Santa's Magic Toy Sack

SANTA'S MAGIC TOY-SACK

One cold and frosty evening in the land of the Laps, a young boy called
Claus Santa had the most extraordinary gift bestowed upon him. It was a
special gift from non other than Jingle, the King of the Elves. It was
a gift so special that it would take him all his life to learn its
secret. And then just a little bit longer than that to decide what he
was going to do with it.
From the ice-covered mountains that surrounded his village, a sudden
heavy snowfall began to swirl and roll its way down to the valley
below.
This though was no ordinary winter storm. The whole sky, grey and bleak
seemed awfully angry at something. In fact there was so much snow in
the air that it was difficult to tell if it was day or night. This
hadn't put off Claus though. His Grandfather lived about half a mile
away from his cabin in a little place called Dingle Dell, and he would
be getting hungry. Claus would take him his nightly supper, storm or no
storm. With a promise to his mother that he would be fine, Claus opened
the heavy cabin door.
As he stepped from the comfort of the cabin an icy blast chilled his
very bones, but in the twirling swirling snow he could just see the
faint glimmer of light coming from the direction of his Grandfather's
home.
Every step that wintry night seemed like forty as his feet disappeared
into the cold powdery snow right up to his knees. The light in his
Grandfather's house now appeared further away than when he had started,
but on he went. His frozen fingers that were tightly gripped around the
handle of the cooking pot, didn't respond when his brain told them.
Claus was beginning to get into serious trouble. Just then he had an
idea. If he could just make it to the Grotto he could rest in there for
a while. He summoned all his strength and carried on. The Grotto was a
favourite place for the village children to play in, but not at this
time of year. Legend had it that it was the home of the Elves. But
nobody had ever seen any. Claus had thought it likely to be a tall tale
spun by the villagers to keep their children from venturing inside, but
it hadn't worked. Claus now numb with cold pulled at the planks of wood
covering the entrance and went inside.
His entire body was becoming rigid like an ice statue; but there was
nothing else for it. He would have to eat Granddad's supper.
As he slumped to the floor he had the strangest feeling he was being
closely watched, but, undeterred, he popped off the cooking pot's lid
and ate the contents. His Grandfather would have to wait a little bit
longer for his supper. Worn out and weary, Claus closed his eyes and
went to sleep.
When Claus awoke, the first thing he noticed was how warm he was. The
wind had completely gone and the ferocious snowstorm was no more. The
Grotto looked quite different too. A long narrow gallery stretched out
before him, and there were little men dashing this way and that. Just
then a small voice began to talk to him. 'Do you know where you are
young man?' Claus rubbed his eyes and stared at a little man. 'I do not
sir', he nervously answered. 'I, young man, am Jingle; king of the
Elves and this is my kingdom. Do you know, you had almost frozen to
death in the outer Grotto? But we wouldn't have let that happen now,
would we'. So, thought Claus, the story was true. This person before
him was like nobody he had ever seen before. Here was a fully-grown man
merely a foot tall. As Claus began to take it all in he was suddenly
surrounded by hundreds of other little men eager to see the King's
uninvited guest. This, thought Claus, could only be one place. This was
the 'Kingdom of the Elves'. 'Why, you must come on a little tour of the
place, now you're here', the king insisted. He waved his arms and the
little men went about their business.
The king took Claus this way and that. It was an amazing maze of
tunnels that run right under the mountain. As they passed a stable full
of reindeer chomping on lichens and moss, Claus noticed one of them had
a shiny red nose.
'That's poor Rudolf', whispered the king. 'He can't seem to get rid of
his cold this year, dear thing. I really think we should let him go. I
have got eight more you know'.
Next we came across a lady elf. She was busy giving out orders left,
right and centre. 'That's Mary Christmas', muttered the king. 'She runs
this Grotto with military precision. If anything goes wrong you will
hear her name a million times in here. All the elves go to Mary if they
have any problems. She really is irreplaceable'. Suddenly they were at
a large multi-coloured slide. 'Follow me boy', ordered the king. 'I'm
taking you to the workshop. This place will really knock your socks
off'. The king placed himself onto the slide and gave himself a push.
He was very quickly out of sight; so Claus quickly got on and followed
him into the unknown. When they reached the bottom, the king was
already talking to a group of elves that were standing by a wonderful
machine. It seemed to be making children's toys of all shapes and
sizes.
Claus looked around in awe. There were many many more machines like
this one all churning out toys by the dozen. Each time a new toy was
made a big bell rang out in the distance. This made all the elves cheer
and clap. This was Jingle's Bell. 'Well lad what do you think? Have you
ever seen anything like it in your life', beamed the king. Claus looked
on in awe. High above the working elves a large clock ticked away. It
was about five minutes to midnight. 'Er, why do the elves make toys
your Majesty'? Suddenly the king's mood blackened, 'Right boy. Tour's
over. These little fellows have got to get their beauty sleep you
know'. The king's voice had dramatically changed. 'It's time to get you
back to where you belong'. Elves came from every direction and Claus
was almost picked up off the ground and swept back along the narrow
passageways. In no time at all he was back where he'd started. The
king's mood had definitely changed. He now seemed cold and
distant.
'We seem to have a problem on our hands here young man', the king
bellowed. 'Our life here is very secret, and we would very much like it
to stay that way. Yes we know about the rumours and the folklore tales
which are all well and good, but if we let you go you'd bring back the
villagers who'd tear down the mountain to capture us'. The little man
scratched and twirled his beard. 'I know you're dying to tell me that
you wouldn't young man, but I'm afraid I just couldn't trust you'.
Before Claus could say anything the little man went on. 'I've been
thinking long and hard about this little predicament. What if I grant
you a wish. Anything you would ask for would be granted. Might that
stop you telling all from far and near of our very existence. Well?
Well. Is it a deal boy'. Suddenly a crack appeared in the Grotto wall.
'You have until the gateway has fully opened to make the deal. Take the
wish and say nothing, or stay here with us. One has many possibilities;
the other sees a small lost boy vanish in a terrible snowstorm. So
choose now and choose wisely. The wish starts and ends right here'.
Claus opened his eyes and looked around. The wind was howling and the
snow was falling. A voice barely audible over the raging storm was that
of Claus's grandfather. Claus got to his feet and left the relative
safety of the Grotto. As he headed towards his grandfather's
outstretched arms, he didn't really know whether it had all been a
strange dream or a truly mystical meeting with the king of the
Elves.
That night in his grandfather's cabin he began to run a few ideas
around his tired mind. There's nothing at all to do here. The dog's
asleep by the fire and Granddad looks like he's joining him. There
isn't a single toy either for me to play with. He sighed a deep sigh
and laid on his bed. 'I know what I'll wish for. I'll wish for a sack
of toys. But it won't just be any old sack of toys. It will be a
magical sack of toys. A sack that would never ever run out of
toys'.
Eventually the cosiness of the cabin made Claus yawn and he too began
to feel sleepy. But before he closed his eyes he made his wish. 'I wish
I had a magical sack of toys. One which would never run out of toys'.
Claus yawned again and went to sleep.
The next morning arrived and Claus quickly scanned the cabin for his
magic sack. 'You haven't seen a sack of any description have you
granddad?' A thorough search of the cabin revealed no sack. Magic or
otherwise. 'Why that little cheat' muttered Claus. 'What was that
Claus', said granddad. Who's a cheat'. 'Oh it's nothing granddad. I
must be getting home now. You did put two lanterns in the window last
night to signal mum I'd made it safely, didn't you'. 'Indeed I did boy.
But you still didn't tell me what had happened to my supper'. 'Er, see
you tonight granddad, all right '. And with that Claus made his way
back to his own home.
As Claus made his way past the entrance to the Grotto, he thought he
could hear a giggling sound. 'I hope you've remembered our deal little
man' he called in. 'If you don't, I'll have a thousand men with shovels
here by lunchtime'. Claus's threat echoed off the Grotto walls, threat
delivered he trudged on his way.
The weather was much calmer now, so much so, that in the distance he
could see a large red sack on his own front porch. Claus walked a
little faster; his heart began to beat just that little bit faster
also. When he got to his porch he pulled open the sack. His mouth fell
open and his eyes nearly popped out. He shut the sack, and plonked
himself down on the snowy steps in total disbelief. As the shock wore
off and the wetness started to tingle his bottom Claus rose to his
feet. He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted back up the mountain
towards the Grotto. 'Your secret's safe with me little man'. But as he
did so a layer of snow slid down the roof and covered him. Claus
quickly brushed himself down, shook his hair, and took the sack into
his room.
Claus couldn't be happier. Every time he opened his sack out came
another toy. Pretty soon his room was filled from floor to ceiling with
all sorts of wonderful gifts. His mother couldn't believe her eyes
either. Every time that Claus dipped his hands into the sack, out would
come another toy. The news now began to spread throughout the village.
Claus's many friends would literally stay for hours playing with all
the new toys, but all that was about to change. 'Where are your toys
Harvey? You've broken yours haven't you, now you're here playing with
mine. Well I don't think that's fair. Do you. And you Milo, you've been
here everyday for a week. I never saw you bring any of your toys. Do
you actually own any toys my good man'. Claus's outburst was to have
lasting effects. One by one, after some remark or other, Claus's
friends would leave the house never to return.
As the weeks and months drifted into years, Claus became more and more
cut off from the rest of the villagers. He could hear the sounds of
laughter the children made, but he was afraid that they wouldn't want
anything to do with him after he had been so unkind to them, so his
loneliness continued. All the toys in the world could not replace his
childhood friendships and the toy sack was beginning to have a huge
downside to it. Too many toys and nobody to share them with. This
thought Claus, was not how he had meant it to be.
Many years passed. Even the death of his mother hadn't brought Claus to
his senses. He blocked out the pain and loneliness with more and more
wonderful toys.
One bright and breezy day a young girl stopped at Claus's house and
began to change all that. 'Good morning Mr. Santa', she said nervously.
Have you a kite that I could fly on this perfect kite-flying day'.
Claus was a little taken aback at the cheek of the girl, but a calming
inner voice told him to fulfil the little girl's request. He went to
his sack and took out two beautiful kites. 'Can I ask this of you
little girl. May I join you; it's been so long since I've flown a kite.
And you're so right, it is such a perfect kite flying day'. The little
girl nodded her head and the two of them flew their kites high into the
air. Claus felt alive for the first time in a long while. 'Tell me this
little girl. Why did you call me Mr. Santa'. 'Well you are Mr. Santa
aren't you. Haven't you looked in the mirror recently'. Claus was
puzzled. The little girl wound in her kite and gave it back to Claus.
At that the loneliness instantly returned. Happily skipping away, she
made her way back towards the village. As Claus turned to go back into
the cabin he caught his reflection in the window. He wasn't Claus the
boy any more; he was Claus the old man. How long had he been alone with
his toys? The answer seemed to be a very straightforward one. Too
long.
Alone on his bed Claus began to formulate a plan that would bring a
little happiness to every child in the village. The kind of happiness
he had seen in the little girl's eyes as he handed her a kite. 'Let me
see now, Saturday evening. Yes that should be just about right. That
would be the twenty fourth of December; I don't think I'm doing
anything else that night. Not that he did much of anything on any
night. Right. The twenty fourth it is'. Claus's plan would involve
putting a small gift into every home in the village.
It had taken Claus many years to realise this, but by giving, even a
small gift, and even if it was only once a year, it was better than
receiving. Then Claus had a thought. 'What if I was to be seen creeping
around the village in the middle of the night. People might get the
wrong idea about me'. Claus looked into the mirror on his wardrobe and
sighed. Suddenly he had an idea. The little girl he'd seen earlier had
called him Mr. Santa. She was right he was an old man now. He wasn't
Claus anymore; Claus didn't have white hair and a beard. He was Mr.
Santa or just plain Santa to anyone that might ask. So Saturday night
it was then.
As darkness fell on the eve of the twenty-fourth Claus took his magic
toy sack and toured the village. He couldn't quite believe his eyes.
The tiny little village he had once so intimately known was now about
four times the size. The streets went this way and that. There was a
busy hotel on Strudel Street and lots of shops up and down Main Street.
Claus began to feel that he'd bitten off more than he could chew. But
he gritted his teeth and carried on. Come the morning Claus was
absolutely worn out. He'd managed to do it just as the milkman's
whistling had begun to wake up the sleeping villagers. He crawled to
his home, went inside and fell fast asleep. He'd done what he'd set out
to do. But he wasn't going to do that again in a hurry.
News of the children's mysterious gifts spread through all the villages
for miles around. Who was the benefactor responsible for such
overwhelming generosity? Only one clue came to light. Old Gregor the
town drunk had seen an old man carrying a large red sack behind the
village saloon. But nobody had believed him. Nobody had a sack so big
as to deliver the two hundred and fifty presents so far reported. This
also didn't stop more people flooding to the village. In nearly a year
the whole village had doubled again. What could Claus do now? Nobody
unless they were magic could ever get around so many homes. That was
it. Magic. Claus went to see the only person who could help him. King
Jingle, king of the Elves.
Claus dragged on his old black boots and made his way to the Grotto. He
wasn't even sure King Jingle would remember him after so many years.
But he needed to know whether there was a way of delivering hundreds of
presents all in one night. Once inside the Grotto, the memories of that
night many years ago flooded back into Claus's memory. Very soon he had
drifted off to sleep. When he awoke he slowly got to his feet, but he
immediately banged his head on the roof. He had grown, but the Grotto
hadn't. King Jingle stood before him. 'Sit back down you oaf. You'll
bring the whole mountain down if you're not careful. You're not a boy
anymore you know'. Claus did know. His hurting head told him as much.
Claus did as he was told and sat down and stared at the king. King
Jingle hadn't aged one little bit. He was exactly as Claus had
remembered him all those years ago. 'Well Santa, for that is the name
you go by now isn't it. What can I do for you'. Claus gave a little
smile to himself. How had the king known that? But he soon forgot that
as he told the king his life's story and how he now needed his help.
The king listened patiently and gave his ruling. 'Santa Claus I
appreciate what you have done for the children of this village, and yes
it is true that to give is far better than to receive but I'm afraid I
have some bad news for you. When you received your magic toy sack that
was your only wish. I can't give you anything else, it just wouldn't be
fair'. Claus was heart broken. As he turned to leave he saw Mary
Christmas lean over and whisper something to the king. 'Wait', the king
ordered. 'There is a way I can help you, but it is almost impossible.
If you can find two identical snowflakes I will grant you another
wish'. Claus sunk his head further into his chest. Everybody knew that
every snowflake was unique. The king he thought had played a clever
trick on him. Claus went to the secret opening and waited to be let
out.
As he sat there a small pool of ice-cold water caught his eye. He could
see that it was beginning to freeze over. Winter was coming. As the
Grotto wall creaked open a solitary snowflake fluttered in and landed
beside the pool. Claus couldn't believe his luck. For there in front of
him was the answer. A reflection of a single snowflake was actually the
two identical snowflakes the king had asked for. Claus scurried back
along the tunnel and told the king of his finding. 'Well done Santa, I
don't think there's anything in the rulebook that says it can't be a
reflection of itself is there Mary'. Mary hurriedly flicked through the
pages of the rulebook and shook her head. 'Right Santa Claus you may
ask anything of me'. Claus sat beside the king and worked out the best
way to get a present to all the children that wanted one. It was
thought that a sleigh would work best. Pulled of course by the king's
own magical reindeers.
The king and Santa became the best of friends. Santa moved into the
Grotto permanently with a few alterations of course. This also meant
that Santa no longer got any older which he liked just fine. His
deliveries though certainly got monumental. The few houses in the
village he used to deliver to now became the whole world, so the poor
elves had to be put onto shift work. The Jingle bell rang day and
night. As the news spread of a magical old gentleman who once a year
would leave a small gift for anybody who believed in him, Santa got
busier and busier. Quite how he gets around the whole world nobody's
really sure. But we all know one thing for certain. Santa Claus sure is
magic.