Waldo Elf Lets the Secret Out

With only the slightest whisper, the large passenger jet with 'Flemspackle Air' painted on its side landed on the runway. The hundreds of people who gathered to watch the flight cheered wildly.

Dolores Flemspackle turned to the crowd and smiled. You could almost see dollar signs in her eyes. "Ladies and Gentlemen," she said, "you have just witnessed the first one hundred percent pollution-free airplane flight!" Her smile widened "Does anyone want to buy a ticket for the next flight?"

Inside the cockpit, Phil Flemspackle let go of the airplane's controls, and sighed. He turned to look at Ajax, the magical reindeer whose powers made the plane fly. "Wow, you don't even look tired. How did you get such a big airplane in the air?"

"Reindeer are strong," said Waldo Elf, who was sitting in the copilot seat, "Think about this: every Christmas Eve, they pull a sleigh carrying Santa, and every Christmas present in the world! If they can do that, they can get this little airplane in the air, easy." He then smacked his lips. "I'm hungry. Got any strawberries?"

"I'm afraid not, little guy," said Phil he looked out the cockpit window at the crowd. "So we've flown the plane, and mother's happy, and people are buying tickets at whatever price she wants. I thought we were going to rescue Ajax and Scooby."

"We are," said Waldo.

"It doesn't seem like it," said Phil. "It seems like we're doing exactly what mother wants."

"We're doing that, too!" agreed Waldo, happily. "But we're not done yet."

"So what do we do now?" asked Phil.

"We join her!" said Waldo, hopping down from the seat.

On the ground, Dolores Flemspackle pointed to the cockpit door as it swung open. "I would like to introduce the pilot of this historic flight: the Vice-President of Flemspackle Industries, my son, Phil!"

The crowd looked up and clapped as Phil walked down the stairs.

It has been mentioned before that Elves cannot become invisible. If something's invisible, it means it can't be seen. What Elves can do is become unvisible. That is, they're able to be seen, but people just don't see them. Lots of things can become unvisible--those boots you left in the middle of the floor, for example--but Elves are very good at it. And just about the best Elf at becoming unvsible is Waldo.

So, as Phil walked down the stairs, smiling nervously at the crowds claps and cheers, no one noticed the strange little elf that was walking right beside him.

Phil (and Waldo) walked through the crowd, as the crowd cheered and shook Phil's (but not Waldo's) hand and slapped Phil (but not Waldo) on his back. He (and Waldo) made their way to the podium. Dolores shoved her son in front of the podium. "Phil will answer any of your questions," she said to the audience, "but remember: the airplane's power source is a secret, known only to us, and he will not tell you what it is."

"What do I do now?" asked Phil.

"Just answer the questions," said his mother, although Phil wasn't talking to her.

("Just answer the questions," said Waldo, because Phil was talking to him.)

"When will your airplane be ready for its first passenger flight?" someone asked.

"Ummm...probably right now," said Phil.

The crowd went Ooooooh!

"How far can you travel on your airplane?" asked someone else.

"Err...as far as you want, I guess" replied Phil.

The crowd went Ahhhhhh!

"Are you sure you can't tell us anything about how the plane is powered?" asked a third person.

Phil glanced nervously at his mother. "I...I promised my mother that I wouldn't tell you that," he said.

But then a small, squeaky voice said "But I didn't make that promise!"

The crowd looked around. "Who said that?" someone asked.

"I did!" said Waldo Elf, waving to the crowd. "I'm Waldo Elf--and that airplane is powered by a reindeer!"

Do I even need to remind you to come back to The North Pole Times to find out what happens next? I didn't think so!