Eric's North Pole Adventure

by Bruce Grimes

Eric got hired to the post office in Owatonna. He got a raise around Christmastime. He got paid $100 to go to the North Pole to deliver packages to Santa Claus. The packages from Owatonna had chocolate candy in them. Santa was going to share the candy with all of the elves. 

Eric also brought reindeer snacks.  

On his journey to the North Pole, Eric got stuck a blizzard. He was traveling in a WWII bomb shelter plane. It broke up in the blizzard. Eric was 200 miles away from the North Pole when the plane broke up – over water! Eric fell into the ocean and it was so cold he got very sick with hypothermia. He shivered so hard his teeth chattered. He was sad and mad to be in such a predicament.

Edward the elf had to send out a search party. Cindy Claus, Santa’s helper, was part of the search party. Edward and Cindy were riding a reindeer and heard a beacon sound. They were able to find Eric in the deep water because Eric had a beacon in his trousers. Edward called Santa on a walkie talkie. “We found Eric in the ocean!” Edward said. “He’s barely alive because the water is below zero!”

Santa replied, “Oh, I’ll send a bunch of my reindeer to carry him to the North Pole hospital.” And he did.

They gathered up an expensive heater and put it in the reindeer hospital to warm Eric up because his body couldn’t move, it was so frozen. Trixie the elf is Santa’s nurse elf. She warmed Eric up at the reindeer hospital. Then Santa said, “Oh, now we have to ship him to the nearest hospital on an airplane.”

Santa wanted to send Eric to the warmest place he could think of for Eric to recover. Santa knows the entire world, so it was easy for him to decide that the warmest place is Africa. Santa used his special red plane to take Eric to Africa. Crystal the elf flew the plane. Santa went along for the ride. 

“I’m sorry the chocolate didn’t make it to the elves,” Eric told Santa. 

“Ho ho ho! That’s okay, Eric. I will still give you a million dollars for trying to deliver the chocolate,” Santa replied. 

Eric still had the reindeer snacks because they were in his shirt pocket. He handed them to Santa. “At least these made it through,” Eric said. “Your reindeer will like them.” But Santa just gobbled them up right then and there himself! 
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“Burp!” Santa said, and blushed.