Santa’s Photo Album: The slippery sleigh ride

Did you know I use my sleigh all year round, not just on Christmas Eve? It’s a great way to get around and carry lots of stuff! I’m trying out a brand-new sleigh with two young reindeer in this picture. Let me tell you what happened next. You might find it quite funny, ho, ho, ho!

As you probably already know, reindeer are fast and energetic animals. As we were coming down the slope, you see here they were running at full speed. In fact, they’d gained so much momentum they didn’t notice we were heading straight for a frozen lake.

I furiously rang my bell to get their attention, but they thought I was encouraging them to go even faster. The inevitable happened, and we ran straight onto the lake! When the reindeer’s hooves hit the mirror-smooth surface, their eyes became as big as saucers.

Have you ever been ice skating? If so, you probably know how hard it was to keep your balance that first time. The reindeer started sliding and spinning and couldn’t stop! They were attached to my sleigh, causing it to bounce all over the place. As if there wasn’t already enough commotion, their harnesses came loose, sending us flying in three different directions. Oh my!

I had to hold on with all my might to keep from being thrown off the sleigh. Fortunately, I held on, and we eventually made it back to solid ground. As soon as we were reunited, the reindeer vowed to be more careful next time.

What an adventure, ho, ho, ho!

By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour
Translated by Jasmine Heesaker