Hey all,
I know many people were expecting my weekly poem, but as I said last week, I thought I'd try something different. I've written a little story about Santa Clause and how he does everything in one night and all the people who have helped him over the years, most importantly the children. So, if you have a minute, give it a read, and maybe consider reading it to some youngsters you might know. It's already been tested by a couple of children I know and they enjoyed.
So here's hoping you enjoy it as well.
Santa’s Wish
Once upon a time, long, long ago, Santa Clause wished that he could deliver toys to all the children of the world. Luckily, Santa Clause was being watched by a pixie named Mike, because that’s what Pixies do. Pixies, are like fairies except they are boys and they watch everyone to see who is naughty and who is nice. Mike the pixie went to tell his friends the elves, because elves love to make toys.
The elves were so excited by this wish. Now, they would finally have someone to give their toys to, for they had so many. The toys filled bright rooms, and dark caves, and mighty storehouses. The elves were so excited they sent the head elf, Shawn to grant Santa’s wish, Shawn the elf went to Santa and told him that once a year he would be able deliver toys to all the children. But magic has it’s limits and he could only do it as long as he was finished before the first light of dawn. Santa agreed and he went to live with the elves in their workshop and every year they would make toys for him to deliver.
However, the elves were very picky about who would get their toys. They wanted them to have a good home, with only the nicest, sweetest children. Santa, had an idea, and asked the pixies if they could find the nicest children to give the toys too. The pixies were happy to do it, because they had collected lists of the naughty and nice for so long and didn’t know what to do with them.
At first it was easy, because the world was a smaller place back then, and there weren’t many children. But every year there were more people and more children. Until one year Santa finished just a second before the first ray of sun rose in the morning.
Santa was afraid that next year he wouldn’t be able to carry the toys from home to home in a single night. The elves and the pixies were worried, what would happen if Santa couldn’t deliver all the toys. They would have nowhere to go, and the pixies couldn’t use their list anymore.
Santa went to his room and sat in his big comfy chair. He drank a large cup of cocoa with whipped cream on top and stared out the window. The pixies and elves gathered outside his room and watched through the door, wondering what he would do. After a long time Santa finished his cocoa and set the mug down. He waved to the door and Shawn the elf and Mike the pixie walked into the room.
“Boys,” Santa said, “I’m not sure what we can do. Maybe some of the other magical creatures can help us?”
“Who should we ask?” said Mike.
“And how can they help?” said Shawn.
“How they can help,” began Santa, “the world is to big for me to walk from house to house, and now children have moved to homes across the ocean which is to wide to swim. There are to many toys to fit in the bag. We need to make more toys, because this year we almost did not have enough. However, even if we can do all of this, the night is not long enough for me to reach every house.”
“Oh no,” Mike cried.
“What can we do?” cried Shawn.
Santa leaned in close and put a hand on their shoulders, “ask all your friends, and maybe we can keep delivering toys to everyone next year.”
Mike and Shawn gathered the pixies and elves and sent them to all the magical kingdoms, asking each if they could solve the problem.
The first to return was Stephen the gnome, a funny little gnome with a feather in his hat. Stephen brought an entire crew of gnomes to build a mighty machine to move the toys from place to place. Conveyor belts stretched from room to room. Slides would separate the toys into stacks and move them to the proper wrapping rooms, so they would look happy and fun. The elves loved the machine because it saved them time from moving the toys and they could make more.
The machine was wonderful, but it needed power. Stephen told Santa that the machine was powered by children. Every time a child helps their parents, either by setting the table or washing the dishes, the machine would move. The more children helped the more toys they could make. Santa thought this was a lovely idea and thanked Stephen.
Next came Virgil, the king of the dwarves with a great fluffy beard, a beard so great that Santa decided to grow one of his own. He brought with him a mighty sleigh pulled by eight great reindeer. The sleigh was made of thick wood and iron, painted red and cushioned with soft woolly seats. Virgil told Santa the sleigh would zip as fast as the sun and the moon. It was powered by children’s play. Every time children played together and shared the sleigh would move faster allowing Santa to get to more houses. Santa thought this was magnificent, and thanked Virgil.
Then came the leprechaun Fred, dressed all in green with a pipe that blew bubbles. Fred brought Santa a large red sack. He told Santa that leprechaun pots would hold more gold than anything else. So they built Santa a sack that would hold so many toys, but the bag would never get any heavier. They made it so that every time a child put away their toys, the inside of the bag would hold a little bit more. So the more children put away their things the more toys the bag would hold. Santa thought this was fantastic, and thanked Fred.
Next came Amber, the queen of the fairies in her shinning white dress. She told Santa she had heard of the Virgil’s gift and brought reins to hook to the sleigh. The reins were long and red and covered in bells. Each bell, made of silver and gold, rang with the laughter and love of children. Every time a child laughed and hugged their parents the bells would hold a little bit more power and let the reindeer fly over mountains and across oceans. She also told Santa that the best kind of laughter was from children as they are being tickled. Santa thought this was funny, and thanked Amber.
Finally came dryad named Ammi, a flower sprite wearing a crown made of daffodils. She brought Santa a bag of seeds and a plate of cookies. She told Santa the cookies would slow time and let him go around the entire world in a few hours. The seeds she brought would let Santa grow cookie flowers in a garden in the snow. Unfortunately the spell wouldn’t last all night. Santa would need to eat cookies at every house he went to. That way the magic would last all night long. Of course the best cookies would be those left by children, because they were filled with love. Santa thought this sounded delicious and thanked Ammi.
With all of the things given to him, and all of his new friends gathered around, Santa delivered toys to all the good girls and boys of the world. And every year since, as long as children have put away their toys, helped their parents, shared with friends, and left out cookies he has delivered toys again and again. Today he is happy and he wishes every child a merry Christmas, a longs nights sleep, and a good tickle.
Merry Christmas Everybody.
If you want to read another story about the holidays click here. Well there you go. I hope you enjoyed the story and if you got a chance to read it to some little ones I'd love to hear what they thought. So please head on over to my facebook page and tell me all about it.
Other than that, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, Festive Kwanzaa, and to any one I missed I am deeply sorry and all I can say is Happy Holidays. Be well, sleep long, and enjoy a good tickle.
