By Didi Bok
Olli got big plans today; he likes to travel the world. Olli is curious about the other side of the world.
And he also wants to visit Santa Claus at the North Pole.
Olli tells his plan to John, the dog.
"You'd better hurry, it's almost time for Santa to come this way," John says.
"That's true, maybe Ari wants to come with us, so we can travel with one of his flying machines, that's much faster," Olli says.
Ari is Olli's smartest friend. Olli calls him Leonardo Da Vinci because Ari is beyond intelligent and extremely versatile. He's an inventor, engineer, and physicist, but also philosopher while making sculptures, paintings and music.
Just like Leonardo Da Vinci.
Olli asks Ari if he likes to join his world trip and to start with the North Pole.
Before Ari can answer they suddenly see something coming at great speed towards them.
“That looks like Rudolf,” Olli says.
"Rudolf! Santa's reindeer?' asks John
“Yes,” says Olli.
"Isn't that a little early?" Ari says.
Then in a blink of an eye, Rudolf is standing in front of them with an empty sled.
“Wow, it really is you,” says Olli.
“I have a letter,” Rudolf says.
“A letter for whom?” Olli, Ari, and John ask at the same time.
Olli takes the letter and opens it.
And reads it aloud.
Dear Olli,
Sorry for my bad handwriting, I'm quite old and tired and writing takes a lot of effort, so I like to keep it short.
I am writing to you because I hope you can help me.
Because I'm old and tired, I can't fulfill my job as Santa this year.
I want to ask you if you can help me. I have every confidence in you.
You will be a good Santa Olli.
Delightfully appreciated, tons of thanks.
Salute.
Santa
Ted, the angry sheep, is listening.
He laughs out loud hearing the news of Santa Claus not coming this Christmas. Ted loves it. He immediately tells this bad news to the other sheep. The announcement of Santa not coming spreads very quickly from sheep to sheep and from herd to herd, around the world.
Ted loves bad news, but he always remains angry. Ted was born with chip on his shoulder and a big ego. Every day he's fighting his anger and frustration about how sheep are portrayed in the world. Sheep behavior is associated with negative behavior.
Ted vents his anger with glee. He enjoys the news of a Christmas without Santa this year.
Meanwhile, Olli jumps for joy: 'I knew it, I knew it!'
“What do you know that I don't?” Ari asks in surprise.
"That Santa is real!"
"And he knows me!"
Olli is very happy with the letter until he realizes that Santa Claus is not coming this year. It's his favorite time of the year.
Olli's mood changes from great joy to great sadness.
"That's why Santa asks you to be Santa," Ari says.
"Santa Olli," John yells enthusiastically, "that sounds good!"
“Santa Olli," Olli says, but what about the presents?
I have no presents to give! A Santa without presents is impossible!'
Then the Carrier Pigeon flies in with a thick pile of newspapers.
“Special Extra Edition,” he exclaims, “the world is on fire!”
They open the newspaper and read the headline:
THE WORLD IN PANIC
Santa Claus is not coming this year.
All over the world, children cry and break things. They are angry and sad about Santa not coming.
Riots break out in every house where children live.
The news has spread at mega speed all over the world from Rome to Tokyo.
“How could this have happened so quickly?” asks Olli
They all look at Ted, who is laughing sheepishly with the other sheep.
The worldwide network of sheep did not miss a corner in the world. Everybody got the bad news.
“Clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing,” Rudolf murmurs.
Olli, Ari and John look at Rudolf and the empty sleigh.
All three realize that Olli must make the children happy become Santa Olli. But how do all kids get presents?
A Christmas without presents is a world disaster.
Olli asks Rudolf if he has a solution or if maybe Santa has told him what to do. Rudolf is not very talkative and says that he only knows how to steer the sleigh. Presents is not his department.
"Santa without presents is boring..." John says
“Every kid expects a present… that is a lot of presents… and how do we know what each kid likes? Every kid is different….” Olli says.
“For me all the kids are the same. They all like puppy dogs,” says John
“I have an idea,” Ari says,
“If we can come up with one single thing, that way we don't have to have different gifts and it saves time.”
“But not every child is the same “says Olli.
“Children are like sheep! All different,” Ted says.
Ari, Olli and John ignore Ted.
Ari takes a pen and paper and asks Olli and John:
“What do children like?”
Olli, and John start to scream random favorite things.
Ari writes them down.
Climb a tree.
Sweets
Rocks bounce over the water.
Stamping in a puddle of mud.
Throwing snowballs
Find treasure.
Making campfire.
Sleighing.
Eating cookies.
Drink bath water.
"I don't know says Olli, it remains a secret what all kids around the world really like.”
Ari jumps up.
Eureka!!!
“That is it.”
Ari has no time to explain but he might have found a solution for their problem. He runs to his work barn and starts sketching and building.
Ari is busy and building for days on end. It is very mysterious what he's doing. Occasionally Olli and John try look through a crack in the wall seeing Ari busy sawing, hammering, drawing, sanding, welding and thinking.
Just a few more days and it'll be Christmas. Olli and John impatiently circle the barn. Rudolf is quietly waiting with his empty sleigh.
Loud construction noises come from Ari's barn and every so often Ari shouts:
'Almost finished,'
And continues hammering, welding and sawing etc.
Rudolf is now also getting impatient and takes a look through the crack in the wall with Olli and John.
Ari is still busy.
It really is almost Christmas; only a few hours left…Rudolf knocks on the barn door
“Yes, yes, you can come in,” Ari says
Olli and John immediately open the door.
They can't believe their eyes.
In the middle of the barn is a large mountain with packages.
“Wow! “says Olli.
“How many packages are this?” asks John.
“Millions. As many as there are children in the world “says Ari.
“What is it?” John asks
Ari proudly says, “That's a secret.”
John and Olli laughing out loud.
'No seriously, what is it?" Olli says.
"It is literally a s e c r e t" replies Ari.
“BRILLIANT” says Olli.
“Every kid loves that!”
“So do I” says John. And tries to find out more about it.
“What does it do?” John asks.
“I can't say much about it. I can't really say anything about it, because otherwise the gift will be broken” Ari explains.
John looks disappointed. He's so curious.
Olli is also very curious, but understands that Ari can't reveal anything. It would break the gift of a secret.
Each package also comes with a mysterious instruction manual that any child can read regardless of what language you speak or how old you are. And it is unreadable to parents.
Olli can’t stop looking at the pile of presents.
It looks overwhelming. Each present looks beautiful, it glows and it is shiny and mysterious, just what you think of a secret.
Rudolf is not curious about it. He is only concerned that the presents will arrive on time and makes it clear that the empty sled behind him must be filled with all the packages as soon as possible.
"Come on, we have to go or we won't make it anymore" Rudolf says.
Only a few hours to go and then the Christmas party begins. And the first children will look under their tree.
Ari counts all the packages to see if he has exactly as many as there are children in the world. He gives Olli and John a large bag to fill with presents. When all the packages are in the bag, they tie the bag on the sled. The sled is full to the brim. There is still a small spot available for Olli.
Rudolf is ready to go.
He impatiently hops back and forth.
Olli squeezes onto the sled. It fits exactly.
The moment Rudolf wants to leave, Ari calls out: "Wait, wait." He runs back into the barn and comes back with a Santa hat and outfit.
Olli puts it on. Rudolf wipes his hooves on the ground before leaving.
Then John yells, "wait, wait."
"A Santa can't do without presents, but neither can a Santa without a beard," John yells and comes running with a fake beard made of sheepskin.
“How did you get that?” Ari asks.
“Borrowed from Ted” John says.
“Here we go!” Rudolf shouts.
Rudolf runs as fast as he can till his feet don't touch the ground anymore and looks like he runs on the clouds and the stars.
Ari and John are happy and look into the dark. It’s a beautiful night.
There's a full moon. Ari and John see Rudolf and Santa Olli in front of the big full moon as a little dot.
They disappear into the night and will make all the children in the world happy.
At dawn the loud sheep wake Ari and John.
In the distance a herd of sheep comes running. They bleat and run to Ted, who was finally in a better mood because every child would be as unhappy as he is.
But when he hears what the sheep have to say, his mood changes.
The sheep bring tell Ted the news that Santa Olli has given all the children the most beautiful Christmas ever.
Ted turns all red with anger.
A piece of wool in the shape of a Santa's beard is missing from his back.
He is angry that he's again the only unhappy person in the world. He is even more furious when he finds out that he's the last person in the world to hear this good news.
Even Santa got the news before Ted did.
Santa Claus is proud of Santa Olli.
He would like to know more about the mysterious gift.
But unfortunately there is 1 rule for the gift.
It only works if it remains a secret.
It remains a secret to this day.
And Ted remains angry to this day.
