Authors: Justine Fontes
Arthur Christmas
ARTHUR
C
HRISTMAS
THE NOVEL
Adapted by
JUSTINE & RON FONTES
STERLING CHILDREN'S BOOKS
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 4
MISSION ⦠ACCOMPLISHED!
CHAPTER 5
WHO GETS TO BE ⦠SANTA?
CHAPTER 8
SKY-SCRATCHERS A STOWAWAY
CHAPTER 14
THE BIGGEST MAP IN THE WORLD
CHAPTER 16
COUNTDOWN TO MELTDOWN
CHAPTER 17
THREE SANTAS ON THE SCENE
SIX-YEAR-OLD GWEN HINES
was having doubts about Santa Claus, but she still wanted to believe.
On November 25, Gwen wrote a letter to Santa. Then she put on her jacket, her woolly hat, and her gloves, and ran out of her house in the quiet village of Trelew, in the country of Cornwall, England.
Gwen trotted down Mimosa Avenue to the mailbox. She stretched up on her tiptoes to reach the slot and carefully slid in the envelope addressed to:
SANTA CLAUS
THE NORTH POLE
Three days later, Gwen's letter arrived at the North Pole's Mail Department, along with millions of others addressed the same way. It traveled down a hall made of shining ice and past a series of office doors until it reached one labeled Mail Agent 3776.
Behind that door sat a lanky young man named Arthur. Arthur believed in Santa completely! He knew for certain that Santa was real, because Santa Claus was his father, just like his grandfather had once been Santa and his great-grandfather before that.
Huge stacks of letters contributed to the cozy clutter of Arthur's office, which also contained an impressive collection of Santa memorabilia. Strings of stamps from all over the world hung in loops like paper chains, decorating the crowded shelves. Even though he lived at the North Pole all year, Arthur was a bit of a Christmas nerd!
Arthur ran one hand through his messy hair as he read Gwen's letter. Though he read hundreds of such letters each day during the North Pole's busy season, Arthur never tired of them. Each child felt special and important to him; each letter commanded the youngest Claus's complete attention.
Gwen's letter began â¦
Dear Santa
,
My friend doesn't believe in you, because to get around the world in one night, you'd have to go so fast it would make you and the sleigh and the reindeer all burn up. I think you are real. But how do you do it?
Arthur smiled, glad that Gwen had not let her friend's skepticism spoil her belief. He glanced from her letter to the unopened collector's edition reindeer slippers at the heart of his “shrine” to Santa Claus. Arthur believed in Santa with all his heart. He was glad his position in the Mail Department gave him the chance to nurture that same faith in others.
He returned his attention to Gwen's words â¦
For Christmas, I would love a pink Twinkle Bike with training wheels. But PLEASE don't bring it if it makes you and the reindeer burn
.
Love
,
Gwen Hines
23 Mimosa Avenue
Trelew, Cornwall, England
Gwen had attached a postcard of her hometown. On the back, she had made a crayon drawing showing her on a pink bicycle waving to a red-clad Santa Clausâon fire!
Arthur grinned. Gwen's concern for Santa's safety was very sweet. But she need not fear. Santa Claus could perform his annual miracle without risk to himself or the reindeer. The rosy-cheeked, twinklyeyed man in the picture on the wall of Arthur's shrine could do anythingâat least that's what Arthur fervently believed. So he wrote:
Dear Gwen
,
Thank you for your letter and brilliant picture. Your request for a pink Twinkle Bike will be passed on to Santa. Yes, do believe in Santa. He is real, and he's the greatest man ever. And he can get around the world to every child without a single reindeer being incineratâ
Arthur stopped himself, and changed the word to
hurt,
concluding,
By the time the sun comes up on Christmas Day, he'll get to you, too! Using his ⦠special magic
.
By Christmas Eve, millions of similar letters had been processed, gifts made or acquired, wrapped, tagged, and prepared for delivery in an operation more efficient and better organized than any undertaking known to humanity.
While cities slept under a blanket of stars, a nearly invisible shadow slid through the sky at tremendous speed. No sleigh for Santa any moreâthis was the S-1, an incredible, huge, mile-wide “sleigh ship,” designed by Santa's older son, Steve. When the craft stopped, millions of hatches opened, and tiny figures swooped down on wires. Quicker and quieter than ninjas, this army of elves “invaded” every corner of the world, racing over dark streets, across rooftops, and even down the occasional chimney, to bring the correct toy to every child on the planet!
At 11:56 p.m., the S-1 had reached the town of Aarhus in Eastern Denmark. An elf named Carlos Connor spoke into his high-tech headset. “First Field Elf Battalionâset!”
A large figure wearing a red suit trimmed with white, emerged from the sleigh and replied, “Ho, ho, ho!” He was, of course, Santa Claus!
Andrew Marino, the elf standing nearest Santa, relayed this go-ahead command. “That's a Ho, ho, ho, Aarhus.”
All over the Danish city, tiny watches suddenly glowed green as millions of elves sprang into action.
Carlos Connor spoke urgently into his headset. “Field elves! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Drop time: 18.14 seconds per household!”
Elves on every roof near Connor disabled burglar alarms and obscured security cameras. They expertly disconnected wires and decoded keypads. They tossed snow “grenades” that kept cameras from tracking their lightning-fast entrances and exits.
Like fearless mountain climbers, elves rappelled down tall towers. They slid through windows and air vents, over fire escapes and through skylights.
They swung from strings of lights over plastic reindeer and Styrofoam Santas, before skiing down roofs. Some used sucker-padded shoes to scale the sides of skyscrapers. The elves moved with the agility of gymnasts and the stealth of thieves.
Santa, on the other hand, struggled to maneuver his bulk down a short ladder held steady by two loyal elves. His labored breathing echoed in his frostbitten ears. On this, his seventieth Christmas, the current Claus wondered, “Am I getting too old for this? No, of course not!” Santa had a job to doâand the night's amazing mission was nearing its successful conclusion!