“Everything is fine, Santa. With the recent overhaul, the mail system is running smoothly.“

“That’s what I like to hear,” I said and gave my wife a hug. As we continued to talk, Blanche burst through the door in tears. “The Lumikori spice from Lapland never arrived today. The delivery was lost,” she wailed. “I don’t know what to do. I need it to make my Euphoria cookies.”

“That’s not good. Calm down, Blanche. Ms. Claus and I will come up with a solution.”

While my kitchen manager settled down, Anya and I put our heads together. “Christmas Day will not be the same without them,” I whispered.

She nodded. “That spice infuses the cookies with joy and kindness. It’s the elves’ favorite. We have to do something.” Looking in Blanche’s direction, Anya snapped her fingers. “What if I flew her over to Lapland in my Dulcet? I can get her there and back in two days.”

I hesitated. “Well… I don’t like when you drive long distances. It’s too risky.”

“Santa, I can handle this. Besides, if I don’t, there will be no Euphoria cookies on Christmas.”

“We can’t have that,” I groaned.

“Cookies always win out,” my wife chuckled, giving me a kiss. “Thanks dear.”

The next morning, Olive and Clarice were harnessed to the Dulcet, ready for the ride to Korvatuntori Mountain. “Don’t run into any airplanes,” I instructed Anya.

“Always the funny guy.” Ms. Claus snickered and grabbed the reins. As the reindeer hit their speed and rose in the air, Anya yelled, “Sit back, Blanche, and enjoy the ride.”

After the sleigh landed at the base of Korvatuntori Mountain, Blanche and Anya were given a tour of the area where the silvery-leaved Tunturilume plant, that produced the spice, was grown and put through a secret process. Then the two women spent the rest of their stay enjoying the company of the Lapland elves. “Can’t wait to get home and spread more cheer,” Anya said as the two women clinked their mugs of hot chocolate together.

Unfortunately, the happiness felt at Korvatuntori Mountain was short-lived. When the sleigh returned to the North Pole, no one came outside to help. “That’s strange,” mumbled Blanche.

“I agree. Let’s take a look around to see what is happening.”

Running past the fence line, Anya and Blanche were shocked to see the reindeer lying down in the fields. Entering the barn, they were even more stunned to see the reindeer caretakers sleeping in the stalls. “What is going on?” the two exclaimed and sprinted for the dining room.

Inside, all the kitchen elves had their heads on the tables. “Doheny,” said Banche as she and Anya came up next to her assistant, “Why is everyone sleeping?”

“Every time we try to work, we feel dizzy and collapse. None of us have the energy to do anything.” Doheny turned her head sideways and moaned, “I am so sorry.”

“Holy jingle bells, your face has a bluish tint and your lips are almost purple,” cried Anya. “Blanche, we need to get the doctor here immediately.”

“Can’t,” mumbled Doheny, “All the elves, including Dr. Dior are sick. It’s even affected Santa.”

Hearing that, the two women dashed to Santa’s office and found him lying on the sofa.

“Thank the Christmas fairies, you returned safely,” I groaned

Anya felt my forehead and slipped a blanket over me.

“No fever, no chills. What happened, Santa? Why is everyone sick?”

“I don’t know, so don’t eat or drink anything in the village. I think it’s the water,” I moaned.

Anya and Blanche nodded and headed for the sleigh. “We need to find Polar Pete, Anya explained. “He might know what went wrong.”

Once back at the sleigh, Anya guided Olive and Clarice to the polar bear’s home close to the Arctic Sea. Once spotted, Anya directed the reindeer to land.

“I like surprises, Ms. Claus. What brings you and Blanche all this way?” His happy greeting changed when he saw the worried looks on the women’s faces. “What’s happened?”

“We need your help, Pete,” Anya said and then explained the situation at Christmas Village.

“Not sure what’s going on,” Pete growled, “but if Santa’s right, we need to check the water source first. Heddy the Yeti doesn’t live far from the lake. So, I’ll get him and meet you there.”

Ms. Claus directed the reindeer to another area of the North Pole, Lake Noel, the village’s source of water. After they arrived, Blanche waited for Pete and Heddy while Anya tapped in the code to the entrance of the pumping station and waited for the steel door to slide open. Once the four were inside, they detected a dreadful stench. “Malador!” they exclaimed.

“Should have known that smelly gremlin was behind this,” snapped Ms. Claus. “He always tries to ruin Christmas.”

“But to tamper with the town’s water supply and make everyone sick is way beyond his usual tricks,” Pete snarled.

Heddy’s angry howl made the pipes vibrate while the sound echoed off the walls.

“Settle down Big Guy. Time to snoop around and find the problem,” Pete said.

Sniffing the air, Blanche pointed to the right. “This way. Can’t believe that little weasel could be so low,” she grumbled. “There’s a sweet scent coming from the filtration system. If my sense of smell is correct, and I am rarely wrong, Malodor used crushed gambol berries.”

“Gambol berries?!” the three exclaimed.

“That’s right. If eaten, they can make someone very sick. They’re very potent.” Disgusted, Blanche pointed to the sensitive filtration area. “Malodor knew what he was doing. I suspect he smashed the berries and placed them in those white pouches you can barely notice behind the filtering screens.”

Anya shook her head. “So, to correct this, we need to get rid of the berries and flush the system, right?”

“That would be my suggestion,” answered Blanche.

After Pete and Heddy talked with one another, Heddy roared, “Problem solved. I’ll divert the water from the supply line to Christmas Village.”

“Anya.” Pete said, “you go and close the intake valve, but be ready to switch it back on. And Blanche, come with me.”

The polar bear dove into the water and swam toward the pouches. Removing one at a time, he handed them to Blanche standing on a platform above him. She then placed them into an old steel container.

When Heddy returned, he helped Pete change the filters. “Turn on the water,” Blanche yelled, and Anya hit the button.

As the water ran through the cleaned filtration system, the four friends cheered. When the system was flushed and everything was back to normal, Heddy diverted the water back into the supply line.

“Team work! That’s what it takes. With your help,” said Anya as the four watched the clean water slosh towards the village, “the elves and Santa should start feeling better.”

“And once again,” Pete grinned, “Malodor has been defeated and everyone will be able to celebrate Christmas.”

Notes From Santa

I hope you enjoyed today’s story. Stories are posted on the 1^st and 3^rd Saturday of each month, except December. Santa’s next story will be posted on Saturday December 6, 2025.  If you have any comments or if there is something you would like me to tell you about, please feel free to leave me a comment.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I will be busy visiting with children and making sure production of toys stays on track from now until Christmas. While my next new story will not be posted until Saturday January 3, 2026, I will be posting some stories from the past for you to enjoy!

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