Santa Claus awoke with a start.
He was all pissed off.
" Oh! My God, ”he cried.
"Did I go straight through?"
"Did I sleep too much? "
" What time is it? "
"Has Christmas already passed?"

He scratched his head covered with his beautiful white hair and he jumped out of bed Excitedly,

Santa Claus hurried to put on his coat, pants and boots.

“My hat. Where is my tuque? He cried. Just then the door opened and Mrs. Claus entered. When she saw Santa Claus fidgeting like he did, searching every corner of his room, she put her hands on her hips and laughed loudly.

"Santa, for heaven's sake what are you doing?" She cried between her big laughs. "I've never seen you get upset like this since the time you went down to a fireplace where the fire wasn't out yet."

" It's not funny !" replied Santa Claus, stopping abruptly. " I slept too much. There, I'm late for my Christmas tour and I can't find my toque. "
"Calm down, my dear husband," said Mrs. Claus gently. "You are not late. You have plenty of time before you have to leave for the gift distribution. I was just coming to wake you up. This is the time of your meals for Christmas Eve." Santa Claus was a sigh of relief and gently patted the shoulder of his wife. "Thank you very much, my dear," he said warmly as he made his way to the dining room. After a few steps he stopped.

"I might be better off going and supervising the loading of the sleigh before I eat," said Santa, sounding worried. “I really don't want to be late. How much time do I have left? Do I really have time to enjoy my meal? Can I take my time or do I have to eat very quickly? What time is it? "

Mother Christmas placed a hand on Santa's shoulder and gently pushed him towards her chair. Smiling sweetly at him, she said, "It's time to eat now." Relax and enjoy your meal. You have plenty of time before you have to go. "

Santa Claus took a deep breath, sat down and began to eat. Just as he finished swallowing the last spoonful of the delicious chicken soup that Mrs. Claus had made for him, Sneeze and Rascal entered the house. Atchoum was the leader of Santa's elves. Rascal was Atchoum's assistant and the smallest of the elves.

“Your sleigh is ready Father Christmas.” says Sneeze proudly.
"Yes, sir, Father Christmas, sir," Coquin added. “Everything is ready to go."

"Now is the time to go?" asked Santa Claus, leaping from his chair. “I knew I would take too long to eat. I'm probably late. It is probably past midnight. I'll never be able to finish my tour before dawn. "

"Santa Claus, Santa Claus, you're getting angry over nothing again," scolded Mrs. Claus through the open kitchen door. "You still have twenty minutes before it's time to go." It is only 11:40. You have time to eat your Christmas cake. "

"Phew!" Santa sighed while wiping his dripping eyebrows with his handkerchief. Then, sitting down calmly, he turned to Atchoum and Coquin. “Thank you so much for filling the sled,” he told them. "Why don't you both go to the kitchen." Mrs. Claus is going to prepare a little snack for you and something hot to drink. ”
"Thank you Santa Claus," said Sneeze.
"Thank you, Santa Claus, sir," Rascal added and the two elves headed for the kitchen.

"Wow, Sneeze, Santa Claus must be very nervous" said Rascal when they closed the door to the dining room.
"He still is at this time of year," Sneeze replied.
“He's very worried that he won't be there in time for Christmas. Santa Claus wants every good boy and girl to receive all the gifts they deserve, He absolutely does not want any of them to be deprived of their gift because they are late and are cannot finish his tour on time. "
"I understand," Rascal replied.
When Mrs. Claus saw the two elves enter the kitchen, she smiled at them and said, "There is hot chocolate and cookies on the table for you and the other elves."
"Thank you," Sneeze and Rascal said while walking towards the table.
Taking the pitcher of hot chocolate and the tray of cookies, Sneeze and Rascal left the house and headed for the rest room, where the other elves were waiting for them while watching the sled.

“Santa Claus is really fantastic,” says Sneeze. “He works hard all year round just to be able to give presents to the children at Christmas. "
"He's the most wonderful man in the world," Coquin added .
Just then, Coquin abruptly stopped in the path.
" What's the matter? Sneeze asked, stopping in turn.
“I just thought of something that had never preoccupied me before. "
"What? »Sneeze asked intrigued.
"It's about Santa Claus," said Coquin. "Did you realize that he gives gifts to everyone but that no one ever gave them to him?"

Atchoum thought for a minute. "You're right, Rascal!" he exclaimed. "So we are going to prepare a surprise for him, a Christmas present for him this year." After he leaves for his big tour, we'll get the elves together and decide what we're going to give him. "
The two elves could not wait for Santa Claus to go on his big tour to share their idea with the other elves. The twenty minutes seemed like an eternity, but finally, Santa Claus climbed into his sleigh full of surprises.
"Now is the time to go?" Santa asked nervously as he took the bridle to guide his team of reindeer. "Is the time now?" What time is it? "
"It is exactly midnight" replied Mrs. Claus. “It's Christmas and it's time to go, my dear. "
“HO! HO! HO! Merry Christmas ”shouted Santa Claus to his wife. “Merry Christmas everyone,” he said to the elves gathered around his sleigh. Then grabbing the bridle firmly, he shouted "Come on, Fiery!" Come on, Dancer! Come on, Comet and Digger. " The magical reindeer sleigh out of the workshop. When they reached the door, they leaped into the air with a powerful leap. Higher and higher in the sky rode the reindeer. Higher and higher in the sky rode the sleigh and Santa Claus. In the blink of an eye the crew and their driver had disappeared into the vastness of the sky. 

Meanwhile, Mrs. Claus closed the doors of the workshop, wished the elves a Merry Christmas and returned to her kitchen.
As soon as she was gone, Sneeze and Coquin called the other elves and all gathered in a corner.
"Why are you meeting us in secret so quickly?" Asked a goblin called Prankster.
"Hold on to your tuque, Jester" said Rascal. “Sneeze will explain everything to you now. "

Sneezy smiled at his elves companions, and he explained to about the idea of a gift for Santa. All the other elves approved of the idea and began to applaud.
"There's just one problem," Jester said after the hubbub died down.
"Oh, Jester, you always find a problem with everything," Rogue said.
“One moment,” Sneeze said. “Let's listen to him. What is the Jester problem? "
"Yes, what's the matter, Jester?" Repeated the other elves.
“The problem is,” Jester said, “what can we give Santa Claus? You can't give him anything. It must be something he's never had and something that will really do him a favor. "
"Hey, we never thought about that" Sneeze said with a sigh.
“Maybe if we all start thinking really hard,” Coquin said, “we'll come up with a great idea. "

And all the elves began to reflect. Atchoum was thinking. Jester was thinking. Rascal was thinking. All the goblins thought, thought and thought.
"We could give him a bowler hat," Jester suggested.
" Cabbage! Replied all the elves in chorus in response to Prankster's idea.
"How about a long red underwear to keep him warm during his long hike?" Exclaimed Atchoum.
" Cabbage! Replied the elves again.
" I found!" cried Coquin excitedly. I know exactly what to get Santa Claus. And this is something he really needs! "
"What?" Sneeze asked.   "What?" Cried Prankster.   "What?" Repeated all the other elves.
Rascal approached Atchoum and whispered something in his ear. Atchoum smiled then approached Prankster and repeated in his ear what Coquin had said to him. Prankster smiled and whispered in turn into the elf's ear next to him and the secret continued to circulate from ear to ear among all the elves. As soon as everyone heard, the elves smiled and gave their consent.

“Of course, it all depends on Curious,” said Coquin. Then turning to the inventor who was imagining all of Santa's spring loaded toys, Rascal asked, "Do you think you can do this job, Curious?"
Curieux's eyes sparkled. "I am capable" he exclaimed excitedly. “Let's go to the workshop and start working right away”.
With shouts of joy, all the elves followed Atchoum, Rascal, Curious and Prankster to the workshop. Then, all night long, they worked in secret to prepare Santa's surprise. Finally, just as dawn broke, the job was done.
"Let's wrap it up quickly!" exclaimed Atchoum, looking out the window. "The crew of Santa Claus is coming to land!" "
As fast as lightning, Flirty and the Curious wrapped gift from Santa and gave Sneezy, who hid behind his back. So all the elves gathered happily around Santa Claus who had just landed and found him kissing Mrs. Claus.

“Merry Christmas, Father Christmas! The elves called out as Atchum walked over to hand him his gift.
" My God! What is that? »Asked Santa, surprised.
“It's a Christmas present,” Jester said.
"It's from all the elves," Rascal added.
"We hope you like it," Sneeze said, grimacing from ear to ear.
“It's something you need,” Curious said happily.
"Thank you all, thank you very much" said Santa Claus. " I wonder what it is. Smiling, he turned the small gift wrapped in his hands.
“Hmm! The box is as long as a pencil and as wide as a silver dollar. What could possibly be in this package? What could it be? What gift do I really need? "
“Open it up,” the elves shouted. "
Santa took off the tape and then he removed the wrapping paper. When he lifted the lid of the box, he found inside a beautiful Christmas pocket watch with a chain.

“You put it back in January,” says Curieux, “and it's going to work until December”.
"She's not ticking," Jester cried. “She does ding-dong, ding-dong, like Christmas bells. "
"Now you will always know what time it is," Sneeze added.
“And best of all,” Flirty said, “she has a special alarm so you'll never be late for Christmas. But this is no ordinary ringtone. This alarm plays a Christmas carol. "
Santa Claus looked at the watch, then at the elves. A big smile crept up the corners of his mouth and two small tears rolled down his beautiful cheeks as he whispered, "This is the greatest gift ever given to me!"