Robin’s father had gone away. Mummy said he had gone to heaven. He did not know where heaven was, so he couldn’t send him a letter. Christmas was coming up. He had always given a list of things to his father. And his father made sure that Santa brought him those presents. Now what should he do?
Then he decided to write a letter to Santa Claus. He wrote as follows:
Dear Santa,
I live with my mother in a village called Hendley. My father has gone to heaven. I think you must have seen him there.
Every year, I used to give him a list of things I wanted for Christmas. He told me he used to send it to you and then you sent me all the things I wanted. Now I am sending you the list myself as Papa is not there.
These are the things I would like to have:
- A toy train, with tracks
- A storybook about pirates
- A sailor’s dress
- A new hat for Mum
- A teddy bear for Baby
I hope this is not a very long list.
With love,
Robin Merrick
Robin checked that he had written his own address correctly. Then he wrote on the envelope, ‘Mr Santa Claus, Christmas Factory, Heaven’. Pasting a stamp on it, he posted it in the letter-box at the end of the street.
The letter reached the post office. The boy who sorted the letters burst out laughing when he read the address.
“Hey, look here,” he called out to the others, “There’s a guy who’s written a letter to Santa Claus and wants us to send it to heaven!”
“Send it to the Dead Letter Office, since the address is wrong,” suggested someone.
“Better throw it into the fire,” suggested someone else.
“No, don’t do that!” said Mike Carver, one of the postmen, “Give me the letter.”
The boy tossed the letter to Mike, who read it carefully. He felt very sad for little Robin whose father had died.
That evening, Mike went to the shops to buy gifts for his family. He also got all the things that Robin had asked for. At home, he hid the gifts for his family and wrapped all the gifts for Robin in a large parcel.
The next morning, Mike rang the bell at Robin’s house. Robin opened the door. Mike handed over the package. As he walked away, Robin called out, “Merry Christmas, Mr Carver!” Mike waved back, calling, “Merry Christmas, Robin!”
Moral: Don’t brag about your generosity.
Or
Let not your left hand know what your right hand does.
