Bantam Elf tried to do every job at the North Pole shoe factory, but everything he tried ended in disaster. The other elves called him "the bottom shelf elf" because the only job he could do was stack shoeboxes on the bottom shelf of the ware house. But Bantam knew he was meant to do something greater, and one day he set out to find it. What he ended up finding was a horse, a couple of wise men, a very important baby, and the greatest gift you could ever give. Bantam may have once been called the bottom shelf elf, but on one special day in December, he became the greatest elf in history...

The Bottom Shelf Elf

By Joe Mokol

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Joe Mokol
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-2540-3

Chapter One

"What's all this commotion about?" Jingle asked the three young elves. The three little elves were arguing over who was the greatest elf in history.

Emily said it was Constance Elf because she was the greatest elf artist. She could paint a face on a doll and you would think it was a real baby.

"No way," said Jimmy "The best elf ever was Hercules Elf because he was the strongest elf ever." Hercules could carry all of Santa's toys at one time.

Matthew agreed with Jimmy that Hercules was the strongest elf. But the best elf ever, according to Matthew, was Speedy elf, the fastest elf. Speedy could load Santa's sleigh in no time flat. He had to be the greatest elf.

Now, Jingle was a very wise old elf and the three youngsters agreed to let him make the decision on who was the greatest elf ever. "Well," Jingle said, "the greatest elf ever was Bantam Elf."

"Was he real strong?" asked Jimmy.

"No," said Jingle. "In fact, he needed help with moving even the smallest packages."

"Was he a great artist?" asked Emily.

"No, Bantam couldn't paint very well," answered Jingle.

"Was he as fast as Speedy?" asked Matthew. "No," said Jingle. "Bantam was not nearly as fast as Speedy Elf."

"Then how could Bantam be the greatest elf ever?" they asked.

Jingle took a long breath and said, "Well children, without Bantam there wouldn't be any Christmas."

"What?" They all exclaimed. "How could there be no Christmas?"

"Do you want me tell you the story of Bantam Elf?" asked Jingle.

"Please tell us," they said together.

"It was a long time ago, before there was a Christmas at all," said Jingle. "The elves still lived at the North Pole but they didn't make toys; they made shoes. Some of the best shoes in the world were made right here at the North Pole."

"Was Bantam a great shoemaker?" asked Jimmy.

"No," said Jingle. "Bantam was so small the other elves would tease him and call him the bottom shelf elf because he could only stack shoes on the bottom shelf. Poor Bantam tried to do every job at the shoe factory, but he was just too small, or too sloppy, or just too clumsy. When he tried to sew the soles, he wasn't strong enough to push the needle through the leather. He decided to try dyeing the shoes. It was a disaster. The whole room was dyed and the shoes were still white.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from The Bottom Shelf Elfby Joe Mokol Copyright © 2012 by Joe Mokol. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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