Sean T. Close
C.O. Manahan
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © C.O. Manahan 2011
Published at Smashwords
All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 1
Sean is tricked by Garlach
“Sean Timothy Close, come inside! Your nettle tea's ready.”
“Nettle tea? Ugh. I can’t stand the stuff.”
“I know, but it’s full of iron and you’ll need it when you’re helping your father load the presents onto the sleigh on Christmas Eve.”
“Ok, Ma. I’ll be in as soon as I’ve finished feeding the reindeer.”
Sean T. Close lived in Ireland, in a place called Alzer, many years ago. While most of the world was cold and covered in snow, Ireland just had rain.
But rain meant grass. Green grass, and lots of it. And green grass meant strong reindeer. Sean’s Da Nick needed the strongest reindeer he could find to pull his sleigh round the world in just one night.
By the time Sean got into Close Quarters after feeding the reindeer, his Ma and Da were already at the table.
“C’mon on in, son” said Nick. “You need to fuel up. We’re going on a trip this evening.”
“A trip!” exclaimed Sean. “You mean I’ll be going out on the sleigh with you?”
“Yes, son. We have to deliver some presents to your Uncle Patrick in Wales before I get too busy,” answered Nick.
“Magic!” said Sean. “Ma, is there any more nettle tea please?”
“Ha, ha. Yes, son. There’s plenty more where that came from. Now, eat up your oat cakes and I’ll pour the tea.”
“Yes, dear, said Nick. “You be mother. Oh, you are mother. Ha, ha, ha!”
“That’s enough joking now, Mr Close. I don’t want Sean getting indigestion on his first trip to Wales,” replied Sean’s mother.”
“It’s not his indigestion, I’m worried about”, replied Nick. “I hope his vertigo won’t be a problem.”
“Don’t worry about that, dear,” said Mrs Close “I popped some ginger in his nettle tea. He’ll have as good a head for heights as his old Da after that.”
“Ha, ha. Well done, Ma,” replied Nick.
Sean and his Da delivered Uncle Patrick’s gifts safely. Patrick was pleased to see them and delighted that Sean had brought him a basket of fresh shamrock to flavour his salads.
As they were leaving, Uncle Patrick called to Sean: “I expect you’ll be flying the sleigh by yourself next time you come over, boyo.”
Sean laughed, secretly hoping that one day he indeed might fly the sleigh by himself.
“Oh, and don’t forget to give me a call if you need me to banish any more snakes,” added Patrick.
Later, as they were on their way back over the Irish Sea, a storm blew up.
“Hold on tight, son,” said Nick, “we’re going to have to select super-drive if we’re to beat this storm.”
“Super-drive? What on earth is that, Da?” asked Sean.
“First of all, we can’t do it on earth, only in the sky. But it will get us back to Erin’s green isle in double quick time,” replied Nick.
“Come on, lads. HO, HO, HO!” shouted Nick to the reindeer, and they took off like the wind.
Chapter 2
Garlach gives Sean a warning
Sean and his father had to work very hard during Advent and the run-up to Christmas as there were lots of toys to be packed and lists to be checked.
Now, as everyone knows, one Santa doesn’t make a Christmas. Even when he has a very willing and hard-working son like Sean. He needs help from his elves of course.
Everyone knows too, that Santa’s elves live at the North Pole. What very few people know, however, is that when Santa lived in Ireland, it was the elves Irish cousins, the leprechauns who helped him out.
One of his father's favourite leprechauns, was called Garlach. He was very faithful to Nick, but was also full of fun and mischief.
As Garlach was helping Sean to give the sleigh its final coat of sky-paint he told him that a bold boy called Crampas would try to stop the sleigh this year.
Sean thought that Garlach was fooling around first of all. That’s the kind of thing elves did when they had time on their hands. Sure one year, Garlach told Sean that Ruaron, one of the reindeer, had a puncture.
“A puncture?” asked Sean.
“Yep.” Said Garlach. “If we don’t put a patch on him he’ll be as flat as a pancake in the morning. Listen closely and you’ll hear the air escaping from him”
Poor Sean fell for Garlach’s story, hook, line and sinker, until he found out that the leprechaun was just taking a hand out of him.
“Hang on, Garlach, that sounds like Sssheamus your pet snake! Rua doesn’t have a puncture at all!” said Sean.
“Ha, ha! Caught you again!” laughed Garlach.
Chapter 3
Crampas and the voodoo doll
“But you have to believe me, Sean,” said Garlach, “Crampas is going to sabotage your father’s sleigh. Your father could get hurt and children all over the world will be sad and disappointed.”
“Well I don’t believe you,” replied Sean. “You’ve fooled me too many times. And anyway, why on earth would this boy Crampas want to do this? I’ve seen him at school and he seems like a nice kid”
“Crampas didn’t get any presents last year,” said Garlach.”
“What!?” exclaimed Sean. “But Da makes sure that every boy and girl in the whole world gets a present. Sure he even brings me toys and you know I can make my own.”
“Yes. Every boy and girl in the world gets a present, if they’re good. Crampas was a very bold boy last year and his mother wrote to your father to ask him not to deliver any presents to Crampas” said Garlach.
“What did Crampas do that was so bold?” asked Sean.
“He called his mother a bad name,” replied Garlach.
“His mother?” exclaimed Sean. “But I’ve met Mrs Tile and she’s a very nice lady.”
“Yes, and very kind too,” added Garlach. “But sometimes, kind people get treated unkindly. Even by their own family.”
Next day, at school, Sean still couldn’t believe that Crampas was as bold as Garlach said he was. Suddenly, a wee girl started shouting at the back of the classroom:
“Please, Miss! Crampas is hurting my doll.”
“Come along, now, Mary. How can someone hurt a doll?” asked the teacher.
“It’s my Nick Close doll, Miss. Sean gave it to me for my birthday and Crampas is sticking pins in it,” said the girl.
Later, in the playground, Sean asked Crampas why he was hurting his father’s doll.
“I don’t know what you mean,” cried Crampas.
“But you stuck pins into the doll,” replied Sean. “Mary Kreestmass said so.”
“Mary didn’t understand,” said Crampas. “Some of the stuffing had fallen out of the doll, and I was trying to push it back in with a pin. I would never damage someone else’s toys, especially a Nick Close doll. Your Da is a very nice man and I’d never hurt him.”
Sean felt better now. He never really believed Crampas was as bold as Garlach said he was. The truth was, Sean felt a bit sorry for Crampas as no-one ever seemed to play with him.
“Crampas, would you like to come and play at my house this evening?” asked, Sean.
“That would be brilliant,” replied Crampas. “Do you think I might get to see the reindeer?”
“Of course,” replied Sean. “You can even help me feed them.”
Chapter 4
Sean plays with Crampas
The two boys played squarehole for a while that evening at Sean’s house. This was a game played with a square ball of sheep’s wool and the idea was to try and get the ball into a round hole. Each time someone got the ball into the hole that person or team scored a ‘sink.’
Sean was much better than Crampas at the game but he let the other boy score a couple of times as he felt sorry for him.
Even though Sean had allowed him to score a few times, Crampas still continued to foul. Squarehole is a non-contact game, that is, you aren’t allowed to touch the other player. There are also rules about how long you can carry the ball. You mustn’t carry the ball any longer than a reindeer’s leap, for example, without touching the ground with the ball.
Crampas showed very little respect for these rules. He ran the whole length of the reindeer paddock with the ball without touching ground. He even charged into Sean once when Sean had the ball.
Sean couldn’t understand why Crampas was committing so many fouls, but he just thought that maybe Crampas didn’t know the rules of the game too well. Because he was such an honest, clean player himself, Sean never imagined that Crampas might be breaking the rules on purpose.
Chapter 5
Sean shows Crampas the sleigh and reindeer
“I’m fed-up playing squarehole,” Crampas complained. “Can I see the sleigh and reindeer now?”
“OK. Just for a wee while, I suppose. But we’ll have to hurry up. The leprechauns will be feeding them soon and they go mad if they see any strangers around the reindeer at feeding time,” answered Sean.
“But you said I could help you feed them,” said Crampas.
“I know, but just as long as the leprechauns don’t see us,” replied Sean.
Sean brought Crampas over to the shed were the reindeer and his father’s sleigh were kept.
“Wow. They look like strong reindeer,” said Crampas.
“Yes. They get the greenest grass and those that pull the sleigh also get some magic mist with their feed during Advent. This helps them prepare for the most important journey of the year, on Christmas Eve,” replied Sean.
“Magic mist? What’s that?” asked Crampas.
“It’s a very special reindeer food we get every year from Lapland. But it’s important we only add one handful to their feed. Anymore and it could be dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” enquired Crampas.
“Aye. Apparently the reindeer could go mad,” said Sean.
“That’s interesting,” said Crampas under his breath.
“Do you think I could fly the sleigh?” asked Crampas.
“I don’t know,” said Sean. “I’ve never flown it by myself and it seems difficult.”
“Nonsense, said Crampas. “I’ve been flying our sleigh at home for a couple of years now. When you’ve flown one sleigh you’ve flown them all. Anyway, I can help your father by making his sleigh go faster.”
“Really?” asked Sean. “Well, maybe we could take it out for just a wee run.”
Chapter 6
Crampas tells Sean he can make sleigh go faster to help Nick
“Can you keep a secret?” Crampas asked Sean, as he helped Crampas yoke the reindeer to the sleigh.
“OK,” said Sean. “Just as long as you don’t tell anyone I let you fly the sleigh.”
“Fair enough,” said Crampas. “Here’s my secret. I can make your father’s sleigh go faster, so he can get his run done more quickerly on Christmas Eve.”
“Really?” And how will you do that?” asked Sean.
“See this side brake?” said Crampas. “Well, the truth is, it slows down the sleigh too much. It’s really only needed in an emergency. It’s a trick my grandfather showed me when I was helping him in his sky-shop.”
“Oh yeah. I remember your grandfather’s sky-shop,” said Sean. My mother used to buy all her supplies from him.”
“Well, this is the trick he showed me,” said Crampas as he loosened the side brake on the sleigh.
Sean climbed onto the sleigh beside Crampas and as Crampas cracked the reins, the reindeer took off and the sleigh was soon airborne.
Chapter 7
Sean and Crampas take the sleigh on a flight
Sean was amazed at how well Crampas was able to handle the sleigh and the reindeer. He flew the sleigh like someone with a lot of experience and yet he was still so young.
“So, did you learn all your sleigh skills from your grandfather?” asked Sean.
“Yes,” replied Crampas. “He said that maybe someday I’d take over the family business and he wanted to teach me all the tricks of the trade. He said we had to fly very fast in order to get round the whole of Ireland before our competitors.”
Crampas steered the sleigh and reindeer up, up into the sky.
“Whaaaay. Look I can see your house from here,” said Crampas.
“Easy! Easy!” shouted Sean. “I don’t like it when we go so high so fast.”
“C’mon,” shouted Crampas. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of heights?!”
“Yes. I suffer from vertigo,” replied Sean.
“Doesn’t look like you’ll ever take over the family business then,” laughed Crampas.
“My mother has a potion she gives me which will help my sleigh fright,” replied Sean. “Where are you taking us, anyhow?”
“We’re gonna climb high to catch the thermals and then we’ll see where the reindeer take us,” answered Crampas.
“I don’t think these reindeer will take us very far,” replied Sean. “They’re almost out of fuel as it’s near their feeding time. We’d better get back to Close Quarters before the leprechauns notice the team are missing.”
“Aw, OK,” said Crampas. “Maybe we’ll get a chance to fly again some other day.”
Chapter 8
Nick goes off in the sleigh
Crampas dropped the sleigh down below the clouds. They flew over the top of Hairy Girl Hill and down towards Close Quarters, Sean’s home in Alzer.
They landed the sleigh just in time, before the leprechauns arrived to feed the reindeer. Sean managed to smuggle Crampas out under the fence behind the reindeer shed before anyone saw him.
“Sean! You look freezing!” said his mother as he came into the kitchen. She was making mince pies as usual. The leprechauns loved mince pies and she had to keep them sweet at this time of year (yes, the leprechauns and the mince pies!).
Taking off her apron, Ma Close set Sean down a big mug of his favourite hot cocoa with reindeer cream.
“Do you think I could have just one mince pie, Ma?” asked Sean.
“OK, go on then. Just as long as Garlach doesn’t get to hear about it!” laughed his mother.
“Where on earth have you been, lad?” asked Nick.
“Thing is I haven’t really been on earth at all,” thought Sean, but he didn’t say so.
“Oh, I’ve just been out with the reindeer,” Sean replied. “Nowhere special.”
Sean hated lying to his parents as they always taught him to be honest. But he just couldn’t tell them that Crampas and he had been flying the sleigh without permission.
“Thanks for tea, Mrs C,” said Sean’s father. “I’d better be on my way, or should I say on my sleigh!”
“On your sleigh?” enquired Sean. “Where are you going, Da?”
“I have fly to Scotland to meet the North Pole sleigh train,” replied Nick. “It’s carrying a very important package for me.”
“What package is that, Da?” asked Sean.
“It’s a new parvulator,” replied Nick.
“Oh yes, Garlach was telling me about that,” replied Sean. “That’s what we use to shrink all the presents so they’re small enough for you to carry all over the world.”
“That’s my boy,” replied Nick. “Then, as soon as I deliver them down the chimney, the toys magically return to their proper size. Of course, I can’t make my journey without a properly functioning ubiquitor which allows me to be in many different places at the same time. Keep listening and learning, Sean. Someday all this will be yours!” Nick laughed.
“Can I come with you, Da?” asked Nick. “I’ve taken my ginger pills so my vertigo should be fine.”
“Not this time, son,” replied Nick. “The parvulator is heavy and there’ll only be room for one of us on the sleigh.”
Garlach had already yoked the reindeer to the sleigh by the time Nick reached the reindeer shed.
The old man cracked the reins and off he flew, unaware that Crampas had loosened the sidebrake on the sleigh.
Crampas had been in such a hurry to get out of Close Quarters before the leprechauns caught him, that he didn’t get time to tighten the sidebrake again. The question was, did Crampas really not have time to tighten the brake or did he ‘forget’ on purpose?
What neither Sean nor his father knew as well, however, was that Garlach had thrown an extra handful of magic mist into the reindeer feed before he left.
With his many years and miles of flying experience, Nick immediately sensed that the reindeer were starting off too fast. He had them carefully trained to pace themselves for the long journeys they had to make.
Nick called on the reindeer to slow down. The normally obedient team could hear their master’s command, but were helpless because of the extra dose of magic mist Crampas had added to their feed. It was as if they were on automatic pilot.
The old man summoned all his strength and pulled on the reins as hard as he could. His efforts paid off, and he could feel the reindeer turning and pointing their noses towards home.
But, as Nick relaxed his grip on the reins, the reindeer took off at speed again, this time hurtling downwards towards Close Quarters. He managed to steady the team just as they landed, but the sudden jolt the sleigh made on impact with the ground threw Sean’s father out of the sleigh and right into the fence at the back of the paddock.
Chapter 9
Sean must learn to drive the sleigh
“Oh dear! Oh dear! I do hope he’s alright,” said Mrs Close running over to her husband.
“Yes, I think he’s fine, Ma,” replied Sean, who had already reached the crash site with Garlach and a few of the other leprechauns. He didn’t want to alarm his mother, but he could see that his father had hurt his arm and looked a little dazed.
“I think I’ve broken my arm,” groaned Nick. “Help me into the house, please.”
“Now, drink some of this hot nettle tea, dear,” said Mrs Close to her husband when they had him safely inside Close Quarters. Then she applied a splint to his arm and helped him into bed.
“ Sean, you’re going to have to fly the sleigh, this year,” said Nick.
“But, Da, I still haven’t had my training. I’ve never even flown on my own. And what if my vertigo gets bad?” argued Sean.
“Don’t worry, son. The reindeer know their way to the North Pole. You’ll get intensive training there and you’ll be able to do the Christmas run nearly as well as your oul’ Da,” replied Nick.
Mrs Close packed up plenty of food and hot drinks for Sean’s journey to the North Pole. Garlach had already spoken to the reindeer and plotted their course for the Pole.
Sean cracked the reins and off they reindeer went at a gallop down the paddock. Soon they were airborne and headed north.
As the sleigh climbed higher, Sean remembered his father pointing the North Star out to him in the night sky. He looked up at the Plough and found the two pointer stars. These pointed the way to the North Star.
Sean knew that the North Star was directly above the North Pole. Even though the reindeer could knew their way to the Pole Sean had to help them get there as quickly as possible. He didn’t have much time to lose if he was going to earn his sleigh wings before Christmas Eve.
The problem was that the sleigh would need to build up a lot of speed in order to get out of the earth’s atmosphere and reach the North Star. Sean needed to find a high enough mountain to launch the sleigh off. He knew that the highest mountain in Alzer was known locally as Hairy Girl Hill. So named, he was told, because the top of it resembled a young girl’s flowing locks.
Sean landed the sleigh on top of the mountain and readied the reindeer for the steep descent which to the bottom of the mountain. This would give him the velocity he needed to turn the sleigh upwards and begin the ascent toward the North Star.
At least that was what he hoped would happen.
Just as he was about to take off down the mountain, Sean saw what looked like a human figure appearing out of the mist.
“My eyes must be playing tricks with me,” he thought. “Nothing lives up here apart from mountain goats and the odd brown bear.”
“It’s a bear!” he thought, his heart stopping. “If it scares the reindeer they could bolt and I’ll never be able to hold them.”
Sean had never seen a brown bear but he knew how fearsome they could be. His Da often told him of once seeing a brown bear playing with a polar bear on the north coast many years ago. But by now, polar bears had retreated back to the Arctic, leaving Ireland to their grizzly cousins.
“Whoah there, sleigh-boy,” called a voice. It sounded like a girl’s voice. “Not so fast. Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m bound for the North Pole,” replied Sean. But I have to climb towards the North Star to get there. Who are you anyway?” he asked, as a young girl stepped out of the mist with the longest mane of black hair he had ever seen.
“I’m Hairy Girl Hill,” she replied.
“But you’re a real girl,” Sean answered in amazement.
“Of course I am, silly,” said the girl. “Where do you think the mountain got its name? I live here and it’s my job to guide people who get lost.”
“Well I’m not lost,” replied Sean, “and you’d better let me go as I’m in a hurry.”
“You will be lost if you don’t listen to me,” the girl answered.
“I don’t understand,” said Sean. “Surely this is the quickest way to reach the North Star?”
“You’re starting in the right place OK,” replied the girl, “but you’ll need to find another launch pad in the galaxy to reach Polaris.”
“OK then, maybe I’ll try Maxwell Montes on Venus. It’s eleven kilometres high and over two kilometres taller than Mount Everest,” answered Sean.
“No, that’s no good. You’ll need somewhere at least twice as high as Maxwell Montes,” said Hairy Girl.
“Twice as high? Oh, you mean Olympus Mons on Mars?” asked Sean.
“Exactly. Now, I’ll guide you off the top of the Hill here and you can be on your way,” she replied.
Sean steered the reindeer towards where Hairy Girl was standing. Then, just as the sleigh started off down the mountain, she disappeared into the mist, just as quickly as she had appeared.
Chapter 10
Sean leaves for North Pole
Even though Sean often felt uncomfortable flying on account of his vertigo, he still loved the g-force that gripped his tummy as the sleigh took off.
Anyway, maybe his mother’s ginger pills were starting to cure his fear of heights or perhaps he was just getting used to flying and had eventually found his sky legs as his father said he would, but this time, much to his surprise, his vertigo didn’t seem to kick in at all.
Perhaps the real reason was that he knew he had no choice but to undertake this journey. He had to do it for his Da, for himself and for every child on the planet.
The sleigh glided to the bottom of Hairy Girl Hill in a matter of seconds it seemed. Sean cracked the reins and the well trained reindeer pointed their red noses skywards.
Soon, Sean could see the earth far below him. The moon lit his way as he travelled through the night sky. In a short time he could see another light straight ahead. The unmistakeable outline of the red planet loomed closer. Mars, his next stop, looked so beautiful he couldn’t wait to land.
Sean steered the reindeer down towards the Martian surface. They were thirsty and needed a rest before ascending Olympus Mons.
As there was no liquid water on the planet, Sean had to melt some Martian ice with the heat-stones his mother had packed for him. When the animals had sated their thirst, he guided them gently to the top of the highest mountain in the solar system just as a fearsome dust storm was starting to blow.
The reindeer raced back down the mountain and soon the sleigh was airborne again. Sean felt privileged to be speeding through the silent night sky with millions of twinkling stars beckoning to him from afar.
As he followed the pointer stars on the Plough, Sean reflected to himself that he was actually enjoying this flight. As the reindeer sped the sleigh towards Polaris, Sean felt like he was on a big dipper.
In a short time, the North Star was dead ahead. It was time for Sean to turn the sleigh. He knew that directly below lay his destination, the North Pole. The reindeer must have sensed it too because Sean could barely hold them as the sleigh plummeted earthwards once again.
Chapter 11
The old country
Even though Sean felt the sleigh was travelling faster than a shooting star, he was amazed at how slowly time seemed to pass. He suddenly felt his head get light again and that familiar queasiness brought on by his vertigo returned.
“I thought vertigo was brought on by flying higher,” he reflected. “I didn’t realise descending could trigger my fear of heights too.”
“Maybe Ma’s ginger pills have worn off.”
“ I don’t suppose ginger grows at the North Pole.”
“Then again, my fear has probably as much to do with falling as with climbing.”
“OK, that’s enough,” he told himself. “Stop worrying. You’re in safe hands, well, hooves really. These reindeer know the North Pole like the back of their antlers. They’ve never crashed and burned here before and they’re not going to start now.”
“Speaking of burning, is that a fire I see below?” He thought to himself. “I suppose even elves need to keep warm.”