Secret Santa
Part 6: Frackle Rocks
| Sullivan
|
“Well, Fred has led the elves to a successful escape… and now they’re on their way to rescue Santa. But it wasn’t going to be easy. For one thing, they had to sneak right past Cosmo…” |
| Lothar
|
Listen, oh punctual potentate, it’s a quarter of twelve! According to the plan, you’re supposed to leave in the sleigh at midnight! |
| Cosmo
|
I guess I’ll go up to the workshop and hitch up the reindeer! |
| Lothar
|
Right. |
Meanwhile, the elves sneak through the hall…
| Cosmo
|
Now, I’ve gotta put this in a safe place… |
| Frackle
|
What’s that? What’s that key for? |
| Cosmo
|
It’s the only key that unlocks Santa’s dungeon! |
| Fred
|
Aha! |
| Cosmo
|
… Who said that? |
| Frackle
|
Who said what? |
| Cosmo
|
Who said “Aha”? |
| Frackle
|
I didn’t say anything! |
| Frackle
|
Hey! I think one of those rocks said “Aha”! |
| Cosmo
|
The rock said “Aha”? |
| Frackle
|
Yeah! Look! |
| Cosmo
|
Well, whatta ya know! An elf in rock’s clothing! |
The Frackles scream and whimper as Cosmo grabs a sack, and starts collecting elves. He catches Fred, who bites Cosmo on the finger and gets away. Frustrated, Cosmo hops around looking for the renegade elf. He kicks a rock, thinking it’s Fred in disguise — but it’s a real rock, and he hurts his foot. He sounds the alarm — which is just a Frackle in a box shouting “Alarm, alarm, emergency, help, help! Ding ding ding ding ding…” — and there’s general chaos in the cave.
Now all the Frackles are squirming around, shrieking and trying to figure out what to do. Cosmo tells them to look for Fred — he looks like a rock! The Frackles all scurry about, investigating every rock.
In the confusion, Fred gets hold of the key to Santa’s cell. Lothar reminds Cosmo that it’s almost midnight; he’s got to get up to the sleigh.
Cosmo leaves a Frackle in charge of finding Fred, and tells him to make sure that nobody leaves the cave.
| Cosmo
|
Come on, Lothar! To the sleigh! Nothing can stop us now! |
| Fred
|
An elf named Fred can stop him… and he will, too! |
| Sullivan
|
“Now, Fred had only a few more minutes in which to find Santa Claus. That was the problem. Cosmo’s cave had about a million miles of tunnels, and poor Fred was lost…” |
Meanwhile, in Santa’s cell…
| Thig
|
It’s no use, Santa. I can’t break the lock. |
| Santa
|
I know, I know, Thig. |
| Thog
|
Hey, Santa — why don’t you open the lock with your magic? |
| Santa
|
No, Thog. I’m afraid I can’t do that. The magic of Christmas can bring toys and candy canes and joy, and things like that, but it can’t open padlocks. It’s not that kind of magic. |
| Thog
|
But you said nothing could stop old Santa from delivering those toys. |
| Santa
|
Well, that’s true, I did say that. Something will happen. Something’s got to happen! |
And something does… All of a sudden, the ceiling bursts, and two elf legs dangle down through a hole!
It’s Fred! The floor gave way underneath him, and now he’s looking down at Santa! He drops the key down, and now Santa can get out of his cell.
| Santa
|
Fred, you’ve done a wonderful job! |
| Fred
|
Why, thank you, Santa, sir. |
| Santa
|
Here, Thig. Unlock the door. |
| Thig
|
All right. |
| Fred
|
I’ll just wait up here until you come. |
| Santa
|
No, no, it’s almost midnight! You better go on ahead and stop Cosmo from leaving with my sleigh! |
| Fred
|
But, uh… How do I do that? |
| Santa
|
You’ll think of a way. |
| Fred
|
But, Santa Claus… |
| Santa
|
I said, you’ll think of a way! |
| Fred
|
Okay. I’ll think of a way! |
| Santa
|
We’ll join you as soon as we can! |
| Thig
|
Hey, it’s unlocked, Santa! |
| Santa
|
Good. Let’s go! |
Santa, Thig and Thog get out into the hall. “All right, men!” Santa cries. “Which way?”
“Aww, that’s easy,” the monsters say, and they each point in different directions. “THAT way!”
by Danny Horn
