Gilbert the Green Nose Deer

There was once a King who decided he did not want his subjects to be
happy. He issued a proclamation outlawing holidays. To prevent them
from coming, he had a giant bubble built over his kingdom.

One Christmas Eve, everyone saw Santa and his reindeer crash in the
sky. The sleigh was wrecked, and the toys were destroyed. Santa hit the
ground, and ended up with two broken legs. Since the reindeer could
fly, they were okay. But Rudolph had busted his noise when he ran into
the glass bubble. The king stood from his balcony and shouted, "I have
conquered the holidays. Now I am the most powerful being on earth. Old
St. Nick, himself, cannot defeat me."

Not only had he stopped the holidays, the King had made time stand
still. One week later on New Years Day, Father Time was not able to
leave the kingdom. Baby News Years stood outside the bubble, trying to
get in. When the King was made aware of this, he was very happy. "I
have made time stand still!" He shouted. "Now I will be King
forever."

Upon hearing this, his subjects became hearts broken. To live for an
eternity under a wicked King, was very disturbing. But hope came again
on Valentine's Day. Cupid was seen in the sky. "Do not worry good
people," he said, "I am immortal and I will be able to destroy this
bubble."

He took an arrow and placed it in his bow. But to everyone's surprise,
the arrow shattered, and the bubble was not even scratched. The King
was amazed. He shouted from his balcony, "The powers of immortality are
even subject to me."

On Easter Morning, the Easter Bunny decided he could get inside the
kingdom.
"This is easy," he said, "All I need to is dig a tunnel underground. No
problem at all."

The people began to celebrate. They could not believe that no one had
not thought about doing this before. Even the King believed his powers
had been defeated. Hours past and there was sign of the Easter Bunny.
Finally they saw him coming out of the hole. He was dirty and out
breath. "There is no end to this bubble," he said breathing heavily. "I
have dug deep, and I keep running into the bubble's wall." In disgust,
he threw his basket against the bubble, and smashed all his colored
eggs.

After the Easter Bunny slowing hopped away, the King made a public
announcement.
He stood at his balcony, "Listen to me! It is now time to give up. I am
all-powerful, and I will reign forever. There will be no more singing
of Christmas Carols, New Year's parties, Valentines, or Easter egg
hunts. Learn to live with it, for an eternity." He then let out a
horrible laugh.

His subjects finally gave up, and the years went by. Even the holiday
icons forgot about the kingdom trapped in a bubble.

In another land a deer, named Gilbert, was born in a forest. But he was
no ordinary deer; Gilbert had a green shiny nose. When the King of the
Deer heard about him, he called his parents in. "This is not good," he
said, "His bright green nose can be seen for miles. If I let him stay,
the hunters will find us."

For several years Gilbert, and his parents, traveled the country
looking for a new home. But no one wanted a green nosed reindeer
hanging around. Soon Gilbert's parents became old, and died. Now he was
alone in the world.

One day as Gilbert was drinking water from a stream, he saw an old man
in green run by.
As the old man ran he tripped on a stick. Before he could get to his
feet, a bear approached. Gilbert felt his back shivering in fear. Then
something happen that took him by surprise. A bright green ray shot
from his green nose. It struck the bear and killed him.

The old man got up, and walked across the stream to where Gilbert was
standing. He put is hand on Gilbert's head and rubbed it. "Thanks," he
said, "What is your name?"

"My name is Gilbert. Who are you?"

"I am St. Patrick. Have you never heard of St. Patrick's Day?"

"No have I not. You see I never had a home. Because no one wants to be
around a deer with a shiny green nose."

St. Patrick rubbed his head again. "Gilbert," he said, "You're not the
first deer with a shiny nose."

"I'm not!"

"No you are not. There is a deer that has a nose as shiny as yours, but
it's red."

"Who was that?"

St. Patrick told Gilbert about Rudolph, Santa, and all the other
holiday stories. He also told him about the King who put a large bubble
over his kingdom, and would not allow the holidays to come.

"That is so sad," said Gilbert, "I sure wish someone could help
them."

Then St. Patrick had an idea. "Look Gilbert," he said, "Like Rudolph
your nose might come in handy. You might just be the one who could
break that bubble. The people would make you a hero, and give you a
home. And if you did it today on Patrick's Day, you would become a
holiday icon."

The two went to the kingdom that was covered with a bubble. "I have
found someone who can rescue!" St. Patrick yelled. But none of the
people responded.

"They have lost hope," said Gilbert.

"Don't worry about that," said St. Patrick. "All of that is fixing to
change."

Gilbert nodded his head forward, but nothing happened. He concentrated
harder, but still nothing happened. St. Patrick rubbed his back, and
gave him some encouragement. After several efforts, the two finally
gave up.

As they were about to turn around and walk away, the King came out to
the balcony. "They still come," he said, "but they should all know that
I am all-powerful."

Gilbert noticed that his subjects feared him. They trembled at his
voice. Even Gilbert and St. Patrick shook in fear. Then to everyone's
surprise, a green bolt came from Gilbert's nose. It struck the bubble
and it burst. For the first time in years, a holiday had entered the
kingdom.

As St. Patrick and Gilbert entered the kingdom, everything turned
green. The women's dresses, the ice cream cones, the buildings, the
streets, and even the birds were green. Also green roses started
blooming everywhere. The King realized his power had vanished, and his
subjects no longer feared him. They took the crown from his head and
drove him out of the kingdom. As he fled Santa's reindeer kicked with
their hooves, Cupid shot him the back seat with an arrow, and the
Easter Bunny clocked him with several rotten eggs. Afterwards, no one
ever saw the wicked King again.

Gilbert not only had a home, but the people made him their King. They
placed the crown upon his head. The holiday icons all returned to the
kingdom. Santa, Father Time, Cupid, and the Easter Bunny became good
friends with Gilbert. He especially formed a special friendship with
Rudolph. After all these years, Rudolph was happy he found another deer
with a bright shiny nose. Gilbert enjoyed celebrating the holidays. But
his favorite was St. Patrick's Day. He proclaimed it the National
Holiday of his kingdom.

(C) Copyright 2001 Terry McDermott