Far, far away, the streetlights were coming on in one of the cities. Snow lay in a thick new coating on the pavements, the roofs and the gardens. An army of snowmen had appeared the previous day, sprouting statues with ungainly smiles, courtesy of secretly robbed kitchen drawers and cupboards. One snowman had a face comprised of prunes, another had a nose that was a half-eaten carrot, while a third’s ears were two wooden spoons, jammed hard into his snowy head. Everywhere the children played, and they talked about what they hoped Father Christmas would bring them.
“I’ve asked Father Christmas for a train set,” said one little boy.
“I’ve asked Father Christmas for a tricycle,” said another boy, who stooped to collect a snowball to start a snowball war.
“I’ve asked Father Christmas for a new brother,” said a little girl.
“Why?” asked both boys together.
“Then I will have someone else to play with!” she cried.
At the North Pole, the Assistant Under Elf struggled to button his coat, as his fingers were trembling. “Oh dear! Oh my!” he said. “I’ve never ridden in the sleigh before! And tonight, of all nights, the most important night of the year!” Once dressed, he walked to the toy hall, where the sleigh was being loaded. The last presents lay on the floor in haphazard piles of crinkled wrapping paper, a team of elves were handing the presents from one elf to another, up onto the sleigh and into the vast toy sack. Mother Christmas appeared in the hall, her fine scarlet robe buttoned to her throat, her hands enveloped in her riding gloves. “Are you ready, little elf?” she asked. He was nervous, but he put on a cheerful, elvish smile. “Yes, Mother Christmas…I’m ready.” They walked to the head of the sleigh, where two reindeer had been hitched; the reindeer were excited at being chosen to pull the sleigh on Christmas Eve; they flicked and dipped their heads, their magnificent crowning antlers spiralling gracefully. Mother Christmas patted each reindeer, then as the last present was handed up and placed in the toy sack, she and the Assistant Under Elf went outside.
Mother Christmas sat on the sleigh’s driving bench, the little elf beside her, while the bulging toy sack had been placed behind them. Ahead of them the runway had been lit by a hundred oil lamps, which flickered in the cold night, and the sky was full of stars. Elves and polar bears lined the way in anticipation; Mother Christmas took up the reins, and everyone drew in breath, not daring to believe that the sleigh would take to the skies. One reindeer looked over its shoulder at Mother Christmas, and, as if understanding that something had changed this year, threw down its antlered head, and pawed the snow. The sleigh creaked, caressed the snow, and slowly, slowly, budged, slipped, slid forward. A great cry and shout rang out from the elves and polar bears as the sleigh gathered pace, then leapt into the sky!
The little elf had closed his eyes, and only opened them as he felt the sleigh shift as it clawed the sky. He looked down; far below he saw the Emporium and the lamps on the runway. He looked around them, the night was bright, stars glittered in the black sky, and far away, over the horizon, was the shimmering light thrown up by the first city, home to thousands of sleeping children.
The first house they visited was a long high building, with two chimneys, one of which was smoking, in a desultory way. Mother Christmas settled the sleigh and dropped the reins. “Which children live here?” she asked. “A little boy and his brother,” replied the elf, “the boy has asked for a wooden sword, while his brother has asked for a trumpet.” The elf then turned and retrieved the presents from the large toy sack and placed them in a smaller sack which had magic properties.
Mother Christmas walked along the roof top to the chimney, snow scudding at her feet, the magic sack lying across her shoulders as light as a feather. She climbed up onto the chimney; then with a quick click of her heels, disappeared from sight, the trumpet horn wrapped in scarlet paper being the last thing to be seen. After a few minutes, she emerged once more from the chimney.
“It’s a pity that we cannot be here when those boys wake up,” she said, “but I am sure that their laughter will fill the house.”
“Yes, Mother Christmas,” he replied. “They will never know that it was you and not Father Christmas who delivered their presents.”
“The person who delivers the presents does not matter little elf, what matters is that when those children wake, the full stockings at the end of their bed will be the first thing they see.”
At the next property, home to three girls, Mother Christmas and the little elf repeated the distribution of the toys; this time one of the little girls had asked for a pony, and was given a rocking horse, one of the largest toys to be delivered that night. Although the rocking horse bulged and ballooned, once inside the magic sack, it fitted snugly and weighed next to nothing. As Mother Christmas approached the beds of the sleeping children, one of the girls woke up; Mother Christmas and the child looked at each other, the little girl opened her eyes wide in astonishment. Mother Christmas held a finger to her lips, and the little girl felt at once content and sleepy, then her head fell back against the pillow. Mother Christmas put down the toys that she carried, and as she left, set the rocking horse rocking gently back and forth, as the three sisters dreamt of the morning.
Mother Christmas and the little elf crossed the starry sky, visiting homes in every land. The sleigh spanned cities, mountains and deserts; the reindeer kept up a steady pace, their hoofs clawing the air; and the sleigh went onward, onward, toward the last home and the last child and the last toy.
They returned to the North Pole as the sun broke over the horizon of the furthest place they had visited. A huge crowd of elves and polar bears was waiting to greet them; standing among them one bare headed but bearded old man, whose scarlet tunic was ruffled, but whose face beamed in pride, as a tear rolled down his cheek.
Copyright © David Alexander 2023