The Elf Who Ate Too Much

by: Carol Ann Garretson




There was once an elf named Frez that would get so nervous at Christmas time he would eat two lunches at the elf cafeteria. He was trying to be just too perfect in making his toys and never thought they were good enough for the children.
The dolls' eyes never seemed to sparkle enough, thought Frez, and the wagons were not as shinny as last year. Nothing seemed to be going well and the time for delivery of the presents as getting closer.

No one understood why Frez was getting so particular and asking for a size larger elf suit. Then, one day Santa discovered what the problem was and began to solve it. It seemed that Frez was not a young elf, but elves never looked their age, because they were so cheerful and happy. Frez needed to feel he was special, so Santa gave him his own project called "special toys." These were all the toys that were broken and needed repairs and love. Frez was so glad to be in charge of such a project that he ate only one lunch that day to hurry back to his tasks.

We can learn from what Santa did for Frez about ourselves. Sometimes we have off days when we are just not feeling quite positive. Someone's smile or asking us to join some friends can make our whole day worthwhile.

Frez is content now with restoring the broken toys to new, and he does not have to eat so much because he is happy. He even wears his old suit now, and his new suit is taken in for his smaller waist.

Let us try to do something worthwhile everyday so a "Frez Attack" will never get us. We all have special talents and we can help someone out that we see feeling down. It takes only a few moments to be able to know why someone is not feeling happy. Take that time from your usual day and listen. Most importantly, we are here to help each other and all of us have that special talent to do it. Use yours today.