Welcome to Story Quest, a weekly podcast where we bring your stories to life!
In this episode we bring Amabel’s story, Summer Wishes for Santa – to life.
If you have a story idea, you could be like Amabel and have it turned into a Story Quest. All you have to do is send us your story idea here. We know you have the best imaginations and together we can create the most brilliant stories!
That’s just what Amabel did. You can watch the story they suggested come to life below, plus they tell us all about the inspiration behind the story at the end.
Listen out for brand new Story Quest episodes every Thursday!
Thank you to ROWAN who created the character KERPOPPI THE FROG! Using the Story quest character creator! Thank you ROWAN for creating such an excellent frog! Great Storyquest Teamwork! You can create YOUR own Storyquest characters on the Funkids website! Just go to funkidslive.com/storyquest – and use our special Storyquest Character Creator – and your character could appear in someone’s story! And now over to our Storymaster for this week! AMABEL!
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Read along to Summer Wishes for Santa
SUMMER WISHES FOR SANTA
Do you ever wonder what Santa gets up to after he’s delivered all the presents? You probably think he has a lovely rest before cracking on with the next year’s presents. Well in this story we’re going to find out a bit more about what happens after all the wrapping papers gone in the bin bag and you’re all settling down to your turkey dinner. And it all starts on a farm.
Daisy lived on Willow Farm with her ten brothers and sisters and her mum, dad, and grandma. So that’s quite a big family right? But it didn’t matter because Willow Farm was pretty big too – it had acres and acres of fields where they grew all sorts of tasty things to eat – with the best carrots in the country – and places the kids could play. There were woods with trees to climb, a big pond where they watched the frogs and a funny old scarecrow in the middle of the vegetable patch who loomed high over the children’s head on a nine foot pole in his dungarees, checked shirt and a very floppy hat.
It was a pretty good life and even though it was summer time Daisy found herself thinking about Christmas. Mum had been clearing out the attic and had been looking through the decorations and baubles and so Daisy was beginning to wonder what she might get for Christmas herself – well – if she managed to be good! Can you imagine how many presents you’d get under the tree with all those kids plus all the grown ups? Quite a lot. But Daisy like I said was in a bit of a thoughtful mood. She was lying on the grass near the pond watching the frogs. She’d got a favourite frog who she called Keroppi as that’s the sound he made. Kerropi! Keroppi! Kerropi! He was small and cute and Daisy watched him dart his tongue at passing flies and she wondered if Frogs got Christmas presents too.
Then she laughed at herself because of course they didn’t! I mean not EVERYONE got presents – frogs didn’t…. horses didn’t… even SANTA didn’t get presents!
This made her feel a little bit sad.
“Poor old Santa, Keroppi! He delivers all those presents and what does he get – NOTHING. That’s such a shame! I wish I could get him something other than a measly old mince pie.”
Keroppi, looking small and cute said “Keroppi” but in a way that Daisy thought sounded like he agreed.
What she didn’t know is that a passing michevious elf was in the bushes. He had been sent out to get carrots for the reindeers and as I have said Willow Farm grew the tastiest carrots for miles around, and so instead of going to Asda as told he’d thought he’d just swipe a few from the farm.
“Presents for Santa eh? Nice kid!” and he thought he’d tell Santa all about it when he got back. Which he did. Santa was so touched that that evening he spirited himself down to the farm and appeared in front of Daisy in a puff of snow.
“SANTA?” she exclaimed. “Um.. aren’t you like, SIX MONTHS early?”
“Sorry to bother you but I thought I would just say how thoughtful you were to think about me – my elve heard you wishing you could get me a gift. I just wanted to say there’s really no need but thank you for being kind.”
“So what WOULD you choose for a present?” she asked. “Socks?”
“Bless my soul no! Mrs Santa never stops knitting me socks”
“Aftershave?”
“Unfortunately I’m legally obiged to smell of pine trees and Christmas pudding”
“Well what then?”
“Hmmm….” He screwed up his bristly face in deep thought and then said “Truth be told… I’d just like to see children actually opening their presents you know.. I mean I deliver them but never stay to see their excitement or watch them playing with them. It’s just off to bed for a few months and then back to the workshop.” He said, a little sadly.
“But why couldn’t you come back to watch – I’ve got ten brothers and sisters – there will be tons of presents to open here… Well, IF we’ve been good…”
“I know. It’s a lovely idea but I’m afraid I’ll be spotted in an instant – I mean LOOK at me! He pulled at his red velvet trousers. “Who wears a santa outfit – other than me, the OG – I’d be spotted in an instant and that goes against the magical rules. You’re not supposed to see Santa are you?”
Daisy began to get an idea. An AMAZING idea.
“What if you wore a disguise… I dunno.. say that you were looking for some work on the farm? Then you could see us all day.”
Again he pointed at his iconic red hat with its white bobble. Then pointed at his enormous red jacket with bells for buttons.
Kira thought he had a point. I mean it’s not that grown ups would necessarily believe he was the actual main santa – but at best they’d think he was someone in a fancy dress costume and fancy dress costumes and farming really don’t go together.
“I see what you mean… And its not like I can borrow dad’s clothes I mean that would just be WEIRD, right?”
They both paused for a moment and imagined what dad would think to open the door and find someone wearing HIS own clothes. They both shook their heads hurriedly.
“Yep. Too WEIRD…”
“Oh well it was a lovely idea – I suppose I better be going..”
But just before he summoned the snowy mist Daisy yelled – “Stop! I’ve got it!”
***
Months later, just one day before Christmas there was a knock at the door at the Farmhouse. Farmer Willow opened it to find a very large man standing on the doorstep, with a grin as wide as a dinner plate and a very very bushy beard. He reminded him of someone but otherwise looked fairly normal.
“Can I help you?” he said, a little guardedly.
“Ohhh… I just wondered if I might be able to get some work on the Farm…. Maybe, I dunno… on Christmas Day?”
“You want to work on CHRISTMAS DAY! No one works on Christmas Day!”
“Well you do” said the big beardy stranger.
It was true there was always something to be done on the farm and so Farmer Willow said he’d be glad of the help, as long as the stranger joined them for breakfast – after all it was Christmas.
And that’s what happened. Have you guessed who the stranger was? Yeah pretty obvious isn’t it – or it is to US. It was Santa! He got his wish! After a night delivering presents he quickly changed out of his festive furs and put on his disguise – plain dungarees and a checked shirt and a very floppy hat. He rang the doorbell on Christmas Morning to find a flurry of excited shrieks and laughter as the children played with their new toys. Daisy was outside on her gleaming new bike and rang her bell over and again and Santa, beamed delightedly to see her happiness, and he felt he would burst with happiness too.
But you might be wondering how did he find a disguise in the end? After all no one other than Daisy knew the truth. Well, if you looked away from the farmhouse over towards the distant vegetable patch you might see what looked like a scarecrow, or….. you’d see what might look like a scarecrow if it was dressed in red and white furs and bells – the scarecrow was more of a SANTA crow – resplendent in Santa’s clothes – and of course Daisy’s idea was for santa to take the scarecrows clothes in return– or at least borrow them, just for a day.
Boxing day dawned and the mysterious stranger had gone, and the scarecrow was back in his muddy outfit (after all Santa had had to do a bit of weeding, just for the look of the thing). And no one but Daisy knew the secret. And do you know what, every year from then on, the mysterious stranger appeared on the farm, to lend a hand and join in the festivities, and every year from then, a certain scarecrow got a very fancy new outfit. Well, just for a day.
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