AND THE WINNER IS...

The Great Hall at The North Pole was filling up with Elves. Elves were on the main floor, Elves were in the balcony, and there were more Elves waiting to get in. All of the Elves were happy, excited to see who would win the Elf of the Season Award!

Actually, there were four Elves who didn't look happy and excited, and they all sat on a platform at the far end of the hall. These were the four elves who were the finalists in the awards. Holly, Louis, and Elvin Elf all looked scared and a little bit worried. The fourth Elf--Waldo--looked serious. He was reading a book titled "1,001 Snowman Jokes."

"I don't know if I like this, muttered Louis Elf, Santa's Chief Fashion Elf. "This isn't how I designed it!"

"If I win, I'll have to give a speech," grumbled Holly Elf, Santa's Chief Wrapping Elf, and undefeated Hide and Seek champion. "All I want to do is hide."

"Elf of the Season! Me?" sputtered Elvin Elf, Editor in Chief of The North Pole Times. "I don't want my newspaper reporting a story about me!"

Waldo turned the page in his book. "What did the one snowman say to the other snowman?" he read. "'Do you smell carrots?'" Waldo scratched his head. "I don't get it."

Also sitting on the platform was Santa and Mrs. Claus. Mrs. Claus was knitting. Santa was looking at the four Elves. "Don't be nervous, dear," said Mrs. Claus, not even looking up from her knitting.

"I'm not nervous," said Santa.

"Then why are you combing your beard with your fingers?" she asked. "You only do that when you're nervous."

Santa pulled his fingers out of his whiskers. "I still don't know which of the four should win the award," he said.

"Well you better chose fast," she said. "It's time to announce the winner."

Santa sighed, and stood up. The Elves all cheered him. "Thank you all for coming, and for working so hard to get all the toys ready for my big trip around the world!" Santa said. "And now it's time to announce the Elf of the Season--the award given to the Elf who best demonstrates what it means to be an Elf!" Santa paused. The Elves were all silent, patiently waiting to hear who would be the winner. "The winner is..." Santa said, and he looked at the Elves on the platform. Holly Elf looked scared. Elvin Elf looked concerned. Louis Elf looked worried. Waldo Elf was sucking on his finger. "Ow! I got a paper cut!" said Waldo.

Santa smiled. The answer was clear. The winner of the award should be the only one who wasn't afraid to win. "Ho, ho ho! Waldo Elf is the Elf of the Season!"

The Elves in the room all erupted in cheers--including Louis, Holly, and Elvin Elf. The cheers were so loud that Waldo looked up from his book to see what was going on.

"Ho ho ho! Congratulations, Waldo!" said Santa. "You're the Elf of the Season! Come up and get your statue!"

"No, thank you," said Waldo politely, and went back to reading.

The Elves stopped cheering.

"What?" said Santa. "You don't want your prize?"

"No, not really," said Waldo. "What kind of Elf would I be if I thought I should win this award? Elves work together. That's how we get things done. The Elf of the Season should be all of us." Then he started laughing. "'Do you smell carrots?' I get it! Their noses are made of carrots!" And all the Elves started laughing and cheering.

So Santa had Gizmo Elf make an Elf of the Season award for every Elf at the North Pole, and they all got back to getting ready for Santa's Big Trip!

Christmas Eve is so close, but there's still so much going on at the North Pole! Keep reading The North Pole Times for all the news!