The Great Christmas Tree
- Eduard Cao -
Dedicated to You
Once upon a wintery Christmas Eve, Santa Claus flew in his sleigh;
led of course by his reindeer.
On this particular Christmas, the children of the world were extra, extra nice, so Santa had his work cut out for him. He was in such a hurry that night, that he didn’t realize the four toys that fell out of his extra full sack of presents.
Down down to the snowy ground they went. A Porcelain Ballerina, a Rag Doll, a Tin Soldir and a Teddy Bear.
“We must’ve fallen out of the bag.” Rag Doll explained to the others as she dusted snow off of her patchwork skirt.
“What are we going to do?” Teddy Bear asked. “We’ve never been outside anywhere.” Which was true, since not too long ago, they were all recently made by elves in Santa’s Toy Workshop.
“Things have got to be all right.” Tin Soldier said. “It’s Christmas, and even a newborn toy like me has to naturally believe in the spirit of Christmas.”
Ballerina said nothing until she noticed a blue figure coming towards them. “Who’s that over there?” She asked.
The blue figure approached and spoke. “Welcome to the Forest of Christmas Trees. I’m Jack Frost.”
“The forest of Christmas Trees?” They all asked. Ballerina and the others looked around themselves, and sure enough, they were surrounded by Christmas Trees. Big, small, white, blue and even pink. All with lights and ornaments growing out of their pine branches.
“These are where Christmas Ornaments are grown.” Jack Frost said.
“If you could please help us Mr. Jack Frost,” Ballerina started to say, “My friends and I need to get back to Santa Claus. We need to be in stockings before our children wake up.”
“That’s easy enough.” Jack Frost explained. “All you have to do is travel through the forest until you reach The Great Christmas Tree. It’s the biggest brightest tree in all of the forest. Santa visits it when he’s all done dropping off presents. I’m sure if he finds all four of you there, he’ll get you to where you have to be. But beware of the Spirit of Christmas Presents.”
“What’s the Spirit of Christmas Presents.” Teddy Bear asked with a shudder.
“A ghost that haunts the forest looking for toys to add to it’s sad collection. Look out for it. It will try to throw you off your path and then make you a prisoner.”
And with that, Jack Frost was gone with the wintery winds. The toys were on their way now to The Great Christmas Tree.
Making their way through the forest, the four toys were immediately stopped by The Spirit of Christmas Presents. The Spirit was surrounded by a gray glow and was cold to the touch. Even colder than the snow.
It spoke to the Rag Doll first. “Oh pretty Rag Doll. Wouldn’t you rather be a princess than someone’s rag doll? I’ll take you to the land of Toy Dolls where you will rule over all of them. You will be important.”
Rag Doll’s eyes began to sparkle. “Me? A princess?”
Ballerina stood before Rag Doll. “No Rag Doll, it’s a trick. We have to get to our children and somewhere some little boy or girl will definitely make you a princess in his or her toy room.”
And with that, Rag Doll stood before The Spirit of Christmas Presents and said, “I’m going to The Great Christmas Tree. Get out of my way.”
Knowing that it was useless to try to sway Rag Doll any further, The Spirit of Christmas turned its’ attention onto Tin Soldier.
“Oh shiny Tin Soldier. Wouldn’t you like to be in a real army? Come with me and I’ll make sure you lead an entire troop into a successful battle.”
Tin Soldier liked that. “I’d get to be aggressive and manly and praised. It’s what I was built for.” He said.
Ballerina spoke to Tin Soldier. “No Tin Soldier, it’s a trick. We have to get to our children and somewhere a little girl or boy will definitely make you leader of your own army in his or her toy room.”
And with that, Tin Soldier stood before The Spirit of Christmas Presents and said, “I’m going to The Great Christmas Tree. Get out of my way.”
Knowing that it was useless to try to sway Tin Soldier any further, The Spirit of Christmas Presents turned its attention onto Teddy Bear.
“Oh fuzzy Teddy. Wouldn’t you rather be a real bear? You could roam freely in the woods and live amongst the natural wild.”
Teddy Bear began to envision how exciting it would be out in the wild. “The adventures would be endless.” He screeched with enthusiasm.
Ballerina spoke to Teddy Bear. “No Teddy Bear, it’s a trick. We have to get to our children and somewhere a little girl or boy will definitely take you on endless adventures; for nothing is as endless as a child’s imagination.”
And with that, Teddy Bear stood before The Spirit of Christmas Presents and said, “I’m going to The Great Christmas Tree. Get out of my way.”
The Spirit of Christmas Presents felt itself at a loss. It turned its attention towards the ever smart and clever Ballerina.
“How could I convince you to be my present?” It asked Ballerina.
Ballerina stood before The Spirit of Christmas Presents. “If you promise to let my friends continue on their journey to The Great Christmas Tree to meet Santa Claus, I’ll go with you.”
Ballerina’s friends did not want her to go with The Spirit of Christmas Presents.
“You can’t.” Rag Doll said. “What about the little girl or boy waiting for you?”
“What about the toy room you’re supposed to live in?” Tin Soldier asked.
“What about the adventures?” Teddy yelled.
But there came no answer. The Spirit of Christmas Presents was gone. Ballerina was gone.
The four friends had no choice but to make their way towards The Great Christmas Tree. The lights around them seemed to dim until all was dark. The lights of The Great Christmas Tree shone right ahead, leading the three remaining toys to their destination.
“We’ve made it!” Rag Doll said.
“We’re finally going to go home.” Toy Soldier told his companions.
“What’s that?” Teddy Bear asked, pointing towards a huge red figure near the tree. It was Santa Claus himself.
“We’re here!” Rag Doll excitedly called out.
“Come on!” Tin Soldier said, running with Rag Doll and Teddy Bear by his side. The Great Christmas Tree was still a few yards away, and their little tiny toy legs could only take them so far.
They finally reached the tree.
They found nothing.
Towards the sky, they could all see that Santa’s Sleigh was already in the distance; the sounds of his jingle bells fading away.
The wind started to get stronger and the snow started to rise.
“Now what do we do?” Rag Doll asked.
“We do what we came here to do.” Tin Soldier said. “What we were born to do.”
Teddy Bear understood. He walked his furry little legs to the bottom of the tree, and laid himself right underneath it.
Rag Doll and Tin Soldier joined him, laying themselves on his soft fur as they sat there. Destined to wait until someone came by to claim them. The wind began to pick up even more and the snow began to cover the toys. The three friends.
They started to wonder what life would be like for a toy if it never got played with. Toys are supposed to be played with.That’s what toys are for.
Without any warning, the snow started to get blown off of the toys. The snowflakes started to clear up all together until they eventually heard the voice of an old friend.
“Come on everyone.” It was Ballerina. “We have homes to get to.”
“Ballerina.” Rag Doll screamed out as she ran to hug her porcelain sister.
“What happened to you?” Tin Soldier asked.
“The Spirit took me back.” Ballerian said.
Teddy Bear cocked his head in confusion. “The Spirit of Christmas Presents?”
“Not anymore.” Said The Spirit. It appeared right behind Ballerina, hugging her in a soft white glow. She was warm to the touch, like hot coco. “Seeing Ballerina’s love for her friends and her faith in giving herself unto others has changed me for the better. I am no longer The Spirit of Christmas Presents, - a selfless creature - I am now The Spirit of Giving.”
“The Spirit of Giving is going to take us to our homes everyone.” Ballerina said.
And with that, The Spirit of Giving took all the toys into its arms and flew high into the sky, and around the world, bringing them to the children they were created for.
The Spirit of Giving was alive and well...
...for this Christmas and every Christmas after that.
Merry Christmas my friends.
