Читать книгу Santa Dog - G.Z. Sutton - Страница 9

Chapter Two

As they did every Christmas Eve, Santa and the reindeer stopped for a refreshing sip of water at Silver Springs. The rocky, high desert Nevada hills east of Lake Tahoe were quiet and still. The water from the spring was cold and clear and tasted like sky. They all looked forward to this short moment of rest.

Blitzen heard a sound in the distance. With his keen eyesight he could tell what was making the sound. He tossed his head and called out to Santa. “There’s a dog over there.”

“Where?” asked Santa.

“Due north,” said Blitzen, looking carefully. “It looks hurt.”

Santa, who had always been able to talk to animals, called out to the golden retriever, “Are you all right?”

“Yes…uh… well… I’m not sure.” The dog’s walk was wobbly, and a dirty bandage hung loose off the back of his head. He was too dizzy and confused to wonder why this strange looking man wearing a red coat was able to talk dog.

Santa and Blitzen slowly approached the wounded dog. “You’ve got quite a gash there,” said Blitzen.

Santa gently pulled the dirty bandage away from the dog’s fur and inspected the three-inch wound on the dog’s head. Sloppy stitches closed a cut that stretched from the pointiest part at the top of the dog’s head down the back towards his neck. “How did you get that cut?”

“I have a cut?” The dog could not see the wound, but now he understood why his head ached so terribly.

Santa shook his head sadly. “What are you doing here and where is your family? Are you lost?”

“I … I don’t know why I am here, nor do I know if I have a family,” the dog said, his forehead creasing. He tried to think but his brain did not seem to want to work. The dog looked as if he might fall over at any minute. Santa gave the dog a gentle pat and rubbed his chest.

“What’s your name?”

“I … well,” the dog stammered, tipping to one side. Santa steadied him gently with one strong hand. The dog thought for a moment. “I don’t know. It feels like I should, but I don’t.”

“How very strange,” Santa muttered. “What has happened to this poor fellow?” Santa looked at the dog’s collar. He could just see that a name had been stitched into the worn leather. “This says that you’re Denby.”

“Okay,” said Denby. “Then I guess I am called Denby.” For some reason he felt relieved. Knowing he had a name made him feel safer and less lost. Someone somewhere had named him, which meant that someone somewhere had cared about him.

“You shouldn’t be out here in the cold, and that wound needs to be cleaned up.” Santa pointed to his sleigh. “Since you don’t know anything about your past, I think you should come with us. We’d be glad to have you.”

“Thank you so much,” Denby said, his relief making him feel even weaker. He was so dizzy and cold, and his head hurt. “I promise I’ll be good.”

Santa smiled and he gently lifted Denby into the sleigh. Then, with a “Heigh ho!” and a flick of the reins, the reindeer leapt into the air. Denby somehow knew that this was strange, though he did not know how he knew. Something in his head told him that animals like these were not supposed to be able to fly.

“Who are you?” Denby asked.

“I’m Santa, and I am delivering presents to all the children around the world. I do this once a year on Christmas Eve. Haven’t you ever celebrated Christmas?”

“I may have, but I don’t remember,” Denby said. Not knowing anything about himself made his tummy feel funny. He tried hard to remember, but all that came to mind was the memory of a sharp, fresh, green smell. Then the image of flickering colored lights popped into his head. Did the smell and the lights have something to do with the Christmas this man was talking about?

As the reindeer pulled the sleigh into the sky, the rush of air in his ears took Denby’s mind off the pain and confusion. Santa held the reindeer reins loosely in one hand, and with the other he stroked the dirty fur on Denby’s back. Soon Santa began to tell Denby all about himself and Christmas Eve.

Hearing Santa talk made Denby feel warm inside. There was something about the man that made him feel safe. Somehow Denby knew that this man was special. Very special.

As they raced across the sky Santa described what it was like to go into people’s homes to put presents in stockings and under Christmas trees. He then went on to tell Denby all about the places that he visited. “You should have seen San Francisco during the Gold Rush. Everyone lived in tents, and someone was always up and about. Deliveries are not easy to complete when everyone isn’t asleep in their beds.”

Denby felt as if he should know something about San Francisco because the name was familiar, but his mind got fuzzy whenever he tried to focus. He gave up trying to remember. Instead, he looked around him and listened to Santa’s words.

Santa loved geography. He spoke of his favorite rivers and mountains and valleys as they sailed through the sky.

Soon Denby saw the lights of Los Angeles below. Santa landed the sleigh on top of an apartment building, wrapping the reins loosely around a hook at the front of the sleigh. He turned to look in the giant sack that filled the back of the sleigh. “This place is always a problem,” Santa said, laughing. “Pacific Street, Pacific Place and Pacific Court all meet at this point. There are some creative people in this city, but they sure don’t know how to name streets. Well, look at this. The elves got all the labeling right this year.” He sounded surprised.

Santa explained that he had five top elves that helped with everything. He called them the L-5, and Denby could tell that Santa was very proud of these elves. Santa explained that this year a number of special projects had distracted them and they hadn’t had the time to focus on Delivery Night. “I hope the rest of my deliveries are as well organized as this one is.”

Santa arranged the piles of packages and then flew the sleigh to the first house. As he went about his business, Santa chattered away. Denby even heard the man talking as he went down a chimney, his voice echoing and fading. The first time this happened Blitzen turned around and grinned at Denby, shaking his head. Denby felt as if Blitzen was including him in some kind of inside joke and he wagged his tail. Though Denby wasn’t sure what the joke was, he loved being included. It made him feel as if he belonged.

When the Los Angeles deliveries were successfully completed, Santa grew quiet for a time. Denby asked Santa about his most difficult delivery. He found he just liked to hear the merry old man talk.

“That would be in the Florida Everglades ten years ago,” Santa said. “Remember that one, Blitzen? Those two gators thought they’d like the taste of reindeer.” Santa laughed. “They were no match for Donner and Blitzen, but I must admit that I was well and truly scared.”

Blitzen smiled and looked very proud. Denby was impressed. He was already impressed by the reindeers’ flying skills. Now he knew that they were able to deal with alligators too.

On they flew. The sleigh didn’t feel like it was moving terribly fast, but every time Denby looked down, the land below looked completely different. They were making quick work of the deliveries.

As the night wore on, Denby could tell that Santa was growing a bit tired. He seemed to get just a little clumsy, the way Denby had been when he’d first woken up to find himself alone in the desert. Santa didn’t fall over or anything, but his balance was a little off.

“Are you alright, sir?” Denby asked cautiously. Santa explained that he had an ear infection.

“I am not feeling my best, but having a friend right here,” Santa said, patting Denby on the back, “sure helps.” Denby wondered if he had an ear infection too. Maybe that was why he had been dizzy earlier.

As they skimmed over the houses in San Jose, Costa Rica, a tin soldier fell out of the big bag and clattered onto a metal roof below, creating a loud clanging noise. Immediately, five Chihuahuas started yapping loudly. With one loud bark, Denby silenced the yappers. “Good work,” Santa said with a smile. “Now I don’t have to worry about getting nipped when I deliver the presents.”

“That normally wouldn’t happen,” said Santa. “We have a Sleigh Shield, which prevents toys, and me, from falling out of the sleigh. It’s a protective barrier and very helpful. Unfortunately, it’s broken. Alton, the Sleigh Elf, didn’t get it fixed in time.” Santa grumbled. “I wonder about him sometimes. He seems to be getting more and more disorganized and forgetful.”

“Sometimes?” Blitzen said sarcastically.

“Don’t be unkind Blitzen,” Santa said, a hard edge to his voice. Blitzen tipped his head down.

“I’m sorry Santa,” he said in a small voice.

“No harm done, dear friend,” Santa replied. Blitzen looked a little relieved and nodded.

Santa turned back to the bag as the sleigh flew across the sky, oceans slipping away beneath them. Santa groaned as he dug into his bag.

“What’s the matter?” Denby asked, worried that Santa’s ear was causing him pain the same way Denby’s head injury gave him a headache.

“Some gifts were not sorted correctly. We’re going to have to fly east before we can head north. We should have delivered these presents early in the trip when we were in Connecticut. What a nuisance!”