The Storyteller

“Gramp, will you tell me one of your Christmas stories, please?” begged Joey as he cuddled alongside his grandfather. Gramp was happy to oblige. He cleared his throat, gave Joey a big squeeze and began.

'Once upon a time there was a friendly bird by the name of Woody. He came by and pecked on our window to get my attention. I was just a little boy then, and he told me to meet him outside right away because Rudolf was waiting. I jumped up, grabbed a sweater and ran out. Sure enough, there was the  jolly ol' deer with a shiny red nose. I jumped onto his back and off we went.

When I asked where we were going he said we're going to Cinderella's house to pick up a bag of shoes for Santa. We flew over houses and trees and swooped down on the house where Cinderella was waiting. We took the shoes and headed off to the railroad station. Rudolf said the Solar Express was faster. Before long, we saw that the river was overflowing its banks and so we took a detour to check it out.

When we got to the river, we saw a pudgy character standing on the bridge, watching the water roar by. We looked up the river and saw a canoe with a grumpy character yelling his head off, “Save me! Save me!” he screamed. Rudolf and I watched as this man named Clarence dove off the bridge, grabbed the canoe and dragged it toward the shore. I heard him shout above the roar of the water, “Scrooge, what are you doing in that rickety old canoe in this awful water?” Scrooge said, “Never mind. Just get me to shore.”

They made it all right but Scrooge took off without as much as a thank you. Guess he had some business to attend to. I turned around and Rudolf was gone. I was scared. Then I saw this snowman. It was raining but he wasn't even melting. He smiled and asked where I was going. I said we were going to deliver a package to Santa Claus but now I can't find it. Maybe it fell into the river.

Frosty told me to follow him. He knew a shortcut. He waved his hand over the river and it froze. He picked me up and off we went gliding smoothly up the river. At the third overpass we climbed the bank and flagged down the Solar Express. As he handed me the lost package of shoes destined for some needy children, the train blew its whistle and off we went. The conductor said he'd deliver the package to Santa so I could get off at the next stop and say hello to George Bailey in Bedford Falls. When I asked who George Bailey was, he acted surprised.

Mr. Bailey was startled to see me but said I better hurry home because Santa would soon be there  looking for the cookies we always put out for him. Mr. Bailey gave a short whistle and out came three chipmunks. He told them to get me home as quickly as possible. Those little guys flagged a taxi and sent me on my way. The driver knew just where I lived, and seemed to know all about me. Before I could say Merry Christmas, we were home just in time because I heard sleigh bells in the distance. Sure enough, here he came. The reindeer hovered over our house while Santa slipped down the chimney, ate our cookies and winked at me while peeking around the corner. And then he was gone . . .' “Grandpa, would you tell me another story?” “Of course,” I replied. “What would you like?” Joey said, “I'd like the one about the Baby Jesus. That's really my favorite.” Gramps gave me another hug. Smiling, he began. 'A long, long time ago in a little village called Bethlehem . . . '

Joey moved closer to his grandfather and said to himself, This gets better all the time. Gramp only smiled, thinking how much he loved these senior moments.