Sonny's Visit to Santa Claus

In the mood for a story?? Here you go:

It was Christmas Eve day and the elves were excitedly talking over lunch in Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen.
They had a busy afternoon and night ahead of them. Throughout the year Santa’s elves made toys, but as the big night approached, there were three important jobs left.

Bud turned to their friend Sonny, who was visiting for the day. Sonny was proudly wearing a green and red striped honorary elf hat, presented that morning by none other than Santa himself.

"We have to finish wrapping and packing some presents," Bud said. "Then we have to bathe and groom the reindeer, and wash the sleigh. Santa depends on us to get everything ready tonight! Sonny, would you like to help?"

After an enthusiastic yes, Sonny joined the elves in Santa’s Workshop where they wrapped the last-minute presents.
There were dolls and balls, trains and planes-all sorts of toys for children everywhere. Sonny had never seen so many different toys! The happy group loaded the gifts into candy-apple-red wheelbarrows.
"Hmmm," said Sonny, "I wonder if any of these presents are going to my friend Sanni?"

This had been an exciting day, and it just got better all the time. There was so much to see and do here in Santa’s Secret Village. The elves had taken Sonny all over the village--even to the Reindeer Barn! There would be so much to tell Mr. C and everyone else back in Germany!

Their next job was to push the presents to the barn, then pack them in Santa’s huge red sack.

Bud turned to Sonny with a surprised look. "You catch on fast! And you’re just 27 – I’m 302 and in all the Christmases I’ve done this I’ve never seen such a good helper. I’m so glad you came to visit us today!"

Bud was so enthusiastic. In fact, all the elves were. It was fun to be with them, and Sonny felt lucky to be in Santa’s Secret Village-and on Christmas Eve! Helping Santa’s elves with the toys made it seem that Sonny was giving something to all the children, too. Sonny felt good. Christmas was like that.

With the presents packed, the little group’s next task was to take care of the reindeer. The elves and Sonny led the reindeer into the barn’s reindeer showers. The animals were big but friendly, and they nuzzled their cleanup crew--drawing giggles from two ticklish elves. Sonny gently scrubbed a very contented reindeer with a long-handled brush.
"Just wait until I tell my friends back in Germany about this!" exclaimed Sonny.
"Don’t forget to wash behind the antlers!" said Bud.

The group quickly dried off the reindeer and began brushing them. "This is so much fun!" said Sonny, "and the reindeer don’t seem to mind at all. In fact, they seem to like it as much as I like blogging!"
"Oh, yes," said Bonnie. "They all enjoy it. This is their big night, too, and they all want to look their best."

All the training, all the exercise, and all the reindeer games throughout the year had prepared the reindeer for this night.

Clean and happy, the reindeer curled up for a restful nap before their busy journey ahead. "The next time I take a nap, I’ll pretend I’m a reindeer," said Sonny.

"So, Bud, what do we do now?"
"Wash the sleigh!" replied Bud. "Santa wants it to really shine for the ride tonight. Just wait until you see it when the stars and moon shine on it. It’s really something!"

Santa’s helpers gathered sponges, soap, and buckets and headed toward the sleigh. Sonny never thought cleaning could be fun, but washing the reindeer sure was. Maybe the sleigh would be, too.

There it was, Santa’s sleigh. There was something magical about it, even now, a little tarnished and unpolished. Sonny stood staring, imagining it flying across the night sky.

"Come on, Sonny," cried Bud. "Grab a sponge!" Santa’s little helpers eagerly went to work. It didn’t take them long to wash and polish the sleigh. They cleaned and waxed the runners, making sure there were no rough spots on the blades. Sonny swept out the inside, finding half a cookie and two carrots.

The sleigh soon began to sparkle! "It looks great!" said Sonny "Just think of all the toys it will carry tonight. I wonder if anyone will get a teddy? I wonder what Santa will bring ME?"

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" bellowed a voice behind them. Sonny turned around. It was Santa Claus!

"What a great job you all did on my sleigh," said Santa. "Not only will it sparkle in the starlight, but it will really fly fast since you polished the runners, too."

Santa was proud of them. The little group had worked hard today, and they had done it all with happy enthusiasm. Santa smiled and said, "You have made a terrific team! You did a great job on the presents and on the reindeer. Now you’ve made this old sleigh look like new again!"

The elves looked pleased, and Sonny was bursting with pride. But they weren’t finished yet. "Okay, gang," said Bud. "Let’s go load the sleigh and hitch up the reindeer!"

The group pulled the sleigh to the Workshop. With its freshly waxed runners, the sleigh slid easily and quickly over the ground. Loading the bulging toy sack wouldn’t be quite so easy.

"Let’s count to three and then all lift together," suggested Bud.
"How about "heave, ho, ho, ho!" laughed Sonny.
The elves joined in the laughter, shouted "Heave, HO! HO! HO!" and swung the sack into the sleigh.
The sack flew into the sleigh and the elves and Sonny fell back, laughing and exhausted, into the snow.

Their last job for the night was to hitch the reindeer. When the elves and Sonny got to the Reindeer Barn, some of the animals were beginning to blink open their eyes. Soon all were standing, some of them shaking off the sleep and others stretching their legs.

Bud showed Sonny how to harness a reindeer. "Just wait until I tell my friends in Germany about this!" said Sonny. "This is so cool!"

The group quickly hitched the reindeer to the sleigh. Now fully awake and unable to stand still for a second, the reindeer began to prance in excitement, jingling their harnesses. They were ready!

Santa walked up, beaming with approval. "Thanks, my little elves, for another great job!" He leaned over and patted Sonny on the head. "And thank you, Sonny. You have been a terrific honorary elf!" Turning to the others, he continued. "Because of you, this is going to be a wonderful Christmas for many, many children!"

Santa Claus climbed into the sleigh and picked up the reins. "Goodnight, little elves," Santa said, "and good-bye, Sonny. We hope to see you again next year! Before you go back to Germany, go see Mrs. Claus. She has some candy for you!"

Then the reindeer took off, with Santa shouting MERRY CHRISTMAS!
What an extraordinary adventure for Sonny!

found at Northpole.com