The Christmas Elf Swap

Pip hopped over it. Ben stepped around it, but the wagon bumped his snow boot and spun away.

“Sorry!” Ben called.

An elf with a basket of wooden blocks waved from the other side of the room. “No harm done!”

Ben smiled, but then he noticed Pip looking under a table.

“What are you searching for?” Ben asked.

“My silver bell,” Pip said. He lifted a pile of soft cloth. “It was on my belt when we left home. I need it to open the dormitory door tonight.”

Ben crouched beside him. “Could it have fallen in the sleigh?”

“I checked there twice.” Pip looked worried. “It is small and shiny. I cannot find it anywhere.”

“We’ll look together,” Ben said.

They searched beneath tables, beside boxes, and around the legs of the moving belts. Ben listened for a jingle, but all he heard was the busy workshop: click, whirr, tap, tap, tap.

Pip climbed a tiny ladder to check a shelf. Ben reached up to steady it.

“Nothing,” Pip called.

Ben spotted a red button near a stack of toy drums. He pressed it, hoping it might stop the belts.

Instead, a row of tiny bells began to ring.

Jingle-jingle-jingle!

Pip covered his ears. Ben jumped back. A belt carried six painted ducks past them, each duck wearing a different hat.

“Oops,” Ben said.

Pip climbed down. “That button starts the duck parade.”

The ducks rolled around a corner, and one bumped a basket. The basket tipped. Bright ribbons spilled across the floor.

Ben and Pip hurried to gather them before the belts could carry them away.

As Ben picked up a blue ribbon, he saw something silver beneath the basket. He reached for it, but a small ladder rolled across the floor and blocked his hand.

“Wait,” Ben said. “The workshop moves!”

“Everything moves,” Pip replied. “That is why we have to keep up.”

They followed the ladder as it rolled toward a narrow green door. Pip slipped through easily. Ben tried to follow, but his shoulders caught on both sides.

“I’m too big,” Ben said.

Pip poked his head back through the door. “There is another way. Come around the wrapping belt.”

They hurried past a row of spinning spools. A river of red and gold ribbon slid along the floor. Ben lifted his feet and stepped over it. Pip darted beneath it.

“Your turn!” Pip called.

Ben bent low and crawled under the ribbon. It brushed his hair and tickled his ears. He came out beside a tall shelf filled with toy boats.

There, on the top shelf, sat the silver bell.

“I found it!” Ben shouted.

Pip’s eyes lit up. “Wonderful!”

But the shelf was too high for Pip to reach. Ben stretched on his toes. His fingers touched the bell, but it slipped farther back.

Pip pointed to a pair of green boots tucked beneath the shelf. “Try these.”

Ben pulled them on. They were soft and springy, with silver buckles and curled toes. The moment he stood, the boots gave a tiny hop.

Ben bounced up and caught the bell.

“Pip!” he cried.

Pip clapped. “Those are my extra elf boots.”

Ben looked down at them. “They fit.”

“They do more than fit,” Pip said. “They help you move like an elf.”

Ben took one step. The boots bounced him over the ribbon river. He landed beside Pip with a soft puff.

For the first time since entering the workshop, Ben did not feel in the way. He hopped over a box, slid beneath a table, and raced after the silver bell as Pip led him through the busy room.

They reached a round door with a brass bell slot.

Pip held out his hand. “Give it here.”

Ben passed him the bell. Pip slipped it into the slot.

Ding!

The round door swung open. Beyond it was a small room with two beds, a table, and a window full of falling snow. A warm lantern glowed beside the door.

“The dormitory,” Pip said. “We can rest here.”

Ben stepped closer, but Pip suddenly looked at the silver bell.

“It is ringing,” Pip whispered.

The bell trembled in the slot. A soft golden light curled around Pip’s boots, then around Ben’s elf boots. The room filled with a warm, fizzy feeling, like bubbles tickling Ben from his toes to his nose.

“Pip?” Ben said.

“I don’t know what is happening.”

The golden light twirled faster. Ben reached for Pip’s hand. Pip reached for Ben’s.

Then - pop!

The room went still.

Ben blinked.

He was standing beside the bed, but the sleeves of his coat had become too long. His hands looked smaller. His green boots fit perfectly. A pointed hat rested on his head.

Across the room, Pip stared down at Ben’s blue coat and winter scarf. Ben’s scarf was wrapped around Pip’s neck. Ben’s gloves hung from Pip’s hands.

Pip touched his face. “I look like you.”

Ben looked at his own hands. “And I look like you.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Pip lifted one green boot. “We swapped.”

Ben’s stomach gave a little flip. “How do we swap back?”

Pip hurried to the bell. He pulled it from the slot and shook it.

Ding.

Nothing happened.

He shook it again.

Ding-ding.

Still nothing.

“Maybe we need to stand in the same places,” Ben said.

They tried standing beside the bed. They tried standing by the window. They even tried hopping three times while ringing the bell.

The golden light did not return.

Ben looked toward the workshop. “The sleigh door! I can go back through it.”

Pip nodded. “And I can come with you.”

They ran out of the dormitory. Ben moved faster than he expected. The elf boots sprang over boxes and carried him across the floor. Pip, wearing Ben’s boots, had to take careful steps.

“Slow down!” Pip called.

Ben stopped at once. “Sorry. Are you all right?”

Pip nodded. “I’m fine. These boots are just very big.”

Ben waited while Pip caught up. Together, they followed the signs toward the sleigh room.

The workshop seemed even larger now. A belt turned in front of them. A tiny ladder rolled past. Three doors opened at once, and elves hurried through each one.

Ben held the silver bell tightly. “We can do this.”

At last, they reached the sleigh room. The red sleigh waited beneath a roof covered in twinkling lights. Ben climbed inside and pulled open the door.

It would not move.

He tried again. He pulled with both hands.

Click.

A small silver lock appeared along the edge.

Pip hurried to his side. “The sleigh door locks after the sleigh arrives.”

“Can you unlock it?”

Pip shook his head. “Only the sleigh keeper can open it, and she is delivering the last toy train.”

Ben sat on the sleigh step. Snowflakes drifted through the open roof above them. He had come to see the North Pole for one afternoon. Now he was wearing Pip’s boots, holding Pip’s bell, and sitting in a sleigh he could not leave.

Pip sat beside him. “You are not alone.”

Ben looked at him. “But I have to stay here?”

“Until the door opens again,” Pip said. “That will be after Christmas week.”

Ben thought of his warm home, his family, and the mug of cocoa waiting on the kitchen table. He felt a small ache in his chest.

Pip nudged his shoulder. “The dormitory has a spare bed. You can sleep there. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how the workshop works.”

Ben looked down at the springy green boots. They gave a tiny bounce, as if they were ready for another busy day.

“Will I be able to help?” he asked.

Pip smiled. “You already found my bell.”

Ben held it out. “Then we’ll find a way to fix this, too.”

They walked back through the workshop together. Pip carried the bell, and Ben carried a little box of wooden trains that had fallen from a shelf. The belts hummed. The ribbons rustled. Warm cinnamon filled the air.

When they reached the dormitory, Pip opened the door with the bell. Inside, the lantern glowed softly, and two small quilts waited on the beds.

Ben climbed into one bed. Pip climbed into the other.

Outside, snow tapped gently on the window.

Ben placed his hat on the table. “I’m still going home after Christmas week, right?”

Pip tucked his blanket under his chin. “Yes. And I’ll help you get there.”

Ben smiled into the soft pillow. The day had not gone as planned, but he was safe, warm, and no longer lost in the busy workshop.

He had come to visit the elves, and now he would spend Christmas week learning to be one.

Sometimes a surprise becomes an adventure when friends face it together.

End of chapter one. 7 more chapters and about 14,553 words in the full book.