| Chapter1: Santa and the Pigwidgen |
| Chapter2: The Curse |
| Chapter3: Claus Begins A Trip |
| Chapter4: Patrick Tweedleknees |
| Chapter5: The Sopchoppy Ferry |
| Chapter6: Four Gifts |
| Chapter7: The Giant |
| Chapter8: The Donkey |
| Chapter9: The Snake Nest |
| Chapter10: The Dagger |
| Chapter11: The Door In The Wall |
| Chapter12: The Pygmies |
| Chapter13: The Pigwidgen |
| Chapter14: The Eating Contest |
| Chapter15: The Drinking Contest |
| Chapter16: The Race |
| Chapter17: Merry Christmas To All |
| Christmas Stories Index |
| Main Site Index |
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Claus sat up and rubbed his nose. Patrick Tweedleknees stood before him at two feet tall. The little elf's legs were bowed. His nose was pointed. Wooly eyebrows drooped over his fierce blue eyes. Bristles of red hair sprang straight up from his head. Claus laughed. He thought he had never seen so comical a figure. Tweedleknees brandished his firefly flashlight and hollered, "You're trespassing on private property, sir! I'd like to know what's so funny about that!" Claus said hastily, "I am sorry. I was looking for the Sopchoppy River and the elf who runs the ferry." "I am the elf," said Tweedleknees. "I am the captain of the ferry." "But," asked Claus, "where is the river?" "You are sitting on it," replied Tweedleknees grumpily. Claus jumped to his feet in alarm. He peered at the ground. The first light of day had now come but he could see no river, not even a puddle. "It's an underground river," said Tweedleknees huffily. "You were sitting on the entrance." He kicked aside a layer of sod. There was a trap door. He lifted the door and flashed his light into a great hole. At the bottom was a river. Anchored there was a flimsy raft made of thousands and thousands of matchsticks. "That," announced the elf, "is the Sopchoppy River Ferry. Now may I inquire who you are and what you're doing poking into business that is no concern of yours?" "But it is my business!" declared Claus. He told Tweedleknees how a curse had escaped from a mysterious black purse left in his keeping. And how all the children of the land had fallen into a sleep from which they could not be wakened. And how he had found a key marked "Pigwidgen" in the purse. "I have set out to destroy the Pigwidgen, whoever or whatever he is," finished Claus. "And I have heard you are the one who can tell me what I need to know." "The Pigwidgen is the strongest power on earth," said the elf. "You can never destroy him." "Nevertheless," said Claus, "I shall try." "Centuries ago the Pigwidgen laid a curse on the elves," said Tweedleknees. "Since then if the light of sun or moon falls on an elf he will turn to ashes. All except me. I was swimming under the Sopchoppy River at the time. I am very good at underwater swimming and I escaped the curse. All other elves must live underground and can be reached only by my ferry." "Where will I find the Pigwidgen?" asked Claus. "No elf has ever seen him. He lives behind walls in a land of frost and never-ending snow," answered the elf. "I will go there," said Claus. "You are braver than you look to be," said Tweedleknees grudgingly. His nose seemed to grow sharper. His red hair turned more fiery. "No one is braver than I am," he declared belligerently. "I will go with you." "Then let us be off!" said Claus. "We will need weapons," said Tweedleknees. "What kind of weapons?" asked Claus. "Special ones. The elves will make them. Come, don't dally so," answered the elf. He gave the unsuspecting Claus a shove and they both tumbled down the hole to the Sopchoppy River Ferry. |