It was two days before Christmas, and the North Pole was very busy. The elves were running around wrapping last minute presents and loading the bright, red sleigh.

In a cabin nearby, Santa was napping on his bed, snoring gently. Mrs. Clause was in the next room by the crackling fire, knitting a warm sweater for Santa.

Outside the frozen window, the reindeer were practicing flying with the sleigh. With Christmas being so close, they wanted the takeoff and landing to be perfect.

They were so busy; they didn’t notice the smaller reindeer watching their every move, only a few yards away. Her name was Alice.

As she watched the reindeer, Alice thought to herself I wish I could go! Then I could be like my dad and lead the sleigh. She watched her older brothers working to keep up with the older reindeer pulling ahead of them, imagining she was with them. Just thinking about flying brought her hooves off the ground an inch.

Then she remembered where she was and dropped back to the ground as quickly as she had risen. Though she wanted to fly with the sleigh more than anything, she wasn’t very good at it. Alice remembered when she’d flown for the first time, and frowned at the memory of flying into the wall only seconds after lifting off.

She hadn't done any better a few weeks later when she had gone up a little higher, had been distracted and then promptly ran into a chimney above the the stable and crashed onto the icy roof. From then on, she had only gone a few feet in the air, trying hard to control her the direction of her flight.

Yelling brought her back to the present. The reindeer were now tilting toward the ground faster than they could stop. At the last second, the lead pair of reindeer moved up and out from the ground and the second and third pairs screeched to a halt. Then she heard screaming coming from the back of the line. Alice ran and saw her brothers stuck between the pile of antlers and the sleigh.

Help!!!

Two hours later, her brothers were back from the hospital and both had a cast on one hind leg. The disappointment that they would not be able to pull the sleigh this year showed on their sad faces. Alice felt bad, then she had an idea.

“Dad! I have an idea!” Alice yelled across the house. She found him in the kitchen and she flung herself at him. “Oh, Dad! Could I please help pull the sleigh this year?” Rudolph stared in surprise for a second, then he looked thoughtful. “That could be a possibility, do you think you’re up to that?” She beamed at him, her face glowing with excitement. “Yes! If you help me practice, I’m sure I could do it!”

How could he say no to that eager face? He remembered his first flight and how he hadn’t been much bigger than she was now. “Alright, snowflake, I’ll go see what I can do,” he said. After all, he thought, it couldn’t hurt to ask.

“Thank you, Dad!” Alice nuzzled her father and bounded out to find her friend Rainbow, she had so much to tell her!

At dinner that night, around the trough, her family talked about the events of the day. When Rudolph walked in, Alice gazed at him with hope in her face. He came over and said, “I have some news. After much deliberation, they have decided” he paused dramatically, “...to let you fly this year!” Alice began to dance in the air. “Me! A true Christmas flyer!” Her family watched her, grins on their faces. Her excitement was so contagious.