'How Santa Got His Job'

Editor's note: A jack of all trades finally lands the perfect job.

When Santa Claus was a young man, he went out looking for a job. Santa wanted no part of desks or offices. He liked to stay on the move.

His first job was cleaning chimneys. Santa was sure-footed on even the steepest roofs, and he loved twisting through the tight spaces.

But there was a problem. Santa was so neat that he never got covered in soot or made a mess in the fireplace. So, nobody believed him when he said he was done.

"Where's the proof?" said some. "You're not even dirty!" said others. This led to a lot of arguments.

Santa worked for the post office next -- where everyone could see that he was doing his job. Santa's favorite part was bringing packages to people all over town. Waiting in traffic was frustrating, though.

"It's silly to waste all this time," he decided. To speed things up, he started making deliveries in the middle of the night.

But there was a problem. No one was glad to see him at that hour. The postmaster got so many complaining letters that Santa had to leave.

Since Santa had discovered he enjoyed staying up late, he tried cooking at an all-night diner. It felt good to fill orders for customers. Sometimes Santa even surprised people with extra helpings.

"Oh, I couldn't eat another bite," many of them insisted. "Well, maybe just one."

But there was a problem. Every night Santa tasted and sampled and tasted some more before he brought anything out of the kitchen. He gained a lot of weight.

Hoping to get some exercise, Santa then found a spot at the zoo. He was very organized about the animals.

"I know when they are sleeping," said Santa, "and when they are awake." Over time, he also learned whether they were behaving themselves -- or not.

But there was a problem. Santa became close friends with the reindeer and all the other animals got jealous. Sadly, the zookeeper had to let him go.

By now, Santa was starting to get discouraged. He didn't even notice what the reindeer were doing behind him. They worked hard to cheer him up.

Together, they joined the circus. Soon the reindeer were shooting Santa out of a cannon three times a night. Santa liked flying through the air and wearing his new costume. He was a big success.

But there was a problem. The ringmaster wanted to build up some suspense.

"You need to look frightened," he told Santa. "We want the crowd to worry about you."

But Santa was having too much fun for that.

"Ho, ho, ho!" he always cried as he flew through the air. So the crowd wasn't worried at all.

The angry ringmaster soon fired Santa and the reindeer. As they gathered their things, some elves came looking for autographs. When they heard the news, they invited Santa and the reindeer home for supper.

The elves lived way out of town. They were toymakers, and their house was their workshop.

Santa was amazed. "Children must love these toys," he said.

The elves looked embarrassed. They only made toys for their own pleasure. Selling them was too much trouble.

"What if you give them away?" Santa asked. The elves hadn't thought of that.

"I could deliver them for you," Santa offered. There were enough toys for children all over the world. The elves smiled -- and hired him on the spot.

The elves made Santa a special sack that was always big enough no matter how many toys were put in it. Then they built him a sleigh.

Santa and the reindeer practiced every day. They made a few mistakes at first, but soon they learned to work as a team.

In the darkest part of winter, when people need their spirits lifted the most, Santa got ready to go.

That first night was a little hard, because Santa was still learning about shortcuts and high winds. But at last he got the hang of it.

Excerpt from the book HOW SANTA GOT HIS JOB. Text copyright c 1998 by Stephen Krensky; illustrations copyright c 1998 by S.D. Schindler. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division. All rights reserved.