The Flying Christmas Dogs

Honorable Mention, children's stories

Megan Varnum |

12/18/2008 - 12/5/08

On the first day of winter, four Bernese Mountain Dogs were born. Their names were Missy, Bubble, Noel and Peppermint. The dogs lived in the North Pole and had a wonderful family. They were fed well, were very happy, and were very curious about the world. They asked questions about everything!

At last, Christmas Eve came. The dogs were really excited about Christmas Day. Soon after the dogs calmed down, there was a loud knock on the door. The family opened the door, and peered into the light to see who it was. Standing right in front of them was Santa Claus himself.

He asked the family, "Can your dogs fly my sleigh tonight? My reindeer cannot fly my sleigh because they are sick with reindeeritis." The family stood silent in awe for a while.

Soon after, the family agreed, so Santa took Missy, Bubble, Noel and Peppermint on the greatest adventure ever. He took the dogs to his workshop and took out a giant sack. He told the dogs, "The magic dust in this sack will make you fly. Now, which one of you wants to go first?"

"I do!" yipped Missy, without even thinking.

"OK," said Santa. "This is how it works. You are going to close your eyes while I sprinkle magical dust over you."

"OK, Santa," said Missy enthusiastically. "Whatever you say."

"Now close your eyes, Missy!"

Missy closed her eyes, and when Santa told her to open them, she was already in the air.

"Look at me Santa, I'm flying!"

"Wow," said Bubble. "Can I go next?"

"Me too, me too!" piped in Peppermint.

"Me three!" shouted Noel.

"Oh goodness!" yelled Santa. "I will sprinkle dust on all of you at the same time. Now line up so I can sprinkle you at the same time."

The dogs lined up and closed their eyes while Santa sprinkled them with dust. Just as Missy had, they rose in the air and hovered over the floor.

"Now, let's go outside and practice before we take off," said Santa.

So out the dogs went, trotting closer and closer to Santa's golden sleigh. When they got to the sleigh, Santa was trying to figure out how they could practice because the dogs didn't know how to lift the sleigh.

What Santa was most worried about was whether or not the dogs could keep the sleigh stable. He was worried about that because if the sleigh tipped over, it could be very dangerous.

"Let's practice first with a book for a sleigh," Santa started. "You can use this yarn for a harness. Now, remember that you should never tangle the harness to the book."

Next, he put the harness on the dogs. Missy was in the lead, and then came Bubble, Noel and Peppermint.

"Now, fly pups!" Santa yelled. The dogs flew up in the air, steady and stable.

"Wonderful!" screamed Santa. "You can come back down now."

"How did we do?" asked Peppermint.

"You were just wonderful, pups," remarked Santa. "I don't think you ever needed practice!"

"Thanks," the dogs stated in a chorus.

"Now, do you think you're ready to take off?" asked Santa.

"Yes, Santa, yes!" yipped the dogs so loudly it drowned out the sound of the reindeer sneezing.

""All right! Let's go!" Santa called, "Let's get all of you hooked into the harness so we can fly around the world and make this the best Christmas ever!"

The puppies put on the harness. Soon, they took off. They were flying with Santa's sleigh behind them. They saw their first stop, India. They saw mango trees that from top to bottom were decorated with all sorts of things, like oil-burning lamps and poinsettias.

Santa exclaimed, "In India, for Christmas they decorate banana or mango trees."

"I didn't know that," barked Bubble, Missy, Noel and Peppermint.

"Now, let's go to our next location."

They landed at the Taj Mahal soon enough. Noel thought the Taj Mahal looked like a gigantic gingerbread house, covered with white icing and lace.

Missy also saw these big humpback animals. "What in the world are those weirdoes?" Missy asked.

"Camels," stated Santa.

"Wow!"

The Taj Mahal was really big, and soon Santa went in. He just wanted to look around, because he thought it was so amazing. After they filled India with presents, they left to go to Brazil. In Brazil there were fireworks exploding in the sky, lighting the way for the puppies.

Everyone landed, waiting to feel cold air. 'Santa, it's so hot," complained the dogs.

"That's because Christmas falls in summer in Brazil," Santa exclaimed.

They delivered the gifts and continued their flight. They also traveled to Canada, Russia and many more places.

When they finished, Santa took the dogs back to their owners.

That day, the dogs were very happy because they knew that they saved Christmas. They also learned it didn't matter what customs were celebrated around the world during December — the one thing all the traditions had in common was bringing joy and goodwill to all.