CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK...
Santa gave that some thought then said, “What would you think if I were to give a key to some special children to guard for me? Then I could collect the keys wherever I went, use them, and then return them for the children to hold until the next Christmas?”
“That would be an excellent idea,” Elric replied with a smile, “But only very special children can be allowed to have possession of such a valuable object. Don't you agree?”
He looked from Santa to Ailfrid to see if they agreed.
“We agree,” Santa and Ailfrid said in unison.
“Great,” Elric said. “Here is the Master Magical Key which is to be kept in this special box and retrieved only on Christmas Eve. Duplicates may be made and given only to very special children who can be trusted with it.”
“But who will make the duplicates?” Ailfrid wanted to know.
“You will have to come back here and if I approve of who you have selected to be keeper of the key, I will make the duplicate in my workshop,” Elric answered. “That is the one task I am still able to do at my age. Now, I must be getting to bed. It is well past my bedtime and I am growing weary. Please let yourselves out.”
Elric turned and retreated to his bedroom, leaving Santa and Ailfrid thinking of what he had just told them.
“I am so excited,” Santa said. “Tomorrow, I will start selecting very special children from the 'Nice' list for whom I will request a key. Will you be willing to help me, Ailfrid?”
“I would be more than pleased to do that,” Ailfrid said, giving Santa a great big smile.
Untying Mistletoe and Blizzard, they made the return trip to the toy workshop to start studying the 'Nice' list for girls and boys he could entrust with a key.
“That was a neat story,” Holly said, clapping her hands with glee.
“Yeah, really neat!” Nicholas parroted.
“Oh, it's more than just a story,” Nana smiled, remembering when Santa had left a key with her many, many years ago with instructions on how to guard it and what to do with it on Christmas Eve.
Putting on oven mitts, Nana pulled the golden brown cookies from the oven and set them on the counter to cool.
As she and the children boxed up the cookies to take to the homeless shelter, she hoped that this would be the year her two favorite elf helpers, Holly and Nicholas, would receive one, too.