The Day Before The Night Before

The Day Before The Night Before

“Pudger, I want the sleigh and harnesses cleaned and polished. While you're at it, the reindeer should be washed and dried as well for tomorrow night’s ride,” Santa told him.

“Being the apprentice to the Reindeer Wrangler is a sorry job, but taking out the sleigh and reindeer for a spit and polish isn’t so bad. It sure beats stable cleanup!”

So, the elf harnessed up the sleigh and team and headed for the automatic washing machine, on the other side of Santa’s Village. It was along the lines of a car wash, but gentler and used blow-drying as both reindeer and sleigh got cleaned at once. As he waited for the process to finish, Pudger got bored.

His wandering eyes fell onto a sled leaning against the washer’s wall.

“Yes! I can have a little fun!”

Grabbing the sled, he ran for the nearest drift. As he tried to climb it to slide down, it was so soft it collapsed, swallowing him, sled and all. By the time he struggled out, he was snow white.

The reindeer were coming out of the dryer when they saw him. As one, they reared and bleated in panic. They galloped for their barn sans sleigh!

Still snowy, Pudger hauled it back to the coach house and spent hours cleaning it. He was working on the harness when his boss came.

“What did you do to the reindeer? They’re all lathered and trembling.” he scolded.

Pudger broke down and told him.

“Get over to the barn and wash them! Dry them with straw and settle them down. They need to be at their best for tomorrow.”

By the time of the Ride, Pudger was sick in bed with the flu and couldn’t go as he’d been promised.