Anta Claus of Antarctica

Anta Claus cover small
ANTA CLAUS OF ANTARCTICA

In a small cozy cottage on the cold South Pole lives a tall, skinny man with a bushy, black beard. His name is Anta Claus. Last Christmas Eve, Anta Claus sat before a crackling fireplace inside his workshop. He held a long list of names on a curling sheet of paper. A single word on top read:

NAUGHTY
Anta Color

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Anta said. “The list is too long this year. Too many new names; too many repeats. Great bother this.”
In the back of the workshop Anta Claus’s two ten-foot troll helpers, Tis and Twas, prepared for Anta’s journey.
“You better pack my extra-large sack,” Anta called out.
“Will do, Anta,” said Tis. “We’ll shovel in an extra load of coal.”
“Along with plenty of rotten potatoes, rusty bolts, and a few surprises,” said Twas.
Anta rolled up his list and rose from his chair. In the hallway, he dressed for his long journey ahead. On a row of hooks by the front door hung his sleigh-riding outfit. First, he pulled on a pair of black trousers and tightened the white belt around his narrow waist. Next, he put on his black jacket with a furry white fringe. A pair of white rubber boots went on his feet and a pointy black hat with a cotton ball on the tip went on his head.
“Great bother this,” he said. “Too many misbehaving children around the world. From Tahiti to Tasmania, Ecuador to England. Boys and girls are naughty everywhere.”
His outfit complete, Anta Claus grabbed his loaded black sack and left the cottage. He trudged down a path to the small barn. Inside Anta’s eight large yaks stood in their tidy stalls, swishing their short tails.
“Evening, lads,” Anta said. “Another year, and another journey to the four corners of the world.”
The yaks were magnificent beasts. Each boasted a fine pair of long curved horns. Each one had long, shaggy wool hanging from their bellies. What is more, each yak’s fur was a different collar. Anta Claus hitched the yaks to his sleigh in pair. Closest to the sleigh went Yellowback Yak and Orangeback Yak. Next came Redback Yak and Purpleback Yak. Before them, Anta hitched Blueback Yak and Greenback Yak, and in the lead he put Whiteback Yak and Blackback Yak.
He tossed his black sack in the back seat of the sleigh. He climbed into the front and grabbed the reins.
“Get on Whiteback Yak! Get on Blackback Yak!” he shouted. “Get on the rest of you lads.”
In graceful unison, the colorful beasts leaps toward the pale-blue sky. Over the barn, over the cottage, away from the South Pole they flew. Then from the black sleigh, now high up in the air, came a shout.