Santa's Gift

It All Starts With an Idea…

Ding, dong! Sam rang the bell of his best friend’s house and waited patiently for an answer.

When the door opened, he heard “Well, hello, Sam. Charlie is upstairs.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Telot.” Sam hurried in from the cold, slid off his shoes, and ran up the stairs to Charlie’s room. “Hey Charlie!”

“Hey, Sam. Ready to make your list?”

“You bet. I have a long list this year!”

Charlie handed Sam a pencil and piece of paper. They laid belly down on the floor and each started to write:

“Dear Santa,

For Christmas this year, I would really like…”

Charlie scribbled her list onto the paper as Sam scribbled his. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Sam that had never occurred to him before. He lifted his pencil from his paper and thought to himself silently. Charlie looked up, surprised to see her friend was not writing.

“What are you doing, Sam?” she asked. “Are you done already?”

“No. I was just thinking…”

“Thinking what?”

“We make this list for Santa every year, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” he continued. “Have you ever wondered what Santa wants for Christmas?”

“Not really,” Charlie said, honestly.

“Hmm,” Sam started thinking to himself again.

Charlie sat up, curious to know what was on Sam’s mind.

“What would you say if I asked you to go with me to bring Santa a gift this year?”

“What? To the North Pole?” Charlie didn’t know what to say. “What are you thinking? That’s so far away!”

“Yes, but think about it. If Santa can deliver presents all over the world in one night, why can’t we deliver a present to only him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because he’s magic and we’re not,” Charlie argued.

“I think we can do it,” Sam was fully confident. “If you promise to go with me and we don’t make it there and back in one night, I’ll buy you a present with a whole month’s worth of my allowance. Deal?” Sam held out his hand.

Charlie hesitated, wondering if Sam really thought they could do this. Finally, she decided to accept. “Why not,” she said, shaking his hand to accept the deal. “I want a pony.”

“Sure,” Sam laughed.

Sam and Charlie bundled up and headed outside to go to the park. On their way, they talked about all the things they could bring to Santa for Christmas. At the park entrance, they were stopped by Ben, the town bully. He was followed closely by three of his friends who were just as mean as he was. “Where do you think you’re going?” Ben asked, giving Sam a little shove. The other boys laughed.

“We just want to play in the park,” Sam answered.

“Well, this is my park,” Ben claimed.

“No it’s not,” Charlie butted in, not at all afraid to defend herself and her friend. “This park is here for everyone. We came to play, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

“Oh, Sammy’s going to let his girlfriend defend him,” Ben teased.

“He doesn’t like being called ‘Sammy’!” Charlie snapped.

“What’s your problem?” Ben asked Charlie. “Sammy can’t stand up for himself?”

“We won’t bother you,” Sam promised. “Just let us through.”

Ben gave Sam another shove, sending him onto the ground. The other boys laughed as Sam scrambled to his feet. Then, Ben found a piece of paper on the ground. “What’s this?” he asked, snatching up the paper.

“That’s mine!” cried Sam. “Give it back!”

“Dear Santa…” Ben read the letter allowed as the other boys continued to laugh. “Ha! You still believe in Santa, you big baby!”

“Of course I do, he’s real!”

Ben and his friends continued to laugh and point at Sam.

“I can prove it!” Sam yelled over them.

Charlie urged him to be quiet. “Sam, no!” she whispered.

“Oh yeah,” Ben said. “How?”

Sam took a deep swallow, suddenly very nervous. “Charlie and I plan to take him a present each. You can come with us.”

“Oh, no,” Charlie mumbled.

“Alright,” Ben said. “I’ll go. But only to prove you wrong. I want to be there to see the look on your face when you realize there is no Santa.”

“Fine. Be at my house tonight at 10,” Sam ordered.

“Oh, I’ll be there,” Ben shoved Sam one last time before he led his friends as they walked away from the park.

Charlie helped Sam to his feet. “What did you do?”

“It’s okay,” Sam answered. “When we get there, he’ll believe.” Just then, Sam heard bells jingle around them. “Did you hear that?” he asked.

“Hear what?” Charlie could only hear children playing and cars driving by.

“I thought I heard bells.”

“You must have hit your head when Ben pushed you down,” Charlie suggested. “Come on, let’s go.”

That night, Sam hurried home, gobbled down his dinner, and went to bed early. He wanted a few hours rest before beginning his long journey to the North Pole. As he laid his head down, he noticed a small, green, velvet bag on his night stand. There was a card attached, but no words were written on it. He opened it up to peek inside but dust bellowed out of the bag and into his nose. It made Sam sneeze over and over until he couldn’t sneeze anymore. Annoyed, he closed up the bag and fell asleep.



A Time to Shine…

At 9:50PM, the alarm clock next to Sam’s bed started to buzz. He quickly shut it off before his mother could hear. Stepping quietly out of bed, he slipped on extra warm clothes to keep out the cold, and a backpack to carry his gift: a handmade wooden train engine. Now, this was no ordinary train. This train was handed down to him from his father’s, father’s, father’s grandfather, who had made it himself. That train was the gift that Sam would bring to Santa.

Ready to go, Sam crept softly down the hallway. Peeking inside his mother’s room, he saw her fast asleep in bed. Down the stairs he went, one quiet foot at a time. At the bottom he heard a floorboard creak. Freezing in place, Sam expected to hear his mother, but no voice came. He turned around to the door and ran into someone standing right behind him.

“AHH!” he shouted.

“SHHHH! You’ll wake your mom,” a whisper came from the darkness.

“Charlie?” Sam asked.

“Of course it’s me.” Charlie turned on the lamp on a table next to them.

“You scared me. Hey, don’t turn on the light, you’ll wake my mom.”

“If you didn’t wake her with that scream, she’s not going to wake up,” Charlie suggested.

“True,” Sam agreed. “Was it hard for you to sneak away?”

“Not really. My mom was listening to music and doing the dishes, and my dad had to run out on an errand. I do wonder what he could be doing out so late.”

“What are you bringing Santa?” Sam asked.

Charlie slipped off her back pack and pulled out her gift. “It’s a cookie jar. I thought he might want to take some cookies back to Mrs. Claus and the elves. After all, there are plenty to go around on Christmas Eve.”

“Good thinking,” Sam said with a smile. “What else do you have?”

“A portable, battery-powered heater,” she said with a smile. “You never know. We are going to the North Pole, after all. We might need one on the way. What did you get him?”

Sam reached into his pack and pulled out the green bag. “Hey, how did this get in here?”

“What is it?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t know, but don’t open it. It was on my night stand when I got home. There’s a note, but it doesn’t say anything.”

“That’s strange, but I like the bag. If you don’t want it, can I keep it?”

“Sure.” Sam pulled out the train. “This is what I’m giving to Santa. It’s very old. It’s been passed down through my family.”

“If it’s that important, shouldn’t you keep it?”

“It’s okay. I tend to lose things, but I bet Santa would keep it safe.”

Knock. Knock.

“That must be Ben,” Sam said.

“Yeah, great idea that was,” Charlie said sarcastically.

“Don’t worry. I think seeing Santa would be good for him. Which means it would be good for us.” Charlie suddenly looked very sad. “What’s wrong?” Sam asked.

“Well… what if Ben’s right? What if Santa isn’t real?”

Sam put a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said. “He’s real. I just know it.”

“We’ll see,” she replied, not very hopeful.

Sam tucked his train safely inside his pack and led Charlie outside where they found Ben waiting for them.

“It’s about time! I could freeze out here!” Ben said, clearly annoyed.

“Sorry,” replied Sam. “So, what did you bring?”

“For what?” asked Ben.

“For Santa. We’re doing this to bring him gifts.”

“Not me. I’m only doing this to prove you wrong.”

Sam shook his head. “Fine.”

“Well, now that we’re all here, what’s your brilliant plan?” Ben demanded. “Do you have plane tickets or something?”

“No, I guess we hadn’t really thought that through,” Sam admitted.

“Ha, I knew it. Wait until the guys hear about this.” Ben hopped on his bike to ride away, but his curiosity held him back.

“Sam! Look at the note on the bag. There are words now.”

“What does it say?”

Holding the note in the moonlight, Charlie read the words aloud: “Under the stars make glow the hands that move time and bring them to rest.” Charlie thought about these words for a moment, but didn’t know what to make of them. “What could that mean?”

“I don’t know,” Sam said.

Ben sat upon his bike, but didn’t move. He was anxious to see what this riddle meant.

“Well,” Sam began. “Under the stars could mean just that: under the stars. That could be why there’s a note now… because we’re outside.”

“Okay,” Charlie agreed. “So, the hands that move time could mean a watch or a clock.”

“Yeah, that makes sense! And bring them to rest could be…”

“To stop time!” Sam and Charlie said in unison. Ben rolled his eyes.

“This must be how Santa is able to make it around the world in one night,” Charlie suggested. “He must stop time!”

“So do you think that if we bring a clock outside, we can do the same thing?”

“It doesn’t hurt to try.”

Sam was excited. “We have a clock right inside, let me go get it.” Leaving his two companions outside, Sam ran into his living room. The clock on the wall was too high for him to reach. Pulling over a chair, he stood on top, but still couldn’t reach it. “Oh, man,” he said with disappointment.

“Psssst! Guys, come inside,” Sam whispered.

Charlie and Ben hurried inside to answer Sam’s call. “What’s wrong?” Charlie asked.

“I can’t reach the clock. Ben can you boost me up?”

“I’m not here to help, remember?”

“Come on, Ben. Aren’t you even a little interested to see if we can stop time?” Sam pleaded.

Ben tried to resist, but he couldn’t fight his curiosity. “Fine, but hurry up!”

Sam led them to the clock. Ben bent down and held out his hands to boost Sam up. A bit wobbly, Sam managed to pull the clock off of the nail in the wall. “Thanks,” he said when he was standing on the floor again.

“Whatever,” was Ben’s reply.

“Alright, let’s get the clock outside.” Sam led the way, carrying the clock into the moonlight. The three of them stood over the clock for a minute, wondering what to do next. “Nothing’s happening.”

“Told you,” Ben teased.

“Charlie, did we forget something? Read the note again.”

“It says: ‘Under the stars make glow the hands that move time and bring them to rest.’ ‘Make glow…’” she repeated. “How do we make them glow?”

“I don’t know. This clock doesn’t have a light in it,” Sam said.

“Wait a minute,” Charlie began. “When we were inside, there was no note. But when we came outside, the note appeared. What did you say was inside the bag?”

“Dust.”

“And when you saw the dust, were you inside?”

“Yeah.”

Charlie slowly opened the bag. As she did a golden light came glowing from the bag, bright as day.

“Wow,” Sam said, in awe.

“How is she doing that?” asked Ben.

Charlie reached inside the bag and scooped up the dust that was now sparkling in the night, brighter than the moon. Sam held out the clock as Charlie sprinkled the dust on top of it. They watched the second hand as it went tick… tock… tick……. tock………… tick……………….... and stopped. Sam and Charlie looked at each other with surprise.

“We did it,” Charlie said. “We stopped time.”

“Okay, what kind of trick is this,” Ben asked nervously.

“Look, the note changed,” Charlie said. “It says: ‘Under the stars make glow the sleeping hands to wake the sun once more.’”

“Why can't they just say ‘sprinkle this dust on a clock while you’re standing outside’?” Ben asked.

“That would be too easy.” Charlie tied up the bag and made a snotty face at Ben.

“Be nice to each other, guys,” Sam said. “It’s obviously going to be a long night, so we all have to get along and work together. Hold onto that bag, Charlie. I guess we’ll need it to unfreeze time again.”

“So, what’s next?” Ben asked, anxious to see what else would happen that night.

“Well, we need to chart a course.”

“What about food?” Charlie asked. “Did anyone think about that?”

“Food?”

“Yes. Do you have any idea how far away the North Pole is? We will need to eat before we get there. So, we should pack some food.”

“Well, we can’t take my food,” Sam said. “I would be grounded for a week if my mom found out I ate that much food in one night.”

“Well, then we should go buy some,” she suggested.

“I don’t like where this is going,” Sam said. Charlie stared at him until he silently agreed.

“Where’s he going?” Ben asked as Sam went back inside the house.

“You’ll see,” Charlie said.

Sam returned a few minutes later with his piggy bank in hand. “This is all I have,” he said as he opened the bank and poured out the cash and change. Tucking the money into his pocket, Sam asked “Okay, so once we have the food, how do we get to the North Pole.

“We just have to head north, right?” Charlie asked. “The sun rises in the east. Sam, do you know where the sun rises from here?”

“In the summer or the winter?” he asked. Charlie replied with a harsh look. “It’s a valid question! Generally, in that direction,” he answered, pointing down the road to his left.

“Okay, so north is that way.”

“But I don’t know where east is if I’m not here,” Sam said. “What if we get turned around?”

“We could follow the north star.”

“What if we run into clouds and can’t see it?”

“Fine,” Charlie was becoming frustrated. “Do you have a compass?”

“What kid has a compass these days?” Ben laughed at her.

“Do you even know what a compass is?” Charlie retorted.

“I know him personally. Do you even know his nickname?”

“A compass doesn’t have a nickname.”

“Yes it does,” Ben argued. “It’s GPS.”

“Ooooo, you are getting on my nerves Ben…”

“Charlie, calm down,” Sam interrupted. “That’s actually a really good idea. Ben, do you have a GPS?”

“Yeah, in my dad’s truck.”

“Okay, there’s our plan. We stop at Ben’s house for the GPS, then to the Shopper’s Market, then we head north. Got it?”

“No,” Charlie protested. “I don’t want to go to his house.”

“Charlie, we are all in this together, even if it’s just for one night. Please try to get along,” Sam pleaded.

It was hard on her pride, but Charlie decided to give in. She followed close behind as Ben led them to his house.



Plan Ahead…

At Ben’s house, the three children parked their bikes in the driveway and quietly swung open the garage door. Ben retrieved the GPS from inside the car, and stopped for a moment on his way back out.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked.

“Who cares, let’s just go,” Charlie said.

“It’s just strange that my dog isn’t barking,” Ben observed.

“Come on,” Charlie gave up on waiting and went back outside and hopped on her bike. Ben and Sam followed as she led the way to the Shopper’s Market. They walked inside a grocery store that was brightly lit, but very quiet. All of the people who had been shopping were frozen in place. The three children looked over the shoppers. They were all standing, but their eyes were closed. “What happened to them?” Charlie asked.

“It must have been when we stopped time,” suggested Sam.

“Are they frozen?” Ben wondered, as he poked at a woman’s face.

Charlie stood in front of an old man. She reached up and poked his belly. The old man suddenly shook with a ‘snort’ which caused Charlie to jump with surprise. “I think they’re sleeping,” she said.

“This must be why your dog wasn’t barking, Ben. He must have been asleep.”

“I hope they will be okay,” Ben mumbled.

“I’m sure they will wake up once we get back and unfreeze time. Let’s just get what we need and hurry up to Santa.”

Ben and Charlie followed Sam’s orders. The three of them fanned out to grab supplies. When they returned to the front of the store, Charlie brought bottles of water, Sam brought yogurt and fruit pouches, and Ben brought boxes of cookies and peculiar sandwiches.

“No cookies, Ben,” Sam said. “Only what we need.”

“Fine, then we have to take these,” Ben handed Sam a box.

“What are they?”

“PB-n-J Circle Sandwiches. Trust me, we will need those.”

“Okay,” Sam said. He looked around for an open lane, but realized that the cashiers were all asleep. “What now?” he asked.

“Eh-hem,” Charlie said.

Sam turned to see Charlie standing in a self check-out lane. “Brilliant,” he said.

As Sam paid for their food, Charlie wandered around to look over the sleeping shoppers. To her surprise, she spotted someone familiar. “Dad,” she said. “So this is where he went. I wonder what he was buying.” Looking through the basket in his hand, Charlie spotted something special. “Snowballs!” she exclaimed. “He must have been picking them up for me, they are my favorite!”

“Snowballs?” Ben asked.

“Yes, they are delicious.”

“Why would he buy snowballs if he can make them outside for free?”

Charlie rolled her eyes. “They are not real snowballs, they are a dessert. It is a cream-filled cake covered in marshmallow and coconut. Mmm, yummy.”

“Sounds disgusting,” Ben teased.

“You’re disgusting!” Charlie cried.

“Come on, you two!” Sam quickly interrupted before a fight could break out. “Get along, please! Let’s go.” Sam tucked the food safely into his bag and led his two followers quietly to their bikes. They each had a light on the front of their bikes, which they turned on to see their way in the dark.

“Hold on,” Charlie stopped them. “If everyone here is asleep. What if the elves and Santa are asleep once we get to the North Pole? What do we do then?”

Sam didn’t have the answer, but he was still determined to try. “I guess we’ll see once we get there. Do you have the GPS ready?” he asked Ben.

“Yeah,” Ben said as he fastened the GPS to the front of his bike.

“Good, we’ll follow you.”

“I’ll do no such thing!” Charlie said stubbornly.

“Charlie,” Sam begged. “Please be nice about this. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can come back.”

“I don’t understand why you’re being so nice to him. He’s never nice to you.” Charlie crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited for Sam’s reply.

“It’s almost Christmas. If there was ever a time to give someone a chance, it’s now.”

Charlie wanted nothing to do with the bully, but she finally gave in. “Fine. I’ll go, but only because I know Santa is watching.”

Ben chuckled at Charlie, but Sam wasn’t about to let this end their trip early. “Let’s just go. Ben, lead the way.”

At Sam’s words, Ben led them through the quiet town. All of the street lights were on, but the cars were still and everyone around was sleeping. Charlie looked up to the night sky to see a snowflake had frozen in place as it floated down to the earth. The three crossed over a bridge leaving town and climbed up a steep hill. They each hopped down to the slippery pavement half-way up and pushed their bikes up, up, up. At the top, they looked back over the town.

“I hope everyone will be safe while we are gone,” Charlie said.

“We froze time. I’m sure they will be fine,” suggested Sam. As the three approached the other side of the hill, Sam looked down and his nerves began to tremble. “I’m not so sure about this,” he said.

“Chicken,” Ben said as he sat upon his bike.

Charlie shot Ben an angry look, and then climbed onto her bike just to spite him. Being the only one left standing, Sam decided to join in. Once on his bike, Sam gulped down his nerves and followed Ben and Charlie as they rolled down the hill. The road wound slightly to the right, then to the left. The three children began to giggle together at the fun they were having.

“Ha-ha, this is great!” Charlie cried.

Sam’s smile disappeared once his eyes fell on a sharp turn at the bottom of the hill. “Look!” he ordered, pointing ahead.

“Oh no!” The three of them tried desperately to slow down. Ben and Charlie eased their pace, but Sam hit a patch of black ice and flew down the hill even faster. He began to spin as he approached the turn, then… WHOMP!

“Sam!” Charlie carefully hurried to Sam’s aid. At the bottom of the hill, Charlie and Ben rushed to a snow pile that Sam had flown into head first. Digging through the snow, Charlie kept calling out. “Sam! Can you hear me?!” Finally, a hand popped out of the snow bank. “That’s him!” Charlie grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled as hard as she could until he was all the way out. “Sam, I was so worried!” Charlie threw her arms around her friend who was safe and in one piece.

“Me too,” Sam agreed. “Hey, where’s my bike?”

“Right here,” Ben said. “Looks like you won’t be riding it anymore.”

Sam went over to where Ben was standing to see that the front wheel of his bike was bent sideways. “Oh man,” he said. “I just got that bike for my birthday.”

“Well, now what?” asked Ben, a bit disappointed that the trip could be over so soon.

“Wait a minute,” Charlie interrupted. “Ben, you helped us.”

“What?”

“You helped me pull Sam out of the snow bank. You rushed right down here with me.”

“Yeah… so?”

“So…” Charlie looked at him with surprise and gratitude. “That was a very nice thing you did.”

Ben suddenly felt awkward and embarrassed. But, even more, he felt warm inside. “Well… I couldn’t leave him in the snow. It’s freezing out.”

As Ben was talking, Sam heard the jingle of bells in the distance. “Did you guys hear that?”

The three of them looked around. They were out of town and surrounded by dark woods. They could see nothing around but the stars and the moon peaking through the trees. No sound could be heard. “I don’t hear anything,” Charlie confirmed.

“It was… bells. The same sound I heard today-“ Suddenly, the snow and trees began to sway about in a great wind and the stars and moon above were blocked out.

“What’s happening?” Charlie called out with fear in her voice. The three children huddled close and covered their faces as their surroundings wiped this way and that. Finally, the wind stopped and the night was still again. They cautiously peaked up to see what had happened around them. “Ahh!” came a scream from Charlie.

“Wow, cool!” Ben said. “An owl!”

“A huge owl,” Sam corrected him.

Charlie held on tightly to Sam’s arm as they inched closer. “Where did it come from? And why is it so big?!” She finally let go as Sam got too close to the owl for her comfort. “Sam,” she whispered. “Come back.”

“It’s okay.” Sam slowly reached his hand up toward the owl, which stood almost as tall as the trees around them. As he took another step forward, the owl bent down to Sam’s outreached hand. Sam pet the owl’s beak, which was about his size. “It’s friendly,” he said with a wide smile and amazement.

The other children came closer and each greeted the owl. Charlie felt its soft feathers. “It’s so white,” she observed. “So pretty.”

“What do you think it’s doing here?” Ben wouldn’t admit it, but he was secretly afraid of the magnificent creature towering above him.

“I don’t know. But, I have an idea.” Sam and the others parked their bikes off the side of the road and gathered their belongings.

“I’m not sure this is such a great idea,” Charlie said, nervously.

“Worth a try.” Leading the way, Sam climbed carefully onto the back of the owl. Tucking himself securely between the feathers, he helped the others on. Once they were all holding tightly, he said “Okay owl, take us north!” With those words, the owl flew up and into the night sky.

From so high in the air, they three could see the town and their houses. “They look so small,” an excited Charlie noted.

The air was crisp and cool and it turned their cheeks and noses to red. The clouds were few so the moon and stars could shine brightly in the dark blue sky. The owl flew for so long that the children were convinced they would be carried straight to the North Pole and Santa’s home. But, suddenly, they began to descend.

“Are we there?” Sam asked.

Charlie looked over the side. “It doesn’t look like the North Pole.”

When the owl landed, the children climbed down. With their feet on the ground, they looked around to see a dark forest behind them, and a vast body of water before them. “Is this the ocean?” Sam asked.

Ben looked at his GPS as the owl silently flew away.

“Hey!” Sam called to the owl. “You can’t just leave us here!” As he watched the owl fly off into the night, he saw its white outline turn to glowing dust, just like the dust they had used to stop time. And from that dust, flew a regular-sized snowy owl.

“Oh no,” Charlie said.

“Well, it’s not all bad,” Ben said, still fiddling with the GPS. “We are a lot closer. We just have to get over this blue area here,” he said, pointing to the brightly lit screen.

“What’s that?” asked Charlie.

“Water, I guess.”

“Look!” excitement returned to Sam’s voice. “There’s a boat.” He ran down the dock to a dingy floating in the water.

“I’m not going in that!” Charlie said, crossing her arms once more.

“But look,” Ben said, gently than ever before. “This must be the water. We have to go.”

“You didn’t even believe in this. Why should I listen to you?” The cold of the night and the hunger in her belly was wearing Charlie’s patience away.

“I know,” Ben admitted. “But… could you just give me a chance?”

Charlie thought about this for a moment. She wanted to turn around and go back home. But how?, she thought. “Fine. I’ll go, but I’m not going to be happy about it.”

With a smile, Ben led Charlie to the boat where Sam was waiting for them.

“What are you doing?” Charlie asked Sam as she watched him looking around across the ocean.

“Nothing. I just thought I heard bells again.”

“Maybe it was a buoy,” suggested Ben.

“Maybe.” Sam untied the line and pushed them away from the dock. As they floated away, they realized they were missing something.

“Hey guys,” Charlie said. “Where are the oars?”

“No oars?” Sam scrambled to find the oars under the seats, but none could be found. “Oh no!”

“You sent us out to sea with no way to control the boat?!” Ben was genuinely worried, and suddenly regretting that he had invited himself on this excursion.

All of a sudden, the boat rocked. “Sit still!” Sam said.

“It wasn’t me!” Ben argued as the boat rocked again.

“Just sit still!”

The three of them sat very still as the boat rocked back and forth in the deep water. Then, something rose from the water.

“What is that?” Charlie asked, frightened.

“Ssssssssssssss!” came a sound as water splashed down up on them.

“It’s a whale!” Sam said.

“That’s it,” Ben said as he stood up. “I’m swimming for shore!”

“No, wait!” As Sam spoke these words, Ben stopped and sat back down. “Maybe it’s here to help us. Like the owl.”

“But how?” asked Charlie, clearly not convinced.

Sam looked around the boat at what they had with them. Then, he saw it. “Here, let’s try this.” He tossed the line of rope into the water with the other end tied securely to the boat. They waited quietly for something to happen.

“Did it leave?” As Ben asked this question, the boat rocked again and the whale swam by. They watched as the rope tightened and the boat began to move.

“We did it!” Sam shouted with excitement. The three shared in a round of high-fives to celebrate.

“So, now what?” Ben asked.

“Well, I guess we wait.”

“But there’s nothing to see out here and it’s freezing,” Charlie complained as she rubbed her arms for warmth.

“Here, I’ve got something.” Ben dug in his bag and finally pulled out an extra large blanket. “I thought I should bring it along… just in case.”

Charlie and Sam looked at each other, both surprised and relieved.

“Here, let’s all get under it.” Ben unrolled the blanket and lifted it over their heads. The three of them huddled underneath, starving for warmth. Sam pulled out a couple flashlights from his pack so they could see.

“Oh!” Charlie started. “I almost forgot…” She dug into her own pack. “I brought a heater.” With a smile, she turned the heater on as the whale pulled them across the water. They rode along in the boat, eating and chatting as they went.



Have Faith…

Huddled up in the boat, Ben sat quietly as Charlie and Sam wondered aloud what it would be like when they finally reached Santa and the North Pole. Oh, the wonderful things they could see when they got there. They thought about meeting the elves, seeing the workshop, and maybe even petting the reindeer. As they talked, a thought occurred to Charlie. “Wait a minute,” she said. “We froze time. I even saw a snowflake lying still in midair as we were riding our bikes out of town.”

“Yeah. What of it?” Ben asked.

“Well, shouldn’t the owl and the whale have been frozen in time too?”

“Do you think Santa is helping us?” Sam asked.

“He must be,” agreed Charlie. “Otherwise, we would still be pushing your broken bike back home. Or, it would be morning because we wouldn’t have been able to freeze time.”

Ben secretly wondered the same. As Sam and Charlie smiled over these thoughts, they heard the whale spout water once again.

“Maybe we’re there,” Sam said as he pulled the blanket from over his head. To his dismay, they were still in the water. He looked off into the distance and spotted a white shore “Where’s the whale? If it leaves us here, we’ll never make it to shore.” As Sam said this, the whale lifted its enormous tail up out of the water.

“Brace yourselves!” Charlie called out as the tail came crashing down into the water, sending a tall wave in their direction. “Hold on!” The three children closed their eyes and held on tightly to the boat. The wave lifted the boat, pushing it across the shallow water where it settled gently upon the shore. Charlie was the first to open her eyes. “We made it. We’re on land!” She stood up and waved to the whale. “Thank you!” she called.

“Alright, we’d better keep moving. We are on our feet now, I suppose,” Sam said as he hopped out of the boat.

Charlie turned off the heater and tucked it inside her pack before jumping ashore herself.

Ben followed suit, taking a glance at the GPS to get their bearings. “That way,” he said, pointing ahead. The moonlight made the earth glow as every inch of land before them was covered in snow and ice. “Looks like it will be a long, cold walk.”

“Then we’d better get moving,” Charlie took her turn leading the way. She led them so far across the ice, that they could no longer see the boat or the water. The warmth of the heater and blanket had left them, and the comfort of food had all but gone away.

“Let’s take a break,” Sam suggested, slipping off his pack. “Charlie, can we use the heater again?”

Charlie pulled off her pack and lifted the heater out. They huddled around it once more, sipping water and munching on PB-n-J Circle Sandwiches. Reenergized, Sam decided to check their supplies.

“Okay, we have to take it slow with the food. There are only two sandwiches left and we need it to get us the rest of the way to the North Pole. Ben, do you know how much farther we have to go?”

“It’s hard to say. Since we stopped time, the clock isn’t updating. I have no idea how much longer we have to walk.”

“What about miles.”

“Eh,” Ben said, nervously. “You don’t want to know.”

Charlie and Sam looked at each other, a bit worried. “Well, let’s keep going before we get hungry again,” Charlie suggested.

“Good idea,” Sam agreed.

As Sam stood and brushed off the snow from his pants, Ben reached into Sam’s pack and snuck out another sandwich.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Charlie said. “You can’t steal the sandwich, Ben! We all have to share.”

“She’s right, Ben,” Sam agreed.

“Listen, I only came on this trip to prove you wrong. So, until I see Santa, things will have to go my way.”

“We’re all in this together,” Sam argued. “Give the sandwich back so I can divide them up evenly the next time we stop.”

“Make me!” Ben proposed.

Sam took a step forward to try to take the sandwich back, but Ben pushed him away. Stumbling backward, Sam struggled to stay on his feet until he finally fell to the ground with a crunch.

“Oh no!” Charlie said. “You landed on my bag.” She hurried to help Sam up, then opened her pack. When she saw what was inside, she began to cry.

“Did it break?” Sam asked.

Charlie nodded ‘yes.’

“Did what break?” Ben felt a knot in his stomach, afraid he had made a big mistake.

“My gift for Santa.” Charlie lifted a broken piece of ceramic out of her pack. “It was a cookie jar.” Then, Charlie’s tears turned to anger. “It’s all your fault, Ben! If you weren’t so selfish, I would still have a gift to bring Santa. Thanks to you, it’s broken!”

“I’m sorry,” Ben said. “I didn’t mean to-“

“It doesn’t matter!” interrupted a heartbroken Charlie. “You broke it all the same.”

Sam rubbed his friend’s back, trying to comfort her. “Charlie,” he said, softly. “I’m sure it’s hard to imagine, with Ben being the town bully and all. But, I really don’t think he meant to break your gift.”

“Why are you defending him?” Charlie asked through tears and snuffles.

“He’s right,” Ben said. “I really didn’t mean to break your gift. And I really am sorry. I know it will be hard, but I hope you’ll forgive me.”

This plea for forgiveness from a boy who had always been so mean to her, took Charlie by surprise. She wanted to say no, but thought that would only encourage him to keep being bad. So, she swallowed her pride once more and stood to face him. “I forgive you,” she said.

“Thank you-“

“Shh!” Sam interrupted. “Do you hear that?”

Jingle, jingle, jingle. Off in the distance, the three children heard the bells that Sam had been hearing all night.

“I do,” Charlie said with excitement. “I hear it this time!”

“So do I!” Ben agreed.

“Where is it coming from?” asked Sam.

The three friends looked all around, but couldn’t place the sound. Until, “Over there!” Ben cried as he led them further north. Charlie and Sam gathered their things and followed close behind. As they came to the top of a hill of snow, their spirits lifted and their smiles widened. They ran down the hill to a sleigh of red and gold.

“Is it Santa’s sleigh?” Charlie asked as she followed Ben aboard.

Sam climbed up last. “It must be. Why else would it be here?”

“But…” Charlie’s tone changed. “There are no reindeer. No anything to pull it. How will we get it moving?”

They thought long and hard on this. There were no buttons or levers of any kind. “How about the dust? Do you have any left?” Sam asked hopefully.

“Yes!” Charlie dug through her bag and pulled out the bag of dust. She took a handful and sprinkled it across the front of the sleigh. They waited patiently, hoping the dust would bring the sleigh to life.

Nothing happened. Sam sat down next to his friends, feeling very lost and disappointed.

“But…” Ben said aloud. “It has to work. It just has to. We came so far…” Just then, the sleigh began to glow. The three children tucked themselves into the seat and held on tight as the sleigh lifted off the ground.

“It’s working, Ben! You did it!” Sam exclaimed.

“But how? I didn’t do anything.”

“You believed!” Charlie added.

The sleigh suddenly headed off into the night, and swiftly it flew. The children looked down over the vast world of ice below. No lights could be seen anywhere, but for the first time they were sure they were close.

As they settled into the ride, Ben found himself curious about his new companions. “So, Sam. What gift did you bring?”

Sam smiled and pulled out the train engine from his pack.

“A train” Ben said, a bit disappointed. “But why would Santa want a train?”

“This one is special,” Sam explained.

“Yeah? What makes it so special?”

“Well, it was made by my-“ Just as Sam was telling the story of the train, a gust of wind blew into the sleigh, shaking it about. “Oh no!” As they tipped to and fro, the train slipped right out of Sam’s hands and was lost in the blanket of snow below.

Charlie grabbed onto Sam’s hand as the sleigh continued to whip about. The three friends held on as tightly as they could as the sleigh plummeted to the earth with a crash. Sam, Charlie, and Ben were spread across the snow. They began to stand up one by one. When they finally gathered together again, they turned to see the sleigh tipped onto its side. The strong wind was whirling around them.

“Let’s get back in the sleigh!” Ben called.

The three worked together to tilt the sleigh upright again. They climbed aboard and Charlie searched desperately for the tiny green bag. When she finally found it, she reached inside but could find no dust. She dumped the bag upside down, but nothing came out. “We’re all out of dust!”

“Should we walk?” Sam asked, shielding his eyes from the wind and snow.

Ben struggled with the GPS. “I think it’s out of power,” he cried.

“What are we going to do?” As Charlie spoke these words, a warm light began to shine on them. Through the wind and darkness they could see a doorway.

“Let’s go!” Sam ordered. The three companions pushed through the snow with the wind bearing down hard upon their faces, until they stepped through the door left open for them.



Expect Good Things and They Will Come Your Way…

The three companions hurried inside the door as fast as they could. Once inside, they immediately felt their faces warm and their worries melt away. They looked around to find a house much smaller than they would expect. The tables and chairs, even the fireplace were perfectly sized for them. As they stood in wonder of this place, they began to wonder who had opened the door.

“Welcome,” a voice said from behind them.

“Ahh!” Charlie cried as she huddled close to Sam and Ben.

“Oh, don’t be afraid,” the voice said. “I only want to help.” A small man just about their size stood before them. His hair was white but his skin had not a wrinkle. He held out three white mugs on a silver tray. “Have some hot chocolate. I know you’ve come a long way.”

“How do you know?” Sam asked cautiously.

“Well, no one lives out here. So you must have.”

The three of them each took a mug and sipped the most delicious hot chocolate they had ever had. It warmed them up inside as the firelight warmed their faces.

“Now, what brings you here, way out into the night and the cold?” the man asked.

“Well,” Sam began. “We wanted to bring gifts to Santa.”

“Is that so? Why would you do a thing like that?”

“Because we didn’t think anyone else would think of him, but he thinks of us each and every year.”

“That is very generous of you,” the man said. “Very generous, indeed. And how is it you came so far?”

“We’re not sure exactly,” Sam said, looking to his friends for help explaining their journey.

“We had help along the way, we think from Santa himself,” added Charlie. She described their entire journey in detail, down to the last drop of golden dust. “So, you see. It must have been Santa’s magic that helped us. Otherwise, we never would have been able to come so far.”

“Oh Charlie,” the man said. “This sounds like the magic of elves.”

“Elves?” she repeated. “But- Wait. How did you know my name?”

The man smiled kindly back at them.

“Do you know who we are?” Sam questioned him.

“Of course. You are Sam,” the man answered with a smile. “This is your best friend, Charlie. And this is your newest friend, Ben.”

“We’re not friends,” Ben corrected him.

“Are you sure?” asked the elf.

“What’s your name?” Charlie wondered.

“My name is Winston. Winston the elf.”

“The elf,” Charlie whispered.

“And I am happy to welcome you,” Winston continued. “We all are, in fact.”

“All?”

“Why yes,” Winston led them to a pair of doors, which he opened to a balcony.

The three friends stepped out onto the balcony and they couldn’t believe their eyes.

“We made it!” Charlie cried with excitement as she hugged her two friends.

“We did it,” Sam agreed. “We’re at the North Pole!” Far below the balcony, they could see a vast city, colorfully decorated.

“Yes, you are,” Winston said. “And there is someone I am very anxious to introduce you to. Follow me.” Winston led the three friends into an elevator which carried them down, down, down, into North Pole Village. They followed a colorful path which led them through the center of the village. Elves stopped what they were doing to welcome the visitors with waves and smiles. The children had never seen such friendly faces. Winston gave them a tour of Santa’s Workshop, and even let them pet the reindeer. They could hardly believe their eyes. Finally, Winston stopped them in front of two very large doors.

“What is this place?” they asked.

“Behind this door is the reason you are here,” Winston offered them one more warm smile. “Don’t be nervous,” he said. “After all, he’s known you all for a very long time.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Ben mumbled.

Suddenly, with a loud clang, the doors swung slowly open. Sam, Charlie, and Ben walked inside with a mix of excitement and nervousness.

“There he is,” Sam whispered to his friends.

“Ho Ho Ho! Who is this who has come to visit me?” Santa said. His beard was fluffy and white as snow and his nose and cheeks were red as roses.

Charlie and Ben nudged Sam ahead of them. “Uh,” he stuttered. “Santa?”

“Why, yes, my boy.” Santa towered over the elves and the children. He wore a cozy white shirt with red overalls and red and white striped socks. He bent down low to talk to the children. “But you already know who I am. And I know each of you: Samuel, Charlotte, and Benjamin.”

“Ben, actually,” Ben corrected him.

Santa chuckled. “But what I don’t know, is what brings you to the North Pole? Why are you not fast asleep in your beds?”

“Well…” Sam looked sadly at Charlie. “The truth is, we wanted to bring you presents. But…”

“What’s wrong?” Santa asked, seeing the children’s long faces.

“I was bringing you a handmade wooden train engine,” Sam explained. “But I lost it along the way.”

“And I had brought you a cookie jar,” Charlie added, opening her pack so Santa could see the broken pieces.

“What happened there?” Santa asked.

Charlie looked at Ben, who hid his eyes from her in embarrassment. “We had an accident,” was all she said.

Santa gave them a warm smile. “Well now, you are here and that is a gift in itself. Besides, it’s the thought that counts.”

“I…” Ben started. “I have a gift for you. It’s from all three of us, actually,” he said.

Sam and Charlie looked to Ben with surprise.

“Here you go,” he said as he pulled the gift from his pocket. “It’s a comb. My grandpa has a beard like yours and it’s always getting tangled, so I- I mean, we thought you could use it.”

“Isn’t that thoughtful. Thank you all, very much. You have made this Christmas a very special one.” Santa looked at Sam who had tears running down his face. “Why are you so upset, Sam?” he asked. “Are you not happy to be here?”

“I am, but…” Sam wiped away a tear. “The train I lost meant a lot to my family. I thought that giving it to you would make it even more special, but now it’s gone.”

“Don’t you worry, my boy. Things like this have a way of working themselves out.” Santa gave Sam a wink that made him feel much better. “Now, did Winston give you the grand tour?”

“We saw the workshop and the reindeer and a few of the elves’ houses,” answered Charlie.

“That’s very good. But how would you like to see where I live?”

“Yes, oh yes! Can we also meet Mrs. Claus?”

“Of course! She would love to meet you too. And I bet she has some cocoa and cookies all ready for you.” Santa led the way through the village. The light posts were glowing with a warm yellow light and the columns on the buildings looked just like candy canes. The sidewalks were built of colorful stones in octagon shapes. An enormous ice dome protected the village from the harsh, icy north. High above them, in the center of the dome, they could see a ball of light, suspended in the air. It was barely enough to light the city.

Santa’s house was much taller than the elves’ houses. It was brightly lit and decorated with lively patterns and colors. It looked and felt so warm and cozy. The three friends felt better than they had all night.

“Santa, is that you?” called a voice from another room.

“Yes, dear. And I brought a few guests.”

“Oh, goody!” Mrs. Claus came rushing out. She wore a long red dress. White lace peaked out from beneath the dress and long sleeves. Her skin was fair with rosy cheeks, and her hair was pearly white. Atop her button nose sat a pair of glasses with perfectly circular lenses. She was exactly as the children had imagined. “Children?” she said with surprise.

“Yes. They came all the way to the North Pole to bring me a gift,” Santa said as he held out the comb.

“How wonderful! I would love to hear the whole story. Come in and rest while I bring you some hot cocoa and cookies.”

The little travelers told Mr. and Mrs. Claus the story of their journey. By the time they had finished, they had gone through two cups of cocoa each, and a full plate of cookies.

“You are a determined bunch!” Mrs. Claus complimented them.

“There’s still one thing I don’t understand,” said Charlie. “When we froze time, everything stopped. I even saw a snowflake suspended in the air while we were riding our bikes out of town. So why was the wind blowing so wildly when we reached the North Pole?”

Sam let out a big yawn, then Charlie and Ben did the same.

“It seems it may be time to go,” Mrs. Claus whispered to Santa, who nodded in agreement. “It was very nice to meet you,” Mrs. Claus said with a warm smile.

“Ahh,” Santa said. “That is because the magic of the elves does not freeze time here. We must always keep working so that we can have enough presents for the children of the world.”

The children said their goodbyes to Mrs. Claus, and Santa led them to the center of the village, where all of the elves had gathered to see them.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked. “What are they all doing?”

“They are here to see you, and to send you off,” Santa answered.

“Send us off?”

“Why, yes. It is time for you to go home.”

Sam, Charlie, and Ben looked at each other. They had come so far and seen so much. Not one of them was ready to leave yet. But then they thought about their sleeping families and realized they must go. Santa bent down to say goodbye to each of the children in turn.

“Charlie, my dear,” the jolly old man said. “The gift you gave me warmed my heart.”

“But… it was broken. I didn’t give you anything,” she replied.

“Yes, you did. You believed in your friend and never left his side,” he explained, nodding to Sam. “You accepted someone into your life who had never accepted you.” Charlie knew he was talking about Ben. “And forgiveness is the most difficult yet wonderful offers you can make.” He touched her nose with his finger and golden dust appeared all around her. Charlie smiled with delight.

“Ben,” Santa continued. “I am grateful for the comb and the thought you put into it. But, more than that, I am proud of you for taking a chance and allowing your heart to open to warmth and true friendship. I am relying on you to encourage others to do the same. Can you do that?”

“Yes, sir,” Ben answered.

Santa touched Ben’s nose with his finger and he too was lit up with sparkling, golden dust.

That left only one. “Sam, my dear boy. You’re gift was the most wonderful of all.”

“But I dropped the train-“

“Oh, don’t you fret about that. I’m sure it will turn up,” Santa said with a wink. “The gift I am most grateful for is you believing in me, and helping others to believe. You showed great courage and leadership in your journey here. And now, I’m afraid I have to ask a favor of you.”

“Anything,” Sam said, anxious to help.

“I need you to continue to spread the word and to help others believe in me too. You see, so many children no longer believe in Santa Claus, which makes it harder for me to deliver gifts to those who do.”

“How come?” asked Sam in a gentle voice.

“Look up there,” Santa pointed to the ball of light floating beneath the ice dome. “That light is all the magic that children create just by believing that Santa truly exists. It grows dimmer each year. Very soon, it will shine no brighter than a star in the night sky. When that happens, there will no longer be enough magic for the elves to make toys, or for the reindeer to fly, or for me to travel around the world in a single night. The more children who believe, the brighter the light will glow.”

“But I can’t make them all believe!” Sam exclaimed.

“You have already helped Ben. All you have to do is believe in yourself, as I do.” With one last wink, Santa tapped Sam on the nose so that he too began to glow in golden dust. “Farewell!” he called as a whirl wind began to spin around Charlie, Sam, and Ben.

There was so much snow spinning around them that they could barely see each other. They reached out and held tightly onto one another’s hands until finally… the wind stopped. They slowly opened their eyes to find that they were standing right outside Sam’s house, where they started.

“We’re back,” Charlie observed.

Sam turned around to pick the clock up from the ground. “The hands are still not moving,” he said.

“We used the rest of the dust on the sleigh,” Ben added.

“Wait.” Ben and Sam turned to Charlie as she spoke. She pulled her hand from her pocket and in it she held a green, velvet bag. “It’s full again,” she said. Charlie reached into the bag and pulled out a bit of dust, which she sprinkled over the clock.

They waited for what felt like an eternity, but nothing happened. The clock remained still, until… tick……………….... tock………… tick……. tock… tick… tock… tick.

“We did it! We did it!” The three new friends hugged each other with joyous excitement.

“Alright,” Sam said. “We had better get to bed before our parents notice we’re gone.”

“You’re right,” agreed Charlie. “See you tomorrow!” she called as she hurried off on foot.

Ben turned to walk away, but Sam stopped him for a moment. “Hey, Ben,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“You gave Santa a comb. It was meant to be a gift all along, wasn’t it?”

Surprised to find he no longer felt embarrassed, Ben admitted, “Yes, it was.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in Santa?”

“I guess I forgot. Thanks for reminding me.” With those words, Ben turned to walk home and Sam crept back inside and went to bed.



Share What You Learn…

The day after his long and cold adventure, Sam slept until nearly noon. He was quite exhausted from the long night before. As he shuffled down the stairs, he heard his mother singing. At the foot of the staircase he watched as she danced around, not realizing he was there. “Mom?” he asked, finally. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, hello sweetie. I’m dancing.”

“But why?” Sam said with a chuckle.

“I’m not sure. I just feel so rested. As if I slept for days on end,” she spun around before twirling to a stop before her tired son. “You, on the other hand, look like you need a bit more sleep.”

“I wouldn’t mind. I was up almost all night,” he said, without thinking.

“Why?”

“Oh…” Sam tried to think quickly. “Just had trouble sleeping. Weird dreams…”

“I see. Well, how would you like some banana pancakes?”

Sam smiled in response and he and his mom made the most delicious banana pancakes they had ever had. With a full stomach and wide eyes, Sam hurried to get dressed. On his way back down the stairs, he heard a soft jingle. What was that? he wondered. Looking around the room, he saw a sparkle near the tree. When he inched closer, he found his old train sitting nicely beneath the tree. Sam smiled and left the train tucked safely where it was.

Rushing out the door with a hurry, Sam ran across the porch, down the steps, and halfway down the walk before he stopped in his tracks. He turned around slowly to see his bike, good as new, standing near the bushes in the yard. Anxious to see how it ran, he hopped on and rode away. At the park, Sam found Charlie and Ben hanging out by the swings.

“Hey, your bike is fixed,” Ben noticed.

“Yeah, it was sitting right outside my house when I went out. And my train is under the tree.”

“That’s peculiar. My cookie jar was all in one piece on my kitchen counter, filled with cookies and everything,” added Charlie. They thought about this for a moment. “Do you suppose it was all a dream?”

“But how could we all dream the same thing?” Sam wondered.

“No,” Ben decided. “It was real. Dream or no dream, we went to the North Pole.”

“HA!” called another voice from behind them. “Are you their friend now, Ben?” Ben’s former bully friends approached from behind the swings. “Do you believe in Santa?”

Ben took a step forward, intending to tell them exactly how much he believed, but he suddenly stopped. Turning to Sam, he said, “I think you have a promise to keep.”

“You’re right,” Sam agreed with a gulp. “This is why Santa asked me to help.” Sam gathered the bullies around him and retold the story of their journey to the North Pole. The boys couldn’t believe their ears, stubbornly trying to deny that the story was true. But, deep down, they started to believe. They spread the story to other children, who in turn spread it even further. The story grew and grew until finally, it covered the earth.

Sam did what he was asked. And, back at North Pole Village, the light became brighter, and brighter, and brighter.