Holly's Jolly Christmas

by Nancy Krulik

  The trouble was Katie never stayed herself for long. The magic wind came back again and again. Once it turned her into Lucille, the lunch lady. Katie started a food fight with gooey egg salad and almost got the real Lucille fired.

  Another time, the magic wind turned Katie into Mike Reed, the shortstop for the Cherrydale Porcupines. Mike was an amazing baseball player. Unfortunately, Katie wasn’t. She struck out, and dropped an important fly ball. Then she started to cry—and everyone in the stadium saw her on the jumbotron screen. Only they thought it was Mike who was sobbing. The poor guy!

  And then there was the time the magic wind switcherooed Katie into Slinky, class 4A’s pet snake. Just thinking about shedding Slinky’s skin still made her itch. Most fourth-grade girls don’t shed.

  The magic wind was the reason Katie didn’t make wishes anymore. She knew what kinds of weird things could happen if they came true.

  But she still really, really wanted a Christmas tree, even if she couldn’t wish for one.

  Luckily, Katie didn’t have to wish this time. Instead, Nick said, “I think we should go to a tree farm and pick one out.”

  “When?” Katie asked him.

  “How about right now?” Grandma suggested. “No time like the present.”

  “And no present like a Christmas present,” Katie giggled.

  “Good one,” Nick complimented her.

  “Won’t your mom and dad be surprised when they come home from work!” Katie’s grandmother added.

  Katie was already at the front door.

  “Whoa, hold it right there,” Nick said.

  Katie stopped in her tracks. “What’s wrong? You said we could go now.”

  “Don’t you think you ought to put your coat on first?” Nick asked. “It’s as cold as the North Pole out there.”

  “The perfect weather for buying a Christmas tree,” Katie’s grandmother said.

  Katie grinned. She couldn’t have agreed more!

  Chapter 5

  “We’re here! We’re here!” Katie shouted excitedly as Nick parked the car outside the tree farm. She was bouncing up and down in her seat like a little kid. But Katie couldn’t help it. There was just something about Christmastime that made her feel like a little kid again.

  “Come on, hurry up,” Katie urged as she leaped out of the car and ran toward the trees. “Pllleeease.”

  “I’m just locking the car,” her grandmother called. “You go on ahead. We’ll catch up with you.” Then she breathed in deeply. “Mmmm . . . smell that pine.”

  Katie sniffed at the air and smiled brightly. She loved the smell of pine trees and cold air all mixed together. It was the smell of Christmas, and it was wonderful.

  Other people obviously felt the same way. All around her, people were smiling, laughing, and humming Christmas carols as they examined the trees. Everyone at the tree farm seemed to have the Christmas spirit.

  Well, almost everyone, anyway. Behind the cash register was a woman wearing a cheerful, red and white Santa hat, and a tree-shaped nametag that said “Holly.” Holly was a very jolly name. But this Holly didn’t look so jolly.

  “Can you tell me where the medium-sized trees are?” Katie overheard one woman ask.

  Holly pointed, and said, “Over there.”

  “But all the trees are over there,” the woman said.

  Holly shrugged. “Yeah, and some of them are medium sized. You’ll just have to look through them all to find what you want.”

  Katie couldn’t believe it. How could someone who worked at a Christmas tree farm not have Christmas spirit? This was the most Christmas-y job there was. Except for Santa’s job, of course.

  Just then, someone with lots of Christmas spirit snuck up behind Katie. “Guess who?” the person asked.

  Katie turned around fast. “Louie!” she shouted out happily. Louie owned the pizzeria next to the bookstore in the Cherrydale Mall. Of all the people who worked at the mall, he was her favorite. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I’m picking out a tree,” Louie said. “What else do you do at a Christmas tree farm?”

  Katie giggled. “That’s true,” she said. “But if you’re here, who’s at the pizzeria?”

  “My wife’s in charge today,” he told her. “She can keep the customers happy until I get back.”

  Katie didn’t know Louie’s wife, but if she was half as nice as Louie she would definitely be able to keep all the customers happy!

  “I know your mom’s working today, so who are you here with? Your dad?” Louie asked Katie.

  “No. My Grandma and her friend, Nick,” Katie told him. “But when you get back to the mall, don’t tell my mom you saw us. We want the tree to be a surprise.”

  Louie smiled. “My lips are sealed!”

  “I want to find a tree that is big, but not too big,” she told Louie. “It has to fit in my living room.” She looked around at the trees that were for sale at the farm. “Gee. Most of the trees look kind of small and scrawny.”

  Suddenly, an angry voice said, “Well, what do you expect?”

  Katie swerved around. It was Holly.

  Holly’s hands were on her hips. “It’s a week before Christmas. Most of the really full trees are gone,” she said. “You gotta come early if that’s what you want, girlie.”

  Katie turned red. She hadn’t meant for Holly to hear what she’d said about the trees. “I’m sorry,” Katie apologized.

  Holly frowned. She pointed to the rows and rows of Christmas trees. “That’s what’s left. Take ’em or leave ’em.”

  Louie shrugged at Katie as if to say he didn’t understand why Holly was so cranky. Then he waved good-bye to Katie.

  Katie was not going to let Holly take all the fun out of buying a tree. So she gave Holly the biggest smile she could. “I’m sure I’ll find the perfect tree here.”

  Holly didn’t bother to answer. She started to march away.

  “Merry Christmas,” Katie said.

  Holly sighed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she said.

  Chapter 6

  “Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree . . .” Katie hummed as she walked between the rows of pine trees. She could see her grandmother and Nick at the other end of the farm, examining trees. She waved. But they were too far away to see her.

  There weren’t many big trees. Katie guessed Holly was right. They should have come sooner. Then she turned down another row. Yes! There were a few that were nice and round and full—even if they weren’t very tall.

  She held out her hand and fingered the pine needles on a cute, little tree. Then she leaned down and took a deep sniff of the tree’s sweet piney scent. Mmmm.

  Katie let out a happy little sigh. It was sooooo nice being here, just her and the Christmas trees. It felt like she was alone in a magical Christmas forest.

  “I should try and remember just how these trees look right now,” Katie said to herself. That way she could make them look real when she painted the scenery for the Community Center play.

  But as Katie continued looking at the trees, she felt a cool breeze blowing on the back of her neck.

  Brrrr. She tightened her scarf, and pulled down her ski hat. But the cool breeze didn’t go away. In fact, it started to get stronger and stronger.

  Katie looked around at the trees. The branches didn’t seem to be blowing at all. In fact, they were just standing there, straight and still. But the wind kept moving, blowing harder and harder . . . and circling just around Katie.

  Katie gulped. That could only mean one thing. This might not be a magical forest, but that breeze was definitely the magic wind!

  “Oh no!” Katie cried out. “Not now. Not while I’m shopping for my Christmas tree! Go away, magic wind. Please!”

  But the magic wind didn’t listen to Katie. It just kept blowing harder and harder. It was freezing cold, and chilled her to the bone. Katie was afraid that this time the wind could turn her into a block of ice, right there in the middle of the Christmas
tree farm.

  Or worse, it could blow her far, far away. Maybe all the way to the North Pole!

  Katie shut her eyes tight, and tried not to cry.

  And then it stopped. Just like that.

  The magic wind was gone. And so was Katie Kazoo.

  One, two, switcheroo. Katie was someone new. But who?

  Chapter 7

  “How much is this wreath, ma’am?” Katie heard a man asking her. The voice was awfully familiar.

  Katie opened her eyes slowly and came face to face with Nick. He was holding a large, green wreath in his hands.

  “Nick!” Katie exclaimed happily. She was very glad to see that she was still at the tree farm, and that Nick was still there with her.

  But Nick looked at her strangely. “Do I know you?” he asked her.

  “Of course!” Katie exclaimed. “I’m . . .”

  Katie stopped herself in midsentence. She wasn’t sure who she was anymore. The magic wind had changed all that.

  “I don’t think we’ve ever met,” Nick continued. “How did you know my name?”

  Katie gulped. How was she supposed to answer that? She couldn’t just tell Nick about the magic wind or anything.

  “Well . . . um . . . I called you Nick, because, well . . . um . . . you look like Santa Claus,” Katie said. “You know, Jolly St. Nick.”

  “Ho, ho, ho,” Nick chuckled. “It must be my white beard.”

  Katie smiled. “Yeah, that’s it.”

  “Well, I know your name, too,” Nick told her.

  “You do?” Katie asked. “How?”

  “It says it right there on your nametag,” Nick said. “It’s nice to meet you . . . Holly.”

  Katie gulped. She looked down at her feet. Instead of her pink and white snow boots, she was wearing heavy, black boots. And instead of her pretty, new winter jacket, she was wearing a thick, dark green parka. There was a tree-shaped nametag on the parka. The tag had the name “Holly” written on it.

  Katie gasped. Oh no! The magic wind had turned Katie into the very un-jolly Holly!

  “I was hoping to buy this wreath as a surprise for a very special fourth-grade girl,” Nick told her. “But I’m not sure how much it costs.”

  Katie smiled. Nick was buying her the wreath as a surprise. Of course, it wasn’t a surprise anymore. But Nick didn’t know that. And Katie would never tell him.

  “Isn’t there a price tag on it?” Katie asked.

  Nick shook his head. “There was a price on some of the other ones, but not this one,” he told her.

  “I guess it costs the same as the other ones,” Katie said, trying to sound like someone who worked at a tree farm. “How much were they?”

  “That one with the silver tinsel is ten dollars,” Nick told Katie. “It’s smaller, though.”

  It actually was quite a bit smaller. Katie didn’t know what to do. She finally said. “Since there’s no price, I’ll just charge you ten dollars for this one, even though it’s bigger.”

  “Well, thanks!” Nick said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill.

  Katie went and placed the money in the cash register, just like she’d seen her mom do at the bookstore at the mall.

  “Thank you very much,” Katie told him.

  “I’m going to go put this wreath in the trunk of my car,” Nick told her. “If a girl with bright red pigtails comes over, don’t tell her I bought her the wreath.”

  Katie smiled. “I won’t. I promise,” she assured him.

  “Merry Christmas,” Nick said as he walked away.

  “Merry Christmas,” Katie told him.

  Just then, a woman in a blue and yellow checked coat walked up to Katie. “I’ve chosen a tree, and I’d like someone to help me bring it to my car,” she said.

  “Oh,” Katie said. “I don’t think I can carry a tree by myself.”

  “Don’t you have men who work here to help carry the trees?” the woman asked.

  “I don’t know,” Katie said. “I don’t see any. Do you?”

  The woman looked at her curiously.

  Oops. Katie had forgotten she was Holly now. “I mean, let me find someone to help you.”

  Katie stepped away from behind the counter and started to walk toward the trees.

  “Hey, where are you going?” a man in a black coat asked her. “I’ve been waiting in line to pay for five minutes.” He held up a small Christmas tree.

  “I’ll just be a minute, sir,” Katie said, trying to sound polite.

  “I’m kind of in a hurry,” the man explained. “My office is having a Christmas party this afternoon, and I said I’d bring a tree.”

  “What a great idea!” Katie exclaimed.

  “Excuse me,” the woman in the blue and yellow checked coat interrupted. “But I was ahead of him. You were helping me first.”

  “But I’ll only be a minute,” the man with the small Christmas tree said. “I can’t be late!”

  Just then, a woman and a small boy hurried over to the counter. “Do you have a bathroom?” she asked Katie. “Joshie here has just been potty trained, and he really has to go.”

  Katie looked down. Joshie was moving back and forth on his feet. He did look like he had to go to the bathroom right away. But she didn’t see a bathroom anywhere. Not even a porta potty.

  “I’m sorry, but . . .” Katie began.

  “Here, I’ve got the money ready for you, exact change,” the man with the small tree said.

  The woman in the blue and yellow checked coat was growing very impatient. “I really would like to get my Christmas tree to my car.”

  “Is there a coffee shop anywhere near here that Joshie could use?” the mother asked Katie.

  Too late! A yellow puddle formed at Joshie’s feet. He started howling.

  The man with the small Christmas tree dropped his money on the counter. “I’ve got to go,” he told Katie. “Merry Christmas.”

  Katie sighed. “Whatever,” she murmured, as she put the money in the cash register, and went off to find someone to carry a Christmas tree to a car.

  Chapter 8

  A few minutes later, everything had calmed down. The woman in the checked coat had driven away with her tree. Joshie and his mother had gone off in search of dry clothes. And there was no one waiting in line at the cash register. Things were so quiet, Katie could hear Christmas music playing from speakers set up around the tree farm.

  “Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely!” Katie sang along with the music. Her Christmas spirit was back. After all, she was only cranky Holly on the outside. She was still jolly Katie on the inside.

  That was a problem. For all she knew Grandma and Nick were looking for her right now. And they wouldn’t be able to find her anywhere.

  Katie looked hopefully around for any sign of the magic wind’s return. Unfortunately she didn’t see any wild tornados coming her way. What she did see, though, was a father and his two little girls.

  This family stood out from the other shoppers at the farm. They weren’t all bundled up in gloves and heavy coats. Their coats were thin. The kids had their hands shoved in their pockets to keep them warm.

  “I’m sorry. I know how much you want a tree,” Katie heard the father say sadly. “But even the small ones are too expensive. We just can’t spare the money right now.”

  “It’s okay, Daddy,” Katie heard one of the girls say. “It’s still Christmas, even without a tree.”

  Now Katie was the one who felt sad. A Christmas without a tree? She just couldn’t let that happen!

  Before she could stop the words from leaving her lips, Katie blurted out. “If you want this tree, you can have it.” She pointed to a nice short full tree.

  The father stopped and stared at her. “Do you mean that?”

  Katie looked at the two little girls. They had big smiles on their faces.

  “Of course,” Katie said. “It’s Christmas. Everyone should have a tree. Go ahead. Please, I want you to
take it.”

  “Thank you! Thank you!” The two girls cheered.

  “You are the nicest person I’ve ever met,” the father told Katie. “You’ll never know what a wonderful thing you’ve just done.”

  Katie smiled. For once, the magic wind had changed her into a person who could do something nice for someone else. How great was that!?

  “Here, I’ll help you carry the tree to your car,” Katie said, feeling more and more of the Christmas spirit coming over her.

  “Holly, you are the sweetest lady ever!” one of the little girls exclaimed.

  If she only knew the truth, Katie thought. But she didn’t say that. Instead, she said, “Thank you.”

  After Katie helped to load the Christmas tree onto the roof of their old car, she began to walk back to the farm. She hadn’t gotten very far when she felt a cool breeze blowing on the back of her neck.

  Katie knew what that meant. The magic wind had returned!

  Sure enough, in a flash, that cool breeze soon turned into an icy, powerful tornado. A tornado was spinning just around Katie. She shut her eyes, and tried her hardest not to be blown away.

  And then it stopped. Just like that.

  The magic wind was gone. And Katie Kazoo was back.

  So was Holly. She was standing right next to Katie. And boy, was she confused.

  “What am I doing out here in the parking lot?” Holly asked Katie.

  “You were helping a man and his two daughters with their tree,” Katie told her.

  “Why would I do that?” Holly wondered.

  “To be nice,” Katie explained.

  Holly laughed. “Yeah, right,” she said.

  “No, you were nice. One of the girls even said you were the nicest lady ever,” Katie told Holly.

  Holly shook her head. “You’re a weird kid,” she said. “No one would ever say that about me.” Then she thought for a minute. “Or maybe once they did. I kind of remember something like that.”

  “Well it was really kind of me . . . I mean of you to give them that tree for free,” Katie told Holly.