Santa's New Sleigh © ~ A Chuckles & Buckley Adventure continues . . .

~ Part Three   By Official Santa Mail

After getting cleaned up, Chuckles and Buckley joined Santa in the workshop.

  “Lets save some time here and assume that both of you decided to test the sleigh in full operational mode, to make sure the sleigh was safe for me. You began to have some difficulty with the machines because the gremlin sneaked aboard and I’m guessing that the sleigh started coming apart around you.” Santa was right on with his assessment of the problems. “The replicator obviously malfunctioned and caused a great big mess. Am I getting all this right?”

    Chuckles and Buckley nodded. “If we had known the gremlin could have been so malicious, we would not have taken the chance, but by the time we figured out who was causing the all the problems, it was too late. We were in the air and on course for the test." Buckley continued, “We wanted to test it first to make sure the sleigh would be safe for you. To be perfectly honest Santa, we're glad we did test it because the gremlin could have done this on Christmas Eve!"

    “This was my fault.” said Santa. “I should have given strict orders for you to stay on the ground. When Mother Nature contacted me to tell me that a gremlin might be loose in our shop, I should have stopped everything right there until the gremlin problem could be cleaned up. Well, we have a lot of work to do and a short time to do it. I think we should get Tulley and Tyler here and see if we can salvage anything.”

Buckles loudly cleared his throat.

    “Uh, Santa, about Tyler… he went with us on the flight and when the gremlin ripped the locator out of the sleigh and threw it overboard, Tyler dove after it. We have no idea where he is now and hope that he is alright! ”

Meanwhile . . .

     Tyler awoke in the cold Andean dawn to find four Peruvian children staring down at him. They were all smiling at him, but not one said a word or even moved.  One held the lead rope of an alpaca and it stood there docilely chewing on a clump of grass. All the children were dressed in brightly colored clothes of what looked to be home spun cloth.

     “Good morning,” Tyler said, “How are you?”

     “We are well, Mr. Elf, and you.” answered the young girl.

     “Fine, thank you, though I am a little hungry. Is there a place nearby where I could get something to eat?” One of the children, a little girl he thought, reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a large flat piece of bread made of cornmeal and offered it to Tyler. He took it and began to it eat it gratefully.

     “Thank you very much,” he said, “Do you live around here?”

     “Just down there.” She answered and pointed to a trail leading down the hill.

     “Why are you up here this morning?” Tyler asked.

     “We come up here every morning,” she answered, “We bring our families' alpacas up here to graze on the  grass here. We spend the day and then go back  down at night. I am the oldest and so I must look  after the others. They are my responsibility.” She  was so matter of fact and serious that it brought a  smile to Tyler’s face.

       He took a small bite of the bread and finding it  very tasty, took several more. It was then that he  realized that the bread he had been eating may  have been the girl’s lunch. When he asked her  about this, she said that it was, but that his need  was greater than hers. Her unselfish act of kindness was a joy to behold. He decided that if he could do anything for the children and their families he would do so without hesitation. He was chewing thoughtfully when he remembered that he should turn on the locator, doing so made the lights come to life on the unit and it beeped once to calibrate itself.

     “I guess all that’s left to do is wait,” he said. While he waited, he entertained the children with many stories about Santa and the North Pole.

. . .continued