A Father Christmas story for you:
The True
Father Christmas
Just before
Christmas, Demelza and Verity were making Christmas biscuits.
“I don’t
believe in Father Christmas,” Demelza suddenly said, “The ones we’ve seen are
just people disguised as him. They haven’t even got real beards.”
Verity
thought for a while and then replied:
“But they
try to look like the real one.”
“What real
one? So you think there is a real one. Why don’t we see him?” asked Demelza.
“Perhaps
he’s shy,” replied Verity.
The twins
looked at each other and knew what the other was thinking. Mummy was working at
her desk.
“Mummy,
where does Father Christmas live?” they asked.
“In the
middle of a snowy forest,” answered Mummy.
A few
minutes later, the twins were on their way to the forest. It was not far from
their home, but when they got to the forest edge it was beginning to get
dark. Holding hands, they cautiously
entered the forest. A deer ran out onto the track. They ran after it, but it was too fast for
them. They stopped to look around them,
and saw something shining amongst the trees.
Slowly following a little track, they came to a clearing with a little
wooden cabin in the middle.
“Father
Christmas must live here,” declared Verity.
“Perhaps,
but I think we should go home now. Mummy
will be wondering where we are,” her sister answered.
“We’ve come
here. I want to make sure that it is
Father Christmas’s house. Let’s
knock. We can run away if he’s not
nice,” said Verity as she knocked on the door.
The door
opened and there stood an old man, wearing a red sweater, and with a long,
white beard. He looked just like Father
Christmas and his beard was real.
Demelza and Verity did not know what to say.
“Hello; we
just wanted to say hello,” blurted out Verity.
“That’s
nice,” said the old man, “I don’t usually get visitors. It’s very cold; come inside and warm
yourselves by the fire.”
It was very
cosy in the cabin, with a log fire burning.
The children enjoyed a glass of juice and a cake.
“Where are
all the presents?” asked Demelza.
“There
aren’t any, but I prefer the presents you can’t see,” he answered.
“Invisible
presents?” quizzed Verity.
“Yes, you
can’t see them, but you can keep them forever and they won’t wear out or get
broken.”
Verity and
Demelza did not understand. “What
presents can’t we see?”
“Well
there’s warmth and friendship for a start,” said the old man.
“And I
suppose you’ve got an invisible Christmas tree and decorations too,” said
Demelza.
“Oh no,”
said the man, “You look at trees and stars.
Come with me.”
They
followed him outside. He pointed at the
fir trees around the cabin.
“Here are
my Christmas trees and up there, in the sky, are my Christmas stars.”
“They’re
real ones too,” whispered Verity to Demelza.
The old man smiled to himself.
“Now, I
think you two should go home before your mummy starts to worry about you,” he
gently said, as he guided them back on the right track.
I’m going
to stop my little story here and let you decide what Demelza and Verity asked
Father Christmas for, that Christmas.
I will also
ask for warmth and friendship this Christmas.
This is my version of a story that I heard many years ago