by D Rossmaur
Albert was very excited as the sleigh flew over city after city, country after country. It was a wonderful geography lesson for Albert, as Santa told him stories about each place. Santa even let Albert help him with the Christmas deliveries when they landed in Holland.
‘Buckle up Albert,’ said Santa as they whooshed away to the next country.
Albert leant over the side of the sleigh and as the cool night breeze blew through his fur, an icicle formed on the end of his nose. This made Santa laugh. Albert saw how funny he looked in the side mirror and pulled the icicle off.
‘OUCH that hurt,’ said Albert rubbing his nose.
‘Ah that reminds me Albert, it’s time to introduce you to my reindeer,’ said Santa.
Albert sat up ready to meet them.
‘Meet Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolf. He’s the one with the red nose like you Albert,’ said Santa as he pointed at Rudolph.
The reindeer looked around one by one and bowed their heads at Albert to say hello.
‘Nice to meet you all too,’ said Albert.
‘Where are we going Santa?’ Albert asked.
‘You will see soon enough Albert,’ said Santa keeping it as a surprise.
Albert had another question for Santa.
‘If you give presents to everybody around the world Santa, then who gets you presents?’ he asked.
‘That is a thoughtful question Albert and why Mrs Claus always gives me lots of presents. I get socks, boots and a beard trimmer, which I always need. But the greatest gift for me, is to know that people all over the world are happy at Christmas time,’ Santa replied.
‘Here we are Albert,’ said Santa as they circled down from out of the clouds and landed on the roof of a beautiful snow covered palace.
Chapter 8
‘This looks like a magical place,’ said Albert as he looked in wonder at the palace.
‘Welcome Albert to the Royal Palace of Norway and I believe this is where a certain fluffy royal kitten was born,’ said Santa.
Albert could not believe it, he was home. Santa was the first to climb down the palace chimney to start his deliveries.
‘ALBERT YOU CAN FOLLOW ME DOWN NOW,’ Santa shouted up the chimney.
Albert clung onto the walls of the chimney as he made his way down into the palace. Santa waited at the bottom to catch Albert just in case he fell, but Albert was fine. He did look a little dirty with his face covered in soot from the chimney and Santa wiped it clean with a handkerchief. This was nothing compared to how dirty Albert usually gets after playing in the garden.
While Santa was busy putting the presents around the Christmas tree, Albert wandered off to explore the palace by himself. He walked along a dark corridor and into the royal banqueting hall. The fire was still alight and Albert warmed himself in front of it, while he looked around at the big paintings hanging on the wall. He saw one painting with two Forest Cats, like himself and five kittens sitting beside them.
Albert climbed up on a chair to get a closer look. Suddenly the chair wobbled and Albert crashed to the ground making plenty of noise as he landed.
‘OUCH,’ said Albert as he rubbed his bottom.
Two palace guards came rushing in to see what all the noise was about. They searched the room, but could not find anything apart from the broken chair. Albert was hiding upside down under the dining table and waited for the guards to go before coming out. He was just about to let go and fall to the ground, when he heard a voice say;
‘Is that you son?’
Albert looked down over his shoulder and saw a large cat staring back up at him. He dropped to the floor to say hello. Just to be safe, Albert rubbed his paws on the carpet, ready to give this other cat a shock.
‘It’s OK I am your dad,’ said the cat as he pointed to the painting on the wall.
‘Dad is it really you or am I dreaming?’ Albert said looking at the painting and back again at the cat before him.
It was true, this really was his dad and Albert ran for a giant hug.
‘My name is Olav, but please call me dad,’ said his dad.
‘Yes dad and my name is Albert,’ Albert replied.
‘Albert. That’s a good royal name son,’ said his dad.
‘Let me show you who else is in the picture Albert,’ his Dad said pointing up at the wall.
‘You have three sisters, Elsa, Inga, Hanna, a brother Eric and your mum, Martha.’
‘Wow I have sisters and a brother, that’s so cool,’ said Albert as he looked at the painting.
‘One question Albert, how did you get here?’ his dad asked.
‘On Santa’s sleigh,’ Albert replied.
‘How exciting for you son. Your mum hoped she might see you again one day and this is the perfect Christmas gift for her. And for the rest of us,’ his dad said.
‘Where is mum?’ Albert asked looking around.
‘Follow me son,’ his dad replied as they started to walk down the stairs to the palace kitchen.
It felt like home to Albert as he also spent most of his time in the kitchen. He was looking around at all the pots and pans hanging from the kitchen ceiling, when four cats jumped on him for a wrestling match.
‘Be nice to your brother,’ his dad said as Albert’s brother and sisters rolled around on the kitchen floor with him.
‘Is it really you, my little prince?’ his mum asked as she entered the kitchen and walked up closer to sniff Albert.
Albert hugged his mum tightly.
‘Do you remember this palace?’ his mum asked.
‘Not really mum,’ Albert replied as he tried to remember what it was like as a very small kitten.
‘Did you miss us brother?’ his brother Eric asked as he pinned Albert to the ground.
‘OK, OK, I missed you,’ said Albert.
Then Albert remembered something;
‘Wait what about Santa?’ he asked.
And at that very moment Santa’s sleigh flew past the kitchen window.
‘I WILL BE BACK FOR YOU ALBERT BEFORE SUNRISE,’ Santa shouted as he headed for the stars.
Albert sat for a while to talk to his parents about Queen Beatrice and his life in the palace, before his brother dragged him off to play.
‘Play gently please. We don’t want anything to get broken around the palace,’ his mum warned.
Chapter 9
They played hide and seek in the kitchen, chased a ball around the giant hall and then made lots of paw prints in the snow outside. It was time for a snowball fight, which got a little out of hand, before they stopped to make the best snowman ever.
Albert’s mum and dad laughed as they watched from the kitchen window. They were so happy that Albert was being well looked after at the palace and loved by Queen Beatrice. Albert asked his sisters if there was a horse stable at the palace. There was and they showed him the way.
Albert inspected the horses in the stable and also noticed two reindeer inside. He jumped over the stable door and started to roll around in the Reindeer pooh, forgetting all about trying to be good for Santa. His brother and sisters watched in disgust from the stable door.
‘Yuck, how could you Albert?’ said his sister Elsa
‘Come in, it’s fun,’ Albert said as he rolled about.
All three sisters said no thank you, but his brother jumped in to have a go. The two boys rolled around and laughed.
‘This is fun Albert,’ said Eric.
They were now the two smelliest cats in the palace and probably in the whole of Norway. Albert and Eric laughed all the way back to the palace kitchen. Santa would soon return for Albert, so they needed to warm up by the fire, but when they walked in the kitchen their mum noticed the terrible smell straight away.
‘Albert and Eric you both stink. You can’t come into the palace smelling like that,’ said their mum pinching her nose.
Albert’s father smiled, as this was probably something he used to do as a kitten. Th
ere was not enough time for Albert to have a bath, so his mother quickly rolled him around in the snow to get as much of the reindeer pooh off as possible. Albert giggled as she tickled his belly. She dried Albert with a warm towel and cuddled him by the fire. They talked some more, while Eric sat in the bath beside them and his sisters ate their dinner. There was soon a knock on the kitchen door and Santa had returned.
‘Has everyone enjoyed themselves?’ Santa asked.
‘Yes thank you Santa,’ Albert replied.
Albert’s family thanked Santa too for the lovely surprise.
‘I’m afraid we need to leave Albert if we hope to get back to the palace before sunrise,’ said Santa as he checked his watch.
Albert hugged his parents, brother and sisters one more time before saying goodbye. They made a promise to try to see each other again as soon as possible.
‘Perhaps when Queen Beatrice visits Norway,’ said Albert.
‘Let‘s hope so Albert,’ said his mum as she tried to hold back the tears.
Albert was about to jump in the front seat next to Santa when Santa said;
‘Not so fast Albert. You smell terrible, so you will have to sit in the back,’
Albert did not mind as he could wave for a little longer to his family from the back seat. The sleigh twirled around the palace before disappearing amongst the stars.
Chapter 10
Albert felt a little sad, but at the same time was pleased that Santa had given him this wonderful chance to see his family again. Their journey back was very fast and lucky for them it was still dark when they arrived in London. Santa parked on the palace roof and Albert jumped out.
‘Merry Christmas Albert,’ said Santa.
‘And you Santa. Thank you again for taking me to Norway. Does this mean that I am on your good list?’ Albert asked.
‘You will have to wait and see Albert. Might I suggest that you have a bath before Queen Beatrice wakes up,’ said Santa as he sprayed air freshener around the sleigh to make it smell better.
‘On Blitzen, on Dasher,’ said Santa as the sleigh took off and he waved goodbye to Albert.
Albert waved back and watched as the sleigh vanished. He sniffed himself and Santa was right, he smelled terrible. As soon as Albert got in the kitchen he ran a small bath in a bucket and washed himself quickly.
Isabelle would be up soon to start preparing the Christmas lunch and she could not find him wet. Albert went to the dining room and lay by the fire to dry off. He soon fell asleep, as he was so tired from travelling around the world with Santa all night and playing in the snow with his family.
While he slept Isabelle got up and started working in the kitchen. She saw the bucket of soapy water and guessed Albert must have had a bath in the night, which made her smile. At half past eight Isabelle took a nice warm bowl of milk into the dining room to wake Albert. The smell from the milk woke him from a deep sleep.
‘Did I only dream that I had flown in Santa’s sleigh to Norway?’ thought Albert as he looked around the room.
‘I see you are back to your old ways Albert,’ said Isabelle as she held the bucket of dirty water in one hand and the bowl of milk in the other.
‘It must have been real, or why else would I need a bath,’ said Albert with relief.
‘Merry Christmas to you Isabelle,’ said Queen Beatrice as she walked down the stairs.
‘Merry Christmas to you your majesty,’ Isabelle replied with a curtsey.
Queen Beatrice sat by the fire and was having a nice cup of tea when Albert jumped up on her lap.
‘And a merry Christmas to you my little prince,’ said the Queen as she kissed Albert.
‘Is it really Christmas Day?’ said Albert looking out the window as the snow started to fall.
Albert was happy to be home with Queen Beatrice, even though he missed his family in Norway.
Chapter 11
After breakfast, Queen Beatrice sat around the Christmas tree ready to exchange presents with the staff. Even Norman the palace guard was invited in for the festivities.
Norman opened his present from Isabelle and received a lovely hand knitted scarf with his name on. Isabelle put it around Norman’s neck to see how it looked.
‘Just what I needed, thank you Isabelle’ said Norman.
Norman was the last to give out his presents and it was difficult to buy something for the Queen, because after all, she could afford anything she wanted. Norman hoped he had found something special.
Queen Beatrice opened up a big box from Norman and inside there was a beautiful black and white photo of Albert playing in the garden. The Queen was very pleased and almost cried.
‘Thank you Norman this is lovely,’ said the Queen and Norman blushed.
Albert was also pleased with his new photo as it would take pride of place above the fire.
Isabelle opened her gift from Norman and pulled out a sparkling evening dress fit for a princess. The note inside said;
‘To Cinderella, Happy Christmas, love from Norman.’
Isabelle started to cry as the dress was beautiful. She went over to Norman and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Norman returned the kiss and blushed again as everyone applauded.
‘Well it’s about time,’ said Queen Beatrice.
‘I know the kiss is the wrong way round from what I wished for Santa, but it will do,’ said Albert as he looked at the Christmas tree.
At that very moment the fairy on top of the tree lit up, which was truly magical. There were still presents on the tree and Gerard handed these around to everyone. Albert ate one of his Christmas treats and was thankful not to be on the naughty list. He made a promise to be good just before Christmas each year, as this seemed to work the first time. For the rest of the year he could be his usual naughty self.
With all the presents given out, Gerard handed round glasses of Champagne and proposed a toast.
‘Queen and Country,’
Everyone repeated the toast;
‘QUEEN AND COUNTRY’
Chapter 12
Just before lunchtime the palace front door bell rang, announcing the arrival of the Queen‘s grand children, Prince Nicholas and Princess Sophie. They were both very excited about Christmas as Queen Beatrice hugged them. While the Queen gave them their presents, Albert put on a hat and scarf, then crept out the back door to see if the Sgt Major was awake. He found his friend scratching around the palace grounds looking for food.
Albert had brought some bread and cheese out with him and gave it to his friend.
‘Happy Christmas Sgt Major,’ said Albert.
Albert also had a present for him.
‘For me, thank you Albert,’ said the Sgt Major as he pecked at a piece of cheese.
The Sgt Major opened his present and inside there was a handful of brightly coloured buttons, because as you know, Magpies love to collect shiny things.
‘These will go nicely with my collection and thank you Albert. Did you sleep well last night?’ the Sgt Major asked.
‘Boy have I got a story for you,’ said Albert and he went on to tell the Sgt Major all about his wonderful adventure with Santa, meeting his family, having a snowball fight and getting all stinky.
‘Sounds like you are back to your old self Albert. That’s good to hear and it must have been lovely to see your family again,’ said the Sgt Major.
‘It was and I think they were pleased to hear that I am happy living here at the palace,’ Albert replied.
‘I had something strange happen to me too. When I woke this morning, there was a bright red blanket covering my nest, with a note attached that said;’
‘Happy Christmas love Santa,’ said the Sgt Major.
‘Was that from you Albert?’ he asked.
Albert gasped as it must be the blanket from Santa’s sleigh and all his Christmas wishes had really come true. Albert looked up at the clouds to thank Santa again and as he did so the Sgt Major hit him on the bottom with a big snowball.
They laughed and played in the garden for ages, until Albert was finally called in for his Christmas dinner.
‘I’ll bring you more food out later,’ said Albert as he said goodbye to his friend.
The Sgt Major flew up to his nest and took a well earned nap.
After a big Christmas dinner, Prince Nicholas and Princess Sophie played with Albert, as they rolled a ball of wool along the palace hallway. Later that evening Isabelle wore her new dress to meet Norman for a romantic evening out, which pleased Queen Beatrice.
Before it was bed time Albert sat on the Queen’s lap, while she watched a Christmas movie on television with her grand children. This was his home now and Albert was very happy.
It seems everyone was happy, thanks to Santa.
Happy Holidays to everyone and I hope all your wishes come true.
See you soon for the next adventure.
Love Albert
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