THE LEGEND OF SANTA DOG

I was born thirteen days before Christmas.

December babies frequently get gyped. Being so close to Santa's excursion,

our birthday's pale in the gift giving scheme of things...So I thought I'd make my last story a gift to all of you.

Happy Holidays to one and all. You have given me more than mere words can begin to express.

THE LEGEND OF SANTA DOG

by

L.J. Holmes

Once upon a time in a land far to the North, Santa busily prepared for his most hectic day of the year. All the elves scurried and hurried filling this sack, painting the eyes on that doll, and making sure ladders attached to each bright red engines went up and down without a hitch.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Claus bustled from stove to table making sure Santa's girth would expand to fill out his Once-A-Year Suit...

But deep in the stable yards, where the reindeer grazed, there was anarchy afoot..."Why should we sail off into the night sky yet again and freeze our antlers off for a world filled with disbelievers?" grumbled Donner.

"Yes, yes, yes," chimed in Blitzen. "My lumbago has been more irritating this year. I see no reason to expose it to this whirlwind trip. It is time Santa realizes Christmas has lost its soul and let us grow old gracefully."

All the reindeer added their words of discontent, forming a unanimous front against Christmas.

Soon word spread throughout Santa Town the reindeer were not going to fly come Christmas Eve. Santa hightailed it away from Mrs. Claus' table to the stable-yards and tried every argument in his extensive book...a man as old as Santa has many to draw on you can be sure...but the reindeer were adamant!

What was he to do?

He called a meeting in the town hall and all the citizens of Santa Town arrived. Many ideas were offered, but none proved possible...time was running out.

Unbeknownst to Santa and the people living in Santa Town, deep in the hills surrounding Santa Town, lived a beautiful German Shepherd Dog...abandoned as a pup, the dog traveled long and hard, ending up in these very hills. From his vantage point, he watched the comings and goings in Santa Town as he grew from puppy-hood to full grown dogdom.

Secretly he longed to be a part of Santa's team, but if his owners had abandoned him, he reasoned, surely Santa would see how unworthy he was...yet, he continued to watch and learn.

He watched the reindeer; saw what they ate and how they they trained their young...He duplicated their acts, eating the same berries and brush from the Santa Town forests and practicing the same exercises...

Lo and behold, miracle on miracles one evening he found he could fly!

Still, he was sad. He could fly, yes, but he was nothing more than a lowly dog. Santa would never let him be one of the team.

In his sad aloneness, he slipped into the moonlit darkness the very night of the town meeting, closed his eyes and lifted into the air to soar.

Inside the meeting hall, heartsick that Christmas would not happen this year, Santa turned his eyes to the window to beseech the Moonlight for widsom.

There, refelcted in the glow of the moon was a flying dog! A smile as big as the world spread across Santa's broad face, and a twinkle merrier than any he'd ever twinkled before glittered in his eyes. Eureka!!!

Out through the night, Santa ran...well ran as fast as a man who can fit in the Once-A-Year-Santa-Suit could run, keeping his eye on the flying dog.

When the dog landed, Santa was waiting...

Seeing Santa, the dog, embarrassed and afraid, tried to run into the woods, but Santa called out.

"Please, oh wonderful dog, do not leave. You are the answer to all my prayers."

Hearing the conviction in Santa's voice, the dog stopped, turned and saw...was it?...admiration?...for him?...a lowly dog?

Yes, Santa admired the dog and praised him most soundly pouring out his need of him. The dog bowed, nodded twice and reverently trotted after the head of all Santa Town.

The reindeer quickly learned the tale of the wondrous dog, and realized not all of the magic of Christmas died...for deep in the heart of a wondrous dog was the spark of pure simple love...and that is what Christmas is all about.

The team returned, and for the first time ever, at the front of the team was the newly named Santa Dog...So this year, if you hear a happy barking well into the night...listen carefully...It may just be Santa Dog leading Santa right to you.