12 Stories of Christmas: Story #7

Rudolph’s Revenge

“Can I play?” It was the first day of school and Rudolph couldn’t wait to join in the reindeer games.

“No, you freak!”

“This game is only for reindeer with normal noses.”

“Go find your own kind.”

Rudolph put his head down and slipped away before the other reindeer saw him cry.  It wasn’t his fault that his nose was red. He was born that way. It wasn’t fair.

Rudolph tried a few more times, but the other reindeer always responded the same way.  He learned to avoid others and keep his head low.  He pretended it didn’t hurt when they made comments about his nose.  In time, they left him alone for a while. Then came Click Clop.  They posted pictures of him photoshopped with a red curly wig and giant shoes to go with his “clown nose”.  Everywhere he went, people laughed and called him names.

So, he stopped going anywhere. Rudolph stayed in his house. Every Christmas Eve, he watched them take flight. The reindeer who had brought him nothing but misery were revered for carrying joy to little kids everywhere.

Then, one Christmas Eve, he couldn’t see through the fog to watch the flight. The view from the window was pure white.  He gave up and settled into a game of solitaire. An unfamiliar sound called him from his game. It took a moment for him to recognize it as a knock on the door.  He opened the door to find Santa and eight tiny reindeer.

“Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide our sleigh tonight?”

“No, you’ve been nothing but mean to me,” Rudolph said and slammed the door in their face.

The kids didn’t get any gifts that night, but they did learn a valuable lesson about bullying.