When four of Santa's elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not
produce the toys as fast as the regular ones, Santa was beginning to
feel the pressure of being behind schedule.
Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her Mom was coming to visit. This
stressed Santa even more.
When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them
were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out,
heaven knows where.
More stress.
Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked,
and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys. So,
frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of apple cider and a
shot of rum.
When he went to the cupboard he discovered that the elves had
hidden the liquor, and there was nothing to drink. In his frustration
he accidentally dropped the cider pot, and it broke into hundreds of
little pieces all over the kitchen floor.
He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw
end of the broom.
Just then the doorbell rang, and irritable Santa trudged to the
door.
He opened the door and there was a little angel with a great big
Christmas tree.
The angel said very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't it
a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like
me to stick it?"
And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas
tree.
