for hard-working reindeer

 

28    

that must be able to run at supersonic speed. There were eight

vacancies needed in all and the applications started to come in.

The elves cleared a long runway where the reindeer could run, just

to see how fast they were. Saint Nicholas did see lots of reindeer, but he

had to admit not one was supersonic at all.

Saint Nicholas was in a pickle; he did not know what he was going

to do or where to get his reindeer from. He would have to give it some

thought. That night he dreamt of the gods and what they told him when

they turned him into a man: everything will be there when you need it

and only when you need it, and he knew everything would be fine.

The next morning Saint Nicholas and Daisy got ready and off they

went to see Rudolph. Rudolph was waiting with his mother and he was

very excited.

“I canʼt wait to see old Saint Nick,” he giggled to his mother.

His mother kept telling him to calm down, and he did try, but

Rudolph was doing a dance and running around, then stopping and

listening, then he started skipping and jumping, hopping, bellowing,

running, skipping and jumping again. He stopped and listened and he

heard a bell. Well, that was it. Off he went again, bellowing, skipping,

 

29    

jumping and running. Then he saw Saint Nicholas and Daisy. He ran

towards them and jumped and took off into the sky. His nose was so

bright it shone like a beacon.

Saint Nicholas, Daisy and Rudolphʼs mother just stopped and

watched him go round and round in the sky, his legs moving very fast.

Rudolph swooped down to his mother and bellowed, “Look at me

Mother! I can fly!”

He flew over to Saint Nicholas and Daisy and again swooped down.

Then he landed by their side and his nose stopped glowing. Little Penny

and her friends were flying and playing games in the sky and when they

saw what was happening they came over to Rudolph and called out,

“Hey Rudolph! My, you can fly!”

“My, my! You can fly!” Saint Nicholas sounded shocked. “So thatʼs

what we need! Flying reindeer. Oh, it makes sense now.”

He put his hand on his chin, stroked his beard and let out a “Ho, ho,

ho.” They all walked to over Rudolphʼs mother and the birds followed

them.

“Well, your little one can fly, Mrs Reindeer.”

 

30    

“Yes, it does seem that way, Saint Nicholas. I was told he was

special, and he is, but I must say I was scared when I saw him up there

flying around like that. I donʼt know what we would have done if he had

fallen out of the sky and hurt himself.”

“I donʼt think that will ever happen, Mrs Reindeer. Your son was

born to fly. I know this now, and he has a purpose in life to do only good

for the world. But, I must confess the flying did take me by surprise.

Anyway, today is the day to take Rudolph to see the sled, if thatʼs still

alright with you.”

“As you say, Saint Nicholas, he was born to do this and I donʼt think

anyone or anything could stop him, so he must go.”

Rudolph ran up to his mother and nuzzled her goodbye. She looked

into his big blue eyes and felt very proud.

“Just be careful, son,” she whispered as they were leaving.

Little Penny stayed with them on their journey back to the cabin and

they all sang jolly little songs. When they reached the cabin they carried

on to the warehouse and Rudolph thought it would be a good idea to

keep on singing just outside the door. So thatʼs what they did until Anto

opened the door.

 

31    

“What beautiful singing! You all sound so happy and all in tune.

Come on in.”

They went in and there in front of them on a raised stage was the

sleigh covered with a blanket. Jmax and Brandon came through a door.

“Whatʼs all the noise about?” enquired Jmax

“Itʼs only us enjoying ourselves,” laughed Saint Nicholas. Then he

continued, “Right, itʼs time for the big uncovering!”

A trumpet sounded. All the other elves came in and everyone

settled down in front of the stage. Saint Nicholas was on the stage with

Daisy, Little Penny, Anto, Jmax and Brandon, then he made a speech

and the cover was taken off the sleigh.

“Wow, thatʼs very big!” gasped Rudolph.

“Yes, a lot of hard work has been put into this, as you can see, and

now I know you can fly.”

Anto, Brandon and Jmax looked at each other and gasped,

“Rudolph can fly?”

“Yes, I can,” and he had a big smiley face. Saint Nicholas, Daisy

and little Penny just nodded. The elves all cheered because now they

 

32    

knew he could fly it would be easier to get the gifts to the children than

merely by road.

After the speech there was food and drink and everyone enjoyed

themselves dancing, singing and playing games. Then it was time for

Rudolph to go home. Saint Nicholas and Daisy walked home with him.

“Hello, Mrs Reindeer. Here is your son. He has lots to tell you, Iʼm

sure. We will be going home now and we will see you next week.

Goodbye.”

And off they went home.

The next day Saint Nicholas sent a message out through the universe in

the hope that it would be heard by the right applicants. The message

said eight flying reindeer were needed for a long haul flight around the

world, and it must be done in one night.

A few days passed, and then suddenly from out of the snow just as

it was getting dark Saint Nicholas saw eight reindeer appear with a man

walking beside them. The man introduced himself.

“I am Mr Randolph from the reindeer farm. We have received your

message and I have brought these little ones for you to view and Iʼm

sure you will see their charm. Now, let me tell you, these reindeer are

 

33    

special. They will never moan or complain and these guys already know

how to fly. They are the best of the best. These are for you because you

need them now and you need to practise with them. This is most

important. Itʼs up you, Saint Nicholas, but you need to understand their

ways.”

Then Mr Randolph introduced the reindeer and, pointing to each

one in turn, he said, “Thatʼs Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet,

Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.”

Saint Nicholas thanked Mr Randolph for all his help and told him he

would look after the reindeer and would most certainly practise with

them. Mr Randolph said, “I know you will.”

He then walked away.

The reindeers bowed their heads towards Mr Randolph as he

disappeared into the snow. Saint Nicholas called to Anto, Brandon and

Jmax to help with the reindeer and they came and put them in their pen.

The elves fed and watered them and then let them rest for the night.

Saint Nicholas was up early the next morning. He and Daisy went to see

the reindeer. As they walked in, Jmax was brushing Prancer and was

 

34    

talking to her about the sleigh they had built and telling her today was the

day the reindeer were going to show Santa and the elves how they

handled the sleigh in the sky.

“Yes, thatʼs right, today is the day,” agreed Saint Nicholas. “Now,

have you reindeer had your breakfast?”

They all nodded.

“Come on then. Letʼs get you hitched up to that big old sleigh.”

Daisy wanted to be hitched up as well and Saint Nicholas had to

say no because she could not fly, but he did say, “You can ride next to

me in the passenger seat,” and that made her feel happy.

The reindeer went outside with Jmax. Anto and Brandon were

already out there waiting by the clock in the square and together they

hitched the reindeer up to the sleigh. All the elves were watching this big

exciting moment.

Saint Nicholas climbed aboard with Daisy and he put her on the

seat next to him. He fastened her seatbelt and then fastened his own. He

looked at her and shouted, “Hold on tight, girl! Here we go!”

He jerked on the reins and they took to the sky. Straight up they

went; it looked like the reindeer ran up a set of invisible stairs and then

 

35    

they levelled out at the top and circled in the sky. Saint Nicholas pulled

on the left rein and they went left. He pulled on the right rein and they

went right. When he loosened the reins they went straight ahead and

when he pulled on the reins they slowed down. He pulled on the left rein

again, but it was just a bit too hard and the reindeer turned too fast. The

sleigh tilted on its side and the reindeer came to a halt and there they

hung in the sky.

The elves on the ground were witnessing all this. Some put their

hands on their heads, others over their mouths, but most over their eyes,

and they all gave a big sigh and shouted, “Oh no!” and held their breath.

The sleigh stayed quite still for a while. Saint Nicholas whispered to

Daisy, “Donʼt move a muscle.”

He called out to the reindeer, “Okay, you guys.” They all turned and

looked at him.

“Iʼm going to very gently pull on the right rein. Now go steady. Easy,

easy.”

The sleigh started to move and slowly righted itself. Down on the

ground the elves gave a big cheer, looked at each other and put their

hands in the air, saying, “Thank Goodness for that!”

 

36    

Anto sighed. “That was tricky.”

“You are telling me!” Brandon agreed.

“Right, you guys, letʼs land! I think we have practised enough for the

first day,” commented Saint Nicholas.

Down they went and, using a very gentle touch on the reins, they

landed on exactly the same spot from where they had taken off. Saint

Nicholas and Daisy climbed out of the sleigh and were glad to be back

on solid ground.

“You gave us a fright there, Santa!” frowned Jmax.

“Yes, I gave myself a fright, but we need to practise. Practice

makes perfect.”

The reindeer were put back in their pen for a rest and most of the

elves went back to work. Saint Nicholas called a meeting in the

conference room with a few of the senior elves and said, “Iʼve had an

idea! If we make another nine sledges, a bigger version than the one

Daisy has, one for each reindeer, we can divide the world into nine areas

and then a week or so before Christmas Eve the elves can load the

sledges with the sacks and they can go and hide the sacks from view at

different places. I could pick the sacks up on my journey around the

 

37    

world on Christmas Eve. This would save me lots of time. The sacks

would be kept shrunken and would be easy to hide.”

“That sounds as though it would work,” remarked Jmax.

“Now, there is more!” Saint Nicholas carried on. “Nine elves would

have to learn how to handle one reindeer each and be able to fly a sled.”

Everybodyʼs hands went up in the room with shouts of “Iʼll do it,

Santa!” He was not expecting that, so to be fair to everybody they wrote

everyoneʼs name down on separate pieces of paper and put them in a

hat and they were picked out one by one. There was tension in the room

and everyone was hoping their name would be called out. Saint Nicholas

picked out the first name and called out, “First, Blizzard. Second, Stuart.

Third, Keithy. Fourth, Jmax. Fifth, Anto. Sixth, Brian. Seventh, Chris.

Eighth, Paul. Ninth, Brandon. These are the lucky ones who will learn

how to handle the reindeer and fly the sledges. Thank you for your

attention, and now letʼs get back to work.”

The elves started working on the sledges the very next day. Saint

Nicholas himself took all the reindeers and his sleigh out on each of the

next three days. Each day he stayed out longer and soon he started to

understand how to control the reindeer and how they worked, and Daisy

 

38    

was always by his side. On the fourth day, Saint Nicholas had to go and

see Rudolph, so off he went with Daisy and, as usual, Rudolph was

getting all excited. He was hovering behind a tree in mid-air, just

watching for Saint Nicholas and Daisy to come past, and when he heard

Daisyʼs bell he whispered to himself, “I will let them go past the tree, then

Iʼll swoop down behind them and make them jump!” So thatʼs what he

did. He swooped down and shouted, “Boo!”

Saint Nicholas knew he was there, but he never let Rudolph know

that he knew, so he just made a startled noise. “Hello Rudolph. You

made us jump there, lad,” and then he laughed.

Rudolph landed and they all walked together to see Rudolphʼs

mother.

“Hello, Mrs Reindeer. Iʼve a lot to tell you and Rudolph about what

has happened over the past week.”

He told them everything that had happened and Mrs Reindeer was

just oohing and aahing.

“All that in one week! What a lot of things to happen! Oh, I say!” Mrs

Reindeer sounded astonished.

 

39    

Rudolph listened, thinking it was so cool, and kept on saying it. “I

think thatʼs just cool! Really cool, isnʼt it, Daisy girl?”

Daisy barked.

“Daisy thinks it cool too!” Rudolph announced.

“Well, weʼve come to take Rudolph to meet the reindeer today. Not

to go up in the sky; thatʼs for another time. I still need more practice with

those guys myself. Maybe in a couple of weeks time we will get Rudolph

hitched up with them and we will go out on a short journey.”

Shaking his head, he added, “Yes, thatʼs what we will do. Anyway,

Mrs Reindeer, weʼd better go.”

And off they went back to the pen where the reindeer were.

As they entered they could hear the reindeer having a chat about

this and that.

“Itʼs only us!” Saint Nicholas shouted, and then introduced Rudolph.

“Hello, Iʼm going to be your shining beacon to light the night. We are

going to look very cool out there in the dark sky. Itʼs going to be fabulous

and I just canʼt wait!”

 

40    

Everyone was looking at Rudolph with his nose all aglow and his

feet about three inches off the floor and they all laughed. Saint Nicholas

remarked, “Rudolph does get a bit excited.”

He then told the reindeer about his plan. “Iʼm going to pair each one

of you up with an elf; this will be done the same way we picked the lucky

elves to learn how to handle you with the sled and that is out of a hat.

Next week we shall all get together and see who teams up with whom.”

Saint Nicholas then left Rudolph with the reindeer for the afternoon

and they all became acquainted. Their experience of flying was

phenomenal, whereas Rudolphʼs was just beginning. They told him

stories from their past and he listened and thought about his own future,

and he hoped he would have adventures just like these guys.

The door opened and in walked Saint Nicholas.

“My, how time does fly! Itʼs time to go home, Rudolph.”

“Canʼt I stay just for an hour longer?”

“No, your mother will be waiting for you. We must go.”

Saint Nicholas and Daisy walked home with Rudolph and when he

saw his mother he ran up to her and told her all about what had

happened that afternoon.

 

41    

“That does sound very exciting.” She was really happy for him.

“We would be honoured for you to be there next week, Mrs

Reindeer, and then you can see who is teamed up with your son.”

“I would really like that. Thank you, Saint Nicholas. I will be pleased

to be there.”

“Then that is settled. Could you bring Rudolph to my cabin a week

from today at 10 oʼclock in the morning and we shall see who gets

whom? We must be on our way home now. We have a lot to do. Good

bye.”

That week was very busy for everyone. Saint Nicholas practised

everyday with the reindeer and the elves worked on the sledges, the toys

and looking after the reindeer.

A week passed by. Mrs Reindeer and Rudolph arrived at the cabin at 10

oʼclock on the dot

and were taken into the conference room where the event was just about

to take place.

 

42    

There standing at the front was Saint Nicholas with two hats on the

table; one had the elvesʼ names in and the other had the reindeersʼ

names in. He picked a name out of the elvesʼ hat first, held it up and

said, “Blizzard.” Then he picked a name out of the reindeersʼ hat, held it

up and it said, “Dasher.” This went on until all the teams were matched.

First, Blizzard with Dasher. Second, Stuart with Dancer. Third, Keithy

with Prancer. Fourth, Jmax with Vixen. Fifth, Anto with Comet. Sixth,

Brian with Cupid. Seventh, Chris with Donner. Eighth, Paul with Blitzen.

And ninth, Brandon with Rudolph.

Rudolph looked at his mother and they both smiled.

Saint Nicholas looked at the audience and said, “I suggest to you

that you team up now and find out all you can about each other and

become close and try and think as one. There is hard work ahead for

everyone. This is a big operation – the first of its kind – and we will

succeed. We have to. Iʼm sure as the years pass it will get easier. If we

all do our best, that is all anyone can ask.”

Everyone clapped and cheered as Saint Nicholas walked away. He

then went and found Mrs Reindeer and thanked her for coming. He also

 

43    

asked if she would consider moving and living here with her son and the

other reindeer.

She knew it made sense to do this; Rudolph should live here. It was

written in the stars and his destiny and she had to be with him. She

thought he was far too young to be without her, so she agreed. This

pleased Saint Nicholas.

The rest of the day was spent celebrating. The catering staff had

laid a big table in the dining room and they all helped themselves to the

food. There was a band playing and everyone had a jolly good time. The

following day they went and fetched Rudolphʼs blanket and a few other

things and brought it to their new home and from that day on Mrs

Reindeer and Rudolph lived there with Saint Nicholas, the elves and the

reindeer.

As the weeks passed, Saint Nicholas, Jmax, Anto and Brandon held lots

more meetings to discuss what should be done on Christmas Eve, and if

everything went to plan it would be a success. The newly formed teams

soon came to know each otherʼs ways extremely well and it became

easy for them just to jump in the sled and fly without having to think how

 

44    

it should be done, but they did have to go through a reindeer and sled

exam with Sandip, the chief examiner, go round an obstacle course,

hover in the sky and keep quite still for ten minutes. Everyone passed

with no trouble at all and they were all given a certificate to prove it.

These were given to them in a frame, which they hung on their walls at

home in pride of place.

All the teams became very good friends, and it showed. Rudolph

used his red reins for the first time – the ones that Daisy gave him as a

baby – and with his harness with the gold coin and silver bell attached he

looked very dapper indeed.

The teams had sled races against each other in the sky and the

elves that were down on the ground could hear them shouting and

making a right old din, but everyone thought it was just lovely to see and

hear, and every elf was so pleased to be part of this extraordinary

operation – the first of its kind ever – and everything was starting to

come together just right.

Saint Nicholas thought it was time for Rudolph to be hitched up to

the sleigh with the other reindeer; at first it was in the daytime, and when

 

45    

this became easy for them and they knew every command that Saint

Nicholas gave, it was decided to try a night flight.

That night the elves prepared the reindeer and Rudolph took his

place at the front. Saint Nicholas and Daisy climbed aboard as usual

then they took to the sky. It was very dark, but this was no trouble

because they had the brightest light from Rudolphʼs nose and it shone

and lit the way through the sky. They circled four times in the sky above

the elves on the ground ; the elves could see streaks of red in the sky

and hear a swishing sound every time they passed by, and then they

zoomed off into the distance.

Everything was just so exciting. They were going so fast they must

have been travelling at supersonic speed, so they were not going to have

any trouble whatsoever delivering the gifts all around the world in one

night, and with Rudolphʼs nose they could see as though it was daytime.

When they came back and landed they were just tingling with

excitement. The stars were so big and bright and the moon was smiling

down on them.

Jmax gulped. “You have only been gone for about ten minutes!

Which country did you reach, Santa?”

 

46    

“Well, letʼs say we saw England, didnʼt we guys? Which was one

very speedy journey!” And then he laughed.

Time was going by so fast that the days turned into weeks and the

weeks turned into months. All the toys were now finished; there was no

more room on any shelf not even for one more sack anywhere in the

warehouse, so the elves had a relaxing day off work, just chatting to

each other and playing games, but they did miss working. The elves all

loved to work.

One poor little elf, Big Dave, had to go and see Doctor Ivy because

his feet were hurting him so much. The doctor looked at his feet, pushed

her glasses up on her nose and came up with a solution.

“I will prescribe antigravity socks and antigravity insoles in your

boots. The socks will push your feet away from the boots when wearing

them, leaving a small gap of air between the socks and the boots. This

will make you a bit lighter on your feet.”

Big Dave thanked the doctor and soon he was running around the

warehouse in no time at all.

 

47    

Over the tannoy there came an announcement for all the nine

teams to go to the conference room. Saint Nicholas, Daisy, Jmax, Anto

and Brandon were already in there. They were standing by the white

board at the front of the room. On the board was a map of the world and

this was divided into nine areas, one area for each team.

Saint Nicholas welcomed them and when they were all settled in

their seats he started the meeting.

“We have called you here because tomorrow night is the night when

you are going to hide the sacks. We have called this operation ʻHide the

Sack Nightʼ. What we are about to tell you is most important, so please

listen carefully. Iʼm giving you all a navigation system which will show

you the way through the sky and this will also tell you where to hide the

sacks.

This device that Jmax is holding up will automatically hide the sacks

for you and you will not have to land at all. You will just hover over the

area and use this device. Jmax will now show you how to use it again,”

he said, very seriously. “Please watch and listen very carefully to him.”

“Thank you, Santa. Right, lads, when you have reached your

destination we want you to hover over the site and then take one sack

 

48    

from the back of your sled, and one by one you put the sacks in this

tube, in this device like this, with this tag facing up.”

Brandon had a sack in his hand and wobbled the tag to show

everyone the right way. Jmax carried on. “And they must go in this way

and not with the tag facing down. This blue button on the side will

release the sacks. When they are in position they will slide down a blue

beam and then they will hide themselves. Now, the tags need to be

facing up because when Santa comes for the sacks on Christmas Eve

he will hover over the site and press this red button on the same device

and the sacks will come floating up the red beam and into his sleigh to

be delivered.

“We have set up a model, which Anto and Brandon will now

demonstrate how it should be done. Please gather round. Can everyone

see?”

They all shouted, “Yes.”

On a board on the table were some model houses and Brandon

held a model sled in his hand just above them. Anto and Brandon went

through the whole procedure using the models, and then asked if there

were any questions.

 

49    

“Yes, I have a question.” Putting his hand in the air, Chris asked,

“What happens if the tag is put facing down?”

“Good question,” replied Anto. “Well, Santa will not be able to

retrieve the sacks because there is a signal which the tags need to

receive from the tube and if the tag is on the bottom it will not receive the

signal, which means Santa will have to land to find the sacks and we

donʼt want that to happen. We are trying to save time and not add more

time on.”

Keithy put his hand up and asked, “Because Brandon is teamed up

with Rudolph and they have the only light, how are the rest of us going to

see where we are going in the dark?”

“Another good question,” said Anto.

Brandon answered this one. “We had three options, which we did

discuss in great detail. First, having fireflies around the sledges, but they

could not keep up with the speed you are going to be flying at. Second,

having glow-worms in a jar, which seemed a good solution, but then

Santa suggested stars, so that is what we will use. You will have to go

and take a star from the sky just before your journey. You can strap it to

the head of your reindeer. This will give sufficient light to help you do all

 

50    

that needs to be done, and once you have completed your task you must

put the star back.”

“I have a question!” shouted Paul. “How long should this operation

take us to complete?”

Santa raised his hand. “Well, Paul, it must be as quick as it can be,

but not too quick as to make mistakes. We must get it right first time.

There are a lot of sacks and each one is very important. Any more

questions?”

“Yes, my question is,” asked Brian, “will we have a bigger

warehouse next year because there will be more children in the world?”

Saint Nicholas looked down at Daisy and said, “There are some

very good questions being asked here today, Daisy girl.” Then he looked

at Brian and answered. “Well, the simple answer to that is, yes, we will.

We will build a second floor and as time goes by we will build to match

our needs. Are there any more questions?”

No one said anything.

“Right. Thank you all for your time. We will have another meeting

here the day after Hide the Sack Night at 11 oʼclock in the morning, but

 

51    

until then I shall see you all tomorrow night just as it starts to go dark. I

hope you will all have a very good nightʼs rest. You will need it!”

Everyone left and went home. Some polished their sled so it would

be shining bright for Hide the Sack Night and others went to bed early,

but everyone was still excited.

Soon it was time for the teams to meet by the big clock in the main

square. Saint Nicholas said a few words and told them to be careful and

wished good luck to each and every one of them.

There were lines of elves coming from the warehouse to the

sledges and they were passing buckets full of sacks to each other in

order to fill up the sledges. Even Daisy had a few sacks in a smaller

bucket, which she was carrying in her mouth from the warehouse to a

sled. An elf emptied it for her and she went back for more.

Everyone wanted to be part of this most incredible night and when

the sledges were full they set off into the night sky with shouts of “Good

luck!”, “See you soon!”, and “All the best!”, and there were lots of hands

waving.

 

52    

The stars were now out in the sky and the first task was to go and

get a star and strap it to their reindeerʼs head – apart from Rudolph and

Brandon. They were off hiding their sacks at once.

The night went by really smoothly and they kept in radio contact

with home base. The tube device worked just fine and not one of them

had any trouble with putting the sacks in the wrong way round.

A few of the elves returned to the clock a few hours later and waited

for the teams to start arriving home; these were Stevie-G, Phil and Luke.

“I can see a light coming! It must be Rudolph and Brandon!”

exclaimed Phil, “but itʼs not a red light,” he mumbled, and when they

landed they could see it was Paul and Blitzen. Before Paul could say a

word Stevie-G whispered to him, just in case he had forgotten, “You

should have taken the star back.”

To which Paul said, “I did stop and try to put the star back, but I

couldnʼt get the star off Blitzenʼs head. It is stuck fast and my radio

control is not working properly, so I could not tell them in advance what

was happening. I had to land and get help with removing the star.”

Stevie-G just said, “Oh, I see.”

 

53    

Blitzen thought the star was a bit too tight anyway and it was

digging in his head, but he never complained about it.

“Donʼt worry. We will help you,” smiled Phil.

They all worked together and they managed to remove the star.

They put the star into the empty sled and Paul went and put the star

back where it belonged. After that he went and told the office staff he

was home.

Soon all the teams started too arrived home one by one. There

were only two more teams left to arrive home. The elves saw a red light

in the sky coming towards them and this time it was Brandon and

Rudolph, but they zoomed straight past and into the distance.

“Whatʼs going on there?” wondered Luke.

As soon as they were of sight they turned round, came back and

landed.

“We just wanted to do a fly-past,” laughed Rudolph.

“Why werenʼt you the first back? You were the first to go,” Luke

asked.

 

54    

“I tell you why,” huffed Brandon, “because Rudolph kept going off

course and looking at things. I kept telling him to get back on course but

he would not listen to a word I said.”

Rudolph sighed. “But it was just so beautiful out there amongst the

stars, moon, trees and all the other things too. I was enjoying myself.”

“Well, you wonʼt be able to go off course Christmas Eve. Santa

wonʼt let you,” said Brandon.

“I promise Iʼll be a good reindeer for old Saint Nick on that night,”

sniggered Rudolph, and he jingled his bell.

“Is everyone home now?” asked Brandon in a concerned voice.

“No. There is one more team to come home and thatʼs Stuart and

Dancer.”

“You carry on and tell them in the office youʼre back home safe and

sound. Weʼll wait here for them. Donʼt worry.” And Luke gave Brandon a

pat on the back as they left for the office.

They all looked up into the sky and waited. After a while they saw

Stuart and Dancer in the distance and when they landed they had

something in their sled.

“What have you got there?” enquired Phil.

 

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“This is the top off a pine tree from Canada. We had just hidden the

last of our sacks in the woods and we were just hovering below the trees

and there was a big flash. It must have been a freak storm because there

was no wind or rain. Just a big flash, which hit a tree and it broke the top

off and then it landed in our sled. It did shake us up a little when it hit us,

but we are okay. We could not land anywhere to remove it, so we had to

bring it home with us, and on the way home we thought of a place where

it would look quite nice and thatʼs under the clock here in the square. We

could put decorations on it, like the one Little Penny has in the

warehouse. What do you think?”

Phil nodded. “Yes, that sounds lovely. We could do it as surprise for

Santa. He would like that, Iʼm sure.”

Rubbing his eyes, Phil told Stuart that they were the last team to

come home and the mission had been a complete success. He also told

Stuart about Paul and the star, which made Stuart laugh.

“Anyway we can all go home now and get some sleep,” he sighed.

“Shall we meet here in the morning before the meeting and put the tree

up?”

 

56    

“Yes, letʼs do that,” yawned Stuart. “Iʼll just put Dancer in his pen

and leave the tree in the sled until tomorrow. Iʼll go and see them in the

office and then Iʼm off to bed.”

They all said good night and arranged to meet each other the next

day bright and early.

Stuart and Dancer were the first to arrive with the tree. Phil and Luke

came together and Stevie-G was the last to arrive. They started cutting

the bottom branches off so they could plant the tree in the ground. Alan,

Sue and Mark passed by on their way to the warehouse and asked them

what they were doing. They told them all about the tree, so the three of

them stopped to help. It did not take long before the tree was in the

ground and it looked very sweet under the clock.

The other elves were starting to come out of their houses to start

their normal everyday life, and when they saw so many elves around the

clock they started to ask questions. When they found out what was going

on they went back to their houses and brought out a few bits and bobs to

hang on the tree, and it looked amazing.

 

57    

Stuart had an idea and went and fetched a star out of the sky and

put it right on top on the tree. Everyone just stopped what they were

doing and gasped in awe at this beautiful tree.

The time was getting towards 11 oʼclock and as this was the time

when the meeting was going to start they decided to have the meeting

first and then show Saint Nicholas the tree afterwards.

The elves went and sat down in the conference room. Saint

Nicholas was already in there. He started the meeting exactly on the

hour.

“Good morning everyone. Iʼve heard all about last night and it was a

great success. All the sacks are now hidden and everyone got back in

one piece. I am very proud of you all. You have done your part, and now

in one weekʼs time I have to do my part and I hope I can say to all of you

that the part I have to play was a success as well.

“I have heard about the star being stuck on poor Blitzenʼs head, but

the star is now back where it belongs, which is good, and I have also

heard about the tree and I am glad Stuart and Dancer were not hurt. We

have all worked so hard and learned so much; we have grown into a

family. I could not have done this without you and I thank you.”

 

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Stuart put his hand in the air and waved. “We have something to

show you, Santa.”

“Do you, Stuart?”

“Yes, itʼs outside. Come and take a look!”

They all went outside and Saint Nicholas saw the tree with the

decorations and the star on top. He thought it looked spectacular, but he

was a bit concerned about the star being there. He commented, “I think

the star should be in the sky where it belongs and not on a tree.”

Stuart had another idea and said, “What if we put the star back and

make a star out of shiny paper for the tree?”

“Now, that would be a much better idea. Splendid! Just splendid!”

laughed Saint Nicholas.

The elves went back to work to start all over again making gifts for

the next year. Everyone was kept busy and they started to extend the

warehouse ready for more children that would be in the world the next

year.

Christmas Eve finally arrived. Saint Nicholas and Daisy climbed aboard

the sleigh for this first ever Christmas Eve. All the elves were there

 

59    

watching and wishing them well. The reindeer were so eager they

wanted to go straightaway. Santa had to say, “Calm down, guys! We will

go in a minute!”

He made a speech and he was tingling from the top of his head

right down to the tips of his toes. He looked at Daisy by his side and he

had to take his handkerchief out and blow his nose.

Saint Nicholas gave all his elves a salute and they saluted him

back. Then he took to the sky and all the elves threw their hats into the

air and their bells made a jingling sound as they came falling down to the

ground. Rudolphʼs nose lit up the sky – it was so bright – and the night

was just magical.

Saint Nicholas went to find his first sacks. He hovered over the site,

pressed the red button on the device and they came gently floating up

the red beam and into his sleigh. He then flew over the first drop zone,

untied the tag on the sack for that area and scattered the gifts. They

floated down like stardust and found their own way into the childrenʼs

homes. They gently made their way to where the children were sleeping

accompanied by a hologram of Saint Nicholas. When the gift was finally

 

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in the right place, the gift along with the hologram became full size. The

hologram delivered the gift then disappeared, leaving the gift behind.

Saint Nicholas did and still does deliver the gifts in this way. Can you

imagine The First Ever Christmas with the children of the world waking

up to a gift for the first time ever, on a day called Christmas Day?

And now it is a normal event once a year to receive gifts in this way.

The gods are still smiling, the elves are still working and that once baby

reindeer, Rudolph, is now over two thousand years old and, with the

other reindeer, still helps to deliver gifts, is still the light for that

spectacular sleigh, and will continue to be so, forever and ever.

Merry Christmas

Pam Lutwyche