It was the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and the townspeople gathered at the chapel. The children were excited already, for tonight, Santa Claus would visit their little town. There was a tradition in the town of Little Oak, every Christmas Eve, the town calls Santa Claus by ringing the many bells in the chapel’s bell tower.

“Good people of Little Oak,” the mayor of the town announced, “It gives me great pleasure to give the honor of ringing our ceremonial bells to a special guest this afternoon!” The townspeople looked to one another curiously, wondering who it could be. Ringing the bells was a special honor in the town.

The mayor turned to him, motioning for him to step up onto the platform before the steps of the chapel. The rope dangled by the podium, connected to many bells in the bell tower. “It’s alright, don’t be afraid.”, he said to the guest.

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“Get him! Get him!”, the coyotes called. The trio chased after a strong grey stag through a snowy forest, his legs carried him swiftly through the snow. He was confident, he knew the coyotes were getting tired, but he could run for another few miles before his muscles would become overwhelmed. As he ran, a sudden snowstorm flurried through the trees. The stag braced his eyes, though he kept running, keeping his mind set on where the path was. The coyotes slowed their pace, howling at one another. The storm subsided within a few moments, and as they looked to the distance, the deer was gone.

“Where did he go?”, the coyotes barked. They kept running, sniffing the air for his scent, looking for tracks, but they lost all traces of the deer. “Lets go, he’s probably long gone.”, the leader of the coyote pack ordered, and the trio turned and ran off. The barking and howling continued into the distance before silence returned to the forest.

Brd’s ears and antlers stuck out of the snow. They were gone, and he emerged from a pile of snow off of the trail. “Good.”, he said to himself, “I was getting a little tired of being chased.”

He continued in the opposite direction, not sure where he was going, but he didn’t want to encounter the coyotes again.

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“Dad, come quick!”, a little girl cried. Her father stopped what he was doing and followed his daughter to the edge of their farm, where the borders to the forest were. A small bridge separated the forest and the farm, and laying on top of it was a tired and hungry grey deer. “Please, Dad, help him!”, the girl asked. “Alright, alright. We’ll take care of him.”, he said. The girl stayed by the deer while her father went into the house to gather food and a blanket for him. He returned to find his daughter petting the deer’s side. “How is he?”, her father asked. “He’s warm, I think he’s from somewhere far away.”, the girl said quietly.

Her father threw the blanket over Brd’s body. He opened his eyes and looked to the two of them, and as the father put a bowl of deer corn before him, he couldn’t help but eat, the food was more than appetizing to him. “What will we do with him?”, the girl asked her father. “We’ll just leave him here, he’ll be okay now.”, he replied, “It won’t be too much colder tonight, so I think he will be comfortable for the night.”

The girl stood and walked with her father. She looked back toward the deer, saying, “He’s pretty special. Did you see his eyes? I think he may be one of Santa’s…” Brd didn’t hear the rest of the sentence, as he closed his eyes and dozed off on the bridge.

Aaawwwooooooooooo!!, the sound of howling made him jump. The stag stood up, looking back toward the forest where he came from. Did the coyotes track him? His heart raced for the moment, he hurried away from the bridge, the blanket covering his body in the cold night. He ran to the porch of the house, scratching on the door.

Aaawwwooooooooooo!!, he heard it again. Scratch scratch scratch!!, he kept at the door. He hoped they could hear him.

Aaawwwooooooooooo!!, they were getting closer. Brd’s heart was pounding within him. Scratch scratch…, as he continued, the porch light came on, and the door was unlocked and opened.

The stag hurried into the house, seeing the little girl had let him in. He motioned with his head, ”Hurry! Close it!”, and as the girl closed the door, the two of them saw the coyotes appear on the farm, sniffing the air, continuing to hunt the stag. Brd let out a slight sigh of relief – the predators were circling the bridge he was just laying on, nosing the bowl that was left there. They knew he was nearby, and if it wasn’t for the little girl, he would have had to fight them off.

“What’s going…?”, the girl’s father began to say, when he saw the deer within the house. “What are…?”, he tried to ask, but the girl shushed at him, “There’s coyotes outside, Dad.”, she whispered.

Brd looked toward the father, their eyes meeting. He tried his best to express the words, “Don’t worry, I’ll be good. Just don’t let me out there tonight.” “Alright, alright.”, the girl’s father said, “We’ll find him somewhere to sleep inside.”

The two humans walked deeper into the house, clearing a space in the den for Brd to sleep. They laid a blanket on the carpet, and motioned for Brd to come sit. The stag made sure not to knock his antlers into anything. One prong of his antlers bumped into a chandelier, and he lowered his head in apology. The girl laughed, and Brd smiled just slightly. He sat onto the blanket, enjoying the warmer air inside the house.

“Can I stay in here with him?”, the girl asked her father. He frowned briefly, but as his daughter stared up at him, he let out a sigh and said, “Alright, but be careful. He is from the wild.” The girl smiled widely, running to her room and bringing her blankets and pillows from her bed. She tossed them onto the couch next to where Brd was laying, getting comfortable and resting her head, staring at the deer in her house. Her father kissed her and went to his bedroom. When he left the room, the girl whispered to the deer, “So what is Santa like? Is he nice?”. Brd stared at her blankly, moving his head slightly. She didn’t understand what the head motion meant, but she smiled and closed her eyes.

Brd rested his own head, closing his eyes. He let out a little noise under his breath, telling the girl, “Thank you, you saved my life.” She heard it as a snort, but the message seemed to get to her all the same.

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The morning of Christmas Eve came. The little girl opened the front door and stepped out into the brisk morning, Brd following behind. The two of them saw paw prints tracking in the snow. The coyotes must have been looking for the stag the entire night. “Come on, let’s go to the Mayor and see if he knows how to get you home.”, the girl said. She closed the door behind the two of them and led Brd out into the town. The people looked toward the girl they knew, followed behind by a strange deer. She smiled and waved to them, taking Brd to the town hall. The mayor was just opening the door when the girl called to him. “Mister Mayor, I found one of Santa’s reindeer. Do you know how to get him home?”, she asked. The mayor looked toward the deer curiously, “Hmm…this is an odd problem indeed. But maybe we can help him this afternoon. Why don’t you bring him back for the Chiming of the Bells Ceremony? I’ll talk with the other townspeople to see if they know how to send him home.”, the mayor replied.

The girl smiled and thanked him, turning to Brd. “Come on, we’ll enjoy the day. Let me show you around the town.”, she said. Brd followed behind her, and she led him to the farms in the town. He enjoyed talking to the cattle and horses. They were very curious about him, and he thought they were very polite. Later, the two of them went to the general store, enjoying treats. Brd had a nice roll of bread and his ‘tour guide’ had some candy. She introduced “Santa’s Deer” to all of the people and her classmates, and he enjoyed meeting them all. The day went on like this, the deer being led around the town to see all kinds of interesting things he had never seen before.

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It was the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and the townspeople gathered at the chapel. The children were excited already, for tonight, Santa Claus would visit their little town. There was a tradition in the town of Little Oak, every Christmas Eve, the town calls Santa Claus by ringing the many bells in the chapel’s bell tower.

“Good people of Little Oak,” the mayor of the town announced, “It gives me great pleasure to give the honor of ringing our ceremonial bells to a special guest this afternoon!” The townspeople looked to one another curiously, wondering who it could be. Ringing the bells was a special honor in the town.

The mayor turned to Brd, motioning for him to step up onto the platform before the steps of the chapel. The rope dangled by the podium, connected to many bells in the bell tower. “It’s alright, don’t be afraid.”, he said to the deer. Brd stepped up hesitantly, and as he did, the townspeople spoke among one another, “Isn’t that the deer we saw earlier today?”

Brd stood before the rope. He looked toward the mayor, who nodded his head at him. He reached and gripped the rope in his mouth, and with one powerful tug, he rang the bells of the chapel. The sound filled the air, countless bells chimed and rang together, harmonizing beautifully. He kept pulling the rope, ringing the bells over and over. When he stopped, the sound continued for a few more moments, and the townspeople cheered and applauded for him. He smiled just slightly, he enjoyed the acceptance of the town.

And at that moment, his body illuminated in a flash of brilliant light. He braced his eyes, opening them again, and finding himself in the Endless Forest. “There you are, Brd! We lost you, where have you been?”, Michael and Auriea asked the deer. He looked to them, happy to be home, but saying, “I found a nice little town. My thoughts on humans are much different now, I never realized how nice they were.”

And while Brd spoke to the forest gods, back at the town, the people clamored among themselves. They knew nothing about the Endless Forest, but instead, believed that the deer was really one of Santa Claus’ reindeer.

“He’s real! He’s real!!”, the girl cried happily, the proof was indisputable to her.

She believed she took care of one of Santa’s Reindeer, but more importantly, she believed she saved Christmas.