A week before Christmas, the seven siblings of the Manifold family were sitting in their nursery bored. The eldest daughter who was called Greta, sat in the rocking chair and had promised to watch her brother’s and sisters that afternoon, so their parents could go Christmas shopping. The second eldest, her brother Arnold was helping the twin boys Thomas and Harold complete a big jigsaw puzzle. The twins were often quite mischievous and liked to pull pranks on their brothers and sisters, so Greta had begged Arnold to try distract them, while she looked after the three other girls. Arnold had just turned fourteen and was only a year younger than Greta and she had offered him a shilling to look after the boys. Cara was around nine and she loved to read books. She was busy reading a new one in a chair next to the bookshelf. Her second youngest sister, was five and called Bethany who was fastidiously brushing her rocking horses mane to make her look “pretty”. Then lastly their youngest sister called Molly who had started crawling everywhere and was only around a year old. The twins yelled their triumph at completing the puzzle and jumped up, starting to wrestle with each other loudly. Greta shushed them and picked up Molly as she started fretting from her crib. The boys tumbled through the partially opened door and Greta quickly ran after them down the hallway where they had stopped by the front room. They were both looking down in horror and she followed their eyeline to see a broken, hardwood cane with a gold engraved handle lying on the floor.
“What did you do?” She questioned, picking up the two pieces and noticed odd silvery liquid falling from one, so she tilted it up to stop it.
“We didn’t mean to! It just snapped as we bumped it! Honest!” Both boys yelled in union.
“Ok, Ok, lets see if we can fix it before father comes home!” Greta exclaimed as they made their way back to the nursery. Their father fixed and made canes from all around the world. He prided himself on the woodwork and added unique touches to make them special for their owners. This one had obviously included a special silvery liquid which seemed to float rather than pool. They wiped at the odd silver liquid and it mysteriously disappeared. She frowned and then dismissing it, quickly lead the two back to the nursery. She leant the broken cane pieces against the wall, hoping to be able to fix it once the younger kids had settled down.
She looked at them all and catching Cara’s eye she said loudly, “Come on guys, we’re going to find a Christmas Story!” as Cara screwed up her face in disgust, she herded the kids towards the brightly coloured story mat.
“We’ve have heard all the Christmas stories! There are none left!” Cara exclaimed with vigour.
“You keep complaining about having nothing interesting to read! So, this is your chance to create something new yourself, A new Christmas story!” Greta encouraged, smiling. She saw the silver patch of shiny liquid appear suddenly at the broken cane and start moving towards the mat. Greta quickly tried to wipe it away again, but it disappeared for a second time.
“Oh, alright, I guess, um,” Cara looked at her five brothers and sisters looking eagerly up at her with consternation and then Greta, placing the stick on the story mat to sit with them as she tried to fix it. Cara looked at each of them in turn. “Okay, we want new stories. Then you will help. First rule is that you come up with an original character. Second is that the character has no original link to Christmas. Then as a third rule, you have to allow the story to finish. It can’t end because you suddenly decide you don’t like it. You need to wait for the end.”
“Ok!” They all chanted, and scotched closer. She looked them each in the eye and then closing her eyes, spun about with her finger pointing out and stopped quickly landing upon Harold and opened her eyes, said “You!”
Harold blinked and looking at his pocket mumbled, “Um, a ghost?” He questioned.
“Nope, not original, was in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens!” Cara snickered.
“Oh, um, how about a captain, no, no, no, a Pirate Captain, with a hook for a hand and a peg for a leg!” Harold exclaimed excitedly and grinned at Cara, for her doubt in him.
“Ok, then a pirate Christmas story you will hear… Once Upon a time…”
An odd lurching sensation happened and they felt the same way they had felt when they had first rode a roller coaster. It felt like they were all flying at a very great speed. The surroundings flashed by in blurs, until they began to slow and they found themselves land lightly on a tropical port town as the sun was setting… Seeing a sad looking pirate, they began following him…
Story 1 -Captain Redbeard
Captain white beard had a problem. He glared surreptitiously as he scrutinised the sailors in his port that night and realised he had a big problem. They were tough. He watched one start a fistfight with another and the other drink his comrade under a table. He saw another get a tattoo and another get kicked by a tavern girl without recourse. They obviously had very manly courage to continue acting the way they did.
The problem was that Captain Whitebeard, had never done anything except steer a ship and he didn’t want to seem like he was unmanly by his crew mates. A pirate sat next to him and dropped a small gold lamp from his pocket as he stood to punch another fellow from the bar. Captain Whitebeard quickly picked up the lamp and rubbed it to try find the genie. Unfortunately the lamp did not create a genie and the poor captain marched along the pier to his ship, while bouncing the lamp from hand to hand. Suddenly he saw a big whisp of smoke, which resembled a mans torso and face before him.
“You have three wishes, use them wisely!” The voice boomed.
“I wish to be strong enough to punch any man!” Captain Whitebeard proclaimed and the puff of smoke clicked his fingers and said,
“Wish granted, two more.” Then dissappeared.
Captain Whitebeard looked down and his beard which was no longer white, but red. He went back to the tavern and stood on the small table and shouted to the pirates, “My name is Redbeard and I will flog everyone of you!”
“Wait your turn pirate!”
He turned and punched the pirate who had spoken and the rest tried to jump on him and each got a black eye for trying. The children stayed in the corner, hoping he wouldn’t notice them. Eventually Captain Redbeard had knocked out all the pirates in the tavern. He looked around and spotting the children said loudly, “You will have to be my new crew. Come with me and I will show you your bunks on the ship!” He lead them through the quiet town and towards the small harbour. They followed slowly as he lead them on board a rather frightening ship with broken planks and tattered sails. A pirate flag was atop the crows nest, where a rusty spyglass was fastened to the side.
He opened a hatch in the deck and started going down a splintery ladder to below deck and through a broken wooden door with a knife sticking out of it. Six bunk beds lined the walls with dirty and smelly bedding. They looked around in dismay and Captain Redbeard said, “Why aren’t you hoping into bed?”
“We’re really sorry Mr Redbeard, but this place smells awfully like stale vomit and the beds look like they are horribly stained and may have mould.” Bethany said wringing her hands and looking worriedly around.
“You saying my ship is dirty?” Captain Redbeard looked around, frowning as if just noticing the grime for the first time. He scratched his beard thoughtfully for a moment, “give me a moment,” he rubbed the lamp and the genie appeared.
“You have two wishes, use them wisely,” said the genie.
“I wish my ship to be clean and neat,” Captain Redbeard said and with a click of the genies fingers the cabin had clean wood walls, clean hammocks with white blankets and pillows. The door had been mended and a small embroidered sign hung on the wall saying “A happy ship is a clean ship.”
“Thank you Captain Redbeard!” Greta smiled as she placed Molly in the smaller hammock next to hers and gently started rocking her, Captain Redbeard’s beard had small flecks of green appearing in it. She wondered if the green seaweed had been placed on his beard to create the effect when the genie had cleaned up.
“Be ready to sail at morning crew!” Captain Redbeard shouted and left the cabin.
…
The next morning they woke to feeling the boat rocking. Looking out the porthole they discovered they were at sea! Quickly clambering onto the deck they stared in amazement at the vast ocean stretching out in each direction. Captain Redbeard, with green specks, steered the big wheel from the quarterdeck. “Ahoy, you boys, up to the crows nest,” he ordered the twin boys, “the rest of you to the cannons, we are approaching a ship!” He looked through a long spyglass and the kids could just see a smudge on the horizon. They were amazed at how quickly the ship caught up to the other ship. The kids down in the gun deck were staring in consternation at the cannons, while the twins looking through the spyglass in the crows nest were taking turns.
“Captain, I think the other ships captain is,” Thomas paused taking another look, “yes, it’s Santa Clause!”
“What? No, he drives a sleigh, not a boat! You must be mistaken!” Captain Redbeard, with green specks called up to him, then down to the gun deck, “Ready the cannons!”
“Captain, Santa Claus is looking at us and frowning!” Harold called down to him.
“I said, it’s not Santa! Lots of Captains have white beards! Now, ready the cannons,” he steered the ship so the other ship was level and called, “fire!”
The children lit the end of the cannons fuses and held their hands over their ears, to prepare for the noise. When all the cannons went off they saw something they hadn’t expected! Running on deck, all the cannons appeared to have shot red, green and gold confetti in the air, which was swirling around the ships and disappearing as it landed gently on the ocean.
“Ready to board, mateys!” Captain Redbeard, with green specks, ordered. He had grabbed a rope and the children quickly grabbed ropes they could find dangling.
They almost forgot how scared they were as they followed the Captain to swing across. They giggled in delight and smiled as they landed on the deck. Suddenly Santa, who was wearing a very big pirate captain hat, in his trademarked red suit and flanked by numerous elves carrying large candy canes.
“Who dares board my ship!” Santa Yelled with a booming voice.
“I do! I’m Captain Redbeard and I have come to plunder your booty!”
“Do you know how serious this is Captain? You will be placed on the naughty list forever for stealing other children’s toys!” Santa asked
Captain Redbeard paused a moment and thought about it, he looked at the children, who were terrified of being put on the naughty list. “We really just wanted gold, we don’t want to steal presents from children,” Captain Redbeard with green specks said to Santa, taking his hat off and scratching his head.
“Gold is it? Here I’ll weave gold beads into your beard to remind you of your silliness at trying to steal from Santa!” Santa waved a hand and suddenly little gold beads were shining in the Captain’s beard. The children giggled.
“Captain, you aren’t Captain Redbeard with green specks anymore! You’re Captain Christmas! Your beard looks just like a Christmas tree!” The captain took out a tiny mirror from his pocket and grinned when he saw his beard looking so colourful and Christmassy.
“Santa, why are you sailing a ship in the middle of the ocean?” Bethany asked.
“Because some children are on cruise ships with their parents and also the mermaid children need Christmas gifts, young Bethany,” Santa told her.
“Wow! Mermaids! I want to see them!” Bethany squealed excitedly.
“No, you can have your own story with mermaids, this is my one about pirates!” Harold stuck his tongue out at her.
“It takes a lot of time and I wished I had someone I trusted to deliver presents at sea, as unfortunately I get very seasick,” Santa lamented.
“Captain Christmas can do it! He’s really nice and has a ship!” Thomas told Santa nodding.
“Ah, but you need a magic ship to be able to do it!” Said Santa sadly.
Captain Christmas hung his head, then suddenly chuckled as he pulled the lamp from his pocket. He rubbed the side and the genie appeared, “You have one wish left, use it wisely.”
“I wish to have a magical ship like Santa, so I can deliver presents to all the children in and out of the ocean!” Captain Christmas declared and they all watched in wonder as the ship became red and green with gold sails!
Santa was very happy to let Captain Christmas deliver presents in the ocean and Captain Christmas was no longer a pirate, but what was more suited to his personality. He still to this day, sails his ship every Christmas eve, to deliver presents to children on ships and mermaid kids. If you are ever get to be on a boat on Christmas eve, you may see his ship sailing in the distance and if you get close enough you may hear him singing his Christmas shanty,
“Christmas at sea is the life for me,
I set me sails of gold, lots of presents in my hold.
Christmas at sea is the life for me,
I sail to the mermaid lagoon, where they sing a merry tune.
Christmas at sea is the life for me,
I deliver presents to ships, for kids on sea trips.
Christmas at sea is the life for me,
I’ll never go back to being sad as Christmas makes me O so glad!”
The End.
…
As the story ended they all felt themselves propelled back to the nursery again and Greta looked suspiciously at the broken cane. “I think the silver liquid in this cane is magic?”
“Maybe, lets see if it happens again?” Arnold suggested.
“Ok, whose next then? Remember original Christmas characters?” Cara exclaimed looking intently at them.
“I want a mermaid story!” Bethany yelled.
“We just did an ocean story, do you really want to go back?” Cara rolled her eyes.
“Yes! Now! I want to see the mermaids!” Bethany cried.
“All right then, Once Upon a time…”
TBC in Part 2
