After doing some caroling around town and having a big delicious dinner, Martha was getting ready for bed… for there was only one more sleep until Christmas Day. She brushed her teeth, put on her favorite green nightdress, and pulled her long, fiery red hair up into a ponytail just as her mother and father peeked their heads into the room.
"So, do you have any last-minute wishes for Santa?" Felicity asked, smiling at her daughter staring out the window.
"As a matter of fact, I do." Martha said before she snuggled under her covers. "I have a pretty big wish."
"Good." Mortimer said, approaching the bed. "You deserve everything you want and more."
"Thanks, mom and dad. So do you."
Mortimer sat on the edge of Martha's bed and smiled at her; Felicity sat beside him. "How did I end up with such a wonderful daughter?"
"I don't know. Sometimes you just get lucky like that." The little girl said as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Then we really did." Felicity beamed.
"Me too. I love you." Martha said, hugging her parents.
"We love you, too." Felicity and Mortimer each gave their daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, sweetie."
"Goodnight."
The couple stood up, headed for the door, switched off the lights, and left, leaving Martha all by herself. After waiting for a few moments, Martha sat up in bed and stared out at Mt. Crumpit through the window. She held the photo of her and the Grinch.
"I hope you get everything you want for Christmas, Mr. Grinch." She whispered, holding the picture close and laying back down; her eyelids fluttered closed and eventually, she fell asleep.
Martha suddenly woke up and she didn't know why. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before taking a glance at the clock sitting on her nightstand; it was about 1:15 in the morning. How and why was she awake at this hour? When she let out a yawn and put her favorite red slippers on, her throat felt dry and she decided to go downstairs and get something to drink. Being as quiet as a mouse, she snuck out of her room, tiptoed down the hall, past her parents' room, down the stairs, and made her way to the kitchen. Luckily, she wasn't afraid of the dark. She then poured herself a glass of milk but just as she took a sip, she heard a strange noise coming from the other room and she froze.
'What was that?' She thought, nearly dropping her glass.
Martha slowly tiptoed towards the sound, which she discovered was coming from the living room. She carefully peeked into the living room and what she saw made her heart skip a beat. She saw a large figure dressed in red digging through what looked like a sack and the figure seemed to be laying presents underneath their Christmas tree… this was the one and only Santa Claus. Martha May could hardly believe it; he was real, he was really REAL. She watched as the icon of Christmas gently laid beautifully wrapped presents underneath the tree and stuffed the three stockings hanging over the fireplace with all kinds of sweets and goodies.
Suddenly, Martha felt a tickle in her nose. Panicking, she tried to hold her breath but it was all in vain. She let out a tiny sneeze, which quickly caught Santa's attention. The girl froze and her heart dropped into her stomach; she looked and made eye contact with Santa Claus himself. After a long moment of awkward silence, Martha finally spoke up.
"Um, hello." She nervously said.
"Hello." Santa said in a calm, gentle voice. "It's okay, don't be shy. Come here."
Reluctantly, Martha headed into the living room and walked towards the jolly old man. She stopped a few feet in front of him and stood straight, setting her glass of milk down and brushing her nightdress. She gave him a nervous grin before Santa gave a laugh.
"Don't be afraid, Martha May. I won't hurt you." He said.
"You… you know my name?"
Santa chuckled. "Why, of course. I know all of the good boys and girls of the world and you, Martha May, have been on the Nice List for many years."
"I have?"
"Yes, you have."
"Wow!" She paused. "…But I don't know if I deserve to be on the Nice List."
Santa looked surprised; he sat down on the sofa and carefully set Martha on to his lap. "Why ever not?"
"Well… I've done a few not-so-nice things while I was here. I lied to my parents, I had a sleepover without their permission… and I even went up to Mt. Crumpit in the middle of the night." Martha admitted.
"But that's okay, dear. Everyone does naughty things and misbehaves sometimes; some just do that more than others." Santa explained. "But from what I've seen while you were here, you've been nothing but good as gold, still the kindhearted little Who you've always been."
Martha smiled and gave the holiday figure a big hug; he hugged her back. "Thank you, Santa."
"You're welcome."
Martha suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Santa? Before you go, can you do me a favor?"
"If you're asking for a picture, I'm afraid I can't—"
"No, no, it's not that. It's, well… don't forget the Grinch."
Santa paused and looked at Martha with wide eyes. "The Grinch? You know the Grinch?"
"Yeah, I do. He and I met the first day I was here. That's why I was up on Mt. Crumpit."
Martha told Santa everything about how she met the Grinch and everything they did together; she even told him about the Christmas Pageant and what he did to help her. Santa listened to every word and nodded his head many times, meaning he understood.
"And, that's about it." Martha said. "I know Mr. Grinch can be mean and surly and nasty at times and he might hate Christmas and all, but… just because he's different doesn't mean he shouldn't get a present on Christmas. And I think he's actually kind of sweet."
"You think he's sweet?" Santa asked.
"Yeah. Besides, he's done so many nice things for me already and I just want him to be happy."
"You really want Mr. Grinch to be happy?"
"Of course I do. You're Santa, you make people happy. And everyone should be happy at Christmas, right?"
"…You're right. Everyone should be happy at Christmas and I would love to help, but…"
"But what?"
"But I'm sorry to say that Mr. Grinch has been on my Naughty List for quite some time."
Martha was shocked. "So… he won't be getting a present?"
"I'm afraid so."
"That's terrible!"
"Yes, I suppose it is. But if you really want Mr. Grinch to be happy, then maybe you should do something about it."
Martha then paused and thought long and hard about what Santa had said. Then she brightened up. "You're right! I should do something. He's already done so many nice things for me; I oughta do something nice for him."
"That's the spirit." Santa set Martha back down onto the floor and stood up; he took the cookies that were sitting on the coffee table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."
"Oh, right. I'm so sorry for keeping you here longer than you should." Martha said, offering her glass of milk to him.
"That's quite alright. And don't worry; I know you'll think of something." Santa took the glass and gulped down the milk after he finished the cookies.
"Thanks, Santa." Martha said. "And do you think you can stop by Mr. Grinch's cave and wish him a Merry Christmas for me? It would mean a lot to me if you did."
"Don't worry, Martha. I'll tell him." Santa said before the little girl giggled and gave him another hug.
"Thank you again, Santa." Martha said.
"You're very welcome." Santa said, grabbing his sack of toys and heading over to the chimney. "Goodnight and merry Christmas."
And with that, he disappeared up the chimney, leaving Martha alone once again.
"Goodnight." Martha whispered with a tiny wave. She took a look at the gifts underneath the tree and got an idea.