1 Christmas Is Coming . . . No, It's Here! "Hurry, hurry! It's time to go!" the furry white dog barked. He raced across the tundra toward the grazing reindeer. Snow was falling softly and, as usual, the air smelled of gingerbread and pinecones. One of the reindeer, Vixen, lifted her head. "Keep it down, youngster," she said, peering at the dog. "We're trying to eat, here." "Right," added her friend Cupid. "We've got a big night coming up, you know." From the direction of the snow castle on the horizon came the call: "Ahoy, reindeer!" Santa Claus's jolly voice boomed over the North Pole. "Shake a hoof--it's almost Christmas! Bring 'em in, Peppermint Bark!" "See?" The dog, Peppermint Bark, let his tongue loll out in a grin. "Told ya so!" "Fine, fine," the lead reindeer, Dasher, grumbled. "Let's go, gang." "This way--follow me!" Peppermint Bark cried, turning and racing toward Santa with his tail wagging. Behind him came the thundering sound of hooves, but a second later there was silence as the reindeer took flight, soaring over Peppermint Bark's head. "Go, go!" the young dog barked. "Hurry! It's almost Christmas!" An hour later, all eight reindeer were hitched to the enormous red-and-gold sleigh parked in front of the North Pole's towering peppermint-striped gates. Brightly wrapped packages of all shapes and sizes piled higher and higher in the back as dozens of elves bustled to and fro, between the sleigh and their workshop. The elves were dressed in their usual uniform of spruce-green tunics and red tights, their tiny boots trampling a path through the snow. "Watch it, short stuff," an elf said, dodging around Peppermint Bark. "Who you calling short stuff, short stuff?" Peppermint Bark said with a laugh. Two more elves hurried into view, teetering under the weight of a shiny red bicycle with a bow on the handlebars. "Faster!" the taller elf exclaimed, tugging on her end of the bike. "We have to stay on schedule if Santa is going to leave on time!" The second elf huffed and puffed. "Sorry, Juniper," he said. "I'll try to do better." "Can I help?" Peppermint Bark asked Juniper. She had been elected Head Elf this year, and she was taking her job of running and organizing the workshop very seriously. Juniper rolled her eyes. "Can you help? What do you think?" she said, peering down her long, pointy nose at Peppermint Bark. "It's Christmas! That means all hands on deck." "All paws on deck too," the second elf, whose name was Happy, added with a chuckle. He blushed. "Er, that was a joke." Peppermint Bark laughed. "It was funny," he assured his friend. Happy was cheerful and helpful and kind, but he could be a little shy. Just then several elves rushed over to help wrestle the red bike onto the sleigh, so Peppermint Bark bounded off toward the workshop to look for other ways to help. A package wrapped with a shiny silver ribbon sat just inside. The little white dog carefully grabbed the ribbon in his mouth and carried the gift out to the sleigh. Santa was there, tying down some packages so they wouldn't fall out when he soared through the sky. "Thanks, buddy," he said, taking the silver-ribboned gift and adding it to the pile. Then the man in red stooped to give Peppermint Bark a rub behind his ears. "You're welcome." Peppermint Bark swelled with pride knowing that he was Santa's helper, his faithful canine companion, and his best friend. He was the only dog in the world who could say that! A few minutes later, Peppermint Bark glanced at the clocks built into the front of Santa's snow castle. There were lots of them--one for each time zone on Earth. The first showed the time on Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island, and some other islands in the Pacific Ocean. They were in the first time zone to welcome Christmas every year. Right now, that clock stood at five minutes to midnight. "Ready to go, everyone?" Santa called out. Juniper stepped forward, her face red with exertion and her striped cap slightly askew. But she looked proud as she saluted. "The sleigh is loaded and ready to go, Santa," she said. "Right on time!" "Good job." Santa saluted her back. Then he glanced at the reindeer. "Everyone ready up front?" "We're ready, Santa," Dasher replied. The other reindeer nodded. Peppermint Bark leaped forward, wagging his tail. "I'm ready too, Santa!" he barked. "I want to go with you this year!" Juniper snorted. "No way. Nobody rides with Santa," she said. "It's just him and the reindeer. Always been that way." "But why?" Peppermint Bark exclaimed. "I could help, I know I could!" Santa kneeled down. "Oh, Peppermint Bark," he said gently. "You're always so helpful around the North Pole--I don't know what I'd do without you to fetch my slippers and keep an eye on the workshop to make sure the elves don't get too distracted playing with the toys they're making . . ." He winked at the elves, who giggled. "Thanks, Santa." Peppermint Bark felt his heart leap, and he shot Juniper a smug look. But Santa's next words made the little white pup's whole furry body droop. "However, I'm afraid you'll have to stay home as usual." "What? Why?" Peppermint Bark cried. "I want to be a real Christmas puppy! I want to come with you and see all the children of the world! I know I was still too young last Christmas, but this year . . ." "I'm sorry, little buddy." Santa patted him. "It's just too risky. If you got out of the sleigh and were left behind--if I couldn't find you before the last time zone strikes midnight . . ." He glanced toward the huge scrolled gates. Peppermint Bark looked that way too. The gates were tightly shut, just as they remained for 364 days of the year. Only on Christmas did they magically open, allowing Santa to make his special rounds. Every year he and the reindeer flew through the magical portal just outside the gates, which led to other portals all over the globe. The portals allowed Santa to visit every child in the world in a single night. But he had to be very careful to return through the North Pole portal in time, for when the final time zone clicked to one second past midnight on December 26, the gates clanged shut. And nobody--not even Santa--could open them again for the rest of the year. "But, Santa, I won't leave the sleigh!" Peppermint Bark cried. "I won't! I just want to come with you--I want to help!" "Thanks, little buddy, but I'm afraid it's not a good idea. Stay here and keep Mrs. Claus company for me, all right?" Santa sounded distracted. He patted his pockets. "Now, where did I put my list?" he muttered. "Don't forget to check it twice," Peppermint Bark said dejectedly. It was his job to help Santa remember to check his list. And to herd the reindeer. And to make sure the elves kept working, instead of stopping to play with the toys they were making. And even to fetch Santa's slippers when he misplaced them. The faithful puppy helped with everything else. Why couldn't he help with Santa's Christmas Day deliveries, too? It wasn't fair! He watched Santa stride off to retrieve his long, long, long list of every boy and girl in the world. All the boys and girls Peppermint Bark would never get to see . . . Or would he? The elves were gathered around Santa as he gave the list one last look. The reindeer were facing the gates, waiting for them to open, already stomping their hooves impatiently. Mrs. Claus was inside the castle. Nobody was looking . . . This was his chance! Peppermint Bark bounded toward the sleigh. Quick as a wink, he jumped aboard. It felt great to be up there atop the huge pile of gifts! But he couldn't stay there. If Santa saw him, the man in red would make him stay behind. So Peppermint Bark did what dogs do--he started to dig. He burrowed into the pile, past packages containing trumpets and trampolines and dolls and video games. He dug until only his wagging tail showed, and then he dug down even more . . . He'd just wriggled into a soft spot between a wrapped cowboy hat and a large teddy bear when he felt the great sleigh start to move. Next came the sound of the enormous gates creaking open. And then Santa's voice rang out: "Ho ho ho--merry Christmas! Let's do this!" Excerpted from Santa's Puppy by Catherine Hapka All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
