Copyright Michael Christie 1997. All rights reserved.
(ages; For all those who believe in Christmas)
By Michael Christie
CHAPTER1
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 shreiked. 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 Clause's sleigh
on the runway.She delivered muffins from Mrs. Clause'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 someday? 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.
HOME- BACK- NEXT