Amy’s Garden

Rudolph

When Lydia gets on a kick, it can last a while. She first saw the 1964 Rudoph the Red-Nosed Reindeer cartoon at Nana and Poppy’s house sometime in December. She really can’t tell you too many details from this show, even though she watches it pretty often at their house. She knows about Rudolph, Clarice (the girl reindeer), and Hermie (the elf). She asks Poppy to fast-forward through the parts with the snow monster.

Our knowledge of Rudolph grew after a little internet research. Before the well-known cartoon hit the airwaves in the 60s, a man named Robert May wrote the original Rudolph story as a sales gimmick with Montgomery Ward in 1939. In 1948, a short video based on his book was produced. This video is part of Lydia’s regular YouTube repertoire.

Lydia loves to have stories told to her, whether as part of her bedtime routine or just during our daily activities. A unique Rudolph story has evolved over the weeks. It’s an interesting mix of the 1964 TV special, the 1948 short video, and the Tyndall family imagination.

Once upon a time, a baby reindeer named Rudolph was born. Rudolph didn’t have a small black nose like most reindeer. He had a big, bright red, shiny nose. It was like a sparkly Christmas light. The other reindeer had never seen a shiny red nose before, so they weren’t very nice to him. But there were a few people who were nice to Rudolph: his parents, the girl reindeer Clarice, and Hermie the elf.

Hermie and Rudolph had a few adventures together. Then one foggy Christmas eve, Santa was having trouble getting through the fog to get all the presents delivered. His reindeer got caught in a tree and they almost ran into an airplane. When Santa got to Rudolph’s house, he went into Rudolph’s room to put a toy in Rudolph’s stocking. Santa said, “Oh, it looks like Rudolph left a light on in his room. Oh wait, that’s not a lamp, that light is coming from Ruldoph’s nose!” Santa reached out to touch Rudolph’s nose, but it was very hot, light a light bulb, and Santa pulled his finger away and said “Yow!”

Then Santa said, “Rudolph, I have a great idea. Could you help me guide my sleigh through the fog so I can see to deliver the rest of the presents?” So Rudolph wrote a letter that said, “Deer Mommy and Daddy, I am going to help Santa. Don’t worry. Rudolph. That’s me.”

The other reindeer strapped Rudolph in, and Santa checked the straps. “Just right. Snug, but comfortable.” Rudolph guided Santa’s sleigh through the fog, and they got all the presents delivered.

When they got back to Reindeer Village, they went to the Post-Christmas party. Everyone shouted “Hip-hip hooray for Rudolph! Hip-hip hooray for Rudolph!” Santa put a medal around Rudolph’s neck. Clarice gave Rudolph a big hug and said she was very proud of him.

The next year, Rudolph wondered if Santa would need him to help guide his sleigh again. Santa said, “Rudolph, I’m sorry, but it’s not foggy this year. I really don’t need you to guide the sleigh, but I really do need help loading the presents into the sleigh. Rudolph really wanted to guide the sleigh again, but he was happy to help Santa however he could. So Santa put a present onto Rudolph’s nose, and Rudolph lifted the present into the sleigh. They kept doing this until all the presents were loaded.

The next year Rudolph helped clean the sleigh (by licking it), and the next year it was foggy again, so Rudolph guided the sleigh again. Clarice was proud of Rudolph every year, because he was willing to help Santa in whatever way Santa needed.

Eventually Rudolph and Clarice got married and had two little girl reindeer. Their names were Clara and Clarinet, and they both had bows on their heads, just like their mommy Clarice.

The End.

Lydia also loves to act out the Rudolph story on Mommy and Daddy’s bed. Whatever adult she is with is Santa, and she is Rudolph. If Luke is around he is Hermie. One time, however, she was wearing her Ariel costume, so the story changed slightly. Santa was making his underwater deliveries and the mermaid was his underwater guide who showed him where everyone lived.