Santa closed the door to his toy factory. It was a wonderfully clear moonlit evening here at the North Pole; a perfect Christmas Eve he thought to himself. Everything was ready for take-off. The only thing he still had to do was to tell Prancer, Donnie and Felix that they weren't going on this trip. Prancer, the oldest reindeer, was just too old, Donnie, his youngest reindeer was just too young and Felix, the elf, was too willful. He couldn't escape the job. I guess it goes with being the boss he said to himself as he opened the door and called out, "Here Donner. Here Blitzen. It's time to harness up. Our sleigh is ready. Our toys are in their bags. Our great night is upon us! No, No Prancer, remember I told you last week that this trip was too long- too strenuous, too tough a trip for you old boy. You've been my fine lead deer for many a year, but I am afraid those days are over for you. This year you have a new job. This year, old fellow you are in charge of our station and toy factory here at the North Pole. In addition little Donnie, our smallest and youngest reindeer will be here as well as Felix, our most playful elf. Alas, a little too playful. We can only take those we can depend on completely. I've certainly depended on you old Prancer, but now I'm afraid age has caught up with you."
All the time that Santa was talking to Prancer he was doing the last minute packing and tightening of his large bags of toys. They were wonderfully full.
"Come on doll, in you go" Santa chuckled as he pushed Sweet Sue, a doll with long blonde hair, a china face, clear blue eyes and a dancing smile into the doll bag. It lay next to the bag filled with games, squirt guns, and balls. Prancer felt he could almost see the youngsters who would be receiving these gifts in the next few hours. How well he knew the speed of their sleighs when directed by great Santa. Almost like magic, the sleighs all connected, one to the other plowed across the universe on this great Christmas Eve night. Sometimes Prancer had felt guilty because he only thought of little boys and girls and their dreams rather than that other fellow, Jesus Christ, I guess he was named, that so many other people talked about, but not Prancer.
He always liked to be around when Santa got the letters from the kids describing what they wanted, and describing how they were working at being good. It wasn't always easy. In fact, Prancer suddenly remembered the letter Santa had gotten from a little boy named Egbert. Egbert wrote about how tough it was to be a good boy- to go to bed without an argument, to stay in school every day, not to talk back to his mother, not to sneak an extra piece of candy or take something that wasn't his. How he did go on Prancer remembered, then another letter came from that same Egbert, and darned if Santa didn't read that one too. This time, little Eggie (as Prancer found himself calling him) seemed to have gotten the hang of the whole thing. He wrote to Santa. I'll make a bargain. I'll be good if I can get what I really want and then he listed about 10 things he wanted. Well Santa got such a kick out of little Eggie's resolution that he put the 10 things aside in a separate bag for Egbert alone.
Prancer was shaken out of his reverie as Felix, the elf came dashing in and saying, "Please Santa, let me go. I'm your fastest package deliverer. No one can take a sack of toys off the sleigh and get down the chimney and under the tree as fast as I can. Oh please Santa, let me take my usual seat on the back of the sleigh and go off with you."
Santa looked almost frowningly at little Felix. "No Felix. Remember last year you just wouldn't do it my way. It had to be your way. You thought you would teach old Santa a thing or two about package delivery. Sorry Felix. You're going to have to sit things out this year. It'll give you a chance to think about taking directions and realizing that a little elf is just that- a little elf- not the leader of the Christmas expedition."
Poor little Felix almost crumpled as Santa's stern voice delivered his message. In a greatly chastened voice, Felix said, "Alright Santa. I'm truly sorry about last year and I hope some day I can show you that I've learned my lesson."
Just as Felix finished in his sad voice, another small voice sounded through he door. "Santa, Santa, it's Donnie. Please let me go too. I'm big enough. I'm ready. I've been practicing. I've been toughening up my hooves. I can keep up with the best of them. Please S anta. I know I'm small, but I'm fast too. Little Donnie, by now was in the doorway.
He raised his handsome little reindeer head with its big brown expressive eyes Again Santa said, "No, little Donnie, not this year. We have to fly tonight. Only the fastest and the biggest can go. And go we must, right now. Come let's ride. The sleighs are full. The children are tucked in their beds. We must to work." With a crack of his silver whip, Santa signaled departure time. The reindeers, Santa, and the elves lifted almost immediately into the air and before too many minutes were out of sight.
Donnie, Felix and Prancer were left alone. They were too dejected to talk. They just stayed, as they were, each thinking their own thoughts. Prancer said to him "I'm too old." Felix thought "I'm a bad elf." and little Donnie kept repeating in his mind "I'm too tiny, too small to count."
Meanwhile far away in a snug little house on the edge of the woods in Oslo, Norway, small Egbert lay in his bed thinking of the 10 things he had listed in his letter to Santa- the paint gun, the Harry Potter book, the new ice skates, the bubble gum machine, the boots, and here he started to drift off to sleep, but not before thinking happily about what a good boy he had been. He hadn't argued with his mother or his father. He hadn't teased Katrinka, his young sister and he had helped around the house. Come to think of it life had been pretty pleasant since he had been working so hard to be good. He'd really had fun with Katrinka instead of their usual fighting. By now Santa must be on his way he thought happily as he closed his eyes and really fell asleep. Just as he fell asleep Santa pulled up to his roof, ready to deliver his special 10 gifts which he had long ago put aside in a bag for Egbert.
As he reached for the bag he realized that age had done something that he had never done before. He had put the bag in the small extra sleigh which was parked near the big ones but-- Santa had forgotten to hook the little sleigh to the big sleigh and so Egbert's presents were where they had been when he set out, back in his own sleigh port. He had nothing for little Eggie. Never had Santa felt as distressed as he did now. He couldn't keep his end of the bargain and he couldn't even leave a gift because other children were waiting for their gifts. It was too late. Santa sadly urged the reindeers forward.
Just as Santa was discovering that he had left his small sleigh behind, Prancer spotted it and in a flash realized what had happened. Eggie's presents had been left behind. This was their chance!
"Felix, Donnie" he called. " We have work to do. Too old - huh--Too wild huh-- too tiny huh. We'll show Santa that we are part of his team. We'll take the small sleigh. Felix you be the driver. Donnie and I will pull it and we'll get Egbert's presents to his house before the day is over. Quickly harness us up."
Felix dashed to the closet, put on his heavy fur elf coat and his pointed red hat. He quickly threw the silver belled harness over Prancer's head and the small brass belled harness over Donnie's. Once they were yoked he took his seat, cracked his small elf whip in the air and called, "We've no time to waste."
Had they been the fastest team in the world, they could not have made Eggie's house in time for Christmas morning. It was too far from where they were; but they resolved to get there by nightfall. Egbert meanwhile, woke up. The sun was shining. The world was bright. It was Christmas day! Hooray! He darted from his bed and ran to the living room where he found his mother, father and Katrinka waiting for him. The stockings were full, showing that Santa really had come. Eagerly he tore open his gifts -- nice ones, he thought, but so far none of the 10 he had particularly asked for. Well never mind, there are some more under the tree. He reached eagerly and tore off the paper- a Parcheesi game, a bag of marbles and so forth but not one of the 10. Egbert felt like crying. He had done his part, he'd been a good boy- but Santa- Santa had let him down. Well, he thought I'll show Santa. I'll fix him. Be good and I'll get my presents huh -- well just watch this. At this moment Katrinka picked up his new Parcheesi board.
"Hey, drop it" Egbert called, pinching her at the same time.
"Ow, that hurts" called Katrinka.
"Who cares?" snarled Egbert.
"Egbert, what's gotten into you?" Egbert's mother called.
"None of your business" Egbert rudely responded. Being good doesn't pay off he thought so I'll just be what I feel like being. For the next two hours Egbert followed his every impulse making himself thoroughly disagreeable and quite successfully changed Christmas morning from pleasure to nastiness for all. Egbert's mother and father did not know what had come over him, but realized that he was a very different boy from their sunny, helpful son and brother of the last few months.
"Egbert, go to your room." Egbert's father finally called out, and so Egbert found himself alone in his room on Christmas day. Strangely and suddenly, he found himself crying. He hadn't cried in years as he did now. To his great surprise, he realized he wasn't crying because of the 10 missing presents that he'd made a bargain to get. He realized he was crying because he didn't like himself. He didn't like being mean to Katrinka. He didn't like being rude to his mother and father. What difference did it really make if I get the presents, if nobody wants me around, he thought. I've had more fun these last months, working to be good, than I've ever had. We've all had fun in this family, because I stopped being crabby and started being a little more helpful. I like the feeling. Maybe that's my best present of all. I've learned that I feel better being good than I do when I'm selfish and mean spirited.
Just as Eggie had this thought, he looked out of his window, where to his amazement he saw, pulling away from his house the tiniest sleigh he had ever seen, pulled by 2 oddly matched reindeer and driven by -- could it be? - an elf?? They disappeared from sight, dropping a small sack of presents by his window. He knew without opening them that they must be the missing 10. He smiled happily, but he realized that he had already received the greatest present he could ever get. He had learned that it's much more fun to be good than bad.
"Thanks Santa, " he whispered to himself.
What he didn't know was that when Santa got back to the North Pole and learned what Donnie, Felix and Prancer had done, he quietly whispered to himself, "Thanks Egbert, for letting my trusty three helpers show me that attitude can overcome any obstacle. That's a Christmas present to me!"