Star's Christmas

Star’s Christmas
Mr. Claus had worked overtime this year. The time required that he and his elves faced this year was fierce. New toys had come out with very difficult assembly instructions The chance of filling all of the young children’s request was his first priority. Each elf was just so enthusiastic in his job that Mr. Claus was especially proud of everyone except Rollins who forgot to get that special paint for the rocking chair that seemed to be at the top of the children in the northeast part of the North American continent.
“Rollins I must send you to the store to get the cosmic white that has the little sparkles inside it. If you don’t get it then our Belle’s Famous Rocking Chair will not be ready for Christmas Eve. Do you understand?” asked a kind but stern Mr. Claus.
Rollins was sometimes easily distracted, but he had wanted to make up for last year’s problem in not putting enough curl in the little wire-like slinky that the little children from South America loved. His slinky not only would not walk down stairs, it would not do anything. The slinky was definitely dinky.
Rollins walked out of the shop and down to the center of the village where he caught the special bus to the big town that had stores where Santa ordered parts and supplies from. The nice fact about these stores was that it kept the orders always ready because Santa was its best customer. They were also open 24 hours for the 7 days before Christmas just for Santa.
Rollins walked from the bus stop into the store and stopped because he thought that he had heard a soft whimper. He listened but it did not repeat itself. He went into the store and got his supplies He went to the door to leave. He was so happy that he had got the right amount of the paint that he started imagining that Santa was giving him a big pat on his head for his success.
The cold air from outside felt nice on his face. Rollins pulled his big overcoat together. He had put the 1 pound can of paint into one of his very big pockets.
The sidewalks were clean since the new snow had not begun to fall. Rollins could tell that later that night the lands in the north would be covered with beautiful snow while farther south, there might be only cool air but no snow. It didn’t matter since Santa’s sled was warm. And with all of the toys to deliver, Santa would only need his beautiful red suit, imitation fur lined cap, blanket and sometimes Holly this dog.
“Woooo.” came the soft whimper again.
Rollins was sure that he had heard something this time. He looked around the corner between the supply store and the candy emporium.
Hiding near a broken box was a small black puppy that was shaking and trying to get into the box for warmth.
Rollins took a small step towards it. The puppy ran towards it with a small limp. It looked very thin.
“Oh my! Where is your mommy?” Rollins asked as he searched the area for more puppies or the mother dog.
The little dog started licking his hand. And before anyone could see it, Rollins had put the puppy inside his coat. The puppy stopped shaking and crying. Rollins walked carefully back to the bus for the return trip.
As Rollins was sitting in the back of the bus, he was thinking about what Santa might say. Santa really liked animals but they were mostly deer and others that could help around the place. Mrs. Claus loved animals but they were cats and kittens who would keep the mice away from the food. There was also their old dog named Holly who did not put up with intruders very kindly. And then the elves had beautiful fish in a large aquarium.
The bus stopped at Santa Claus Lane and Rollins got off. The puppy cried a little but stopped when Rollins put his hand into his coat to pet it on its head.
“Now just be quiet a little bit more and I’ll get something for you to eat. I bet that you would like a good night’s sleep in a warm place.”
The puppy seemed to understand what he said because it settled down and stared out of the little opening at the top of the coat.
He walked past the sled barn. Inside were Tom and Don who were polishing the sled and making sure that Santa’s blanket was folded just like Santa liked it. Barry and Larry were checking the harness that was used to keep the deer attached to the sled. There was a single harness place at the front for Mr. Rudolph himself.
“Oh Rollins, Mrs. Clause left a special bowl of stew for you since you had to go to town. It is staying warm in the oven. We have finished our dinner. You need to eat yours so we can clean up and finish that last set of gifts.” said Larry.
“Okay. Here’s the can of paint for the chairs. “replied Rollins as he placed it on the table. He turned around quickly so the other elves could not see the two brown eyes at the top of his coat.
Rollins rushed into his little house. He knew that Mrs. Claus made the best stew, but best of all. It had some meat that he could break apart and feed to his new little friend.

Inside Santa’s house, Holly woke up from her very enjoyable nap. She could feel the excitement of everyone in the house and toy making factory. She had such a delightful dream. She saw a white rabbit near the clearing of the forest. She began to chase it and almost had it when she woke up. Holly ate her bowl of food and then went outside to go to the bathroom. It felt nice to stretch her legs.
But just as her in her dream, she saw what she thought was the same white rabbit at the edge of her family’s pond. This sight made Holly’s heart beat faster. She started across what she thought was a frozen top of the pond, just as in the dream. But…crack, crack, crack, splash!
The ice had broken in the middle of the pond and Holly could not get out. She woofed loud, but since everyone was busy, she did not know if they would hear her.

Rollins was so happy that his new friend ate the food he offered her. He knew that anytime someone might call him to come to work so he picked the puppy up to show her where she could go to the bathroom outside. He had a nice place in his room where she could sleep and not be seen.
“You know, I just can’t call you dog, I think that I will give you a name.”
The puppy wagged its tail since she knew her friend was talking to her. Rollins looked at the clear sky with the nice round moon. Beside the moon was a pretty shining star.
“Oh! I think I’ll call you ‘Star’” he said as he leaned over to pick her up. But when he almost reached her, she started running toward the pond.
“No wait! It’s not safe out there. And…and I have to get to work. I’ll be late again.” he said as he panted hard and tried to catch up to her.
Star kept running until she reached the edge of the pond.
Rollins caught up to her and saw what she was now barking at.
Soon a few more elves joined them outside.
“What’s all the noise about?” Barry asked.
“Where did this puppy come from?” Don asked louder.
“Oh look! There’s Holly. She fell in. She’s in trouble because she can’t get out. “ another voice said.
Soon a few more elves appeared and started to get into action to help Holly.
Since the ice was breaking up, they used a little boat to row out to reach Holly. Santa had heard what had happened and brought out a towel to wrap her up to get her dry and warm.
He carried her to the house and the elves raced back to their jobs. There was not much time before Santa had to leave. The sled was almost packed. The reindeer were waiting. Santa got into the sled and started his commands for the trip to begin.

When Santa had returned the next morning, he went to see Rollins and Star before he went to bed.
Rollins had told Santa the whole story how he found the poor little puppy. He knelt quietly petting Star by his side as he waited for Santa to talk.
But before Santa could say a word, Holly came up to Star and started licking her. Both dogs tails began to wag. Holly let out a happy woof and Star replied with a small bark.
“Well Star, it looks like you have a new friend and a new home this Christmas.” said Santa as he put his hands on his hips as he nodded and smiled.