On Christmas Eve, seven-year-old Katy Clever-Clogs, the girl who was so
bright everyone said that she should have been a light-bulb, was woken up by
Father Christmas climbing in through her bedroom window.
“Father Christmas,” she said in surprise. “Shouldn’t you be coming
down the chimney?”
“Hello, or Ho, Ho, Ho,” Father Christmas said, after struggling to
his feet. “Yes, I should but I can’t, Katy, and that’s why I’ve come to you for
help. You see the Grumpy Green Giant is hammering corks into all the city’s
chimney pots to stop me delivering the presents. That’s why I came through the
window, because he’s corked your chimney up too. Somehow you will have to
persuade him to stop and to unblock the chimneys - or no one will get a present,
not even you.”
“But how…”
“You’re Katy Clever, I’m sure that you’ll think of something.”
“Hmmm, okay, I’ll try,” Katy said. “It’s a good job I’m wearing
solar-heated pyjamas, because it’s cold outside.”
When Katy climbed out of bed, Santa stuck his head out of the
window and whistled. A huge sleigh, harnessed to a team of reindeer galloped
through the night sky and came to a halt, hovering just outside the window.
When they were all in the sleigh, Rudolph grinned at her. “Hold on
tight,” he said.
They found the Grumpy Green Giant hammering corks into another
chimney pot, and he scowled at them.
“Mr Giant, why don’t you like to see people happy?” Katy
asked. “You’re pretty scary, but I wouldn’t like anyone, even you, to be sad at
Christmas.”
“Really?” The giant smiled at her, but then nodded at Santa. “It’s
all his fault. He has never, ever, brought me a Christmas present; not even a
card.”
“Oh, that’s terrible, no wonder you’re cross,” Katy said.
“I’m not just cross, I’m desperate, look!” Leaning on a roof for
support, the Grumpy Green Giant pulled off one of his boots. It was huge but the
toecap was missing and its sole was hanging off. “All I ever wanted was a new
pair of boots,” he said, sadly.
“The boots aren’t a problem, Giant.” Santa said. “It’s your
chimney that’s the problem.”
“But my cave doesn’t have a chimney…”
“But the new Health and Safety regulations state, that I have to
go down a chimney.”
“Hmmm,” Katy said, thinking. “If you pulled the sole off that boot
and hung the boot up in the entrance to your cave, Father Christmas could use it
as your chimney.”
“That’s a jolly clever idea, Katy” Santa said. “You hang that boot
up tonight, Giant, and I promise that you’ll get a brand new pair in the
morning, as your very first Christmas present.”
“Thanks a lot, Katy Clever-Clogs,” the giant said. “I’ll go and do
it right away.”
“What about all the corks in the chimneys?” Katy asked.
“No problem, I’ll pop them out before I go,” the giant said. He
dropped onto his hand and knees, and sucked in so much air that he started to
inflate like a giant balloon. Katy hoped he wouldn’t pop. He let the breath out
with such force that it whizzed into all of the houses: through letterboxes,
under doors and through open windows it poured. Suddenly hundreds and hundreds
of corks popped out of chimneys and shot up into the sky, puncturing the clouds.
Through the holes made by the corks snowflakes began to fall.
“Look, it’s snowing,” Katy said. “We’re going to have a White
Christmas!”
“Yes, but now you must get back home to bed,” Father Christmas
said. “I’ll never forget you – Katy Clever-Clogs, the girl who saved Christmas.”
