Santa's Silver Belle

By P.A. Cousins

Christmas Eve is right around the corner, and an accident at the North Pole that happened with just a few days to go now suddenly has the elves scrambling to find a last-minute solution for Santa’s round the world flight. As teams of reindeer train for their flight, will the elves be able to come up with a fix? The Workshop is already in full overdrive to wrap up every child’s Christmas wish – and the clock is ticking!

Santa’s Silver Belle is a truly original Christmas fable - one rooted in traditions of Christmas’ past that brings the North Pole into the modern era.

A book for all ages, each generation will take away something different from this tale that will become a new Christmas tradition for the whole family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781665509022

P.A. Cousins

P.A.Cousins spent over eight years at sea, working for some of today’s largest cruise lines, logging millions of nautical miles and visiting almost every cruise ship port from the Malacca Strait east to the Aegean Sea. Moving up through the staff ranks until becoming a department head in 2003, he spent his time on the Seas traveling, exploring and learning more about not only the World in general, but himself in particular. Now with his feet back home on solid ground in his native Canada, he relives his years of cruise experiences by blending memory with fiction, entertaining readers of all ages with his first novel, The Ditch. Almost ten years after scribbling down scattered initial concepts of this novel on a mess hall napkin, Mr Cousins can finally add Author to a creative resume that also includes Screenwriter, Poet and Composer.

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2020 P.A.Cousins. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  12/01/2020

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0901-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0902-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020923675

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

From The Author

Prologue

One Of Twelve

Two Of Twelve

Three Of Twelve

Four Of Twelve

Five Of Twelve

Six Of Twelve

Seven Of Twelve

Eight Of Twelve

Nine Of Twelve

Ten Of Twelve

Eleven Of Twelve

Twelve Of Twelve

Epilogue

About the Author

From The Author

When you embark on a project such as this, when your first ideas are first put to paper, the direction it will take is anybody’s guess. In fact, this particular project has seen no less than three rounds of rewrites for three completely different formats – first as a classically-styled radio play, then as an animated movie script, and now as the book you hold in your hand.

From the outset, creating a new Christmas story true to traditions I grew up with has been a labor of love, and many people close to me have helped shaped this story. My heartfelt thanks go to dear friends who have graciously proofread each chapter in such detail they can speak about my characters as if they were sat across the table.

Every suggestion, addition and subtraction they notated for me contributed to the final edit of this modern yet traditional Christmas story, with roots firmly planted in familiar fables while also adding another generation of Christmas characters.

My holiday wish is that, through this storytelling, every parent and child can reconnect with their own heritage and memories of Christmas’ past.

In that spirit, for those parents who will read this story aloud to their children at bedtime, instead of chapters I have created twelve breaks in the story so you can read one section per night for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas and create even more memories, and possibly a new family tradition.

Prologue

For many of us, some of our best childhood memories come from past holiday seasons.

Even the way we look forward to enjoying our family traditions, our anticipation of the season, is as much of who we are as those traditions we celebrate.

Whether we hang stockings on our mantle, or place clogs on our hearth, it defines our heritage and our family history. The milk and cookies, or pint of Guinness that children leave out for a certain jolly elf demonstrates how different children believe in and love him for his generous heart and spirit of giving, no matter which name they call him by.

As time marches on, and as technology replaces memories, there is always a danger of losing those traditions for our next generation, making it a challenge for us to preserve the best parts of our childhood for our own children, and theirs after them.

This challenge is universal.

Even for those that may live at the North Pole.

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One Of Twelve

Traditionally during the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve we would expect an increase of activity around the North Pole. Santa’s workshop elves putting in many hours of overtime to fill last-minute wish lists caught in the mail, while veteran reindeer assigned to Santa’s sleigh spend this time training for their annual around-the-world tour.

Each year the North Pole bustling becomes more and more hectic. Everyone pitches in to get ready for Christmas Eve, when Santa travels around the world delivering Christmas wishes for all the good little girls and boys - who all know to send their wish lists to the North Pole every winter.

This year the mailroom received many more lists than they were expecting, each one longer than the last, and they started arriving in September. So many children, wanting so many toys! Even today, with just a few days to go, more giant sacks of letters, notes and lists are piled high in the mailroom to be sorted.

To make their deadlines, workshop elves are rotating every eight hours around the clock. Some younger reindeer are also helping out on assembly lines, packing toys into boxes, or moving pallets from the Workshop to the Warehouse.

With all of these last-minute preparations to make, it is certainly unusual to see such a buzz of activity happening across the plaza at the reindeer pastures.

With just a few days to go before Christmas Eve, many eyes are trained on the Reindeer Games, where young bucks and does vie for positions on Santa’s flight squad. As it turns out, this year there are three open spots!

Everyone knew that one position was coming available this year, since Vixen announced at the beginning of summer she and Blitzen were expecting their first fawn before New Year’s Eve. And, as soon as that announcement was made, many keen youngsters started training in the hopes of winning Vixen’s spot.

But just two days ago, a rehearsal landing with Santa’s famous veteran team of reindeer went wrong - the airbrakes on Santa’s sleigh failed! Donner and Blitzen, positioned in the back row of their team’s harness, were cut and bruised across their hindquarters leaving both veteran flyers unable to participate this year.

And just like that, three spots were up for grabs. Now every youngster old enough to wear their harness is lined up for the Reindeer Games. This is a young reindeer’s only opportunity to win a coveted spot with Santa’s team, earning the selected few their own flight medallion to wear with deserved pride.

Halfway through today’s trials, weak sunbeams barely break the horizon to provide just enough light on the makeshift landing strip. Young reindeer will land when they’re instructed to do so, under Cupid’s supervision from his radio position on the ground. Since Santa’s Team must land on millions of rooftops every Christmas Eve, mastering this Twenty-Foot Landing Drill is mandatory before any reindeer can advance further. This drill is not like Five Mile Sprint, their next task, where a Top Ten time is required. This particular landing event is pass/fail with no second chances, and so far, very few youngsters have mastered it.

Maybe the teenaged buck flying overhead that Cupid is talking to through his headset will complete his landing with room to spare. Everyone, reindeer and elves alike, look skyward waiting for him to leave his holding pattern and begin his landing approach. Younger bucks and does clamor for a ringside seat. Even Mrs. Claus is watching from her chalet’s front porch swing, across the courtyard of Christmas Plaza.

Ground to Flight 12-25, Cupid calls into his radio headset, as fellow veteran Rudolf is making his way towards him. Younger reindeer in training give Rudolf the polite nod he has earned as one of Santa’s Flyers – a veteran’s honor he wears around his neck in the form of a personalized medallion given only to those who take Santa around the world once a year.

Standing behind his teammate, Rudolf asks, Have you got a minute, Cupid?

Cupid looks back at him quickly before looking back to the sky. Sure, Rudolf. Right after this next landing. He activates his headset microphone with a footswitch as he watches the incoming training flight. Ground to Flight 12-25 – can you confirm visual?

Flight 12-25, the designation of this circling reindeer, answers back through Cupid’s receiver. I’m all lined up Ground, beginning my approach.

Cupid stays in contact, watching the reindeer position himself in the air, You are in the glide path 12-25. Your hindquarters are a little crooked, straighten them out. That’s it. Your line looks good. Bring it in, and hit the line.

With a whoosh, Flight 12-25 speeds past the bystanders, touching down along the landing strip, then digging in hard and flaring his hips to stop in time. Two helper elves run towards his landing marks with a measuring tape.

Cupid calls over to his helpers, What have we got, boys?

He was close. Just under 22 feet.

Cupid shakes his head in disappointment. That puts him too far onto an average roof gable. Get the next one in the air. Turning his attention to Rudolf he adds, Most of our younger reindeer just can’t get their footing right, Rudy. But Comet’s coming over, and he had the other half of the herd. Maybe he’s had better luck.

As the next candidate takes to the air and climbs, Comet comes through the gathering of smaller reindeer, heading for Rudolf and Cupid. The tryouts he oversaw have ended and he’s curious how these other newbies are making out. Rudolf! Are you making the rounds?

Rudolf answers, Just checking up, Comet. Cupid said you were both concerned about the landing drill. Are you still?

I was, but I had four young bucks come through that can do it. I sent them over for their five-mile sprint times. First ones I’ve sent Dasher all day – and the only ones since.

Cupid nods with a smile, glancing towards Rudolf. Are those the four I shipped over to you?

Probably. You should see these kids, Rudy. Really strong – I’m thinking ‘top group’. They should be done with sprint times by now, so I’m on my way over to the Sleigh Quonset to watch them harness up.

Above the field, the sudden sound of an out-of-control flight cuts through the Arctic air. Cupid’s ears perk up as he turns to find the sound.

Rudolf tells Comet, I’ll go with you to check them out. What were their names?

Before Comet can answer, Cupid looking skyward, interrupts their conversation: Look out, this one’s out of control! Hit the siren!

A loud siren blazes through the air, telling nearby spectators to scramble away from the runway. The entire gallery looks skyward then scatters for cover. Cupid runs back to his radio transmitter and steps on the transmit button. Comet and Rudolf just watch, amused but not panicked.

Cupid broadcasts: 12-26, you’re coming in way too fast! Pull up and go with a missed approach! PULL UP! You won’t make it!

Too late! This troubled flight has committed itself to landing and hits the ice - hard! Turbulence blows snow off the trees adjacent to the landing strip as this poor youngster blasts by them with no brakes, hits a frost heave and ditches into a snowbank. When rescue elves get to him, the only parts visible of this reindeer buried in the snowbank are the very tips of his steaming hooves.

Cupid is so mad that his antlers