冬冬原创 Rudolph's Christmas Eve 鲁道夫的平安夜

Max冬冬

A flash of light dashed through the skies of the North Pole, something other than the northern lights that constantly glow. There was a red dot just in the front of the flash of light. It was the nose of a reindeer, which goes by the name of Rudolph. Even today, Rudolph is a proud reindeer that works for Father Christmas. Nothing ever went wrong. However, for one reason or another, Rudolph let down his guard just for one little second, and that caused a disaster.
It all began in Santa Claus’s workshop. Elves were busily making toys for those on the Nice List of Santa Claus. They were pounding the toys with their little hammers, tinkering with them with their nimble hands, and wrapping each one with the prettiest wrappers in the world. “DONG! DONG!” Santa Claus’s holiday bell rang. It was time for the Great Delivery. The reindeer were all ready, with red-nosed Rudolph leading the way.
Rudolph’s red nose shone like a star. He thought while Santa Claus reminded the reindeer of their safety: What could possibly go wrong? It’s my 500th delivery! I’m going to manage well.
Elves scurried off the runway as the reindeer prepared for flight. Santa Claus sat down on the leather seat of the great sleigh. He took one last look at Mrs. Claus, who was waving merrily out of the window of the kitchen, where she was cooking Christmas-themed apple pie for herself and the elves.
The delivery team took flight. They flew over mountains and forests, rivers and lakes, and the creatures that dwelled in these places. Finally they reached the town of Givemegifts.
Givemegifts was a fabulous place. It had a main street that was big and wide. On the street was Gift’s Gift Shop and Gift’s Canteen. The street beside the main street was just as fabulous. It was the famous Gift Avenue. On it was Gift’s Hair Salon and Gift’s Gym, beside which was Gift’s Memorial Hospital.
Rudolph was fond of this town. He was dazzled by the new decorations the mayor had added this year: A reindeer statue, a great big gift box in Central Gift’s Park, and a giant figure of Santa Claus that was waving its hand and hollering “ho ho ho”. Rudolph was so dazed by these things that he forgot their mission. He flew towards the great big gift box.
“Crash!” He plunged into the big styrofoam gift box, followed by his reindeer brothers and Santa Claus’s sleigh. The loud sound startled the citizens of Givemegifts. They all came out of their houses to see what was going on.
They were amazed when they saw what had happened. For a minute, no one spoke. Then a loud “Boo” came from the crowd. Rudolph was filled with frustration. He wanted to disappear into the ground. He was filled with anger. He wanted to smash the gift box up. He was filled with shame. He wanted to resign and be a normal reindeer in a petting zoo. But he couldn’t. He tried to wiggle his way out of the styrofoam. But he couldn’t.
Santa Claus used his magic to free the delivery team out. Now they were not only exposed, but humiliated in public! Santa Claus stared at Rudolph, who, then, lowered his head in guilt.
“Citizens of Givemegifts! I am sorry. Due to our head reindeer’s mistake, we have destroyed your gift box. We will sing you a Christmas carol. That will act as a repayment to your loss.” Santa Claus called. Then he whispered, “Get in carol formation! Pronto!”
“Silent night,
Holy night.
All is calm,
All is bright!
Round you Virgin,
Mother and child.
Holy infant
So tender and mild.
Sleep in Heavenly peace,
Sleep in Heavenly peace.
Silent night,
Holy night...”
Suddenly, all of Givemegifts was singing with Santa Claus and the reindeer. A burst of applause rang in Santa Claus’s ears.
Santa Claus repacked his luggage. He looked at the sky. It was nearly midnight. He hooked up his reindeer and left the little town of Givemegifts.
Rudolph flew over the night sky. As he did, he thought of what had happened this night. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. I was too proud. I loved being head reindeer so much that I grew way too fond of myself.
When they finally got back to the North Pole, it was dawn. Mrs. Claus gave the hungry delivery team some apple pie she had saved for them. They sang Christmas carols all day long.
But what had happened during Rudolph’s 500th delivery service will always be a secret between the reindeer, Rudolph, and Santa Claus, and it will also be a secret between you and me!
鲁道夫的平安夜
一道光线划过北极的夜空，那绝对不是平时闪闪发亮的北极光。光线的前方有一个红点，那是一只驯鹿的鼻子。驯鹿的名字叫做鲁道夫。即使是在今天，鲁道夫依然是一只为圣诞老人服务的驯鹿，他也因此感到十分骄傲。鲁道夫在服务中从未出现过任何纰漏。然而，不知什么原因，他一时掉以轻心，结果便酿成大错。
一切都得从圣诞老人的车间说起。小精灵们正忙着按照圣诞老人礼单上的名字为他们赶制玩具。他们用小锤子敲敲打打，用灵巧的小手修修补补。最终，每一个玩具都用世界上最漂亮的盒子包装起来。“咚咚！”圣诞老人的铃声响了，到了礼物大派送的时间了。驯鹿们个个严阵以待，红鼻子鲁道夫作为小组长一马当先。
鲁道夫的红鼻子像星光一样闪烁着。就在圣诞老人提醒大家注意安全时，鲁道夫心想：能出什么差错呢？这是我第500次礼物大派送了，我一定会做到尽善尽美，万无一失。
驯鹿们准备出发了，小精灵们都沿路跑开了。圣诞老人坐在大雪橇的皮革座位上，看了圣诞奶奶最后一眼。此时，圣诞奶奶正透过厨房的窗户愉快地挥了挥手，她在那里为自己、也为小精灵们准备圣诞节主题苹果派呢。
礼物派送小组出发了。他们飞过高山、丛林、河流、湖泊，他们越过沿途生物的巢穴，最终来到了索礼城。
索礼城是一个令人难以置信的好地方。主街十分宽广，街上有理品礼品店和理品小吃店。主街旁边有一条大道，同样令人难以置信，那是著名的理品大道。大道上有理品理发馆和理品健身房，理品纪念医院就在旁边。
鲁道夫很喜欢眼前这座城市。今年的城市在市长的授意下增添了一些新的装饰，令人眼花缭乱。理品中央公园里新添了一座驯鹿雕塑、一个硕大无比的礼品盒，还有一尊圣诞老人巨幅塑像。圣诞老人一边挥着手，一边呵呵地笑着。鲁道夫完全沉浸其中，竟忘记了自己的使命。他一时兴起，朝巨大的礼品盒飞去。
砰！他栽到了泡沫塑料礼品盒里面。接着，掉进去的是驯鹿小组的弟兄们，还有圣诞老人的雪橇。巨大的声响惊动了城里的人们，大家纷纷从家里走了出来，一探究竟。
等人们明白过来发生了什么事情时，都惊呆了，一时间，竟哑口无言。突然，人群中爆发出一阵很大的嘘声。鲁道夫十分沮丧，恨不得马上钻到地缝里去；他十分气愤，恨不得把礼品盒捣个粉碎；同时，他又满怀愧疚，恨不得马上辞去礼物派送小组组长的职务，回到宠物动物园里，做一只普普通通的驯鹿。可是，他不能。他扭动着身体，试图从泡沫塑料爬出来，可是，他办不到。
圣诞老人用魔法把礼物派送小组救了出来。现在，他们不但完全暴露在大家面前，而且，还受尽了侮辱。圣诞老人两眼盯着鲁道夫，鲁道夫羞愧地低下了头。
“索礼城的市民们，我很抱歉。”圣诞老人提高嗓门说道。“由于驯鹿队长的失误，我们弄坏了你们的礼品盒。作为补偿，我们给大家唱一个圣诞颂歌吧。”接着，他小声说道：“颂歌队形！马上！”
平安夜，
圣善夜。
真宁静，
真光明。
圣光环绕
圣母圣婴，
圣洁婴孩
纯真可爱。
尽享天赐安眠，
尽享天赐安眠。
平安夜，
圣善夜……
突然，整个索礼城加入了圣诞老人和驯鹿的大合唱。圣诞老人的耳畔响起了一阵雷鸣般的掌声。
圣诞老人重整行囊。他看了看天空，此时，已接近夜半时分。他把驯鹿套到雪橇上，离开了索礼城。
鲁道夫在夜空中飞行着，一边飞，一边想着当晚发生的一切。“是我的错！都是我的错！我太骄傲了！我太看中驯鹿队长这个职务了！我自恋至狂，唯我独尊！”
当他们终于回到北极时，已经是黎明时分。圣诞奶奶把自己专门留着的苹果派拿了出来，分给饥肠辘辘的驯鹿。大家一整天都在唱着圣诞颂歌。
然而，鲁道夫第500次派送期间发生的事情永远是圣诞老人、鲁道夫和其他驯鹿之间的一个秘密，也是你我之间的一个秘密。