The Stray Reindeer

When Orry the pixie finally crawled out of his bed, the bright winter sun was already high in the sky. However, Orry felt like lazing around today. It was Christmas, after all! And who on earth would want to do anything on Christmas?

He opened the window and blinked ‘hello’ at the sun, as it gently caressed his cheek with its cheerful rays. It snowed yesterday, so there’s a soft, white blanket on the ground. Orry was about to close the window again when he noticed some fresh footprints in the snow. They looked like those of a deer, but were somewhat different. He racked his brain thinking about which other animal could have left such marks, but couldn’t figure it out. He gave-up after a while and quickly got washed and dressed before going outside to sit on a branch.

“Good morning, Orry,” said the mighty oak tree. “Where are you headed today? I can tell you haven’t even had your breakfast yet, and it will soon be lunchtime. Ha!”

“Good morning, Mr Tree! Well, I have to do something. I’ll be back shortly,” Orry said, jumping off the branch. He was still deep in thought.

Orry began to follow those mysterious footprints. It was tedious, though, because the track zigzagged a lot and seemed to have no beginning or end. Luckily the snow wasn’t too deep, so it was easy to walk on. But all the twisting and turning soon made his head spin.

He was about to turn back when he heard an unfamiliar voice.

“Santa? Guys? Where are you?”

Orry followed the voice and soon spotted an animal among the trees. It stood there with its head down. Orry approached with caution.

Not wishing to scare the creature, he whispered: “Hi there. Who are…