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Flash and Prompt Contest Entries #1061660 added December 31, 2023 at 11:59pm
Restrictions: None
The Naughty Elf
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Contest Entry Details ▼
{bitem:2109126} The Contest Challenge
{bitem:2141771} Bah Humbug!
** Image ID #2141772 Unavailable **
Hello! Welcome!  I'm afraid that and I have some bad news for you. Santa's contacted us to say that Christmas has been cancelled! 
What happened? Well, that's for you to decide... We weren't given any explanation! We do suspect, though, that he might have grown bored of all the cheery Christmas songs. I mean, shops play them in October now, and you need some serious Christmas spirit to deal with that!
For this contest, then, you have two options to write for:
Prompts:
 Why has Christmas been cancelled?
 Rewrite a carol so that it's no longer Christmassy.
Who knows... you may be able to save Christmas for us. 
Rules:
 New items only.
 For the first prompt, you can write either a story or a poem. The second prompt is pretty self-explanatory on that front. 
 Stories can be a maximum of 2500 words. The line count limit for poetry is 100 lines.
Items can go up to a content rating of 18+.
 Please use either the bitem format ({bitem:plus number}) or the entry format ({entry:plus number}) when posting your item.
You can write an item for both prompts if you feel so inclined.
 Please submit a word count or line count at the bottom of your item and, if writing form poetry, state the form used as well.
Items must be submitted by 11:59 PM W.Com time on the 31st of December.
Rated: ASR Book entry #1061657
Genres: Holiday, Comedy, Nonsense
The Naughty Elf
The night Christmas got cancelled.
Christmas was cancelled because Zeus Anna, one of Santa's elves, made a teeny tiny mistake. That mistake turned into an unauthorized sleigh ride that dropped Zeus Anna and the sleigh into the snowy mountains just south of the North Pole.
Zeus Anna thought she would hide the sleigh from the humans by covering the sleigh with snow. Unfortunately a thunderstorm came northward and the hot shower washed away the thin layer of snow. Later the snow plow cut a path that mountain campers used to drive back to the city. So before Zeus Anna could get the sleigh problem resolved, a family happened upon it. So pleased with the light weight sleigh, they packed it on top of their vehicle and drove home, eager to try sliding it down a gentle slope.
Zeus Anna was beside herself. She had gone into the mountains to hide from Santa.
Every year, it had been her job to create the glitter that sparkled as the sleigh flew through the night sky.
To make the glitter trail, she had to make the trail ribbons first and then cover the ribbons with layers of sparkle dust. She had done this many times however this year she messed up.
In her haste, she left the dust bin open. She was going to apply the dust as soon as the ribbons were done soaking in detangling solution. However, a strong gust of wind scooped the sparkles out of the bin while she was messing with the ribbons that when she turned about, all she found was a mist of sparkles floating away on a soft breeze.
The sparkles were made from dream dust collected by the Sandman on Christmas day while the children opened their presents. Dust could be collected from the adults as well however the children generated more dream dust. Dust could be collected any time of year as well but it was most plentiful during the unwrapping of Christmas presents. There was no possible way that the Sandman could replace what she lost until after the children awoke for year's Christmas toys.
At first, Zeus Anna felt mortified.
Then she realized, it was night time. Who would stay up to look for the sleigh? So without the sparkles, Santa would be invisible. So without the sparkles, no one would wake to the jingle of Santa's approach.
No jingle. Zeus Anna's eyes widened. Santa will surely notice the non jingling sleigh.
She tried to find some sleigh bells but they were much too heavy for the ribbons. Instead of trailing behind the sleigh, the bells swung about like pendulum weights.
Frantic, she decided the best thing to do was to hijack the sleigh. So she got into the sleigh and stood on the seat. She looked into the toy compartment and it looked packed and ready for delivery. She sat down on the seat and saw the reindeer standing ready to march.
"If I deliver the presents before Santa knows the sleigh is missing, he won't know who took the sleigh. He won't notice the non jingling ribbons behind the sleigh."
It sounded like a solid plan except the reindeer wouldn't comply. She was not the designated driver so they declined to march forward. It was getting dark now and Zeus Anna felt her neck hairs stand. She had to get the reindeer to march.
She whispered to the reindeer, "Christmas is cancelled. Santa's sick. He can't fly the sleigh tonight."
Rudolph's head bobbed up in surprise. His nose turned a bright red as his nostrils flared. Zeus Anna had to cover her eyes.
The other reindeer pawed the ground and snorted.
"That's right. Christmas is cancelled. I'm gong to remove the harness now."
Prancer leaned over to her and whispered, "Christmas can't be cancelled. The parents are counting on us to deliver the presents."
Zeus Anna whispered again, "But Santa is sick. Who will fly the sleigh?"
The reindeer conferred quietly. Then they told her, "Zeus Anna, if you hop into the seat, we'll fly for you."
Zeus Anna looked up into the sky. The sky was clear tonight and the first stars were starting to twinkle. Before the reindeer could have second thoughts, she plopped into the driver's seat and sailed the sleigh out of the North Pole.
In her heart, she truly intended to deliver the presents. But she didn't know why Santa always waited until midnight to make the deliveries. She found out soon enough.
At first it was exhilarating, flying into the night sky. As the moon appeared, she felt the sleigh tremble. The sleigh should have sailed smoothly but yet there was turbulence. She felt the sleigh tilt slightly towards the right. Then it wobbled and tilted toward the left. Then back and forth it tilted, each time more steeply that soon she dropped the reins and clung to the sides of the seat.
The reindeer kept marching not realizing that Zeus Anna had let go of the reins. The sleigh was light and the reindeer never noticed when the sleigh separated from the reindeer. Because the sleigh did not leave a trail of sparkles, it plummeted into the mountains unnoticed. Zeus Anna screamed all the way.
Fortunately, the reindeer flew home where they were met with a very distraught Santa.
Santa shook his head in disbelief but was happy to know that he did not misplace the sleigh again. Ever since the advent of computers, it had been harder and harder to keep track of all the myriad types of toys that the modern day kids loved. He could make any wish come true but the kids of today had such complicated tastes. Toys weren't just one objects anymore. They had accessories. They ran on batteries.
"Zeus Anna has the sleigh," Dancer told Santa.
"What?" Santa said. "Why are you whispering?"
"She told us you were sick. So we elected to deliver the presents in lieu of cancelling Christmas!"
"Bah! That naughty elf." Santa crossed his arms and slapped his forehead.
"We'll have to find the sleigh. But I have to make the deliveries first."
Rudolf's nose flashed for Santa's attention. "How is that possible? The presents are with Zeus Anna."
Santa explained, "The sleigh is with Zeus Anna. However, Zeus Anna took the sleigh before midnight so the presents are still here. They slip out when sleigh is not fully powered with Christmas anticipation."
Santa had the elves pack the toys into an older sleigh. It was a beauty of a sleigh, equipped with all the glitter and jingle that Santa loved. However, the Fairy Godmother was so grateful for the glass slippers his elves made for Cinderella that she made a new sleigh, one that was powered by dreams and desires. The greater the hopes, the faster the sleigh flew. It was not as sparkly but it made it possible to drop the presents into each home all within minutes, thus giving Santa more time to catch up on sleep.
So Santa hitched the old sleigh. Laden with toys, the reindeer took the sleigh into the night sky and Santa delivered the toys.
Meanwhile, Zeus Anna stayed with a family of four telling their kids wild stories about the Man in the North Pole. He's a nice guy but he loved to put names on lists. The Good list was good to be on. However, the Naughty list was good to be on too. Perhaps the Naughty list meant no presents during Christmas, but it also meant time to be wild and happy. It was the first time Zeus Anna had ever left the North Pole and she was having quite an adventure celebrating Christmas with her human family.
1283 Words
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