In tonight's specially selected Christmas rewind, we follow the Sanderson family as they help Santa reunite with his trusty reindeer.
Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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Narrator 🎙️ Abbe Opher
Author 🖋️ Elisha Ainsley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Kuala Moon, a podcast of
00:00:14
Speaker 1: original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime
00:00:20
Speaker 1: a tree. In tonight's story, we're continuing our festive theme
00:00:25
Speaker 1: and join the big Man in Red Santa Claus as
00:00:28
Speaker 1: he delivers gifts around the world on Christmas Eve, Only
00:00:33
Speaker 1: he gets into a spot of bother when his reindeer
00:00:36
Speaker 1: suddenly go missing midway round. Will you get them back
00:00:40
Speaker 1: and resume his gift giving in time? Let's see just
00:00:44
Speaker 1: how strong the Christmas magic really is. Relax into your
00:00:49
Speaker 1: comfy bed and close your eyes as I begin Santa's
00:00:54
Speaker 1: Runaway Reindeer by Alicia Ainslie. It was the night before Christmas,
00:01:07
Speaker 1: and all over the world, children were tucked up in
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Speaker 1: their beds, fast asleep, awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus
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Speaker 1: and his sleigh. Santa had millions of presents to deliver
00:01:20
Speaker 1: in just one night, so he and his trusty band
00:01:23
Speaker 1: of reindeer had a strict schedule to stick to. While
00:01:28
Speaker 1: Santa ticked houses off his list, the reindeer guided his
00:01:32
Speaker 1: sleigh through the night sky from town to town. Santa
00:01:37
Speaker 1: parked the reindeer and his sleigh on top of the
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Speaker 1: roof of each new house, where they waited patiently. Then
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Speaker 1: he slid down the chimney and dropped off the presence
00:01:48
Speaker 1: under the Christmas tree. It was a fail proof system
00:01:52
Speaker 1: that he had used four hundreds of years, and it
00:01:56
Speaker 1: always went without a hitch. By the time the sun
00:02:00
Speaker 1: would rise on Christmas morning, all of the presents would
00:02:04
Speaker 1: have been delivered to the children of the world and
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Speaker 1: everyone could celebrate Christmas Day. Santa was already looking forward
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Speaker 1: to putting his feet up. When he returned home to
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Speaker 1: the North Pole. Like every year, Missus Claws would greet
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Speaker 1: him with a cup of warm tea and have already
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Speaker 1: run a hot bath for him. He would enjoy his
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Speaker 1: cup of tea and relax in the bar before slipping
00:02:31
Speaker 1: into bed for a very long sleep. Then he and
00:02:37
Speaker 1: Missus Claws would jet off for a peaceful vacation to
00:02:41
Speaker 1: celebrate a successful year and a perfectly executed Christmas. This year,
00:02:48
Speaker 1: Santa and Missus Claws were going to the Caribbean for
00:02:51
Speaker 1: a sunny beach holiday. After spending all year in the cold,
00:02:57
Speaker 1: snowy North Pole, they were looking forward getting a suntan
00:03:01
Speaker 1: and relaxing in the warm Caribbean. Santa checked his magical watch.
00:03:07
Speaker 1: It was midnight as he flew above the houses of
00:03:10
Speaker 1: Surrey in England. Santa's watch was programmed to adapt to
00:03:15
Speaker 1: the time that it was wherever he found himself in
00:03:19
Speaker 1: the world. His goal was to always visit each location
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Speaker 1: around midnight so that all of the children in the
00:03:26
Speaker 1: area would be asleep and he could deliver their gifts
00:03:29
Speaker 1: as they slept peacefully. Have you ever wondered how Santa
00:03:36
Speaker 1: makes it all the way around the world in one night. Well,
00:03:40
Speaker 1: I'll let you in on a secret. It's because of
00:03:44
Speaker 1: Christmas magic. If you know how to tap into Christmas magic,
00:03:50
Speaker 1: then you can achieve the most miraculous things. After hundreds
00:03:56
Speaker 1: of years of celebrating Christmas, Santa knows it exactly how
00:04:01
Speaker 1: to use Christmas magic to his advantage, and he taps
00:04:05
Speaker 1: into it to make his way around the world. On
00:04:08
Speaker 1: Christmas Eve, as Santa flies above an area of the world,
00:04:15
Speaker 1: he uses Christmas magic to slow down time. Time stops
00:04:21
Speaker 1: as Santa flies by, providing him with as much time
00:04:26
Speaker 1: as he needs to deliver the presence to the houses
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Speaker 1: in the area and then move on swiftly to the
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Speaker 1: next place. Sata instructed his band of reindeer to land
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Speaker 1: on the roof of a nearby house. It was a
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Speaker 1: narrow house placed on the very end of a street
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Speaker 1: full of connected terraced houses. Santa would start at number
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Speaker 1: one and then make his way along the roofs and
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Speaker 1: down the chimneys to deliver presents to each house on
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Speaker 1: the st street. He set the timer on his watch
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Speaker 1: and gave himself ten minutes to visit each house on
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Speaker 1: the street before he and his reindeer needed to move on.
00:05:14
Speaker 1: Santa pulled his magical sack out at the back of
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Speaker 1: the sleigh and threw it over his shoulder. Santa's sack
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Speaker 1: may only look small at first glance, but inside it
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Speaker 1: is a bottomless pit where all the presence can be
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Speaker 1: magically conjured from. When Santa needs the presence for a
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Speaker 1: specific household, he just thinks of that family, reaches inside,
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Speaker 1: and the presents are magically there for him to pick out.
00:05:51
Speaker 1: Santa skipped along the roof of number one Picket Road,
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Speaker 1: sucked in, and hopped down the chimney. Landed in the
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Speaker 1: living room of the narrow terraced house. Looking around, he
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Speaker 1: noticed a long gray sofa and a bright orange arm
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Speaker 1: chair positioned around a TV. There was a big bookshelf
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Speaker 1: in the corner of the room full of books, DVD's,
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Speaker 1: and a few framed photos of a young family. There
00:06:24
Speaker 1: was a mum, a dad, and two children over around
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Speaker 1: nine and eleven years old. They were called the Sunderson family.
00:06:36
Speaker 1: On the other side of the room stood the tall
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Speaker 1: Christmas tree, decorated in ball balls and tinsel in colors
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Speaker 1: of red, gold, and green. A little sparkly angel sat
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Speaker 1: on top of the tree, gazing down on the room.
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Speaker 1: There was one member of the family that wasn't featured
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Speaker 1: in the photo frames. Laid by the side of the
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Speaker 1: tree was the family dog. Santa already knew this dog.
00:07:11
Speaker 1: He'd met her many times before. She was called Peggy,
00:07:16
Speaker 1: and she was a fluffy black cockapoo. Santa tiptoed pass
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Speaker 1: Peggy as quietly as he could. He didn't want to
00:07:28
Speaker 1: disturb her sleep, even though he wouldn't mind a good
00:07:31
Speaker 1: cuddle from the sweet dog. Santa approached the Christmas tree
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Speaker 1: and saw that there was a little envelope underneath it.
00:07:42
Speaker 1: He reached down and picked it up to see that
00:07:46
Speaker 1: the envelope had his name on it. Santa opened it
00:07:51
Speaker 1: and pulled out a little folded Christmas card with a
00:07:54
Speaker 1: dancing penguin on the front. As Santa opened up the card,
00:08:01
Speaker 1: a plume of golden glitter exploded out of its pages,
00:08:06
Speaker 1: and the glitter tickled Santa's nose. He tried to fight it,
00:08:12
Speaker 1: but he could feel a sneeze coming on. He huffed,
00:08:17
Speaker 1: and he puffed, and his nose exploded with a big
00:08:23
Speaker 1: ha chew. Santa paused expectantly, waiting to see if his
00:08:31
Speaker 1: outburst had awoken anyone in the Sanderson family home, but luckily,
00:08:38
Speaker 1: nobody stirred, not even Peggy the cockapoo. Santa read the
00:08:45
Speaker 1: handwritten message inside the Christmas card. The card wished Santa
00:08:51
Speaker 1: and missus Claws are very merry Christmas from the children
00:08:57
Speaker 1: Eliot and Heidi Sanderson, and it specified that they had
00:09:04
Speaker 1: left out some milk and cookies on the kitchen table
00:09:08
Speaker 1: for him, along with a carrot for the reindeer to enjoy.
00:09:14
Speaker 1: Santa was grateful for the kind festive card, and he
00:09:19
Speaker 1: couldn't wait to dig into the milk and cookies. He
00:09:23
Speaker 1: was sure that his reindeer gang would be very appreciative
00:09:27
Speaker 1: of the carrot too. Santa reached into his magical sack
00:09:33
Speaker 1: and poured out the presents for the Sunderson family. He
00:09:38
Speaker 1: positioned them perfectly underneath the Christmas tree and stood back
00:09:43
Speaker 1: to admire his handiwork. He knew that they would love
00:09:49
Speaker 1: their gifts. Santa made his way towards the kitchen to
00:09:55
Speaker 1: collect his snacks before he headed off back up the
00:09:58
Speaker 1: chimney to attend to the next house on the street.
00:10:04
Speaker 1: He tried to find his way through the dark house
00:10:07
Speaker 1: towards the kitchen door, but he couldn't see very much
00:10:11
Speaker 1: in the darkness. Santa took a step and accidentally trod
00:10:17
Speaker 1: on a toy that had been left on the floor.
00:10:21
Speaker 1: The toy was an electronic one that came to life
00:10:25
Speaker 1: and played loud music as he stepped on it. Santa
00:10:30
Speaker 1: staggered away, surprised by the sudden music, and stumbled into
00:10:35
Speaker 1: the bookshelf, knocking over the photo frames with a clatter.
00:10:41
Speaker 1: Peggy the dog instantly shot up from her bed, wondering
00:10:47
Speaker 1: what the commotion was. When she spotted that it was Santa.
00:10:53
Speaker 1: She was so happy to see her old friend that
00:10:56
Speaker 1: she let out an excited little bark and bounded towards him.
00:11:04
Speaker 1: Santa put out his arms to stop her, but it
00:11:08
Speaker 1: was too late. Peggy jumped up to greet Santa, knocking
00:11:14
Speaker 1: him over and into the Christmas tree. The tree fell
00:11:19
Speaker 1: to the ground with a loud jingle and a crash.
00:11:26
Speaker 1: Peggy the Dog licked Santa's face, blissfully, unaware of the mess,
00:11:33
Speaker 1: but Santa felt hopeless as he looked at the trashed
00:11:36
Speaker 1: living room. A light flicked on upstairs, and Santa heard
00:11:43
Speaker 1: the Sunderson family emerge from their bedrooms, wondering what the
00:11:48
Speaker 1: sound had been downstairs. Mister and Missus Sanderson, followed by
00:11:55
Speaker 1: their children, Eliot and Heidi, rushed down the staircase and
00:12:01
Speaker 1: saw Santa lying on the ground by the side of
00:12:05
Speaker 1: the fallen Christmas tree, with Peggy the Dog cheerfully licking
00:12:11
Speaker 1: his face. Santa, are you okay, Missus Sanderson asked, as
00:12:17
Speaker 1: she bent down to help him up off the ground.
00:12:22
Speaker 1: Elliot picked up Peggy and poured her off Santa so
00:12:26
Speaker 1: that he could get to his feet. Santa was so
00:12:31
Speaker 1: sorry that he had made such a mess of their
00:12:34
Speaker 1: living room. He apologized and apologized, but the Sanderson family
00:12:41
Speaker 1: wouldn't hear it. They were just glad that he was okay.
00:12:48
Speaker 1: Nine year old Heidi, wearing her festive polar bear pajamas
00:12:53
Speaker 1: and fluffy white socks. Asked Santa if he had found
00:12:57
Speaker 1: the card that they had left out for him. Yes,
00:13:02
Speaker 1: I did, thank you, he replied, patting her on the head,
00:13:07
Speaker 1: before adding, but I didn't quite make it to the
00:13:11
Speaker 1: kitchen for the milk and cookies. I tripped on a
00:13:15
Speaker 1: toy and woke up poor Peggy. It was all downhill
00:13:19
Speaker 1: from there. Mister and missus Sanderson tidied up the Christmas
00:13:25
Speaker 1: tree and put it back upright, while Elliot and Heidi
00:13:30
Speaker 1: brought the milk and cookies through to the living room
00:13:34
Speaker 1: for Santa. Santa took a seat on the sofa to
00:13:40
Speaker 1: calm down after such excitement, and he gratefully chomped down
00:13:47
Speaker 1: on the chocolate chip cookies and drank up the glass
00:13:51
Speaker 1: of milk. Santa heard the gentle beeping of his watch timer.
00:13:59
Speaker 1: He had spent too much time at the Sanderson house
00:14:03
Speaker 1: and was now running behind schedule to deliver the rest
00:14:07
Speaker 1: of the presence to the other houses on the street.
00:14:12
Speaker 1: He declared that he had best be going. He thanked
00:14:17
Speaker 1: the Sanderson family for their kindness and understanding, and made
00:14:23
Speaker 1: his way over to the fireplace. Just before he could
00:14:28
Speaker 1: pop back up the chimney. Elliot cried out, Santa, you've
00:14:36
Speaker 1: forgotten a carrot for the reindeer. Santa turned back to
00:14:42
Speaker 1: see the eager young boy holding the orange carrot in
00:14:46
Speaker 1: the air. He couldn't forget about the reindeer's treat. Santa
00:14:53
Speaker 1: had an idea, Elliot, He began, would you like to
00:15:00
Speaker 1: give the carrot to one of the reindeer yourself? Elias's
00:15:05
Speaker 1: eyes grew wide with enthusiasm, and he gasped. His little sister,
00:15:11
Speaker 1: Heidi began jumping up and down excitedly and said, can
00:15:17
Speaker 1: I give one a carrot?
00:15:18
Speaker 2: Two?
00:15:20
Speaker 1: Please? Santa chuckled with his hearty laugh and said that
00:15:25
Speaker 1: he would bring the reindeer down to the ground for
00:15:29
Speaker 1: Heidi and Elliott to feed one themselves. The Sanderson family
00:15:36
Speaker 1: quickly slipped on their shoes and put on their coats
00:15:40
Speaker 1: over the top of their pajamas, and followed Santa out
00:15:44
Speaker 1: of the front door into the street. Santa whistled up
00:15:50
Speaker 1: to the roof and called for his reindeer. He waited
00:15:55
Speaker 1: a few seconds, but there was no sight of them.
00:16:02
Speaker 1: This time, he whistled even louder, but again the reindeer
00:16:08
Speaker 1: didn't appear. Santa stood further back to get a full
00:16:13
Speaker 1: view of the rooftop. To his surprise, the reindeer and
00:16:19
Speaker 1: his sleigh were nowhere to be seen. Heidi looked confused
00:16:25
Speaker 1: and asked, where have the reindeer gone? Santa didn't know.
00:16:32
Speaker 1: It would appear that the reindeer had heard the timer
00:16:36
Speaker 1: of his watch go off and had assumed the Santa
00:16:40
Speaker 1: was back and ready to move on to the next
00:16:44
Speaker 1: group of houses. The reindeer must have flown off to
00:16:49
Speaker 1: keep on schedule. Elliot looked disappointed. That's a shame, he said,
00:16:59
Speaker 1: I was really looking forward to meeting your reindeer and
00:17:02
Speaker 1: giving them a carrot. Santa was in quite a pickle.
00:17:10
Speaker 1: Where had his reindeer run away to and how could
00:17:14
Speaker 1: he find them quickly so that Christmas Eve deliveries could
00:17:18
Speaker 1: get back on course. Elliott and Heidi were both very
00:17:24
Speaker 1: disappointed that they had missed seeing the reindeer. Mister and
00:17:29
Speaker 1: Missus Sanderson could see that Santa needed some help. Mister
00:17:36
Speaker 1: Sanderson placed his hand on Elliott's deflated shoulder and made
00:17:42
Speaker 1: a suggestion, Why don't we help Santa find his reindeer?
00:17:48
Speaker 1: He said, then when we find them, you can give
00:17:53
Speaker 1: them a carrot as you had hoped. Elliot and Heidi
00:17:59
Speaker 1: love this idea, and Santa was very grateful for their
00:18:03
Speaker 1: offer of assistance. Missus Sanderson sprang into action and raised
00:18:10
Speaker 1: the question, So, Santa, where might your reindeer have gone?
00:18:18
Speaker 1: Santa replied that his reindeer may have moved on to
00:18:22
Speaker 1: the next batch of houses that they were due to visit.
00:18:26
Speaker 1: After Picket Road. The next stop on their journey of
00:18:31
Speaker 1: deliveries was Lord's Avenue. Then we'll go there, Missus Sanderson announced,
00:18:40
Speaker 1: pulling her car keys out of her coat pocket. They
00:18:45
Speaker 1: all piled into the Sanderson family car to drive to
00:18:49
Speaker 1: Lord's Avenue. Missus Sunderson drove while Santa sat in the
00:18:55
Speaker 1: front passenger seat with Peggy the cockapoo curled up on
00:19:00
Speaker 1: his lap. Meanwhile, mister Sanderson, Elliot, and Heidi squished themselves
00:19:07
Speaker 1: into the back seats. They all drove across town to
00:19:12
Speaker 1: Lord Avenue, but when they arrived, the reindeer and Santa's
00:19:18
Speaker 1: sleigh were nowhere to be seen. Santa twizzled the end
00:19:25
Speaker 1: of his white beard as he thought, if the reindeer
00:19:30
Speaker 1: gang had moved on to the next set of houses,
00:19:34
Speaker 1: then they should be here by now. Elliot suggested that
00:19:40
Speaker 1: they might have missed them already, so they drove to
00:19:43
Speaker 1: the next place on Santa's Christmas Eve route. They arrived
00:19:49
Speaker 1: at the end of Bernard Close, but alas there was
00:19:53
Speaker 1: no sight of Santa's reindeer. It doesn't make sense, Santa sighed,
00:20:02
Speaker 1: The reindeer have never flown off without me before. If
00:20:08
Speaker 1: they had continued with the root we do every year,
00:20:12
Speaker 1: then they would definitely be here by now. So where
00:20:18
Speaker 1: have they gone? The Saunderson family thought long and hard.
00:20:26
Speaker 1: Why would the reindeer have flown off? Hide suggested that
00:20:33
Speaker 1: maybe they were hungry and had flown off to find
00:20:36
Speaker 1: some food. She asked Santa what the reindeer liked to eat.
00:20:43
Speaker 1: Santa said that the Magical Gang loved to eat reindeer food, grass,
00:20:49
Speaker 1: and the occasional candy cane and cookie. Heidi had an idea,
00:20:56
Speaker 1: why don't we see if they're at the local park.
00:21:00
Speaker 1: She proposed, there's lots of grass there, and I've seen
00:21:06
Speaker 1: big candy canes sticking out of the ground where they've
00:21:10
Speaker 1: built the Christmas play park. They didn't have any other ideas,
00:21:15
Speaker 1: so the Sanderson family and Santa drove to the local park.
00:21:21
Speaker 1: Heidi was right. There was lots of grass everywhere, which
00:21:26
Speaker 1: would be perfect for the reindeer to graze on. Plus,
00:21:32
Speaker 1: there was an enchanting Christmas display lit up in the
00:21:36
Speaker 1: dark in the center of the park. They all walked
00:21:41
Speaker 1: around the park, calling out for the reindeer, but they
00:21:46
Speaker 1: didn't come across them. The reindeer weren't here. Elliott suggested
00:21:53
Speaker 1: that maybe the reindeer had gone to visit some friends.
00:21:57
Speaker 1: They had some stables in their town where lots of
00:22:01
Speaker 1: people went horse riding. Perhaps the reindeer had gone to
00:22:06
Speaker 1: visit their horse friends. Santa decided it was worth a try,
00:22:13
Speaker 1: and they all drove across town to the local horse
00:22:17
Speaker 1: riding ranch. They peered inside every stable and checked under
00:22:25
Speaker 1: every pile of hay, but the reindeer weren't there. All
00:22:31
Speaker 1: they found were the peacefully snoozing local horses center side,
00:22:40
Speaker 1: and let out a yawn. He sat down on one
00:22:45
Speaker 1: of the nearby bales of hay to rest. Missus Sunderson
00:22:51
Speaker 1: noticed that Santa appeared very tired. Are you all right, Santa?
00:23:00
Speaker 1: She asked, Do you need to have a little nap
00:23:04
Speaker 1: and rest for a while. Santa shook his head defiantly
00:23:11
Speaker 1: and said, I can't take a nap. It's Christmas Eve.
00:23:17
Speaker 1: It's always a long night and very tiring, but the
00:23:22
Speaker 1: job has to be done otherwise Christmas Day will be
00:23:28
Speaker 1: very disappointing for a lot of children if they don't
00:23:31
Speaker 1: get their presents. Missus Sanderson could see that Santa was
00:23:37
Speaker 1: worn out from a long night of hard work. She
00:23:42
Speaker 1: was beginning to wonder if the reindeer felt the same.
00:23:47
Speaker 1: Perhaps the reindeer were tired too and had disappeared for
00:23:52
Speaker 1: a while to rest and recharge. She asked Santa where
00:23:58
Speaker 1: the reindeer would go if they wanted to lie down
00:24:02
Speaker 1: for a little while. Santa thought hard and then answered,
00:24:10
Speaker 1: the reindeer are used to sleeping in the snow, so
00:24:17
Speaker 1: they would probably go off in search of snow or
00:24:21
Speaker 1: something equally as soft. We don't have any snow around
00:24:29
Speaker 1: here right now, mister Sanderson thought aloud, what is as
00:24:36
Speaker 1: soft as snow? Heidi looked up at the sky as
00:24:41
Speaker 1: she thought, she watched the big white clouds float through
00:24:48
Speaker 1: the night air and noticed a very faint, flashing light
00:24:55
Speaker 1: coming through one of the clouds. Was it an air
00:24:59
Speaker 1: of plane or could it be something even more interesting?
00:25:05
Speaker 1: Heidi pointed out the bright light glowing beyond the cloud,
00:25:10
Speaker 1: and Santa felt a surge of hope run through him.
00:25:16
Speaker 1: Could that be the glow of his reindeer's bright noses
00:25:20
Speaker 1: that lit his way through the night sky? Maybe his
00:25:26
Speaker 1: reindeer were up in the clouds. The Sunderson family and
00:25:32
Speaker 1: Santa jumped back in the car and drove towards the
00:25:37
Speaker 1: glowing cloud. As they got closer and closer, the light
00:25:43
Speaker 1: seemed to grow brighter and brighter. Eventually they noticed something
00:25:51
Speaker 1: large abandoned in the middle of the road ahead of them.
00:25:56
Speaker 1: As they got closer, they saw that it was Santa's
00:26:01
Speaker 1: big red sleigh. The reindeer were nowhere to be seen
00:26:07
Speaker 1: near the sleigh, but Santa now had a good idea
00:26:11
Speaker 1: where they were. He hopped out of the car and
00:26:16
Speaker 1: ran over to the sleigh, followed by the Sanderson family
00:26:20
Speaker 1: and Peggy the dog. The sleigh was in perfect condition
00:26:26
Speaker 1: and the reins for the reindeer were draped on the ground.
00:26:31
Speaker 1: Above their heads. They could hear a faint jingling. Elliot
00:26:37
Speaker 1: looked up at the cloud and pulled the carrot out
00:26:41
Speaker 1: of his coat pocket. He cried, how are we going
00:26:46
Speaker 1: to get up? There so that I can give the
00:26:49
Speaker 1: reindeer my carrot. Santa smiled and ruffled the young boy's hair.
00:26:58
Speaker 1: He threw his magical sack onto the back of the
00:27:02
Speaker 1: sleigh and climbed into the front seat, before asking do
00:27:08
Speaker 1: you want to see something amazing? Elliot nodded his head vigorously,
00:27:18
Speaker 1: and Santa told him to climb aboard the sleigh. The
00:27:24
Speaker 1: whole family piled into Santa's sleigh and waited patiently. Mister
00:27:32
Speaker 1: Sanderson peered over Santa's shoulder and whispered, Santa, how are
00:27:40
Speaker 1: we meant to fly the sleigh without the reindeer. Santa
00:27:47
Speaker 1: chuckled and answered, the reindeer can only fly with the
00:27:55
Speaker 1: power of Christmas magic, and that magic is everywhere around
00:28:00
Speaker 1: us right now. We can make the slave fly ourselves.
00:28:08
Speaker 1: The Sanderson family became excited and wanted to know how
00:28:13
Speaker 1: to use Christmas magic. Santa calmly explained that all they
00:28:20
Speaker 1: needed to do is close their eyes, think about all
00:28:24
Speaker 1: the wonderful things that Christmas time brings, and believe in
00:28:30
Speaker 1: the power of Christmas magic. The Sanderson family closed their
00:28:37
Speaker 1: eyes and thought hard. They pictured themselves on Christmas morning
00:28:44
Speaker 1: opening their presents and enjoying dinner around the table, pulling
00:28:51
Speaker 1: crackers and eating festive pudding. They imagined visiting the Christmas
00:28:58
Speaker 1: markets and ice skating in the park. They thought of
00:29:04
Speaker 1: how they could build snowmen and have snowball fights in
00:29:09
Speaker 1: the garden, and they remembered how lovely it was visiting
00:29:14
Speaker 1: their grandparents on Boxing Day. But most importantly, they all
00:29:22
Speaker 1: appreciated how each of these memories and traditions were spent
00:29:28
Speaker 1: together as a family with the people they loved. Santa's
00:29:35
Speaker 1: sleigh began to shudder as it lifted up off the ground,
00:29:42
Speaker 1: and they listened as a gentle, jingling sound began to
00:29:47
Speaker 1: radiate from the sleigh. They opened their eyes and saw
00:29:54
Speaker 1: that the sleigh was glowing with enchanted magic, and Santas
00:30:00
Speaker 1: started to laugh with delight.
00:30:03
Speaker 2: Oh, Merry Christmas, Santa chuckled contentedly as the sleigh rose
00:30:14
Speaker 2: higher and higher up into the air.
00:30:20
Speaker 1: The Saunderson family looked down and watched as their car
00:30:25
Speaker 1: and the houses around it became smaller and smaller as
00:30:31
Speaker 1: they lifted up into the air. Peggy the dog barked
00:30:38
Speaker 1: excitedly as the sleigh burst through the clouds. As soon
00:30:46
Speaker 1: as they emerged on the other side of the soft,
00:30:50
Speaker 1: cool clouds, they saw the reindeer scattered all around them.
00:30:58
Speaker 1: All of the reindeer were resting on the surface of
00:31:03
Speaker 1: the clouds, either snoozing away or grazing lazily on the
00:31:11
Speaker 1: fluffy ground. Santa counted them to make sure they were
00:31:18
Speaker 1: all there. He was relieved as he counted them up
00:31:23
Speaker 1: one by one. However, just as he finished counting, he
00:31:30
Speaker 1: realized there was one missing. Where was the last reindeer?
00:31:37
Speaker 1: But his question was quickly answered. Santa looked over his
00:31:44
Speaker 1: shoulder to see the last one standing by the side
00:31:48
Speaker 1: of the sleigh eating a carrot, eating a carrot out
00:31:54
Speaker 1: of young Eliot's hand. Eliot had got his wish and
00:32:01
Speaker 1: finally managed to feed a reindeer after all, Santa rounded
00:32:10
Speaker 1: up the reindeer and attached them all back onto their reins.
00:32:16
Speaker 1: There was no time to lose. The reindeer had taken
00:32:21
Speaker 1: a break for long enough, and it was time to
00:32:26
Speaker 1: get back on schedule. Starting back at Picket Road, where
00:32:32
Speaker 1: the Sanderson family lived, Santa instructed the reindeer to guide
00:32:39
Speaker 1: the sleigh back to the ground so that the Sanderson
00:32:43
Speaker 1: family could pick up their car. He dropped the family
00:32:49
Speaker 1: off back by the side of the silent road where
00:32:53
Speaker 1: their car was parked. Santa thanked the Sanderson family for
00:33:00
Speaker 1: their invaluable help and ruffled the fur of his little
00:33:05
Speaker 1: doggy friend Peggy. Elliot and Heidi looked disappointed as they
00:33:13
Speaker 1: said goodbye to Santa. Would you like to come for
00:33:19
Speaker 1: Christmas dinner with us tomorrow Santa, Heidi asked, hopefully. We
00:33:26
Speaker 1: always have lots of food left over, so there's plenty
00:33:30
Speaker 1: to share. Santa was grateful for the offer, but he
00:33:37
Speaker 1: advised Heidi that he already had a Christmas dinner of
00:33:41
Speaker 1: his own to attend with his lovely wife, missus Claws.
00:33:48
Speaker 1: Santa gave Heidi and Elliott to hug goodbye, and climbed
00:33:54
Speaker 1: back into his sleigh. The Sanderson family watched with admiration
00:34:02
Speaker 1: as the reindeer expertly guided Santa and his magical glowing
00:34:08
Speaker 1: sleigh back up into the dark night sky. They flew
00:34:15
Speaker 1: off into the distance until they were so tiny in
00:34:20
Speaker 1: the Sanderson family sight that they looked like a far
00:34:26
Speaker 1: off twinkling star. The Sanderson family drove home to their house,
00:34:35
Speaker 1: where they climbed into their beds to rest, awaiting Christmas
00:34:41
Speaker 1: morning to see what Santa had brought for them, But
00:34:47
Speaker 1: they all knew that no matter what physical presence he
00:34:52
Speaker 1: had delivered to them, nothing would compare to the once
00:34:58
Speaker 1: in a lifetime venture they had enjoyed with him. It
00:35:04
Speaker 1: wasn't every Christmas that they got to go searching for
00:35:09
Speaker 1: runaway reindeer and fly up into the sky on Santa's
00:35:15
Speaker 1: famous slate. This Christmas Eve had truly been one to remember.