Tales of the Golden Age ~ Narnia one shots

St. Nicholas

Prompt: Down the chimney

A five year old Lucy glanced around the room, searching for something to do, when her eyes landed on the small bookshelf by the tree. After sliding herself off the small sofa, she walked over to it and got down on her knees. She picked out a thin book with a red cover on it and traced her fingers over the gold words "Twas the Night Before Christmas" –which she couldn't read yet.

She got up, clutching the book to her chest, and scuttled back to the sofa where she plopped back down beside her father. "Can you read it?" she asked softly.

"Of course." John smiled, taking the book from her and opening it to the first page. Lucy curled up close against her dad, looking at the pretty illustrations as she listened.

As he read, Lucy pictured all the things happening in her mind with the help of the drawings. She imagined children tucked warmly into their beds, one waking from a sound outside and going to the window to see what had happened. A big red sleigh being pulled by reindeer flying in the dark sky.

"'Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed in all fur, from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot. A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack." John read in his quiet warm voice.

"His eyes– how they twinkled! His dimples– how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard of his chin was as white as the snow."

Lucy drew a picture of the man in her mind, adding details to him as her father continued reading. The image of a round, jolly man standing in a family's sitting room with a pipe in his mouth, a large bag hung over his shoulder, and a long white beard resting on his chest, made her smile. 

A thought popped into her head that seemed impossible, but she didn't care. It would still be nice. She hoped that one day, somehow, she would meet him.

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Hope you guys like this one! The poem he is reading is "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore.