Christmas Eve was
two days away. Santa and his elves were polishing the big, red sleigh beginning
with the narrow, strong runners to the wide, circular carriage. It was a big
job, but by whistling and singing, the work became fun. By the end of the day,
however, Santa was tired and worn. When he entered his cozy, warm cottage at
the top of the North Pole, he was greeted with a smile and a hug from his
favorite partner, Mrs. Claus.
“My, you and the
elves really outdid yourselves today,” she said. “Come, dear, rest for a spell
while I fix you a cup of hot chocolate.”
“That sounds
wonderful,” he said, giving Mrs. Claus a kiss on her cheek.
After Santa sank
into his pillow-lined rocker, he took off his old work boots and noticed a toe
or two sticking out of his socks. However, Santa didn’t complain. In fact, to
Santa his socks always felt much more comfortable when there was a hole or two.
She set the cup
beside the snoring Santa and hurried to her sewing room.
With the arrival
of Christmas Eve, Santa began dressing for his annual world trip. He grabbed
his shiny black boots and began to put them on.
“Wait, Santa!”
Mrs. Claus exclaimed. “I’ve made you a brand- new pair of woolen socks so your
feet won’t get cold as you travel tonight.”
Santa was
speechless. How could he refuse such an unexpected gift of thoughtfulness?
Little did Mrs. Claus know that Santa preferred to wear his holey, comfy socks
over new, itchy ones. But not wanting to disappoint Mrs. Claus, he took off his
favorite socks and put on his new, woolen ones.
At the beginning
of Santa’s journey, the socks felt good against the cold, night air. However,
with the continual stopping, dropping down chimneys, and other places, Santa
noticed that his feet were becoming quite warm. In fact, they were HOT! He
loosened his bootstraps and aired them out. But with the exposure to the cool,
damp air, his feet began to itch. He tried to ignore the itchiness, but it was
becoming a nasty distraction. In fact,
his itchy socks were turning jolly Santa into a grumbling grouch.
Entering a tiny log cabin through a
close-fitting window, Santa hobbled to a low-burning fireplace where he found
two socks hanging from its mantel. He began putting goodies into the socks, but
just as quickly as he filled the socks, the toys and candy fell onto the floor.
Taking a closer look at the two socks, he discovered several holes in them.
Suddenly, Santa had an idea. He found a chair,
took off his boots and replaced his socks with the holey ones. He tied his
bootstraps and stood straight once again. A smile broke across his face. “Oh,
my, what relief,” he sighed.
He placed his new
woolen socks filled with Christmas gifts upon the fireplace mantel. He knew
that once he explained what he had done with his new socks, Mrs. Claus would
understand. Hopefully, the children he left them with would understand too.
