Song: The Sheep That Saved Christmas
From: Mama's Black Sheep
Start song(1)
As Amerigo looked over at Leroy affectionately the sheep and the two ganders made quite a ruckus as they tried and failed to keep their giggles quiet.
"Ba ba baba"
"Honk honk"
The Arctic Fox gave them a look but they paid her no mind. Two scout elves landed on the geese and that got them to calm down as their riders reminded them of the important image they needed to keep up. The sheep however were not so inclined as they had no such image. In fact, the noble air the geese took on only made them laugh harder.
"Ba, Sneed would be on his back with giggles." Laughed one.
"Baba, he certainly would!" Joined another.
"Who is Sneed?" Asked Tooth.
"One of North's original elves that kept his smarts from when he was a bandit." The Guardian of Fun told her. "He and I have a runny challenge on how many pranks we can pull in a year."
"Ba, he pranked the whole Pole one year with sleeping powder in the chowder. Baba, that's why we were called upon." Snickered yet another sheep.
"Da, zat elf vas on ze naughty list every year before zat. He's better now zough." North told them.
"That's just because he does pranks that don't get him on the naughty list. Not an easy task, let me tell you, but…" Jack shrugged. "I will figure it out eventually."
"Baba, good luck with that" Teased a fourth sheep.
"Baba, Sneed will beat you every time." Added a fifth.
Jack leaned on his staff. "Since you are so talkative, why don't you give us your tale? Unless you would rather be a petting zoo." Jack winked at the kids who eagerly caught on to his idea.
The kids surrounded the flock and when the little hands reached for their flees the sheep finally stopped laughing.
"OK, just no pulling or no story!" The sixth sheep told the little ones.
The kids retracted their hands.
(1)The sheep went back to back in a circle and started telling of the night Sneed saw an opportunity on one Christmas Eve night to play a prank. How he snuck into the kitchen and slipped super sleeping powder, from North's magic ingredients, into the Christmas chowder and the hay for the reindeer. Then when the feast had been eaten everyone passed out.
"Oh, the stars are brightly shining in the midnight sky so clear. Santa's sleigh was filled with gifts for children far and near. Little did they know that Santa and all nine reindeer would be sleeping right through Christmas this year." The flock sang. "Sneed walked around the shop and heard not a single sound, as everybody else was fast asleep. 'I was only trying to have fun, now look what I have done.' he hung his head and then began to weep. While squinting through his tears, there suddenly appeared a circle of dark figures closing in. And much to his surprise, he saw nine pairs of bright eyes as a small flock of black sheep surrounded him."
The sheep told how they had been brought to the pole by magic and how at midnight the same magic enchanted them to speak. Sneed and the flock planned together and quickly secured the sheep to the slay with Sneed taking the reins.
"Oh, the stars are brightly shining in the midnight sky so clear. Santa's sleigh was filled with gifts for children far and near. Just as hope was fading, a solution did appear, the sheep are saving Christmas this year."
They preened as they described the flight to deliver the gifts and the fight against the icy winds. Then, exhausted but having completed their task they headed back to the pole.
"Oh, the stars are brightly shining in the midnight sky so clear. The gifts had been delivered to the children far and near. Just as hope was fading a solution did appear, thank goodness the sheep saved Christmas this year!"
At the end of their tale, the sheep broke into laughter again. "Baba baba"
Everyone was confused until Bunny shouted, "Cranky!" Turning to look they say that he was now pure black in color. He in turn was staring at them so they looked down to see that everyone (person, animal, and spirit) was pure black from head to toe.
"Eh ah ah!" A snarky laugh came from the direction of the flock, or more accurately from the center of the flock's circle. Out of the center came the long bell sporting-hated head of an elf. Brown eyes alight with mischief Sneed held up an empty bottle of magic powdered paint. "Got yeah!" Sneed said. "You all look good in black!" That got the sheep laughing even louder.
"Sneed, how!" Gasped North.
"You bloody imp, I will…!" Bunny threatened.
Jack shook his head and wiped his foot across the ground finding the powder paint came off easily. "Relax Kangaroo, it comes right off. Good one Sneed!"
Sneed bowed then, disappearing behind the sheep again, came back up with a stack of magic self-cleaning towels. He threw them in the air and they started seeking out the black coating on everyone. The animals didn't much appreciate the rub down but put up with it.
"So what was the point of turning us all black?" Asked Thistlehair.
"No point really, just a bit of fun!" Sneed answered, still from the safety of the flock of sheep circling him.
"He's got to be on the naughty list now!" Screamed Bunny.
North shook his head. "No one vas hurt, emotionally, mentally, or physically. He provided a solution to the paint right away. And by my guess, he made the item for his prank himself (I never imagined any of the elves vould vant to read magic books so I didn't make rule zat zey couldn't, Sneed learned all of zis himself) so he didn't steel."
"Which means no naughty list for me. Just harmless fun!" The mischievous elf cheered.
The Ganders are based off of a painting of Santa riding in a strawberry cart with wreath weels being polled by two Geese with red elf riders that remind me of the scout elves. Couldn't find a story behind them but I thought they were cool so I added them in.
The idea of Sneed keeping his old smarts and attitude from when he was one of the bandits who rode with North back when he was the Bandit king, in the Guardians of Childhood books, worked better in my head than a single bad elf in the multitude of good elf stories. And the Black sheep, being connected to Sneed, seemed to me would take on some of the elf's personality so I went with it.