[nfbwatlk] A Christmas Story

[Becky Frankeberger]

A Christmas Story.
 One bright Christmas Eve, Santa Claus awoke looking forward to  taking 
to the night sky on his sleigh. He got out of bed, pulled on his hat  
and big red coat and opened the outside door to go and visit his trusty  
reindeer.

 It was snowing and very cold. As Santa approached the stables, he 
 smiled  at the thought that he would soon see Rudolph's red nose 
 shining through the blizzard. But, oh no, wait a minute; as he turned 
 the corner, Santa saw not one but nine shiny red noses!

 Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and 
 Rudolph were all looking miserable.

 "Oh dear," said Santa, "what's up with you all?"

 Comet, the reindeer union rep, stepped forward.

 "I'm very sorry, but none of my reindeer will be able to do a full 
 night's present delivery shift," said Comet, looking sad. "This is the 
 first time we've ever wimped out on you, but we're all feeling lousy 
 this year Santa and, well, we feel you'd be better off with some other 
 helpers just this once."

 "Comet, this is disastrous news!" Santa held his head in his hands.
 "I'm not sure I can get all the presents out to all the little boys 
 and girls without help from my reindeer."

 At this, Blitzen and Prancer stepped forward.

 "To be honest Santa, we had always worried something like this might 
 happen," said Blitzen, sounding very bunged up. "With this in mind, 
 some years ago Prancer decided to approach another group of magical 
 creatures with special powers who might be able to stand in during an 
 emergency."

 "Well, Prancer," Santa turned to the other reindeer whose eyes were 
 streaming, "Do tell me. What is your idea? Which other creatures of 
 the world have magical powers that can match those of my nine 
 wonderful reindeer, of whom so many songs are sung and tales are told?"

 "Why . . . Guide Dogs, of course!" smiled the reindeer. He turned 
 towards the snowy white plains of Greenland, tapped the ground three 
 times with his hoof, bowed his head and antlers, then majestically 
 reared up making a very loud calling sound that echoed round the four 
 corners of the planet.

 Within the space of thirty seconds, a shadow appeared far on the 
 horizon.
 As it got bigger, Santa could just make out nine glowing black and 
 yellow labradors,  picked out in the arctic moonlight as they flew towards
him.

 "This year," continued Prancer, "your helpers will be: Buttons, 
 Goldie, Honey, Sam, Ben, Max, Anton, Lucy and Lassie."

 Santa and his deer stood and stared up at the approaching dogs, who 
 they could now hear barking. When the dogs landed they became silent; 
 the only noise was the north wind howling. Santa, awed by the sight, 
 was about to speak when the leading dog - Buttons - led a single note 
 chorus of howls as a salute to the reindeer whom they would replace this
year.
 Happy, all  the reindeers saluted back and in unison returned to their 
 stables.

 "Greetings to you, Father Christmas," said Buttons. "Instead of being 
 with our blind owners this year, we want to bring smiles to the faces 
 of all the world's children. We're ready when you are."

 Santa smiled and beckoned the creatures. He led them to his workshop.
 Parked outside was a huge sleigh, loaded with presents of all shapes 
 and sizes. A small green-clad elf was just putting the last present on 
 the top; when it was balanced correctly, he slid down and pushed 
 himself off the side and scarpered back into the warmth. Sam, Ben and 
 Honey had already positioned themselves at the front of the sleigh and 
 barked at the other dogs to join them. As they lifted the sleigh's 
 harness Santa
 said: "Aren't you going to take your own harnesses off first?"

 "Oh no," spoke up Lucy, the smallest of the dogs, "these are our 
 identity. Guiding is what we do and tonight Santa, we will guide you!"

 With the dogs all in place, Santa climbed onto the front of the 
 sleigh, took the reigns in his hands and boomed merrily at the top of his
voice:

 "Go Buttons ... go Goldie ... go Honey!"

 The dogs pulled and the sleigh took off into the now clear dark blue 
 sky.

 "Moosh Sam, gee up Ben, away Max ... away!"

 Lucy turned and winked at Lassie. They were both wondering how their 
 owners were getting on. They hoped to be back and curled up at the 
 foot of their beds before they awoke, and chuckled at what their 
 masters would think if they knew they were flying around the world 
 helping to deliver presents.

 "Lucy, Lassie, noses forward!" Santa's voice startled them into 
 action.
 "Anton, stop trying to eat the falling snow," he continued, before 
 breaking into a very loud and satisfied: "Ho ho ho! Keep flying, my 
 little guides. This year," winked Father Christmas, "you dogs will 
 find out what busy really means."

 As the sleigh, the jolly old man and the nine magical guiding dogs 
 reached the horizon and flew towards the first of several billion 
 houses on the list, Santa knew that the guide dogs had saved the day 
 and everything would be all right.

 "Merry Christmas, one and all!"


Becky Frankeberger
Butterfly Knitting

Custom-made knit throws, shawls, and more!

Phone: 360-426-8389
E-mail: becky at ButterflyKnitting.com
Website: www.ButterflyKnitting.com