Mischief Makers Day 18: The Slope

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Glitter paced in front of the stables, waiting for her informant to show up. 

“Psst! Ma’am?” A tiny reindeer peeked out from behind a post. 

“There you are,” said Glitter. “What news?”

“You were right, ma’am. The Beagle and Bunny are trying to recruit the others.”

“And?”

“So far, they’ve got the Tooth Fairy and Queen of Hearts on their side, but the Leprechauns are holding out.”

Glitter nodded. “Good work, Junior.”

Junior saluted and pranced back inside the stables, leaving Glitter to her thoughts. So. The Beagle and the Bunny were recruiting. “We’ll just see about that..” she murmured.

* * *

Oh sledding hill, oh sledding hill
so beautiful and snowy
Oh sledding hill, oh sledding hill
Into the sink we’ll go-y
We’ll build a sled, of Christmas treats
And race each other through the streets
Oh sledding hill, oh sledding hill
Into the sink we’ll go-y

As Pixie and Figgy sang the last few notes of their song, Nim and Lil skidded to a halt on the kitchen counter spraying snow everywhere.

Pixie looked up, startled. “Nim, Lil? I thought you were finalizing the plans for the Christmas Eve Eve Pep Rally?”

Nim shook his head, panting. “We have some news.”

“About the DFFF’s investigation. There have been…a few developments.” Lil straightened up. She was smiling.

Nim and Lil told them about Glitter’s network of spies. Tiny reindeer who could disguise themselves as a number of woodland creatures…including bunnies.

Figgy scratched his head. “A bunny? Really?”

“Yes,” Lil said. “Once disguised, they infiltrated the Easter Bunny’s lair and–”.

“But, don’t they have antlers? Like Glitter?” asked Figgy.

“And do they learn to hop like a bunny?” asked Pixie.

Nim frowned. “They are specially trained forces who–.”

“Maybe they wear costumes,” pondered Figgy

“They would have to be really good costumes to fool the Easter Bunny and Birthday Beagle,” said Pixie.

“And they must have a whole team of make-up artists ready to transform them at any time,” added Figgy. 

“And another team to make them spy gadgets and gizmos!”

“And—”.

“THE POINT IS,” Lil interrupted. “We have some good news.”  

Pixie and Figgy looked eagerly at Nim and Lil. 

“The Easter Bunny and Birthday Beagle have been recruiting others in an attempt to reduce the Magic of Christmas,” said Nim.

“They’d already recruited the Queen of Hearts and a few other minor holiday mascots, but then, they got a little too ambitious.” Lil paused for dramatic affect. “They tried to recruit….the leprechauns.” 

Pixie and Figgy gasped. Every creature in the North Pole knew that the leprechauns were not to be trusted. They were too tricky and, truth be told, volatile to work with. 

“I guess the Beagle and Bunny got desperate after the audit didn’t turn up anything. It was a last-ditch effort to overthrow Santa…and it failed spectacularly.”

After a moment of stunned silence, applause, cheers and happy shouts filled the kitchen. 

Figgy and Pixie threw sleds at Nim and Lil and dragged them up the slopes. They spent most of the night and into the wee hours sledding, singing and celebrating. 

Christmas was saved. 

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