Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, there lived a scout elf. His name was Clyde, and he was an elf on the shelf. The family who adopted him was very kind and kept him out all year. The whole family enjoyed his company, but there was a little girl who enjoyed him the most. Her name was Max, she was six years old, and would look for him every morning. Sometimes Clyde would leave her little notes hinting where he was hidden. Max’s parents never moved him at night, and they most definitely didn’t write the notes, but they didn’t pay any notice to it.
Clyde looked at the clock; it was ten o’clock at night, and Max’s dad was just about to go to sleep. He had just gotten into bed and Clyde was waiting to hear his snores. “1...2...3…” Clyde counted down, and bam! Mr. Bridges was snoring like a hog! He jumped off the fireplace and ran to the door. Climbing through the dog door and running across the yard, he was about to jump the fence when a huge drop of slobber fell on his head. He turned around very slowly. It was the Bridges’ bulldog, and Clyde was scared. The dog was jumping around excitedly, ready to play. “ERNIE, NO! NO PLAY!” Clyde ordered. Ernie was a little startled. He had never before seen a toy that would talk to him, but he shrugged it off and ran after Clyde. Clyde ran across the yard as fast as he could and squeezed through the fence.
As he was flying to The North Pole, he thought about the day Max opened him from the box. It said not to touch him, for he would lose his magic forever. He remembered how excited she was and how good of a name she had made. “Clyde, what a wonderful name,” he thought to himself. As he was flying into the workshop, he saw many other scout elves. He saw Buddy, Peppermint, Sprite, and of course, the twins, Bob and Steve. Clyde saw them every night and had become very close with them; however, they could only talk for a short minute due to their jobs.
Clyde walked into Santa’s office; he was marking people naughty or nice with a plate of cookies next to him. He seemed sad and a little disappointed, but a smile stretched from ear to ear when he looked up to see Clyde. “So? How is Max? Does she still believe?” asked Santa Claus.
“Happy as ever and still believing, too!” Clyde informed.
“Well Clyde, if you have kept her believing, you can keep others, too.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“I need you to stay at another child’s house that doesn’t have an elf. There are too many children on the naughty list who don’t believe. Leave a note for Max explaining everything. Then come back here, and we’ll send you to another home. I need your help.”
“Will I be back with Max by Christmas?”
“It depends on how quickly you get the job done.”
“Ok…”
Clyde left the workshop and was quiet the whole way home. He didn’t think about the times he had with Max. He just thought about how worried she will be and how much he would miss her.
As he returned home, he started to cry. He was going to miss her dearly, and she was going to be terribly sad when she couldn’t find him. “What if she stops believing while I’m gone? What if she won’t want to see me again?” he said to himself. So he got a piece of paper, wrote a note, and put it on her bedside with a cookie and glass of milk.
When he was back at the workshop, Santa showed him the home he would be staying in, the family, and the box he would be shipped away in. Santa explained how he wouldn’t be called Clyde anymore, but the name the family would choose for him. He was a little scared as they put him in the box. He would have a new name, a new identity, most of all, a new family. A few tears ran down his face, but he stayed strong. Santa counted down, “3...2...1…” With that, Clyde was off to his new home.
“Ding, Ring, Ding!” The doorbell rang. A boy opened the old Victorian door. The boy looked left, then right, finally he looked down. He slowly picked up the box and read the title, “Elf on the Shelf.” he read. “Mom! Somebody dropped off this doll thing!”
“What is it called?” said a voice from the kitchen.
“Elf on the Shelf.”
“Oh! I know what those are! They’re little elf dolls you get to watch your children for Santa!”
“You know I don’t believe in that kind of stuff! Why would you get me one?”
“I didn’t,” said a woman walking into what looked like a living room.
As they stood there wondering who brought it, a little boy walked into the room. “Mommy, Brian, what’s going on?”
“Nothing Timothy,” said Brian.
“Be nice to your brother,” said the mother.
“Fine…”Brian groaned.
“It’s an elf!” Timmy yelled.
“No it’s not, elves aren’t real”
“Yes they are!”
The mother interrupted, “Boys, boys! Stop fighting! Maybe this doll will help both of you believe!”
“Elf!” Timothy corrected.
They all laughed as they opened up the box, but carefully not touching Clyde, for they didn’t want him to lose his magic. Timothy named him Joe and then got ready for bed. He said goodnight to ‘Joe’ and said that he would find him tomorrow.
The next morning, Brian woke up to ‘Joe’ at his bedside. There was a plate of cookies and a cup of milk. There was also a note that read, “Do you believe in me now?” Brian was a little frightened by this, and he was about to throw ‘Joe’ as Timothy walked in. “DON’T TOUCH HIM!” he screamed in fright. Brian stopped and pushed Timothy aside, as he walked into the kitchen for breakfast. “Hello boys,” their mother greeted.
“Hello, mother,” they said in unison.
They ate their breakfast and talked for a while, having a little moment of family time.
When they were done eating, Brian went to his room. But ‘Joe’ wasn’t there anymore. He looked around for a while, wondering where he could be. After almost half an hour, Brian found him on the windowsill in the living room. There was a note, “Santa knows you, why don’t you know him?”
Brian finally gave in and yelled, “I BELIEVE! I DO! SANTA IS REAL AND I DON’T WANT TO BE ON THE NAUGHTY LIST!” he screamed as he started to cry.
...
That night, Clyde went home to Max who was awake and waiting for him. She was waiting by the window. Clyde flew into her room and onto her bed. He rang a bell. “What was that!?” Max yelled. She ran to her room and saw Clyde tucked up under the covers with a note that said, “Merry Christmas”.
