MsCharlotte's Stuff: Christmas

Chapter 12: The Pygmies

Claus pushed on the tiny square door in the wall. The door wiggled but did not open.

"It's locked," said Claus.

"It's such a little door," scoffed Tweedleknees. "We can knock it down!"

He beat on it and kicked on it and Claus pushed and they got a log and rammed on it but the door would not open.

Claus was discouraged. He put his hands in his pockets and hung his head. He thought of how he had sworn to break the curse the Pigwidgen had laid on all the children of the world and how he had come so far and now was defeated because he couldn't open a little door.

Suddenly his hand closed around a small key in his pocket. He pulled it out. It was the brass key that had dropped from the black purse when the curse had fallen on the children. The single word "Pigwidgen" was printed on the key.

"How could I have forgotten?" cried Claus. He fitted the key into the little lock. Holding his breath, he turned the key. Slowly the door swung open.

The opening was so small Claus had to wiggle through on his stomach. Even the little elf had to crawl through on his hands and knees.

On the other side they huddled against the wall and gazed fearfully around. Here the wind did not blow so fiercely nor the cold bite so sharply. Snow-blanketed hills rolled down to a lake of ice. Near the lake stood a small castle.

"Who's afraid of a creature who lives in such a little castle?" scoffed Tweedleknees.

At that moment there was the sound of drums and bugles. Furious voices shouted, "Catch them! Don't let them get away!"

Tweedleknees dived into a snowdrift, Claus dived in beside him. When nothing happened, they timidly poked their heads out of the snow. They blinked in astonishment at the sight before them.

Bands of pygmies were fighting in front of the castle. They shouted and howled and rocked with laughter like school children playing tag as they fought.

At last it seemed not a pygmy was left alive. Claus and Tweedleknees stepped out of the snowdrift. Hardly were they out when all the fallen pygmies rose to their feet, and began to fight all over again.

Claus and Tweedleknees jumped back in their snow hole. "It's a game!" blurted the elf in amazement. "They're doing it all for fun!"

A band of reindeer appeared over the hill. The pygmies left off fighting and chased the deer. Everytime they reached a reindeer a curious thing happened: the reindeer rose in the air and FLEW away!

They swooped gracefully over the castle top, round and round, high and low, like sea gulls at the beach. Claus thought he had never seen so pretty a sight.

The pygmies got ropes and lassoed the deer and brought them down from the sky. They drew their swords and shouted, "Hurray! There'll be deer meat for supper!"

Before he knew what he was doing, Patrick Tweedleknees shot out of the snowdrift. He leaped in front of the rollicking pygmies and cried angrily, "Don't you dare!"

The astonished pygmies dropped the ropes and the reindeer raced away.