CHRISTMAS ALL THROUGH THE YEAR!!
Christmas is my favorite holiday...and I'd like to
keep the spirit going all year! Here is a pic of my Xmas
tree and my nativity set....
A very sweet man who visited my site, gave me this
wonderful story to put up here. It is for all those who
believe in he magic of Xmas! Enjoy!
Did you know there is another reindeer besides Rudolph with
a funny nose? Most kids know about her because this
reindeer is in the Rudolph song: "All of (OLIVE) the other
reindeer used to laugh and call him names." Yes, her name's
Olive and here's the story:
Olive the Orphan Reindeer
CHAPTER 1
Wolves
The storm in the Barrens raged around the little reindeer
with a nose like an olive.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
She?d lost her mother and father and brothers and sisters.
The night wind shrieked. The snowflakes stung her eyes.
"Mommy! Daddy! Where are you?"
But no one could hear.
And now ? danger! ? wolves.
She could smell them. They were close. Maybe they got my
family, she thought, and want me too.
So the little reindeer ran as fast as she could.
In the fierce storm she didn?t know where she was going.
She just knew she had to get away.
The wolves chased her, but she soon left them far behind.
Even when she no longer picked up their scent, she ran and
ran.
Finally she came to the North Pole.
CHAPTER 2
Santa And Mrs. Claus
Gasping for breath, she found herself in front of Santa and
Mrs. Claus?s house. Night here was calm and peaceful.
She saw them arm in arm on their doorstep. They were
looking at the stars.
Santa Claus laughed when he saw the tired little reindeer.
"Ho! Ho! Ho! Look, my dear. A reindeer with an olive for a
nose! Goodness! Welcome to the North Pole, little one."
Mrs. Claus smiled. "Well, aren?t you just the cutest thing
though! We?ll have to call you Olive. Right, Santa?" Santa
nodded. "Do you like cookies, Olive?"
"I don?t know, ma?am," she said.
"Well, try this," said Mrs. Claus. She gave Olive a cookie.
"It?s raisin and oatmeal fresh from my bakery."
Olive found it tasty. While she nibbled on it, Mrs. Claus
tied a blue bow on her head.
"There, Olive!" Mrs. Claus said, giving her a big hug. "You
just needed a mite sprucing up."
"I hope you can stay a while, Olive," said Santa.
Olive felt she'd never see her family again. She was an
orphan. So she decided to make the North Pole her home.
CHAPTER 3
Olive?s Jobs
As the years passed and she got bigger, Olive became one of
the best skaters among the spare reindeer. She always won
the friendly races against them at Candy Cane Pond.
Olive also had important jobs to do during the Christmas
season.
She looked through the magic telescope to see which boys
and girls were naughty or nice, and reported their names to
Number One, the chief elf.
She hauled boxes of presents to Santa Claus?s sleigh on the
runway.
She delivered muffins from Mrs. Claus?s bakery to the
hospital.
In the toy factory she checked for broken toys coming off a
line in Quality Control.
She liked these jobs, but the job Olive wanted more than
anything was to be on Santa?s team.
Will I be picked some day? she wondered.
CHAPTER 4
A Foolish Dream
It was Christmas Eve again. As always Olive wished she
could go on the Big Trip. Many of her spare reindeer pals
had gone. Why not me? she thought. But maybe that was a
foolish dream.
Only this morning an elf had shouted, "You over there ? no,
not you, Jingles. The other reindeer. Yes, you, green nose.
Give us some help."
But at dusk when Olive got off shift, she began to do some
serious thinking. Maybe it wasn?t a foolish dream at all.
What did that smart alec elf know anyway?
So she decided right then to visit Santa and ask him if she
could join the team.
CHAPTER 5
A Meeting With Santa
As she stood in front of Santa?s house, Olive wasn?t so
sure of herself.
Just who do you think you are? she thought.
But she?d come this far so what did she have to lose? All
Santa could do was say no.
She hesitated then tapped at Santa?s door.
She waited. No answer.
She tapped again.
No one home.
She sighed. "Oh, well, I tried."
Just as Olive was about to leave, the door burst open.
"Ho! Ho! Ho! Well, well, look who it is!" Santa said. He
had only one boot on. "I?m just getting ready to go over to
Mission Control to check things out before the Big Trip.
What can I do for you, Olive?"
"Hi, Santa. I thought I?d ask if there, uh, was ? was ?"
"Was what, Olive?"
"Well, anything I could do."
Santa thought. "No, I can?t think of anything."
"Oh."
"What did you have in mind?"
"Well ? uh ? well ?"
Olive was tongue-tied.
"Please, I?m really in a hurry," Santa said. "Well?"
When he hears what I want he?ll laugh at me, Olive thought.
That?s worse than a simple no. She just blinked.
"I can?t think of a thing you could do," Santa said.
"Well, I just thought I?d, you know, ask anyway."
Santa shrugged. "Thank you for asking, Olive."
"You?re welcome, Santa."
She left and Santa scratched his head.
"What a strange conversation," he muttered.
CHAPTER 6
Countdown
Take-off time was ninety-seven minutes away.
Best to forget about the Big Trip, Olive felt, by keeping
busy. Maybe Mrs. Claus wanted some muffins taken to the
hospital.
She headed for the bakery.
Lovely smells drifted from it: mincemeat tarts, chocolate
cakes, jelly doughnuts, date squares, brownies, buns,
bread, all kinds of muffins and cookies.
"Hi, Olive. That nose of yours sure works mighty fine,"
Mrs. Claus said. "Here?s a nice warm raisin and oatmeal
cookie just for you."
"No thank you, Mrs. Claus," Olive said. "I?m not hungry. I
just came over to see if you wanted some muffins taken over
to the hospital."
"I?m sorry, we made the muffin delivery this afternoon when
you were at the toy factory."
"Oh."
Mrs. Claus gave Olive a close look. "What?s the matter,
Olive? Why the glum looking face?"
Olive pawed at the ground. "Well ? it?s nothing. Nothing."
Mrs. Claus fixed Olive?s blue bow. It was crooked.
"Something is bothering you. Tell me, Olive, don?t be shy
with me. We girls have to stick together. What is it?"
"It?s nothing, Mrs. Claus. I?d better go now and see if
they need me one last time at the toy factory."
Olive trotted off.
"You?re my favorite reindeer you know. I?m always around if
you need me," Mrs. Claus called after her.
CHAPTER 7
Too Late
At the toy factory Olive?s best friend, Boomer, the chubby
harness elf, sat on a crate by the shipping dock. He
munched on a peanut butter sandwich.
"Hi, Olive!" Boomer shouted. He liked to shout rather than
talk.
"Hi, Boomer. Do they need any more help inside?"
"Not now. They?re just tying up some loose ends. We?re
ready."
"Oh." She wasn?t needed here either.
"What?s eating you, Olive? Huh? You look really sad."
"Well, it?s just that I?d love to go on the Big Trip,"
Olive said.
"Hey, come on! You?ll make it one day."
"Oh, I don?t know about that, Boomer."
"You will. You?re fast. You always win the races on Candy
Cane Pond. And you?re strong too."
"I?m just a nobody. After all these years I?m still called
the other reindeer."
"Aw, come on! Mrs. Claus for one doesn?t call you that,"
Boomer said. "Tell her what you want."
"Mrs. Claus doesn?t do the hiring."
"No, but I?m sure she?s got some clout with Santa."
"I just talked to Mrs. Claus and I couldn?t tell her about
? about my dream. I just couldn?t."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Well ? I ?"
Boomer waved his sandwich in the air. "Sweet potaters,
Olive! You can?t just wait for something to happen. And
that?s what you?re doing."
"I know, Boomer, I know." She wouldn?t mention her visit
with Santa Claus or Boomer would get really steamed. "But I
just don?t like to be ? pushy."
Boomer snorted. "Pushy? You really tick me off sometimes.
You know that? The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Things
won?t come to you. And ?"
"And what, Boomer?"
Boomer stared at his sandwich. "The Big Trip is only
eighty-nine minutes away. But I have to say you can forget
it just like the other ones. It?s too late."
Olive gulped. Maybe I should have said something to Mrs.
Claus, she thought. I?ll be staying behind again.
CHAPTER 8
The Numbers Aren?t Good
Meanwhile Santa Claus, Number One, and Chip, the computer
ace, were going over a few things in the Planning Room at
Mission Control.
They studied a wall map. Mittens, Santa?s orange cat, was
on Santa?s shoulders. He seemed interested in the map too.
"Santa, the numbers aren?t good," Chip said. "We have a
record number of kids this year and we just don?t have
enough reindeer power."
Santa chuckled. "Chip, you worry too much. I have a great
team, but we can always add one or two of the spare
reindeer."
Mrs. Claus passed by. She cupped her ear to listen.
"One or two won?t do it, Santa, even if we had them,"
Number One said. "Dr. Winters called me just before you
arrived. An odd thing. The spare reindeer are in the
hospital sick."
Santa gasped. "Oh, dear! All of them at once? That?s
terrible!"
"And the sleigh is loaded to overflowing," Chip said. "If
we added any more toys we couldn?t lift off. Lots of toys
have to be left behind." He looked at his calculator. "The
numbers aren?t good."
"They certainly aren?t, Chip," Santa said.
"Many places must be missed." Chip pointed at the map with
a baseball bat. "Here, here, and here. And there."
Santa Claus sank into an armchair with his head in his
hands. Mittens almost fell off his shoulders.
"But we can?t let down any children," Santa moaned. "We
can?t! You?re the computer expert, Chip. Think of
something. Anything! We leave in fifty-six minutes. There
must be something we can do."
Chip threw up his hands. "There isn?t, Santa, and that?s a
fact."
After she heard this, Mrs. Claus hurried over to the
hospital.
CHAPTER 9
Blackmail
In the hospital ward the spare reindeer lay in beds. With
thermometers in their mouths were Speedy, Jingles, Flash,
Igloo, Spinner, Rascal, Bingo, and Pokey.
Dr. Winters took out the thermometers and read them.
"Hmmm," he said. "I can?t see anything the matter with any
of you." He looked at his watch. "It?s Christmas Eve with
forty-three minutes 'til take-off. What if Santa needs some
of you? Then what?"
"Then that?ll be too bad," Pokey stated. "We?re not going
back to that gloomy old stable."
"Not until somebody paints it," said Flash.
"Hah! So that?s it," Dr. Winters said. "Blackmail!"
"That?s a mean thing to say," said Bingo. "But we?re not
going back to that stable. So there!"
"Get up! Get up!" Dr. Winters yelled. "Where?s your pride?
Where?s your courage? Where?s your loyalty? Get up!
Immediately! This is nonsense! This is ? uh, please. With
jam on it. Well?"
But the reindeer just snuggled in their beds and answered
with snores.
They weren?t going anywhere.
CHAPTER 10
Not A Very Nice Idea
Mrs. Claus rushed into the ward. She was alarmed by what
she saw.
"What?s going on, Doctor?"
Dr. Winters shook his head. "I never thought I?d hear
myself say this, Mrs. Claus. Never in a million years. But
what we?ve got here is a bunch of fakers who want to sleep
all day long in nice comfy beds. In short, they?re on
strike!"
Mrs. Claus thought. "I think I?ve got an idea. It?s not a
very nice one, but ? "
She whispered into Dr. Winters? ear.
The reindeer squinted at them. What were they up to?
The doctor held up a needle. He gave it a squirt. The
reindeer stirred.
"Now this might smart a little, you reindeer, but it?s for
your own good," Dr. Winters said.
The reindeer shot up in bed.
"Don?t be scared," Dr. Winters said. "It'll only take a
second."
"I feel a lot better, Dr. Winters," Jingles said.
"M-m-me too," Pokey stuttered.
"See you, Dr. Winters," said Igloo, bolting for the door.
"Don?t call us, we?ll call you," said the rest as they
clomped after Igloo.
Mrs. Claus and Dr. Winters split their sides as the
reindeer stampeded down the corridor.
CHAPTER 11
Take-Off
Take-off was seconds away.
From the runway red, gold, green, and blue fireworks lit
the North Pole sky with fantastic patterns.
Two elves at the front of the sleigh blew a trumpet
fanfare.
Tah-tah tah tah-tah tah tah. Tah-tah.
Boomer sprinkled Santa?s reindeer from his bag of magic
sparkles. The sparkles gave them the power to fly.
Chip and Number One looked on with frowns. Everyone was
nervous except for the reindeer.
"I?m all set, chief," said Dasher, and pawed at the ground.
"Me too," said Dancer, and shook his bells.
"Let?s go, Santa," said Comet.
From the front of Santa?s team came a red glow and a
giggle.
The reindeer loved Christmas Eve. Santa didn?t have the
heart to tell them thousands of children would be given a
miss on this one.
He slumped in his sleigh. Even his beard seemed to droop.
Olive watched from a rise.
Although she wanted to forget about the Big Trip, she just
couldn?t help coming to see the show. She especially loved
the fireworks.
She heard the reindeer?s excited voices. Oh, how she wished
she could be one of them.
But I?ll always get left behind, she thought.
Olive turned away.
She?d seen enough. A tear trickled down her cheek.
Suddenly there were cries of alarm. And...
BANG!
CHAPTER 12
What Boomer Did
The sleigh had crashed.
Santa Claus was tossed into a snowbank.
The reindeer sprawled on the runway.
Boxes of presents were scattered everywhere.
Olive galloped to the overturned sleigh. Boomer stood near
it.
"Oh, no! This is awful!" Olive cried. "What happened,
Boomer?"
Boomer grinned. "I overloaded the sleigh when nobody was
looking. I put a set of barbells across the back of the
runners.
"What! But why?"
"You want to go with them, don?t you?"
"Shh! Of course I want to go, but ?"
"Well, if the team can?t get airborne then you?re in.
You?re in!"
"But ? but ?"
"Oh-oh!" Boomer clasped his mouth. "Look who?s coming."
CHAPTER 13
No Time To Lose
Number One marched towards them. His face was red with
anger.
"I heard all that, Boomer. Oh, Santa! Santa!" he called. "I
think there is something you should know."
Santa struggled to his feet and brushed snow off himself.
"What?s going on here?" Santa said.
"Tell Santa Claus the disgraceful thing you did, Boomer,"
Number One ordered. "Go on."
Boomer hung his head. "I overloaded the sleigh with some
barbells. I?m sorry, Santa, I really am. But please forget
what I did and give Olive a chance to go with you. That?s
why I did it. Olive is as fast as greased lightning."
Santa shook his head. The accident had confused him.
"Olive?" he said. "Olive?" Then it dawned. "Yes, Olive! I
was just talking to you. So you want to help deliver the
presents, do you, Olive?"
"Oh, yes, Santa. That?s really why I came to see you."
Boomer gave Olive a surprised look. "Huh? You did?"
Santa stroked his beard. "So that was it! But why didn?t
you say so? Oh, never mind. We?ve got no time to lose. Come
along, Olive."
But Olive didn?t move. "I?d love to, Santa, but I don?t
think it would be fair to go after this. If not for Boomer,
you?d all be in the sky by now."
Boomer clenched his teeth. "Olive, you?re going to blow
it."
"Hmm, I see," Santa said. "I see."
For a while no one knew what to say.
Finally Number One spoke up. He?d cooled off.
"Santa, may I say something?" he said. "Although I do not
approve of such a deed, I think Boomer is a good fellow. He
has served us well for many years. Perhaps we can overlook
what he did."
Santa nodded. "I agree, Number One. We?ll give Boomer a
second chance. So, Olive? Do you want to come? Yes or no?"
Olive could hardly believe it. Was her dream about to come
true?
"Whoopee!" she shouted. "You?ll see I?m really fast and
strong, Santa."
Santa?s eyes twinkled. He patted Olive on the head.
"Don?t worry, Olive," Santa said. "I?ve had my eyes on you
and I know how fast and strong you are. You were going to
be on the team sooner or later. So as of now, you?re
officially hired."
Chip joined them. He was studying his calculator and he
didn?t look happy.
"I hate to be a party pooper, Santa, but this won?t change
much," he said. "With the help of Olive we can make Los
Angeles just before sun up. But many other places will
still get left out."
Santa sighed. "I know, I know, I hadn?t forgotten, Chip.
How could I? All those children will be heart-broken.
They?ll never forgive me. But ? but there?s nothing we can
do."
CHAPTER 14
Mrs. Claus?s Surprise
At that moment they heard a whistle in the distance. It
came from Mrs. Claus.
She wore a red-and-white Santa outfit. And she was driving
a team made up of the eight spare reindeer.
"Hee-hah! Giddy-up, my honeys!" Mrs. Claus urged.
The spare reindeer looked as fit as ever. They came at full
steam. Snow swirled around their pounding hooves.
Santa?s mouth fell open as Mrs. Claus pulled up beside him.
"Mrs. Claus! Goodness! What a surprise!" Santa said. "What
are you doing here?"
"Well, dear, I heard you had a problem," Mrs. Claus said.
"We do, we do. A whopper. But I thought all the spare
reindeer were in the hospital."
Mrs. Claus smiled. "They were. Flat on their backs until
Dr. Winters came up with a ? cure, you might say. And then
I did a little wheeling and dealing about giving their
stable a new paint job. You really should see it, Santa."
"We can talk about that later, my dear. But right now I?d
like to know why you?re here."
"Well, I thought we could load up my sleigh and I?ll ? go
with you. If you don?t mind."
Santa clapped his hands. "Mind? Why should I mind? That?s a
terrific idea! You really want to go, don?t you, my dear?"
"It would be a hoot. A real hoot."
"All these years and you?ve never once said anything."
"Well, wouldn?t a passenger have made the sleigh too
heavy?" Mrs. Claus said. "So, dear? What do you say?"
CHAPTER 15
The Big Trip
Santa turned to Boomer. "Quick, Boomer! Hitch up Olive to
Mrs. Claus?s team. That will give us nine reindeer each."
Boomer saluted. "Right away, Santa!"
Boomer hitched Olive in the lead.
A dozen elves gathered up the scattered toys. Another dozen
brought the ones left over in the toy factory.
The sleighs were quickly loaded.
Boomer sprinkled Mrs. Claus's reindeer with the magic
sparkles.
For a moment the reindeer rose and floated on air. Mrs.
Claus?s team was now ready to fly.
"Up and at ?em, Olive!" whooped Mrs. Claus. "Ho-ho! Ho-ho!"
Santa winked. "You?ve got the words, my dear, but, well,
the tune needs some work."
Then with a merry "Ho! Ho! Ho!" and a "Ho-ho! Ho-ho!" Santa
and Mrs. Claus whooshed off into the twinkling stars and
over the moon.
The elves jumped up and down and cheered the two sleighs in
the sky. "Yippee! Yippee!"
A few toasted each other with mugs of hot chocolate.
As she led Mrs. Claus?s team, Olive held her head up high.
All the boys and girls got their presents on time and they
were delighted.
So was Olive. And she did such a super job that from then
on she made the Big Trip with Mrs. Claus every Christmas
Eve.
THE END
OLIVE, the ORPHAN REINDEER
Copyright Michael Christie 1997
(Ages: For all those who believe in Christmas)
By:
Michael Christie
If you liked this story, please e-mail Michael and let
him know: Michael
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