The tale of Rudolf tells us how one cheeky little reindeer got his name.
As you already know, I am sure, reindeer just love cabbage, Brussels sprouts and in particular carrots. The trouble is though, this type of food can have unexpected side effects on the reindeer. Too many carrots can make them fat and slow, so they cannot pull Santa’s sleigh. Whilst too much cabbage and Brussels sprouts gives them a certain amount of belly ache. Or to be more precise, it gives then botty burps. Some are long and silent, while others are short and loud. Some go with a squeaking sound, while others make a deep, vibrating rumble. But in nearly all cases, they are accompanied with an exceptionally smelly stink.
Now botty burps are not such a problem if they don’t stink. But imagine if you had to sit behind twelve reindeer doing stinky botty burps all Christmas Eve night. I think you would try and stop it, don’t you? Otherwise, it will be a very smelly night, and risks leaving a cabbage smell in people’s homes after Santa has delivered your presents. So if you wake up on Christmas morning and there is a cabbage smell lingering in the room, you know the reindeer have been eating cabbage and Brussels sprouts leading up to Christmas Eve.
The elf who oversees the feeding of Santa’s reindeer was called ‘Lily Red Hat’, but like all elves she is now known by the name given to her on her name day. If you haven’t already guessed, her new name is ‘Carrots’. Santa had given Carrots two important rules to follow when feeding the reindeer. Rule number one; give no more than twenty carrots maximum per day to each reindeer. This is so they do not get so fat that they cannot pull Santa’s sleigh. The second rule – which absolutely, utterly, most definitely, without question must be followed – is no cabbage or Brussels sprouts in the week leading up to Christmas Eve. Now if you have ever been down-wind of a reindeer who has been eating cabbage or Brussels sprouts, you would understand why Santa does not want to sit behind them all Christmas eve. What a stink! Phew!
Most of the time, reindeer eat hay, lichen and reindeer nuts, which as you can imagine, can get a bit boring. So reindeer will try their hardest to get a nibble of cabbage or Brussels sprouts. And as for carrots – there is no stopping the things they will try to get some more, as you will now hear.
Rudolf the Red Nosed reindeer was called Rudolf Tallears before his naming day. This is his tale.
Rudolf was standing in his stall after just finishing the last of his twenty carrots. He was looking over his stable gate, daydreaming about carrots. Indeed, Carrots the elf, who had just fed him was walking away, and Rudolf was imaging her as an extra tall, juicy carrot, just ripe for eating.
Want to know what happens next? Read the rest of Rudolf’s tale in the new book “Stories from Santa’s home”.
