A Christmas Story

Elves are not real. To be completely straightforward, who in their right mind would believe in ridiculously small humanlike creatures whose sole purpose is to make gifts for children and nothing more? Wouldn’t one get tired of such labor? Moreover, that challenges the question of where gifts come from, if not from the hand of elves? Well, sit back, and let me enlighten you.

            It all started when a week before Christmas Eve, Santa Clause received the atrocious new that there was a worldwide shortage in clementines. Up until that point, every child’s stocking had been filled with clementines by him, but now he had nothing to gift to the little ones.

He thought long and hard, caressing his long and snow-white beard of what to get for children. He looked all around the world, searching of what children would be excited to receive, but the clock was ticking as Christmas Eve approached faster than ever.

He was walking along a village when he saw a young girl making a doll out of twigs and dressing it in leaves. He smiled and remembered that all around the world children make toys for themselves to play with in numerous different ways.

As he walked along the streets of the village, he spotted a small, yet beautiful woodworking shop. He looked inside through the window and saw furniture carved, painted and polished flawlessly. At the counter sat a little boy, with a knife in his hand, carving a bear figurine out of a block of wood.

It was at that moment that Santa knew exactly what to gift to all the children. He entered the store and asked whether the little boy could make other shapes as well, and the boy proudly said yes. Together with the little boy they made lots and lots of wooden dolls, animal figurines, swords and every imaginable toy.

            With all the carefully crafted gifts, Santa was on his way to spread them all over the world, to every child who was waiting impatiently for their stockings to fill up with goods. The little boy’s name was Elfred, Santa’s small but distinguished little helper, from whom the elves were inspired. But now I wonder what he got for Christmas…

                                                                                                            Baki Hanna   X. R