Mrs. Claus Takes Over

by R F Snowden

Chapter 1

Mrs. Claus stood by the bed, tapping her foot in annoyance. For several weeks, Santa had seemed tired and out of sorts. He'd spent a lot of time just sitting and "thinking", or so he claimed. His appetite had been poor. He had hardly left the house at all for the last two weeks. Now she realized that he'd been coming down with an illness. This morning, he hadn't even gotten out of bed, finally admitting that he didn't feel well.

And it was only three days until Christmas!

The elf doctor finished his examination, and looked grave.

"He is very sick," he stated.

Santa protested. "I just have an itsy bitsy... " and broke into a long wracking cough.

"You're in no shape to go out in the cold delivering presents," said Mrs. Claus.

Dr. Kol nodded in agreement and added, "Complete bed rest if you want to be well by Christmas Eve."

"But Christmas... Who...How..." Santa sputtered, shocked.

"I'll take care of Christmas, dear. You just rest and don't worry about a thing."

"But..."

Dr. Kol broke in, " This is a very serious illness, and you really must follow my instructions if you want to recover, and my instructions are: COMPLETE BED REST!"

"That settles it," said Mrs. Claus firmly. "I'm sure I can handle everything just fine."

That settled it, all right. When Mrs. Claus spoke in that tone of voice, she meant it.

"But who will deliver the presents?" asked Santa weakly.

"Hopefully, you'll be well by then. IF you follow the doctor's instructions!" Mrs. Claus replied.

Santa sighed but the truth was, he felt too worn out and sick to argue with her. He would have to hope for the best.

The doctor handed Mrs. Claus three bottles of medicine.

"Just follow the instructions on the bottles," he said. I'll be back in a few days to see if there's any improvement."

The doctor left the room. Mrs. Claus set the bottles on the table by the bed and called, "Twikkie!"

In a moment the house elf arrived and stood in the doorway waiting for orders. She looked anxiously at Santa lying in the bed.

"Now," Mrs. Claus told Twikkie. "See that he gets plenty of rest, nice hot soup, and that he doesn't get out of bed. And make sure that he takes his medicine."

Twikkie nodded and picked up the bottles and began reading the labels. Mrs. Claus smiled at Santa and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, " she told him reassuringly, "I'll take care of things."

As she left the room, Santa muttered, "That's what I'm afraid of." But he said it very quietly.



Chapter 2

When she entered the Toy Production Building, Mrs. Claus saw a large group of elves standing around, talking in low voices. Because of Santa's illness, they were behind schedule and everyone looked worried.

"Let's get started, " Mrs. Claus said. "What do you still have to do?"

Inka, the Gift-Wrap Supervisor, stepped forward and answered, "We have to make 8000 toys and wrap 40,000 presents. And there simply isn't time to do it. We need at least a month!"

All of the elves nodded in agreement.

"Making all those toys seems like a lot of hard work and very time consuming, " said Mrs. Claus. "This year, why don't we go to some toy stores and buy the toys. It would only take a few hours instead of weeks."

All of the elves stared at her. Then Tomo stepped forward, frowning.

"As the supervisor of the toy-making section, I must object to this buying idea of yours, " he said pompously.

Some of the other toy-making elves stepped forward.

"Tomo's right, " they said.

"Of course, " said Tomo. It was clear that he considered himself always to be right.

Mrs. Claus smiled at Tomo and said, "Well, we'll just try it my way this year."

There wasn't much Tomo could say about that, but the frown remained on his face.

Mrs. Claus asked, "Who would like to do the shopping?" She looked hopefully at Tomo. Since he was the supervisor, it seemed like it should be his job. But Tomo was scowling at the ground and refused to meet her gaze. With a small sigh, Mrs. Claus chose three of the gift elves at random, gave them her credit card, and sent them off to the mall.

Mrs. Claus said cheerfully, "Now then, about the gift wrapping. If all of the elves from the toy-making section join the wrapping section, we can easily get all the gifts wrapped in time." There were murmurs of dismay from both the wrapping elves and the toy-making elves, but nobody dared to object. Tomo snorted in disgust.

"Well, I guess I won't be needed here." He turned to walk away.

"Now wait a minute, Tomo!" she called merrily. "I said everyone from the toy-making section and I mean everyone, including you, Tomo."

Tomo could only stare at her, shocked into speechlessness. Mrs. Claus seemed not to notice that some of the other elves were snickering at Tomo's dismay. Finally Tomo found his voice.

"But I'm a supervising elf! I supervise! I don't do wrapping!"

Mrs. Claus just smiled at him and said, "Well, it won't hurt you to do it this once. Everyone has to pitch in to make Christmas happen on schedule. You understand that. I'm sure you can do a fine job."

Mrs. Claus sent the gift-wrapping and toy-making elves on their way to start wrapping presents. Tomo glared at Mrs.Claus, but went with the others.

She hoped Tomo wasn't going to be a problem - there were more than enough problems already!



Chapter 3

Now Mrs.Claus turned her attention to the list-making elves, who trembled under her gaze and looked apprehensive.

"How's The List coming along?" she asked.

The elves looked at each other and finally Mara stepped forward.

"Well, we're working on it, " she said, twisting her hands together.

"Show me."

Mara led the way to the List Office. The other list-making elves trailed behind them. The office was by the stables. It was a small building and it seemed very full when they had all crowded into it. Part of the reason for that was the fact that there were several large boxes containing paper for The List. There were tables and chairs for the elves to work at, but they were covered with pencils, pens, ink, and stacks of paper. In fact, paper was scattered everywhere, even on the floor. There was no room for the elves to work. Mrs. Claus threw up her hands in dismay. She picked up a few pieces of paper from the nearest table and looked at them. There were a few names jotted down with naughty or nice by them. There was a recipe for eggnog. One piece of paper had tic-tac-toe games all over it. It was clear that the elves had not been concentrating on the task at hand.

For a moment Mrs. Claus seemed unable to speak, as she looked around the cluttered room. Finally she turned to Mara with a stern look and said, "I am very disappointed in you. This is unacceptable."

Mara looked ashamed and unhappy. The other elves looked at the floor. Some made feeble attempts to straighten the clutter but gave up.

In a miserable voice, Mara said, "This is my first year as the List Supervisor. I really tried my hardest, but it's just too much for me."

Mara looked like she was going to burst into tears. Mrs. Claus felt sorry for her.

"I know what will make things easier for you, " she said. "We will make The List on a computer."

Mara stared at her. "But we always write The List by hand, " she cried. "It's traditional!"

"Yeah!" agreed the other elves.

"But look at this, " Mrs. Claus waved her hands at the room. "This doesn't look like The List is on anything!"

Mara didn't look convinced. Mrs. Claus looked at all of them.

"Have any of you used a computer before?" she asked.

All of the elves looked at each other uncertainly. Then they all looked at one little elf. She stepped forward timidly.

"What's your name?" asked Mrs. Claus.

"Kella, " she replied in a small voice.

"And you're familiar with computers?" inquired Mrs. Claus.

Kella nodded. "I've had a computer for a long time, " she said quietly.

Mrs. Claus smiled happily. "Very good! You can be in charge of computer operations. Your new job title is Computer Section Supervisor " she said, thinking quickly. Then she noticed Mara's disgruntled expression.

"You'll report directly to Mara, " she added. Mara smiled.

"You and you, " said Mrs. Claus, pointing at two of the elves. "Go to the Supply Officer and requisition some computers. Tell him we need them today! The rest of you, clean up this office and get those boxes out of here. We won't be needing them."

Mara and the other elves looked relieved.

Mrs. Claus seemed to know what to do. Maybe The List would be ready in time after all!

Only Kella still looked worried. Mrs. Claus patted her shoulder.

"You'll do fine," she said kindly.

Kella certainly hoped so! If The List wasn't ready in time... no one would get their toys!



Chapter 4

After seeing that everyone had gotten started on their tasks, Mrs. Claus left the List Office. Since the reindeer barn was next to the office, Mrs. Claus decided to see if they were having any problems. There seemed to be an unusual amount of problems this year. It was all Santa's fault. If only he had admitted earlier that he was sick, before things got out of hand. Oh well, she would set things right!

She walked through the barn door and paused to let her eyes adjust to the dim light. It was incredibly noisy. When she could see, she realized that an argument was going on, or maybe several arguments. She heard Dasher declare in a loud voice,

"But Dancer and I always lead, and we're going to lead this year."

Just then, she heard an elf shout angrily,

"My turn's not over yet!"

Mrs. Claus walked over to the table where the elves were playing Monopoly. One by one, the elves became aware of her presence. One by one, they quieted down. Prancer's voice was heard in the sudden silence, saying, "It's just not fair!" Realizing that his was the only voice to be heard, Prancer looked embarrassed and all of the reindeer turned their attention to Mrs. Claus and the group around the table.

"What seems to be the problem," she asked.

"Er, well, you see...."

"Barna doesn't play fair!" broke in another elf.

"I'm playing by the rules!" shouted Barna angrily.

"You don't understand the rules!"

"No, you -"

"QUIET!"

The elves all fell silent in shock. In the silence, a snicker could be heard from one of the reindeer. Mrs. Claus glared at them, and they all tried to look innocent. Then she turned her attention back to the elves.

"First of all, the rules should be agreed on by all the players in advance."

One of the elves opened his mouth to speak, but she held up her hand and continued.

"Second, and more important, you all have work to do, and you don't seem to be dong it." She looked sternly at Shay, the Sleigh Maintenance Supervisor and Jekki, the Reindeer Caretaker.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Well, we're on a break," said Jekki finally. The other elves nodded in agreement, clearly glad someone else was willing to speak up.

"I see," said Mrs. Claus. "And just how long is this break?" she asked, looking at the table meaningfully. The game had obviously been gong on for quite some time.

"Um, well..." started Jekki. He looked at his co-workers, obviously hoping someone else would bail him out of this one. But none of them would meet his eyes.

Mrs. Claus let the silence stretch out this time. Finally she said, "In any case, it's time to get back to work. I need a report on the state of the sleigh, and also on the reindeer's health. I'll be back to talk to you later."

With that she turned and walked out of the barn. As she left, she heard a voice whisper, "Who put HER in charge?" Mrs. Claus smiled to herself. She hadn't had a challenge like this in years. It felt good to be in charge!

On her way back to the house to check on Santa, she remembered that the reindeer had been arguing too. Oh well, maybe they would work it out without her. If not, she could deal with it later.



Chapter 5

Mrs. Claus found Santa asleep. That was good. She wasn't entirely sure he would approve of the way she was handling things. Twikkie was in the kitchen, surrounded by bowls, bags of flour and sugar, and colored candies. A large pot of soup was simmering on the stove. Mrs. Claus walked over and sniffed. It smelled delicious! She smiled at Twikkie, who said, "It's my mother's recipe. She always made it for me when I was sick."

"That's fine, dear, I'm sure Santa will enjoy it. Now, what's all this other stuff for?"

"Oh! I thought you would be wanting to get started on the baking for the Christmas Eve party. It's on the calendar," Twikkie said, pointing at the large wall calendar.

The calendar had a picture of a Christmas tree surrounded by gaily wrapped presents. Written under today's date in large red letters it said "START BAKING".

"Oh dear," Mrs. Claus was upset. There was no way she could bake all those cakes and muffins, not to mention the dozens of cookies she usually made each year.

"I don't think I'll have time for it this year," she admitted sadly. "It's more important to get things ready for the big ride."

"But it won't seem like Christmas without your cookies," cried Twikkie in dismay.

"Well," sighed Mrs. Claus. "Perhaps I'll have time later. At any rate, there isn't time now, so you'll have to put everything away. Did Santa take his medicine?"

"Yes, but he didn't like it, " said the elf unhappily.

"He doesn't have to like it, just so he takes it. We have to get him well by Christmas Eve!"

"Yes!” agreed Twikkie. "Think of how awful it would be if the children don't get their gifts!"

Mrs. Claus felt worried. It would be awful! Would she be able to get everything ready in time? Would Santa be well in time?



Chapter 6

After a quick bowl of Twikkie's delicious soup, Mrs. Claus left the house and headed back to the Gift Wrap Department. Inside, she found Tomo and Inka glaring at each other.

"What seems to be the problem here?" she asked wearily. Couldn't anything run smoothly?

Both of the elves began talking at once. Mrs. Claus held her hands up in the air.

"One at a time," she cried. "Inka, you first."

"I'm in charge of Gift Wrap," said Inka, glaring at Tomo.

"Well, half of those elves are under my supervision," Tomo said angrily.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Claus murmured, looking around the big room. It was crowded with long tables, stacked high with toys and wrapping paper and bows. A lot of elves appeared to be just standing around. They were all toy making elves. Why was Tomo being so difficult? He had been with Santa for years. She remembered him as a young elf. He had started in the gift wrap department, hadn't he? And then, many years ago, he had moved to the toy department, where he had eventually been promoted to supervisor. Was it fair to demote him now? Still, every pair of hands was needed. And they all needed to cooperate if they were going to get everything ready in time! She made up her mind.

"We all need to pull together and get the job done," she said firmly. Inka is the supervisor, and everyone else wraps. Everyone! Including you, Tomo!"

Tomo stared at her in amazement. "But I'm a supervisor!"

"You used to be a gift wrapper," Mrs. Claus pointed out.

"But that was years and years ago!"

"What's wrong? Too difficult for you now?" asked Inka. "Too old?"

Some of the nearby elves snickered. Tomo's face turned red.

"Of course not!” he cried. "I'm a darned good wrapper! I just don't like all these changes. Buying toys! And doing the list on a computer! It's not like the olden days! It's not traditional!"



"Times change," said Mrs. Claus. There are many more children than there were in the olden days. We need to update our methods." Tomo didn't look convinced. Mrs. Claus pointed at the nearest gift-wrap table.

"We'll try it my way this year." she said. "Now, show us how well you wrap!"



Tomo reluctantly sat down. He picked up a gift from the stack in the center of the table, and a roll of green and red striped paper. He was muttering under his breath, but Mrs. Claus chose to ignore that. Inka began moving around the room, assigning tasks to the elves, some to bring in the unwrapped gifts, some to take out the finished ones. As Mrs. Claus turned to leave, she noticed that Tomo had finished his first gift, and started on a second. Hoping things would now run smoothly, she decided to check on how The List was coming along.

Chapter 7

As Mrs. Claus walked toward the List Office, an excited elf clutching a sheaf of papers ran up to her.

"Mrs. Claus! Mrs. Claus!" The elf looked excited. Mrs. Claus recognized her as one of the toy elves that she had sent shopping. What had gone wrong now?

"What's your name, dear?" asked Mrs. Claus. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I'm Dara." She beamed at Mrs. Claus. "There's no problem. We got TONS of toys! All kinds! They're being shipped to us tomorrow!"

"How did you get them so quickly?" asked Mrs. Claus.

"We ordered them on the internet. My friend Kella suggested it. Here's a printout of everything we ordered." The little elf beamed happily at Mrs. Claus's pleased look.

"That's wonderful!" Mrs. Claus quickly scanned the papers. There were dolls, train sets, building blocks, wagons, bicycles... every kind of toy that children wanted for Christmas! Suddenly she felt like everything would work out after all. They could do it!

"When they arrive, take them directly to the Gift Wrap Department. Inka will show you were to put them. You've done a great job! Thank you, Dara." She smiled at Dara and handed her back the papers. As the elf ran off toward the gift wrap building, Mrs. Claus continued on toward the list office, thinking of how pleased the children would be on Christmas morning. Her happy thoughts were interrupted however, as she passed the reindeer barn. She could hear a lot of yelling and banging. Oh, dear. She would have to investigate.



Chapter 8

When Mrs. Claus entered the barn, she saw a group of reindeer standing in the aisle. She recognized Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen.

"We deserve a turn too!"

cried Prancer.

"NO! We always lead!" Dancer was angry. She kicked the stall door, apparently not for the first time. The door was about to fall apart! "Stop this right now!" The reindeer hadn't noticed Mrs. Claus come in. Now they all turned and stared at her in surprise. Mrs. Claus was getting angry herself. "This is no way for Santa's reindeer to behave."

Dancer looked embarrassed. "It's just that, well, it's traditional! We always lead!"

Dasher nodded in agreement. The other two reindeer continued to glare angrily at them.

Tradition! Was everybody against change? Tradition was good, but not if it prevented the children from getting their gifts Christmas morning!

"Let me hear your side of it," she said to Prancer and Vixen.

"Well," said Prancer. "We think it would be nice to take turns leading. A different pair each year, you see? That way everyone gets a turn."

Mrs. Claus nodded. "That seems fair to me," she said. She looked at Dasher and Dancer. "It's fun to lead, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is!" cried Dasher. "No one is in front of you and you can see all the pretty lights and decorations!"

"Well, don't you think the other reindeer would like to have that fun too?"

"I suppose so," admitted Dasher.

"I think that each pair should take turns. That way, everyone gets to lead every four years. Would that be so bad?" She looked at each of the reindeer.

"I suppose not, but it's not traditional, " grumbled Dancer.

"We'll make it a new tradition," said Mrs. Claus brightly.



"A new tradition?" Prancer looked puzzled. "Yes! How do you think traditions get started? There's a first time for any tradition."

The reindeer looked thoughtful. They had never considered this idea before.

"I guess it's okay then, said Dasher. "Tell you what, we'll even give you some tips, like how to choose a landing place on roofs and so on."

"Oh, that would be great!” said Prancer. "Thank you!"

They put their heads together and began discussing it as Mrs. Claus turned away. Since she was here, she might as well check on the sleigh.



Chapter 9

She found Shay working on the sleigh, while Jekki sat watching him and eating an apple. Tools and parts lay scattered about. The other elves were polishing the harness. She beckoned to Jekki, who tossed his apple core in the trash and walked over to her. He gave her a snappy salute, and a grin.

"The reindeer are all in good health," he reported.

"Fine, but there have been some changes," said Mrs. Claus, smiling at him. He smiled back. Then he realized what she had said.

"Changes?" he asked in confusion.

"Yes, everything is fine now, but you should go talk to them," said Mrs. Claus calmly.

Jekki turned and ran into the barn, and she turned to Shay.

"How's the sleigh coming along?" she asked, looking at the mess with concern.

"Oh, fine," answered Shay. I'm just waiting for a couple of parts and then I can put it back together."

"Will it be done in time?" What if it wasn't? What would she do then?

But Shay seemed confident. "Oh, yes. No problem. It's nothing major. We'll be ready to go in plenty of time. You can count on me!"

Mrs. Claus looked doubtfully at the partially dismantled sleigh. Well, she would have to just hope for the best.

"Let me know as soon as it's done, please," she said.

"How's Santa?" asked Shay. "Will he be able to make the trip?"

"If he follows the doctor's orders, he'll be fine," replied Mrs. Claus.

"That's good," Shay smiled. "I'd hate for the kiddies to be disappointed!"

So would I, thought Mrs. Claus as she waved goodbye and left. So would I.



Chapter 10

When Mrs. Claus reached the List Office, she found it looking very different than it had that morning. On both sides of the room were rows of elves seated in front of computers, typing rapidly on the keyboards. Kella sat at a table in the middle of the room, working on what Mrs. Claus recognized as a portable computer. Mara was sitting on a tall chair in the corner of the room, watching the others. Mrs. Claus walked over to her.

"It looks like things are going well here," suggested Mrs. Claus hopefully.

Mara looked bored. "I suppose," she said, and then yawned.

"What is it that you're doing?" asked Mrs. Claus.

"Why, we're working on The List!" answered Mara in surprise.

"No, I mean you, yourself. What are you doing?"

"I'm supervising! I'm watching over everything."

"Shouldn't you be helping?" asked Mrs. Claus. "We need everybody to pitch in."

"Oh, I don't know anything about this stuff." Mara waved a hand vaguely at the computers. "I've never used a computer. I wish I'd never left the Gift Wrap Department."

Mrs. Claus thought about that for a moment.

"They're way behind in the gift wrapping. Would you like to go back there, and help?" she asked the unhappy elf.

"Oh, yes, that would be fine!" exclaimed Mara.

Mrs. Claus shooed her off, and then walked over to Kella.

"How is The List coming along?" she asked the pretty little elf. "Will it be done in time?"

"Definitely! And I had an idea..." Kella's voice trailed off and she looked at Mrs. Claus uncertainly.

"Please tell it to me, Kella," said Mrs. Claus reassuringly. "Your last idea was great!"

Kella blushed with pleasure. "Well, we're entering all the data into this laptop. All of the information will be at Santa's fingertips. See?"

She touched the screen, and a map appeared. She touched it again and it zoomed in. Mrs. Claus saw that the enlarged piece of map had several cities and towns on it. Kella touched one and a list of names appeared. Next to each name were tiny images of stockings. Some names had four or five, while others had only one or two.

"Santa will know how good each child has been by the number of stockings after their name," explained the elf.

"It's an excellent idea," said Mrs. Claus admiringly, "But do you think Santa will be able to use this? He's not used to computers, and he's always used a paper list."

"Oh, it's very simple and easy to use," exclaimed Kella. "And if he gets confused, all he has to do is bring up the help file." She pointed at a box in the corner. "HELP" it said, in large red letters.

"Well, I hope it will be all right," said Mrs. Claus, "But just in case, maybe you should have a printed list ready also."

"No problem," said Kella, smiling. "We're printing it as backup anyway."

Mrs. Claus left the list office feeling much better. At least some problems had been solved. Hopefully, everything would run smoothly now.



Chapter 11

Back at home, Mrs. Claus collapsed into her chair by the fire. It had been a long day. Perhaps she could rest, just for a bit...

At that moment, she heard loud voices. One was Santa's. The other was Twikkie's. Mrs. Claus sighed, and got up.

When she entered the bedroom, she saw Twikki holding the bottle of green medicine and a spoon. She looked as if she was about to start crying. Santa, on the other hand, just looked angry.

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Mrs. Claus as cheerfully as she could. Couldn't anyone cooperate?

"That medicine tastes awful, " Santa folded his arms and glared at the house elf.

"Well, that's not Twikki's fault. And you want to get better, don't you?" asked Mrs. Claus in a reasonable tone of voice.

"Yes, of course I want to get better!" Now Santa was glaring at her. "But why can't I have some medicine that tastes good?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but this is the medicine the doctor gave you. And remember, if you want to deliver those gifts, you have to do what he says." "I suppose, " grumbled Santa.

"So, if you don't mind, please just take the medicine, and then go to sleep. I need to talk to Twikki in the kitchen." Mrs. Claus turned and left the room. When Twikki joined her in the kitchen a few minutes later, Mrs. Claus was sitting at the big worktable, her head down on her arms. Twikki rushed over to her in alarm.

"Oh, Mrs. Claus! Are you all right?"

Mrs. Claus raised her head wearily. "Yes, Twikki, I'm fine. Just a little tired." That, she thought, was a huge understatement. She had never felt so tired! "I thought perhaps I could make a start on the baking, but I'm just too sleepy." She yawned hugely, and then sighed. "I'll be sleeping in the guest room, so as not to disturb Santa. You should get some sleep too. I'm sure you had a rough day," she said, smiling at the little elf.

"A little," admitted Twikki. "Why does Santa get so grumpy when he's sick?"

"He's just not used to it," said Mrs. Claus. "I can't remember the last time he was sick. And of course he's worried about getting the job done."

"Yes, I can understand that." Twikki looked anxious. "Oh, I hope he'll be well in time!"

"So do I," said Mrs. Claus, patting the elf's shoulder as she left the room. "So do I!"



Chapter 12

When Mrs. Claus woke up the next morning, bright sunlight was streaming through the window. "Oh, no, I overslept!" She had meant to get up at dawn, and from the look of the sun, it was midmorning now. She hurriedly dressed.

"Twikki!" she called as she raced down the hallway.

The house elf appeared just as Mrs. Claus reached the front door, nearly bumping into her.

"Oh! Sorry!" gasped the little elf.

"That's okay, dear," said Mrs. Claus. "I'm running a bit late, and I just wanted to ask how Santa is this morning."

"He's not running a fever anymore. He was asking for you, but I didn't want to wake you, 'cause I know how tired you were."

"I can rest after Christmas. Right now, I need to go check on how things are going. If I talk to Santa, I'll be even later. Just tell him everything is fine, and I'll check on him after lunch." She noticed that Twikki, usually very neat in appearance, had a smudge of flour on her nose, and her hair looked unbrushed. "Don't let Santa get out of bed. And take a break. You look tired already and it's only morning!"

"I will," promised the elf. And she would - a five minute break, then back to work. She was going to surprise Mrs. Claus!



Chapter 13

At first glance, it looked like no one was working in the Gift Wrap Department. The elves were all just standing around. Then she heard loud voices, one of which was definitely Tomo. What was he up to now? Dismayed, she wended her way through the crowd, murmuring, "Excuse me" as she squeezed past the elves.

When she reached the center of the room, she found Tomo standing nose to nose with another elf. Both elves were red in the face, and shouting at each other at the top of their lungs. Inka was there too, looking worried and trying to calm the angry elves, but they didn't seem to notice her.

"Here now, what seems to be the difficulty?" asked Mrs. Claus. But Tomo and the other elf were shouting so loudly, that her voice couldn't be heard. Mrs. Claus took a deep breath, and then shouted as loud as she could.

"QUIET!"

There was instant silence. All of the elves looked at her in surprise. None of them could remember Mrs. Claus ever shouting before.

Tomo got over his shock first. "Listen, I don't have to take this!" he said, glaring at the other elf.

"Then don't! We don't need you." The other elf, whose name was Garro, shook his fist at Tomo.

"Inka, why don't you tell me what's going on," said Mrs. Claus, frowning at them.

"Well, Garro is our fastest wrapper, and..." Inka started to explain.

Garro interrupted her. "I as just trying to give the new guy a few pointers."

Tomo turned red again. "Listen, I was wrapping before you were even born," he said loudly. "I can outwrap you any day of the week."

Garro drew a deep breath. Mrs. Claus could see that they were both about to begin yelling again.

"Now, let's all just calm down for a moment." she said, her mind racing. "There must be a way to resolve this and get everyone back to work."

For the first time the two elves noticed that everyone was standing around them, watching their argument. They both looked embarrassed.

One of the younger elves standing at the edge of the crowd suddenly spoke up. "Why don't we have a contest to see which is the best wrapper?"

"Yeah!"

"Great idea!"

"I bet Garro wins!"

"No, I think it'll be Tomo!"

The crowd was enthusiastic. Tomo and Garro looked at each other.

"Ridiculous!" said Tomo. "Just wasting time."

"Oh?" Garro sneered. "I think you just don't want to do it because you know you'll lose!"

Tomo looked around at the grinning, laughing elves. "Fine," he said. "But you'll be sorry!"

"Really, this is no way for Santa's elves to behave...," Mrs. Claus started. But no one paid attention as the elves quickly cleared off a table, shouting instructions to each other. Within a few moments, they had set up the wrapping contest. Both elves sat at the table, each with three gifts in front of them, each with their gift-wrap supplies neatly laid out at their side.

Inka stood by the table holding a toy horn. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Yes."

Inka blew the horn. Both elves grabbed the first present and began cutting paper for it. The watching crowd cheered them on. Bits of paper, followed by bits of ribbon, flew everywhere. It was bedlam. Mrs. Claus could only watch, and hope this wouldn't take long.

"Done!" Garro shouted as he put down the third wrapped gift with a flourish. The crowd cheered.

"Done!" Tomo was only a few seconds behind him. More cheers filled the room.

The elves all fell silent as Inka raised both hands high in the air.

"Well," she began.

"Garro won!" The elves started to clap, but stopped when Inka blew the horn again.

"As I started to say," Inka said, looking around to make sure she had everyone's attention. "This was a contest to see who is the best - not the fastest."

"It's the same thing," Garro frowned.

"Not necessarily." Inka was smiling at both elves. "What I see, is that Garro was faster, but Tomo's gifts are prettier."

They all looked at the gifts. There was nothing wrong with Garro's wrapping. The gifts were neatly wrapped, each with a shiny bow on top. Then they looked at the gifts Tomo had wrapped. They were neatly wrapped too, but each one had something extra. One had a small jingle bell on the bow. One had glitter sprayed on the wrapping paper. The third had a holly decoration in place of a bow.

"Now, I would say that these are about equal." Inka spoke in a clear loud voice, so that everyone could hear. "Garro is fastest, but Tomo is more artisitic."

The onlooking elves were nodding and agreeing with Inka.

"She's right."

"Good point."

"Therefore," continued Inka, "I declare this contest a tie! And, it's time to get back to work!" She put her hands on her hips and looked meaningfully at the crowd of elves.

As everyone went back to their work stations, chattering in excitement, she stepped over to Mrs. Claus, who was now admiring Tomo's decorations.

"You handled that very well!" Mrs. Claus beamed at Inka.

"Thank you." Inka smiled, then turned to Tomo and Garro. "I hope the two of you can put this behind you and be friends now."

Tomo smiled. "Sure! No problem!" He waved his hand airily, feeling good about having his skill admired.

Garro was still looking at the glittery package. "Fast is important," he said. "but I guess it doesn't hurt to have some of the gifts look special."

"Oh, I learned how to do that when I was a gift wrapper," said Tomo modestly. "We used to always do it, but I guess now there's too many gifts for all of them to be fancy. It's not like the old days."

"I'd like to learn how to make my gifts look so pretty." Garro looked at Tomo.

Tomo hesitated a second, then held out his hand. "I'll be glad to show you a few tricks."

The two shook hands then sat back down. As Inka and Mrs. Claus moved toward the door, they heard Tomo begin talking about the different decorations he liked to use.

"Inka, you handled that very well," she complimented the supervisor.

"Thank you," replied the elf. "It's important that everyone feels good about their work!"



Chapter 14

The sun was high in the sky as Mrs. Claus left the Gift Wrap Department. It was lunchtime, and she had missed breakfast. She wondered if she could take the time to go back to the house and eat, then decided that it was more important to check on the sleigh.

The sleigh and reindeer elves were sitting at their table having lunch when she came in. They all leaped to their feet when they saw her.

"That's okay," she smiled at them. "I can wait while you finish eating." She sat in a chair next to Jekki, who politely offered her a sandwich from the plate in the center of the table.

"Thank you, Jekki." Mrs. Claus smiled at him. Everyone ate in silence for a few minutes.

"Ahem," Shay cleared his throat. Mrs. Claus looked at him. He smiled weakly at her.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"Well, no, not really, but..." his voice trailed off, and he began fidgeting with the remains of his sandwich.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we can work it out." Mrs. Claus was in a good mood now that she had eaten.

The other elves got up and left, clearing off the table. "We'll get back to work," said Jekki. He looked sympathetically at Shay, then went out the back door.

"Now that we're alone, perhaps you'd like to tell me what's going on?" Mrs. Claus was beginning to feel a little alarmed.

"Well, now, you see, we cleaned the sleigh and harness yesterday." He paused and looked at Mrs. Claus hopefully. She nodded in encouragement.

"Well, we found, that is, it just seemed like a good idea..." Shay looked down at the table and wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Yes?" Mrs. Claus was definitely alarmed now. Was there something wrong with the sleigh?

"The bells..." Shay's voice trailed off again, and he twisted his hands together anxiously.

"Just tell me," said Mrs. Claus firmly.

Shay sighed and then looked at her beseechingly. "The bells are all badly tarnished. Some are dented, and a lot of them have lost their jingle."

That didn't seem too bad. Mrs. Claus smiled at him. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much about it, Shay," she said kindly.

Shay looked unhappy. "But they're supposed to jingle. Now they just jangle."

"I think the important thing is that the sleigh is all right." She looked at him questioningly, and he nodded.

"Oh, it runs fine. It just doesn't sound right." He took a deep breath. "So we took all the old bells off, and now we have to sew on new ones. Only, they haven't arrived yet. They were supposed to be here this morning. I don't know when they'll get here."

Mrs. Claus still didn't see a big problem here. "Can't the sleigh fly just as well without the bells?"

"No."

She was startled. "Why ever not?"

"The reindeer won't fly it without bells. They can't fly it without the bells. The bells are part of the magic." Shay looked very unhappy.



Chapter 15

Mrs. Claus followed Shay out the backdoor. The sleigh was parked outside, and it gleamed and sparkled in the sun. It looked beautiful. The four sleigh elves were busy polishing the harness. Sure enough, no bells were on it. The old bells were in a pile, and she had to admit, they looked pretty bad. They didn't shine at all.

"How long will it take to sew on the new ones?" she asked.

"There are 250 bells," replied Shay. "We can each sew about one an hour.

Mrs. Claus did a rapid calculation. "Fifty hours!"

Shay nodded. All of the elves looked glum.

"Christmas Eve is tomorrow! They need to be done by midnight tomorrow!" Mrs. Claus was dismayed.

"They were supposed to be here this morning," said Shay unhappily. "But the delivery company had a problem with their truck. Now they say maybe tomorrow."

Mrs. Claus sighed. There didn't seem to be anything she could do about this one. Her eyes fell again on the heap of old, rusted, dented bells. She pointed at them.

"Can't you just clean those up?" she asked hopefully.

All five elves shook their heads. One of them spoke up. "That would take several days." The others nodded in agreement.

"Well." Mrs. Claus drew a deep breath. "I suppose we just have to hope that the bells get here in time. Maybe the reindeer elves can help sew them on." She looked at Jekki, who was watching from the doorway.

"No, sorry. We have to get the reindeer ready. They have to be groomed. Their hooves have to be polished. And their antlers. Plus, we have to go over the route with the lead reindeer. We just don't have time to help with the bells. I'm really sorry."

Mrs. Claus thought for a moment. Then her face brightened. "Couldn't we go get the bells?" she asked.

Shay thought about it. "Well, it's a long trip, but I suppose we could. I don't know if we can get back in time though."

"It's worth a try!" Mrs. Claus said encouragingly.

Shay nodded. "I'll go myself. If I can get back by tonight, we can do it. We'll have to sew all night though," he warned the other elves. "So get some rest!"



Chapter 16 After seeing Shay start off on his journey, Mrs. Claus stopped in to check on The List. Fortunately, everything was running smoothly there. Kella seemed to have a knack for organizing, and she promised that The List would be done by the next night. Mrs. Claus still wasn't sure Santa would like using a laptop, but it did seem the most efficient way to handle The List. Paper had worked fine in the old days, but The List was so much longer now! Really, they had stuck to the old ways far too long. It was definitely time for new traditions!

As she walked back towards the Gift Wrap Department, Mrs. Claus thought about it. Traditions were good in many ways. Everyone knew what to do and what to expect. It made things easy and comfortable. But sometimes the old ways didn't work as well as they used to. Then it was time for change. That was progress. She wondered why some elves, like Kella, seemed to like new ideas, and others, like Tomo, were set in their ways, and determined not to change.

She could only hope Santa would go along with the changes!



Chapter 17

Mrs. Claus spent the rest of the day helping to wrap gifts. She had supper with the elves in the Toy Production Building, where they were sorting the new toys that had been delivered that morning. Everyone seemed cheerful. Tomo sat at a table with Garro, discussing ways to decorate packages. She was glad to see that they were getting along. In fact, Tomo looked happier than she had seen him in years. She waved at him and he came over to the table where she sat with Inka.

"I just want to apologize," he said, smiling at them. "I didn't mean to cause a problem. I was just too used to doing things the same old way. I really didn't like being Supervisor of Toy-Making."

Inka laughed. "That's funny," she said. "I think it would be great fun to be Supervisor of Toy-Making!"

Mrs. Claus laughed too. "Maybe you two should trade jobs," she suggested.

Tomo looked delighted, or at least as delighted as he ever looked. "Say, can we? That would be great!"

Mrs. Claus looked at Inka, who nodded eagerly.

"Well, I don't see why not. But I think you should wait until after this Christmas is over. After all, tomorrow is Christmas Eve! In January, we start the new year, and that will be a better time to make the switch."

Both elves agreed. They shook hands and beamed with happiness at each other. Mrs. Claus was glad that some things were working out well. Now, the only problem was the sleigh bells.

After the meal, all of the toy making and gift-wrap elves worked late into the night. Finally, Inka sent most of the elves home. She and Tomo checked over what was left to be done the next day, then they came over to Mrs. Claus.

Inka looked pleased. "Everyone worked really hard today! We'll have it all done by dinner tomorrow!"

Tomo agreed. "They've done a great job!"

Mrs. Claus beamed at them. "Excellent! And thank you both! I'm glad you were able to work things out."

"No problem," said Tomo gruffly. "After all, the important thing is that the children get their gifts!"

Just then, an elf ran in and stopped in front of Mrs. Claus. She stood there a minute, catching her breath. Mrs. Claus recognized Dina, one of the sleigh elves.

"What's wrong, Dina?" Mrs. Claus was alarmed. Had something else gone wrong?

"Nothing!" gasped the elf. "I just came to tell you that Shay just got back with the new bells. He said to let you know that we're going to stay up all night, sewing them on."

"Oh dear," Mrs. Claus looked at the clock. Would the bells be done in time? "I'll come and help," she said, patting the small elf on the back.

As Mrs. Claus and Dina walked over to the barn, they ran into Kella and the list making elves, leaving the List Office. They were all laughing, and joking as they came along the path. When they saw Mrs. Claus, they stopped to talk to her.

"The List is all done!" announced Kella proudly.

"That's wonderful! You've done a great job, Kella!"

The small elf blushed, but looked pleased. Then Mrs. Claus had an idea.

"Do any of you know how to sew?"

It turned out that three of the list elves, including Kella, knew how to sew.

"Tomorrow, would you come and help sew bells onto the harness? It's really important, and we need your help."

Kella and the other two elves promised to be at the barn, bright and early the next morning. Mrs. Claus and Dina continued on to the barn, where they found all the sleigh elves busily removing bells from their packaging. Once the bells were all out, they began sewing them on the harness. It was hard, slow work. Mrs. Claus left very late that night, so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open.

As she put her hand on the doorknob of the house, she heard the large clock inside strike midnight. It was now Christmas Eve. She turned to look back at the barn, where lights glowed brightly. The other buildings were all dark. She knew the sleigh elves would be up all night working. Would they be able to finish in time?



Chapter 18

Mrs. Claus looked in Santa's room. He seemed to be sleeping soundly. Twikkie had left a note for her, saying that Santa seemed much better, and the doctor was coming again tomorrow afternoon. She left the room and walked quietly down the hall to the guest room. She noticed a light coming from under the kitchen door. Twikkie must have left it on. She thought to herself that she should go in and turn it off, but she was too sleepy. She fell into the guest bed, and was asleep instantly.

The next morning, Mrs. Claus was dreaming. She dreamed that she was sewing bells on harness, an endless mountain of bells, and miles and miles of harness. Then Twikkie walked into the barn carrying a tray with cups and a steaming pot on it. The sweet smell of hot cocoa filled the air. In her sleep, Mrs. Claus smiled.

"Mrs. Claus! Mrs. Claus!"

She opened her eyes, and there was Twikki, standing over the bed, holding a cup of cocoa.

"Oh, Twikki, thank you! Mrs. Claus gratefully took the cup and sipped at it. "What time is it?"

"It's 11 o'clock," replied the house elf. "Tomo, Inka, and Jekki are here to see you. They're waiting on the porch."

After drinking her cocoa, Mrs. Claus went out to see what the supervisors wanted.

Inka spoke first. "The toys are all wrapped," she said happily.

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Claus was pleased. This was good news.

"We heard about the bells," said Tomo. "So I sent some of the toy elves over to the barn to help." This was even better news. She looked at Jekki.

"The reindeer had a good night's sleep," he reported. "Now we're giving them each a final brushing, and polishing their horns. They'll be ready to go at sundown."

Sundown was when they harnessed the reindeer to the sleigh. Mrs. Claus hoped the bells would be done in time. She smiled at the three elves.

"You've all done such a terrific job!" She smiled at them.

"Thank you!" Tomo smiled back at her. "We had a rough time this year, but everything's running smoothly now!"

"Yes, all's well that ends well," chimed in Jekki. "Now we can relax and look forward to the party!"

"Yes!" Inka was gleeful. "I hope you made plenty of the cinnamon raisin cookies. They're my favorite!"

"Oh, my," Mrs. Claus felt terrible. The Christmas Eve party was a major tradition! And one that nobody would want changed.

"I'm sorry," she said gently. "I'm afraid it won't be much of a party this year. You see, I haven't had time to do any baking." She looked at them sadly.

Their faces fell in disappointment. Then Tomo forced a smile on his face. "That's okay. We understand," he said bravely. The other two nodded, trying to smile.

"We can still have a party," said Mrs. Claus. "Maybe there's some extra candy we can use." She felt badly for the elves, who had worked so hard the last three days. They deserved a party!

"Don't worry, Mrs. Claus, we'll have fun even without cookies, won't we?" Jekki said bravely.

"Yes, of course we will." Inka was trying to hide her disappointment. "Let's go. We can decorate the room this afternoon." The party was always held in the big gift-wrap room, where the sleigh was loaded. "We'll make it extra pretty to make up for no cookies," she continued. "I'm sure everyone will understand." They all smiled at Mrs. Claus, then left.

Mrs. Claus stood on the porch for a moment, thinking. Perhaps they could have the party the day after Christmas. If she spent all day Christmas baking...

Her thoughts were interrupted by Twikki, who touched her gently on the elbow.

"Mrs. Claus?" she asked softly. "You look sad. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, thank you," Mrs. Claus smiled at the house elf. "You have enough problems dealing with Santa. That reminds me, when is the doctor coming?"

"Right after lunch," replied Twikki.

"All right. I think I'll go see if they need more help with the bells. I'll eat lunch in the barn, and then come back here to meet the doctor."

The little elf watched her trudge through the snow towards the barn. Maybe she should have told Mrs. Claus what she'd been up to. It might have cheered her up. But maybe it was better for it to be a surprise. Twikki could hardly wait for the party!



Chapter 19

Dr. Kol showed up right after lunch. When Mrs. Claus stepped into Santa's bedroom. The elf doctor was just putting away his thermometer.

"What's the verdict?" demanded Santa "Am I well enough to make the trip tonight?"

The doctor frowned at him. "Stick out your tongue and say ah."

"Aaahhh," Santa rolled his eyes as Dr. Kol looked carefully in his throat. Then he listened to Santa's breathing through his stethoscope. At last, he straightened and turned to Mrs. Claus and Twikki.

"You've done a good job," he said to them. "He's fine now!"

"It was Twikki," said Mrs. Claus. "I've hardly had time to look in on him."

Dr. Kol smiled at Twikki. "You're a good nurse!" he told her. Then he turned to Santa.

"Have a good trip!” he said cheerily. "And from now on, take better care of yourself!" He winked at Mrs. Claus, and left.

Santa was jubilant. "I feel great!” he announced. Then he frowned. "I suppose there's a lot to be done. I should go and check on the toys."

"No, you should relax," said Mrs. Claus firmly. "Everything's under control. You have a long ride tonight, and what you need now is a good lunch, and then a nap. You don't want to get sick again now!"

Santa looked unconvinced, but he had to admit, lunch sounded good!

"I'll just run and check on everything for you," continued Mrs. Claus. "Twikki will bring you a nice hot lunch. And then you can rest until it's time to get dressed."

Santa knew she was right. He could only hope that everything had run smoothly while he was ill.

"You've got my suit ready?" he asked meekly.

"Of course," answered Mrs. Claus, realizing that she hadn't given any thought to the suit. She looked at Twikki, who said, "I'll bring your lunch right away, Santa. What would you like?"

Mrs. Claus left the room as Santa began listing all the foods he liked best. Poor Twikki. But then, she knew what Santa liked, and probably already had it prepared. She was so efficient! What would they do without Twikki?

As Mrs. Claus hurried down the hall to the closet where the suit was stored, she thought about how hard everyone worked to make Christmas happy for the children, and for each other. That was Christmas Spirit! And that was the really important thing part of the holiday.



Chapter 20

At sunset, all the elves gathered in the Gift Wrap Department. The gleaming sleigh sat in the middle of the huge room. The tables had been moved next to the walls, leaving a long open aisle down the center of the room, where Santa would take off. As the reindeer were harnessed, the sparkling new bells jingled. Kella waited by the sleigh, holding the laptop. Elves lined both sides of the aisle; all with happy, expectant looks on their faces. Everywhere there was tinsel and holly. The room looked beautiful and festive. As soon as Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived, the party would begin!

Santa and Mrs. Claus walked to the building and stood for a moment outside the door. She had managed to get the suit cleaned and pressed while Santa ate lunch. She stood back and looked at him for a moment.

"You look wonderful, dear," she smiled. "No one would ever know you've been sick."

"I just hope everything is ready to go," he replied. Then he smiled at her. "I know it's been hard on you, having to run things. I hope you didn't have any trouble."

Mrs. Claus thought about that. She thought about Tomo. And the sleigh bells, and The List, and the toys...

"No," she said sweetly. "No trouble at all."

"That's good! And now you can relax and enjoy the party. I hope I have time for a slice of pie before I leave!"

"Oh, dear." Mrs. Claus hated to break it to him. "I didn't have time to bake this year!"

Santa looked disappointed. Then he patted her shoulder. "Oh, well," he said. "It's okay. I understand." Then he opened the door. As they stepped through, the gathered elves began cheering and tossing tinsel confetti in the air.

"Ho, ho, ho!" he boomed. "Merry Christmas!"

He walked forward, and then caught sight of the tables behind the elves. He turned to Mrs. Claus in surprise.

"I thought you said you didn't bake," he laughed.

"But I didn't!" exclaimed Mrs. Claus, staring in amazement at the tables. They were heaped with pies, cakes, muffins, and dozens of cookies!

"It was me," said a small voice behind her. Mrs. Claus turned quickly, and there stood Twikki.

"I knew you didn't have time," explained the small house elf. "So I did it!" She looked proudly at the loaded tables. "I followed your recipes very carefully." She looked anxiously at Mrs. Claus. "Is it okay?"

Mrs. Claus laughed. Then she hugged Twikki. "Yes, it's okay! Better than okay. It's wonderful!" She noticed that Santa had gone over to the sleigh, and now stood listening to Kella and looking at the laptop with a surprised expression. She saw him frown, then nod several times. Kella pointed to something on the screen, and he nodded again. He took the laptop and climbed into the sleigh..

Jekki walked up and spoke to Santa. Mrs. Claus couldn't hear them, but she saw Jekki pointing toward the lead reindeer. Santa looked surprised.

Mrs. Claus walked over to stand next to the sleigh in time to hear Santa say, "Well, there's no time to change it. I hope it will be okay." He looked at Tomo. "Good job, Tomo, getting all the gifts made in time!"

Tomo explained about buying toys at the mall. Santa looked at Mrs. Claus. "I know you did the best you could, but you shouldn't have let them make all these changes. It's just not traditional!"

Before she could respond, Santa stood and raised his hands for silence.

"You've all done a great job this year!" he said. "I'm glad you were able to carry on even though I was sick. Have a great party - you deserve it!"

He leaned over to speak quietly to Mrs. Claus. "I suppose you thought you had to oversee them, but really, it was unnecessary. They've done a fine job!"

Mrs. Claus's mouth dropped open in surprise. She was speechless. Unnecessary?

Santa went on. "Next year, we'll go back to the traditional way of doing things!" He winked at her. "You'll bake, and I'll oversee the elves." He sat down, and picked up the reins.

Mrs. Claus watched as the reindeer began trotting down the long corridor of cheering elves.

"We'll see about that," she whispered softly.




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