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© Sylvia Liu |
by Sylvia Liu
The icy water sloshed under the
door of Santa’s workshop. Adelaide lifted her felt boot, soaked with melted
snow.
Santa bustled in, pulling his beard
in all directions. “Jumping Jingle Bells! The ice caps are melting fast. The
reindeer can’t handle the knee-deep slush. The sleigh won’t slide without ice.”
He slumped in a chair that creaked mightily in protest and buried his face in
his hands.
Adelaide frowned. The whole world
depended on his deliveries in three days. She set some magic mops to work. Would
there even be a workshop next year? The elves already had to move to houses on
stilts, and just yesterday, she woke to find a polar bear snuggling at her
feet.
“I’ll think of something, Santa,”
Adelaide said. The water swirled around her toes. The shadows swam and her
reflection danced.
“Yes. I’ve got it!” She grabbed a
bullhorn. “All elves to your stations. We have an emergency order to fulfill.”
She flung a swath of blueprint
paper onto the worktable. She scribbled. She calculated. She measured and she
drew.
She thrust the newly minted
schematic to the chief engineer. “Make this happen.”
As hammering filled the workshop,
she logged onto her laptop. She typed the addresses of her far-flung friends.
She tapped her missive and hit “Send.” She drummed her fingers and waited for
the . . .
Ding.
Adelaide read the response and
smiled wide. “Santa, take a break. I’ve got this covered.”
Santa was already snoring in his
corner recliner.
Three days
later, Adelaide paced back and forth. Where were they?
She opened
the door to peer out at the sloshy, slushy mess.
And then they came.
In waddled
the eight.
“Buenas noches,” they said.
They nodded
in approval at the contraption before them, loaded with presents.
Adelaide
roused Santa from his Christmas Eve nap.
And into
the night they went. “Now, Diego! Now, Dona! Now Pablo
and Viviana! On Carlos! On Marta! On Sergio and Eliana!”
Adelaide’s
penguin friends swam the amphibious sleigh into the sparkling night.
Love penguins (natch!) and love your story, Sylvia!
ReplyDeleteAlso meant to say I love the art too! I did a quick holly on mine because I couldn't bring myself to draw Mars. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Teresa, for both comments. I tried to do a quick drawing but it got a bit more complicated. But a fun way to spend some time today.
DeleteI can't believe you pulled that illustration together so quickly. What a great addition. Love it. Very cool story, Sylvia. That Adelaide is some elf! And hooray for the penguins! GWOCK!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alayne. GWOK!
DeleteI can't understand why The Big Man hasn't yet moved to the South Pole. Not only is there rock under all that arctic ice, but also he can also recruit some adorable penguins for extra seasonal work.
ReplyDeleteA great, fun story, Sylvia! I loved it!
You're right for all those reasons. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteOh fabulous! I've never read a Santa book with penguins in before. Love this!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Catherine!
DeleteLove! Love! Love! The penguins names are icing on the cake!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Penny!
DeleteWarm weather penguins saving Christmas - way to go! Good luck :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by.
DeleteSylvia, LOVE! Your penguins are ADORABLE. Adelaide is wonderful. Your art is just beautiful. What else can I say? FANTASTIC job. *high five my penguin writing friend*
ReplyDeleteAwww... Thank you.
DeleteI love a good story about a girl (elf) who engineers a solution. And with penguins! What could be better? :)
ReplyDeletePenguins and engineers go well together.
DeleteGreat story! For a minute there, I was wondering if you had a solution for global warming. I love the twist with penguins.
ReplyDeleteThat would be cool, right?
DeletePenguin power!!! You know I love this, Sylvia!! xoxoxoxox
ReplyDeleteXoxo!
DeleteFun solution to the problem. And great names for your penguin pals.
ReplyDeleteNow I've got a riddle for you:
Q. What’s black, white, black, white, black, white?
A. A penguin rolling down a hill.
ha ha! Thanks for the penguin joke.
DeleteWhat fun! Adelaide and the Penguins save the day! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteA satisfying answer to a huge predicament. Great job! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAdorable story, Sylvia. Love the twist at the end. Didn't imagine penguins - so cute. And, I love the illustration!
ReplyDeleteThank you Patricia!
DeleteReally creative solution, love the image of the Penguins pulling the underwater sleigh!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
DeleteAwesome story! I like "jumping jingle bells" and the Spanish penguins. Very cute!
ReplyDeleteI figured if they come from Antarctica, close to Chile/Argentina, they would speak Spanish.
DeleteReally cute story. I loved the surprise ending!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margaret.
DeleteLove love love this! Great job. :)
ReplyDeleteYay, thanks!
DeleteClever solution for saving Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteOMG, the details are amazing in this story, Sylvia! Super awesome writing! From the polar bears snuggling at her feet to the surprise penguins at the end. And the illustration is adorable! I'd love to see this one in print. I 100% love it! (And BTW, I think I still owe you a critique from our swap agreement way back in August or Sept! Feel free to rely on me.)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Carrie! And yes, I remember our agreement. I just haven't finished that draft yet!
DeleteTerrific story, Sylvia! Hurray for the resourceful Adelaide and her amphibious friends :) Way to save Christmas. Nicely written! Thanks so much for joining in the holiday fun!
ReplyDeleteThank YOU, Susanna, for creating such a wonderful and supportive forum and contest. It's been so much fun.
DeleteSylvia this is the first story to make me burst out laughing. Fabulous job. :)
ReplyDeleteAww, your comment made by day. Thanks!
DeleteSylvia, Well done! Love the penguins. I mean, who DOESN'T love penguins??? Smart girl engineer too! Woot! Woot!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tracey!
DeleteOh yay!!!! How clever to ask the penguins to help! This is a great story, Sylvia...lots of great language that kids would love. And you had me at 'Viviana'. ;) ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vivian(a)!
DeleteAdelaide knew what she was doing, that's for sure, as she scribbled, calculated, measured and drew. ¡Me encantan los nombres de los pingüinos! ¡Un cuentito fabuloso! Celebrar la diversidad. ~Suzy Leopold
ReplyDeleteGracias Suzy!
DeleteOf course penguins would come to save the day! And I love "Jumping Jingle Bells."
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lauri! Penguins rock!
DeletePenguins to the rescue! :-) Terrific imagery (and a fine bit of art, too)--well done, Sylvia!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cathy!
DeleteClever, Sylvia. Glad you made it into the finals. Hope all goes well for you. Thanks for stopping by my blog to comment.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jarm!
Delete