Santa and the Little Brown Bear

         A little brown bear named Tommy lived with his mother and father in the big green forest. Tommy had no little brothers or sisters. No other bear families lived nearby, but he was never lonely. He climbed the tall trees, hunted for nuts and berries and fished in the woodland streams. One winter day, while looking for a new fishing spot, he met some other little brown bears. They spent a happy afternoon playing all sorts of games together.

         Suddenly, one of the other bears said, “Oh! It’s getting late, and this is Christmas Eve. I gotta go home.”

         “What is Christmas Eve?” Tommy wanted to know, for he had never heard of such a thing.

         “The night before Christmas,” said the biggest bear in the group. “Don’t you know what that is, either?”

         “No,” said Tommy. He and his parents lived so far away from the rest of the bears that they had never before seen or heard about Christmas. As they walked toward home, the other bears took turns explaining what Christmas meant to them.

         “And like the wise men brought gifts for the baby Jesus,” continued the big bear, “Santa Claus brings presents to good children.”

         “I’m going to go to bed early,” said the little girl bear. “But not before I hang up my stocking, so Santa can fill it with candy, nuts and toys.”

         Excited, Tommy thought, “I must hurry home, too,” for he planned to hang up his biggest knit stocking alongside the fireplace. He had been a good little bear all year, except when he broke his mother’s best honey jar, and that was an accident. Surely Santa Claus would come and leave him some nuts, at least. It seemed a long, cold winter already, and squirrels had long ago picked up all the nuts in the forest, and stored them in their nests. He dared not hope Santa might also leave him a new toy.

         As the other bears turned down their path to their homes, Tommy ran as fast as his little legs could take him over the hill and into the next valley to his house for he really was a long way from home for such a little bear.

         Supper was ready when he got there. The smell of fresh fish and honey bread with moss salad filled the warm kitchen, as his mother set the food on the table.

         “Well, there you are,” said his father, as he took off his coat and sat down. “I was about to go out and look for you.”

         Tommy told his mother and father about his day, the fun he had with the other little bears, and especially what he had learned about Christmas. His parents looked at each other with raised eyebrows, for they hadn’t heard about Christmas, either.

         Tommy, who loved fresh fish and honey bread, ate his meal faster than usual. Feeling like the good little bear that he was, he then took his plate to the sink and rinsed it off without being asked.

         “Tommy, dear,” his mother began. But Tommy looked so excited, that she didn’t have the heart to tell him she didn’t think there was a Santa Claus. Instead she helped him find a suitable stocking to hang. Tommy usually tried to stay up as long as he could, but on this night, he went to bed early, without anyone telling him to.

         “It’s Christmas!” Tommy shouted the next morning, as he bounded out of bed. “It’s Christmas!” Tommy ran straight to the fireplace in the living room. Instead of bulging with nuts or fruits, his stocking hung limply with nothing in it!

         Holding back tears of disappointment, Tommy ate his usual breakfast of wild rice and dried berries, but it was hard to swallow the food over the lump in his throat.

         “I must find out what happened,” he said to himself. All Tommy could think about was how he was going to find Santa Claus to ask him. Since Tommy should have been on the “good” list, he thought, “Santa must have forgotten me.”

         So it was that after the breakfast dishes had been cleared and washed, Tommy fixed himself a fish and honey bread sandwich and put it in a brown bag. He added a big handful of the dried fruit from the pantry for energy. After wrapping the food and some extra warm clothes into a neat bundle, he walked into the hall, put on his warmest coat, gloves and hat and slipped quietly out of the door.

         He remembered that the little bears he met the day before said that Santa Claus lived at the North Pole. Now, being a bear, he had an idea which way was north and quite rightly turned in the direction that would take him further into the woods.

         Only a few yards from the house the path dwindled to almost nothing. It took all of Tommy’s concentration to find it in the snow, as he followed it through some of the thickest stands of trees he’d ever seen. He walked all day, carefully watching the direction of the sun as it set in the west. As long as it was on his left side, he knew he was going the right way. In the morning the sun should rise on his right side. The wind blew colder by then, and wading through knee-deep snow wore him out faster than he expected.

         At dusk he saw a raccoon poke his head out of his burrow. Tommy asked him, “Do you know where Santa Claus lives?” The raccoon only chattered at him, turned and disappeared. He saw no other animals that day. It was winter, a time when most of them slept in their nice, warm dens, where he should have been. Finally, he sat down on a fallen log, exhausted from the day’s journey. He opened his pack, and ate half of his sandwich, wishing heartily for some of his mother’s hot tea. Nestling into a fallen tree bough, Tommy curled up and fell asleep.

         Tommy awoke the next morning to the wind howling through the tree tops. Despite the wintry air, he didn’t feel that cold. When he sat up, though, he noticed several inches of snow covered the rest of his body! That’s what had kept him warm all night. After eating a few of the dried berries for breakfast, he set off once again, wading through the ever-deepening snow. On that day, Tommy found himself climbing the big mountain he had seen when he first started out. Up, he slowly climbed, hoping to reach the mountain pass before dark. The wind blasted his clothes tightly against his fur as he clung to the rocks high above the valley. The snow blew so hard that it stung his eyes and nose. He felt miserable, even with his warm coat, gloves and hat on top of his own fur. Onward he plodded, at last reaching the pass, the lowest point between two of the mountains. The peaks rose even higher on either side. From there, he could see the next valley, and no more mountains for miles. Unable to go much further without some food, he sat down on a flat rock, opened his pack, and broke the remaining half of his sandwich in two.

         “I don’t know how much longer I have to walk,” he thought to himself. “I had better save some of it.”

Too tired to go on, Tommy found an outcropping of rock that would serve as a shelter. After a second long day of his journey, he crawled underneath the rock, rested his head on his pack and quickly fell sound asleep.

         The next morning, he woke up with a kink in his back. He was young and little, so with a little stretching, he quickly warmed up his muscles. After eating a few more of the dried berries, he continued along the trail, anxious to get off that treacherous mountain onto flat ground once again. The trip down was much shorter that the trip up to the pass. At mid-day, he planned to stop for a few minutes and eat a few more of the dried berries. But just as he spotted a good place to sit down, his foot skated out in front of him, and he fell hard on the icy snow, skidding a few hundred feet before abruptly coming to a stop against a snow-covered log.

         “That was kind of fun,” he thought, picking himself off the ice and carefully stepping over the log into fluffier, deeper snow. By then, he had traveled most of the way down the big mountain, and could see small hills were the only things between him and the next valley. But he had to walk through snow drifts higher than his waist. It was even colder, too, though he didn’t think it was possible the day before. The day never quite broke, as it remained dark all day.

         As he climbed over the last hill, he was surprised to see a herd of elk. Tommy thought that since they had horns, just like the deer his new friends described, they must be close cousins of Santa Claus’ reindeer.

         “Do you know where Santa Claus lives?” he asked the eldest, most wise-looking elk.

         “He lives at the North Pole,” said the elk with a shake of his scraggly head. “I thought everyone knew that.

         “Well do you know how to get to the North Pole?”

         “Just keep going straight, but it’s a long way from here.”

         Tommy thanked him and set off in the direction he’d been heading all along, glad that he saved a bit of his sandwich. His stomach growling, he finished it off, grateful that he still had a few of the dried berries for the long journey still ahead. By late afternoon, Tommy had walked for many miles. He was tired and hungry, and couldn’t help but finish the berries. They kept him going for awhile longer. Just as he thought he could go no further, he heard a sound of water lapping against a shore. Even better, Tommy heard the splashing of fish jumping…or something. He walked out of the forest to find a beautiful, white bear dabbling in the water, her fur sparkling in the feeble light. Suddenly, she swished her front paw into the water and came out with a fish, just as he’d seen his father do at the brook by their home.

         Just then, she turned and saw him.

         “Hello, there.” She smiled and stood up holding the still-wiggling fish. “Are you hungry?”

         Tommy nodded gratefully, afraid to say anything. First of all, he had never seen as much water as he saw at that moment, for the white bear stood of the edge of a big lake—so big that he couldn’t see the other side. Second of all, though Tommy was a polite little bear, he had never seen many other bears in his young life. He wasn’t at all sure what to say to the beautiful creature standing in front of him.

         “I…I’m looking for Santa Claus at the North Pole…ma’am,” he finally managed to say.

         “Well, you’re not too far from there, now,” said the white bear. “Come with me. I have a son about your age. You can eat dinner with us and spend the night.

         Tommy hesitated only for a moment. He felt so very cold—and wet, too, as well as hungry and deeply tired. He followed the white bear home, thinking to himself that he would set out early the next          morning, after a good rest.

         “I am Mrs. Tikivik, and this is Tomkin,” said the white bear as she let Tommy into their snug cave. She held her hand out to a little white bear who had been sitting in a corner of the warm cheery kitchen.

         “Oh, your name is almost the same as mine—Tommy!”

         “That’s funny,” Tomkin gave him a friendly smile, for they didn’t get company often in their small cave.

         “Go wash up for dinner,” said Mrs.Tikivik. When he and Tomkin returned, the table was set with fresh fish and delicious-smelling blubber soup. It all tasted as good as the aroma promised. His stomach full at last, Tommy felt so tired, he almost fell asleep in his bowl. Tomkin led him to a big, soft bed, where he snuggled under the covers and fell right to sleep thinking of his own mother so many miles away. How he missed her!

         The next morning, it was still dark, for daylight never comes in the winter near the North Pole. Mrs. Tikivik wrapped a piece of the fish in a sealskin pouch.

         “This should be more than enough for the rest of your trip,” she said. Tommy’s coat and mittens had been drying by the fire all night, so they were warm and ready to put on. Mrs. Tikivik and Tomkin waved good-bye as he set out.

         “Good luck!” Tomkin called after him.

         Tommy waved and turned north. He walked most of the morning, carefully watching where he put his feet, as the icy ground made the trek dangerous, especially with so little daylight. When at last he looked up, he found himself face to face with the most beautiful animal he’d ever seen. It was a magnificent reindeer with antlers bigger than…well, bigger than he could imagine attached to such a small, fine head.

         “Are you one of Santa’s reindeer?” he asked, barely able to breathe out the words.

         The reindeer bent down and peered at him with one of his dark brown eyes. With a snort he spun around and trotted away, leaving Tommy to wonder if he should follow him.

         Only a second ticked before he ran after the reindeer. “Maybe he’ll lead me to Santa’s house.” Luckily, the wind had died down some, so he could see the reindeer’s tracks, as the animal ran too fast for Tommy’s little legs to keep up. In the distance he could see a cluster of trees scattered around a tower and several wooden buildings. He ran with a final, extra burst of energy. He knew at last that he must be at the North Pole and the home of Mr. Claus!

         He knocked on the front door. It opened with a slow creak, and out rushed the most delicious aroma ever to meet his nose. A pink, round face framed by a halo of thick, gray hair under a green cap peered around the edge of the door. Mrs. Claus smiled and opened the door wide.

         “My goodness! What brings such a wee bear to these frozen parts? Come in, come in, before you freeze all the way through.”

         Mrs. Claus briskly led Tommy into the warm kitchen. Mrs. Claus took off Tommy’s sodden jacket, mittens and hat and arranged them over a chair by the cozy, hot stove.

         “Here,” she said. “Sit down here at the table.”

         Tommy did as she asked with a thank you, ma’am—always remembering his manners.

Mrs. Claus then set before him a steaming mug of tea and an apple scone, which he had never seen before. It melted into his mouth with a sweet taste of apple and cinnamon. Mrs. Claus sat across from him and asked again, this time very gently, “What brings you here, little bear?”

         “My name is Tommy, Mrs. Claus,” he began. He then told Mrs. Claus how he had heard about Christmas and that Santa Claus visited every home in the world on Christmas Eve. He told her about how he hung his stocking, and was a good bear all year, but Santa Claus didn’t visit him.

         “Oh, no!” Mrs. Claus’ pink face flushed a deep red color. “Santa needs to know about this right away!”

         Tommy could hear her running up the stairs and through a hall above him muttering, “He’s not going to be happy at all!”

         In what seemed like no time, Tommy heard two sets of footsteps on the stairs. Santa led Mrs. Claus into the kitchen. He wore green flannel pants with suspenders over a soft green plaid shirt. He ran a hand through his rumpled hair and put on a small pair of glasses, through which Santa looked at him kindly,          “What’s this I hear? I missed you on Christmas Eve?”

         He picked up Tommy from his chair, sat down and gently sat the little bear on his lap.

         “That will never do,” said Santa. “What would you like for Christmas?”

         Tommy told him what he had hoped for all along: More fruit and nuts for his family and books or a game they could all enjoy together.

         “Well,” said the great man, rubbing his whiskers, “the elves are on vacation, but we’ll see what we have left. For now, I want you to get a good night’s sleep.

         Mrs. Claus led Tommy up the stairs and into a small bathroom, where he washed off the grime from his long journey. “Your room is just across this hall.” He found it easily, as he fell into the big, fluffy white bed. “I feel like I’m laying in a cloud,” he thought as he fell into a deep sleep.

         Tommy woke up to the sound of hooves below. He ran to the window and in the semi-darkness, saw eight beautiful reindeer hitched to a sparkling red--and heavily loaded--sleigh. He dressed quickly, ran down the stairs, into the kitchen and found his warm gloves, coat and hat. He ran right into Santa Claus, who had just opened the front door.

         “I was just coming in to wake you,” said the old gentleman. “It’s time for me to take you home.”

Mrs. Claus handed Santa Claus an insulated bottle of tea, and two small foil-wrapped packages. “These will keep you warm on your trip.”

         Santa hoisted Tommy up and into the sleigh, climbed in himself and covered them both with a heavy, warm blanket.

         “I didn’t know where your home was,” he told Tommy. “Can you show me?”

         “I think so,” said Tommy.

         “Are you ready?”

         Tommy nodded, and with a call to the reindeer, away they went. They glided over the icy valley and saw the big lake where he met Mrs. Tikivik the day before. He could see that the lake was actually part of the Arctic Ocean, with large chunks of ice floating in it. They flew easily over the big mountain to the wide valley on the other side. More and more trees appeared on the horizon. With a click of his tongue, Santa landed the sleigh in a field by the outskirts of the forest.

         “I’m hungry, aren’t you?” Santa handed Tommy one of the foil packages, and poured tea into two metal cups. They ate warm, buttered corn bread and drank the strong, hot tea in silence, until at last Tommy ate the last crumb.

         “Now, Tommy,” said Santa, “when we start again, be ready to show me your house. I have an idea we’re very close.”

         Tommy agreed, and got himself ready for the take-off.

         “On, you mighty beasts,” Santa shouted to the reindeer. “Onward!”

         They rose slowly over the valley, banked around and flew over the forest. Santa skillfully steered the reindeer just above the treetops, so that Tommy could more easily see his house.

         “There it is!” he soon cried out. “I see it.”

         As he landed the sleigh on the bears’ roof, Santa Claus muttered something about not knowing there was anyone living this far to the north.

         Tommy’s mother and father ran out of the house to see what had landed on their roof. Imagine how surprised they were to see Santa Claus. They cried tears of joy to see Tommy jump down from the sleigh and come running toward them. In his haste to start his trip, Tommy forgot to say good-bye to his parents, or at least leave them a note. They worried themselves sick the whole time he was gone.

         After watching the tearful reunion, Santa cleared his throat. When they all turned to look at him, he said with a twinkle in his eye, “I’m very sorry I missed your home on Christmas Eve. I hope these gifts to you help make up for it.”

         With that, he flung off the tarp covering the load on the sleigh, revealing lots and lots of presents

         “These are not only for this Christmas, but for all the Christmases past.” Some packages had food, such as nuts, fresh and dried berries, cookies, elk’s milk and honey. Others had games, books and puzzles for Tommy, some new dresses and shoes for his mother and new work gloves and tools for his father. Best of all, there was a dear little ukulele to play and sing with in the evenings.

         “How can we ever thank you?” Tommy’s mother wiped tears from her eyes. “Is there anything we can do for you in return?”

         “Well,” said Santa, “I do need help. The old gentleman shook his head sadly. “I never again want to miss anyone on Christmas Eve.” He glanced at Tommy. “I wonder if Tommy can go along with me every year to help me spot homes that are deep in the forest, like this one.”

         All agreed with excitement. The bears said their good-byes to Santa Claus and the eight handsome reindeer, as they arose over the tree tops, and away to the north. Now we know why Santa Claus always takes a small brown bear on Christmas Eve.