03 The Village of Santa's Elves

Here we are again, the end of summer, fall is just around the corner.Before we know it, Christmas will be here.

I have been requested to write a Children's Christmas story.

As I worked on this story, I was reminded of a little girl, with only one wish for Christmas.....
(She wanted an Elf of her own.)

Now being an Elf, working all year long on toys, gifts and goodies for all children of the world, I have decided that this year you will all receive the story as to how we Elves came to live with Santa and Mrs. Clause.

THE VILLAGE OF SANTA'S ELVES

Box 11
1rst Street
North Pole
Canada
H0H 0H0


A wise person once said, “If you need help, just ask and you shall receive”

Well years ago, the world as we know it was not as populated as it is now, there were not as many families with children, as there is now at Christmas time.

Santa and Mrs. Clause, built all the toys themselves, as the years went by , Santa became increasingly busier and busier. Toy making was being started as early as New Years day, just to make sure all the children would have their Christmas wishes come true.

Every year, more and more families had children, making it harder , for Santa to keep up.
Until one Christmas eve, he was so tired. He actually missed a tiny village on his midnight run around the world.

Santa had returned to the North Pole without realizing his mistake, and had directly went for a nap.

Dasher one of his trusted reindeer, Mrs. Clause and Ralph a stable hand were cleaning up the sleigh when they discovered some magic left in the Santa sack.

Well now we will have to wake Santa up, and let him know what has happened.

Comet in all his glory stood up and suggested that they do the delivery, and let poor old Santa sleep.

However try as they might, they could not get the sleigh off the ground without Santa at the reins. Even Mrs. Clause, tried but her hands were to small to hold the reins properly.

Well, this is a fine pickle she announced, I will just go and get Santa up from his nap.

Mrs. Clause went into her kitchen, and began whipping up Santa's favorite foods. There was chocolate cake, Sundays, Gingerbread and four different kinds of Cookies, she knew as soon as he smelled the treats , he would wake instantly, and want to snack on them.

To her surprise he not only woke up , he was so hungry he ate everything she had prepared. While Santa was filling up on goodies, Mrs. Clause hurriedly explained what had happened on his flight around the world. Santa was shocked, how could he completely forget a whole village.

Now in the stables there was a commotion going on......Ralph the stock hand and the reindeer knew Santa was getting way to busy to keep up with all the toy building and a one night flight , to ensure all boys and girls would get their Christmas wish.

The reindeer and the stalk hands reached for the radio, and even though it was the middle of the night and all hope seemed lost, they put out an emergency call that was heard around the world by the ears of all who were awake to hear it.............

SANTA NEEDS HELP!!!!!!PLEASE CALL THE NORTH POLE!!!!!!
464646@SANTA'S VILLAGE, EXT., 9627 (THE STABLES)

Well at the time of the night there are no that many people awake in the world.

The night sky was dark and the wind whipped around the sleigh, making it hard for the reindeer to stay on course, using a little of the magic, to keep them flying straight.

As they were flying a message came across Santas radio. It was Mrs. Clause informing Santa , that a little village just outside the south pole had heard of their request for help.

Now this really upset Santa , for this was the same small village he had forgotten on his first flight of the night.

The winds were up and it was so cold that ice was forming in front of them , making it hard for them to see. Almost there he calls out, as the reindeer, start their decent , veering a little to the right so as not to land on a polar bears head.

The ground was frozen , the reindeer, practically slid down the lane into the village, stopping in front of the town hall.

Santa knew the village well, his gift to them every year was wood and coal to keep their houses and families warm. Jumping out of his sleigh, he realized that he was much to jolly to enter the front door of any of the buildings. He grabbed his sack and with some magic, he was able to go down the chimney, onto a cold bed of ashes.

Once inside, he looked around at all the tiny faces,

Before Santa had a chance to speak, an elderly elf stepped forward, with an outstretched hand , introducing himself as Tony , The Toymaker, Town Mayor. This is my wife Estella he said proudly , and my children, Eva, Elgin, Everett, Ellouise and the twins babies Evelyn & Eliotte. Stepping aside the rest of the villagers came up and introduced themselves and their families.


Now Santa being a bit upset over his own mistake, knowing that this little village was the one he missed on his earlier flight, walked across the town hall to the door.......he needed time to think, and went outside , settling his rump in a snowbank.

Ralph his stable hand, then informed that this tiny village, had been the ones to answer the emergency call.


Santa immediately jumped to his feet, went back into the town hall, as he approached Mr. Toymaker, he said.....Tony there is a way to we can all help each other.

I seem to need more and more help each year,, just getting all the toys built and ready for Christmas. I would like for you and your village to come back to the North Pole with me.

Now Tony did not think this was such a good Idea, for the Elves could only live where it is cold and snowy all year round, and the North pole, well he did not know anything about it.

As elves we have special diets, of candy, cookies, snow cones and sweet sugary syrup. It keeps our energy up and going and we are able to withstand just about any storm the winter can throw at us.

Santa was not discouraged, he assured the Elves , the north pole , covered in snow, would be ideal for their village, as for the sweet and tasty diet you need , that too is not a problem.


All the villagers crowded around Santa, and Tony , wanting to go to the north pole, with a few well placed pleases and excitement on every little elves face............Tony gave in and accepted Santa's offer.

Letting everyone know that this decision cannot be changed, as they rushed from house to house, each packing a suitcase.

Ralph the stable hand stuck his head in the door and announced that the moonlight would soon be gone and the reindeer were worried that the flight back, may not be safe in the daylight, for the brightness of the rising sun could hurt their eyes, which means they may have to alter their flight plan, Taking the long way home would mean they would need more magic for the reindeer to fly the sleigh.

Santa and Ralph lifted every child into the sleigh and created room for all the adults, and were soon on their way, having enough time before the moon started setting. The headed due North.

What a shock for Mrs. Clause when the sleigh pulled up on the snow covered driveway, weaving a bit to the left , and knocking down the snowman she had just finished building.

All the Elves scurried down off the sleigh and set to fixing the snowman, while Santa explained what was happening.

Well then , lets see if we can make room for our guests then , said Mrs. Clause, as she set about producing little beds, linens and preparing dinner for all of them.

As Santa had promised, we found the north pole perfect for us, we built our village and a huge toy factory. We work all year long with Santa, making all the newest and best toys for all the children of the world to enjoy every Christmas.


Critique: First the bad news. Punctuation, spelling, grammar, POV, characters, plot, structure all need a lot of work. But the good news is, I think it has potential. I’ve sent extensive notes to the author and if rewritten, it could be a really cute picture book.

What I liked best: The idea of Santa needing help and the elves coming to the rescue.

Publication ready: No. This needs work before it’s ready to publish, but it has a whole lot of potential!