the wooden spoon – a travel/photo blog

It was Christmas Eve and polar bear Pip was so excited he could not sleep so, with his mother fast asleep, he went for a walk … and got lost in the snow after hearing bells jingling on a sleigh and having tried to follow it. 

He was cold and missing his mum but then he discovered a village with warm, cosy houses and elves everywhere. He wandered into the village and. looking in a window, he overheard a loud wail, ‘Dancer’s broken her leg! Who’ll take Santa’s mail?’ He noticed that inside the house was a sleigh filled with toys and treats but one of the elves was complaining, ‘We have seven reindeer, but our sleigh needs eight. If we wait for Dancer, it will be too late!’

The elves realised that they needed to do something to save Christmas and at that point they spotted Pip. They asked if he could pull the sleigh but his reply was ‘I can’t fly!’ They told him not to worry, put him in line and sprinkled him with some sparkles, which made him feel very brave and capable of doing anything.

Santa jumped on the sleigh, the reindeer and Pip leapt forward and they were off; the earth fell away as the huge sleigh took flight. They leapt across rooftops, delivering toys to the homes of all the young boys and girls, who were fast asleep in bed unaware that Santa’s new helper was a small polar bear!

When the sleigh was empty it headed back and Pip took one final flight to his home where he curled up cosy and warm in his bed and fell fast asleep awaiting the arrival of Christmas Day. So boys and girls if you spot Santa’s sleigh being pulled by seven reindeer and one other animal, don’t be surprised, just rest assured it will be Pip the polar bear! He certainly saved Christmas in this delightful tale

And not to be outdone, this window offered a bountiful amount of macaroons to choose from. Oh my! Pip went to sleep on a full stomach!

So do polar bears have a favorite Christmas meal? Well, one’s first choice would probably be a fish of some sort, perhaps a salmon or a bucket of herring; but Pip was full that day from the goodies he had snacked on, so the elves prepared a more ”human” meal – to the ham they added a green bean casserole, some potatoes, a few sauces including cranberries, and a couple of pies that Pip had overlooked during his journey. A little late, but from the land of makebelieve, a very Merry Christmas to all!

Failed to acknowledge the source of the above story. I wish I was glib enough to have written this delightful little story but I certainly want to credit Fiona Boon for writing ”The polar bear who saved Christmas”.