Chapter 1: December 26

1 December 26


It was the morning of the day after Christmas.

Santa’s Christmas Eve ride was over, and it had been magical. A full moon and bright stars had lit the sky for the last part of the journey, making it easy to see the way back home to the North Pole.

Santa and the reindeer had traveled over thirty-nine million miles to deliver just the right toys to kids everywhere. And even now Santa was…

• sleepy.
• tired.
• pooped.

Santa slumped in his chair at the kitchen table across from Mrs. Claus.

His eyes were half closed. His head was nodding up and down.

“Maybe you should take a nap,” Mrs. Claus suggested.

“That’s a… yawn… good… yawn… idea,” Santa said. “Yawn.”

He stood up, walked over to an overstuffed chair near the living room fireplace, and plopped down in it. He fell asleep faster than a melting snowflake.

“Zzzzzzzz… zzzzzz…”

Over at Reindeer Ranch, Molly, her twin brother, Wally, and the other reindeer were yawning too.

After all, they’d also made quite a trip around the globe helping Santa deliver toys. Flying through the night sky while pulling Santa’s heavy sleigh was tiring.



Roger, the rancher at Reindeer Ranch, was taking good care of them; he gave each one a soft pillow, a fluffy blanket, and a healthy, leafy green snack.

And faster than two melting snowflakes, they were all asleep.