Once Upon a Time

 Once upon a time, a little boy was born, and he was named Nicholas.

Nicholas loved playing with all the animals in the forest, for he had no brothers or sisters. One day, a friendly deer led him to a cave.

Inside, dozens of small people with large ears worked making all kinds of things. They worked and moved so fast, Nicholas had a hard time keeping up.

One of the little people ran over and stood in front of him. Nicholas crouched to be almost on eye-level. "Hi. I'm Nicholas. Who are you?"

"My name's Pete. I'll call you Nick."

"How come all of you are so little?"

"We're not little. We're elves. See my ears? You're the huge one because you're a human."

"What do you do in here?"

"This is our workshop. When something in the village breaks, we fix it. If a villager needs something, we make it. We can make anything."

"How come no one knows about you?"

"Because we're magic."

"I want to be magic," Nicholas said. "Can you make me magic?"

The elf thought for a few seconds while scratching his head. "I think so. We will have to surround you with magic, but that's only part of it. Most of all, you must believe magic exists."

Nicholas felt his eyes grow round. "What if I stop believing?"

A tear fell from Pete's eye. "Then it goes away. As if it never existed."

"Well, then, that's easy. I'll always believe."

Time passed and Nick rescued a magic woman from a snowdrift.

"Oh, thank you. You're a saint. My own Saint Nick." She kissed him on the cheek.

They fell in love and got married. Nick had never been so happy as when the pastor said, "I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Claus."

About this time, Nick began hearing wishes from little boys and girls around the world. He talked to Pete, who said the elves would make everything but Nick would have to deliver it all.

"I'll need a sleigh. Do you think we can get the deer to pull it?"

Pete was silent for a moment. "I'll talk to them. A few have learned to fly like birds. Those would probably be the best. We call them reindeer because they have to be tethered by their reins to keep from taking off."

When it came time for the first delivery, the snow was icy. Even the reindeer were sliding everywhere, unable to gain a foothold. Nick told everyone to just stand as still as possible and he'd be right back.

A few minutes later, he returned with a wagon filled with sand. Everyone cheered. "Sand! Sand! Sand from Nick!"

And this is the absolute 100% true story of how Nicholas Claus became first Saint Nick and later, Santa Claus.

I'll be absent here in January, hoping to get a good start on a new writing project. Look for me again on Wednesday, February 3.

"And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,
'Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!'"

Always Believe



Comments

That was a cute story.
Merry Christmas!
Rachna Chhabria said…
This was such an adorable story. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Jemi Fraser said…
Love it - I smiled the whole way through :)
Merry Christmas! Hope you have a great January full of writing. :) Loved the story!
Grateful smiles. This was a lovely start to my day. Many thanks.
Natalie Aguirre said…
Great story. Have a great January. I hope you make progress on your new writing project.
L. Diane Wolfe said…
Such a sweet little story.
Carol Kilgore said…
Alex, Rachna, EC, Diane:
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the story.

Jemi: Yay!

Elizabeth and Natalie:
I'm starting a new series that's been rumbling around in my head for over a year. Wish me luck!
lol. Loved the story.
Have a safe and wonderful Christmas, and I'll see you in the new year.
Cute story. Yeah, we've gotta believe, I believe I'm gonna wish you lots of luck with your new series. :)
Janie Junebug said…
Lovely story. Best wishes with your new writing project.

Love,
Janie
cleemckenzie said…
Loved reading your story! And loved finding out you're launching a new project. Here's to a new story in a new year.
What a cute story! Have a great January writing session. Merry Christmas!

Teresa
Carol Kilgore said…
Lynda - You, too!

Susan - Thanks! I think it's going to be fun.

Janie - Thank you. I'll take all the good luck wishes offered :)

Lee - Yes!

Teresa - Hope you have a great Christmas, too.
Melissa said…
Cute story. Have a merry Christmas.
Carol Kilgore said…
HR, Melissa, Jo-Anne - Thanks! Merry, Merry and Happy, Happy!!
DMS said…
What a fun and festive story! Enjoy the holidays and the writing time! Good luck! :)
~Jess
Carol Kilgore said…
Jess - Thanks. I was unable to leave a comment on your regular blog but poked around and found you at Cottage 5.
Mark said…
Cool, thanks for sharing! :)
Carol Kilgore said…
Hi Mark! Wishing you and your family a safe and healthy 2021 :)

.