Sasha Saves Christmas

It was Christmas Eve and Sasha just didn’t want to go to bed.

‘I’m going to stay up and see Santa!’ she told her Mum.
‘Go to bed!’ said Mum.

‘I’m going to stay up and see Santa!’ she told her Dad.
‘Go to bed!’ said Dad.

‘I’m going to stay up and see Santa!’ she told her little brother.
‘NEE NAW NEE NAW!’ said Sebastian. (He was busy playing with a fire engine).

Mum said, ‘Let’s put out a mince pie for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer.’ Sasha helped her choose the best, tastiest looking carrot and the scrummiest mince pie and then put them carefully on a plate by the fireplace.

Dad made Sasha hot chocolate in a special pink mug.

Mum took Sebastian upstairs to bed.

‘I’m not going,’ thought Sasha. ‘I’m going to stay up all night!’

She sat by the window, looking out at the snow. The hot chocolate was lovely and warm, with marshmallows. Slowly Sasha’s eyelids got heavier and heavier. She got sleepier and sleepier. She yawned a huge yawn and slowly…fell…asleep.

‘Night night, Sasha,’ said Dad. He put the mug on the table and carefully carried her up to her bed.

CLONK!

Sasha woke up with a jump. The room was dark and she could hear someone moving about.

CLONK!

The sound was coming from the roof. Sasha thought for a second and then bravely got out of bed.

CLONK, CLONK, CLONK!

‘Dad?’

CLONK, CLONK, CLONK!

‘Mum?’

CLONK, CLONK, CLONK!

It couldn’t be Sebastian. The person was going CLONK, not NEE-NAW.

‘Well, I’m awake now,’ Sasha told herself. ‘I’d better go and see who it is.’ She put on her slippers and her dressing down and crept downstairs.

The lights were on in the living room. Someone was moving the presents under the tree.

‘Are you taking our presents?’ said Sasha.

‘What? Huh? Oof!’ said an old man with a big white beard and a bright red suit. He stood up too quick and knocked the star off the tree.

‘Santa!’ said Sasha with a big smile.

‘That’s right, Sasha,’ said Santa. He reached up on tip-toes and put the star back on the tree.

‘Are you delivering the presents?’ Sasha asked.

‘Yes, that’s right,’ said Santa. He sat down on the sofa and picked up the mince pie from the fireplace. ‘Nice pie, Sasha. And Rudolf is just going to love this carrot. He’s been working very hard tonight.’

‘How’s it all going?’ asked Sasha.

Santa brushed some pie crumbs out of his beard. ‘It’s a bit difficult tonight, Sasha. There’s just so many children and the reindeer get so tired. And the elves are on holiday so I haven’t even got any little helpers.’

‘Oh dear,’ said Sasha. ‘Maybe I could help you…?’

‘It’s very kind, Sasha, but I’ve only got one sleigh. I really need someone to help with the deliveries.’

Sasha and Santa thought about the problem for a second.

Sasha said, ‘I could help you.’

Santa said, ‘I was hoping you’d say that. You’ll need some warm clothes, though. Sasha? Where are you, Sasha?’

But Sasha had already gone to get dressed!

Soon Sasha was back, with her scarf and her hat and her boots and her jeans and a jumper and a big, warm coat.

She stepped into the fireplace with Santa and they floated up through the chimney on a cloud of Christmas magic. Suddenly they were standing on the snow-covered roof.

Sasha could see the twinkling stars and the white snow clouds and the whole town with its Christmas trees and lights on all the houses.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she said.
‘Yes,’ said Santa. ‘I love this bit of my job. It’s almost as good as giving the presents.’

And they looked out across the whole town on that cold Christmas Eve.

‘Right, enough dawdling,’ said Santa. ‘We’ve got a job to do.’ And he gave Sasha one of his Santa sacks from the back of the sleigh.

It was so heavy. When Sasha put it over her shoulder it almost made her fall over!

‘That’s the sack for your town,’ said Santa. ‘If you can deliver all the presents in the town then I can probably manage everything else.’

‘But I don’t have a sleigh,’ said Sasha, ‘or any reindeer!’

‘Aha,’ said Santa, ‘I’ve thought of that.’

He put his fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle.

After a moment, Sasha could hear Christmas bells jingle. And then something came out of the sky. Not a reindeer, not a sleigh…but a tall beautiful unicorn, flying out of the clouds. She landed carefully on the roof and looked at Sasha with kind eyes.

‘This is Candy,’ said Santa. ‘I keep her at the North Pole for emergencies, but she’s happy to help out tonight. Do you think you could ride her around town and deliver all the presents?’

Sasha said, ‘Yes!’

She reached out and stroked the beautiful creature. The unicorn’s mane glittered in the moonlight.

‘The only thing is, Candy needs lots of Christmas sparkles to be able to fly. Do you think you can keep her sprinkled with lots of Christmas sparkles?’

Santa handed Sasha a big bag of shiny, magical Christmas sparkles.

‘I’ll do my best,’ said Sasha.

Soon they were ready, Candy and Sasha and the presents and of course the Christmas sparkles. Candy turned around on the roof, her hooves slipping just a little bit on the tiles, and then with a galloping galloping gallop she went straight off the roof – and into the sky!

Sasha quickly sprinkled on some more sparkles.

Candy flew even higher.

They could see all of the houses and all of the chimneys where the presents needed to go.

Sasha used the reins to guide Candy. ‘Let’s see my friends first!’

So they took presents to all Sasha’s friends, presents to all Sasha’s family, and then presents to everyone else, too! Every time they stopped, Sasha took a big handful of magic sparkles out of her bag and scattered them all over Candy’s long, beautiful mane. They flew high over the town, laughing in the cold night air and eating some of the snowflakes as they flew by!

‘Whee!’ said Sasha. ‘This is the best Christmas ever!’ Already she’d given out half of the presents in Santa’s bag, and the job was almost done. Candy went round and round the town in big loops, so that Sasha could get the right presents down the right chimneys. At every house she went in, Sasha was careful to tiptoe quietly so as not to wake the children. She giggled to her unicorn friend. ‘They’re going to be so surprised in the morning!’

Soon the night was almost over. The moon was sinking low and you could see the beginning of the dawn where the sky met the ground.

‘Uh-oh, better work fast!’ said Sasha. Candy put her head down and went as fast as she could, galloping through the clouds.

‘This is great…’ thought Sasha. ‘A bit scary…but very exciting…!’

She reached out one hand to sprinkle some more of the magic flying sparkles on Candy when the wind caught her arm…

…and Sasha dropped the bag!

Brave Candy turned in the air and tried to catch it but the bag was falling too fast.

‘I need more sparkles!’ thought Sasha. ‘Otherwise we’re going to fall out of the sky!’

She looked in her pockets.
She looked in Santa’s sack.
There was nothing.
Sasha looked all around her. She opened her mouth to breathe in…
…and a snowflake landed on her tongue.

‘That’s it!’ she shouted. She held out her palms and gathered as many snowflakes as she could in her cupped hands. The little frosted flakes seemed to twinkle in the moonlight, beautiful and magical…just like the Christmas sparkles that let Candy fly.

Sasha opened her hands and let the flakes of sparkling snow fall like diamonds on her beautiful unicorn.

Candy let out a big, happy neigh and she flew stronger and higher and faster than ever!

They finished giving out the presents in no time and as the sun started to come up, Candy landed carefully back on the roof of Sasha’s house.

Santa was there waiting for her.

‘I saw what you did with the snowflake sparkles, Sasha,’ said Santa. ‘That was very clever. You may be the best little helper I’ve ever had.’

Sasha smiled proudly.

‘So as a reward, I have a special present for you.’ Santa held out a huge shiny box with a glittering ribbon all the way around it.

‘Thank you,’ said Sasha.

‘Now don’t open it until everyone’s awake and it’s properly Christmas morning,’ said Santa.

‘I won’t,’ said Sasha.

Sasha looked at Candy and felt a little bit sad.

‘Am I going to have to say goodbye to her now?’ Sasha asked Santa.

‘Yes,’ Santa said. ‘She needs to rest after all that flying. She’s going back to her stable at the North Pole.’

Sasha felt a little tear at the corner of her eye, but she was brave and instead of crying she gave a big smile and put her arms around the neck of her lovely unicorn.

‘Thank you for helping me,’ she said. ‘You are the best unicorn ever!’

Candy looked very pleased to hear that.

Then it was time to go. Santa sprinkled magic sparkles over Candy and got in his sleigh and then the reindeer and the unicorn clip-clopped to the edge of the roof – and they all flew off towards the North Pole.

There was just enough Christmas magic left floating around for Sasha to drift down the chimney and back into the living room.

Mum and Dad and Sebastian were there in their pyjamas and dressing gowns.

‘Sasha! It’s Christmas morning! Why are you wearing your jeans and your coat?’ asked Mum.

‘I’ve been out all night helping Santa,’ Sasha said.

‘Where did you get that present?’ asked Dad.

‘Santa gave it to me as a reward for helping. It was so exciting – there was a unicorn and magic sparkles and then I dropped the sparkles and I had to use magic sparkly snowflakes to make the unicorn fly and –’

Sebastian’s eyes got wide.

‘It did happen, it did!’ said Sasha. ‘I told you I was going to stay up and see Santa and I did!’

Mum and Dad smiled.

‘Look, I’ll prove it to you. This present was from Santa, I’ll show you!’ Sasha quickly unwrapped the shiny box with its glittering red ribbon.

Inside was a tiny little whistle on a ribbon.

‘What is it, Sasha?’ asked Mum.

Sasha lifted the whistle out of the box.

‘I’m not sure,’ she said.

‘Blow on it and see what happens,’ suggested Dad.

So Sasha did. She blew one long high blast on the whistle.

For a second nothing happened.

Everybody waited.

Still there was nothing.

And then, jingling out of the sky with the sound of Christmas bells, flying through the clouds with her mane sparkling and her eyes so bright and happy, there was Candy the unicorn…landing in their front garden!

Sasha ran out of the door and hugged her special friend!

Everyone was amazed.

Dad held out a piece of paper for Sasha. ‘Sasha, this note was inside the box with your present.’

She read:

Dear Sasha,

I know you made good friends with Candy on Christmas Eve. I didn’t want you to be sad, so I gave you this special whistle. Any time you want to see Candy and go for a ride, blow on the whistle and she will come from the North Pole to see you.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
Santa

Mum, Dad and Sebastian were totally amazed.

‘I told you it was true, I told you!’ Sasha called.

And later that day she took them all on flying unicorn rides.

It was the best Christmas ever.