smelled gross. Like spoiled milk.
Oh, no! Alison had spit up on her. Now Katie had baby throw-up all over her neck. Yuck!
“Here,” Katie said, handing Alison to the Winter Wonderland Santa.
“Hey, this kid’s got a full diaper,” Santa groaned. “I told you elves, I don’t want them on my lap if they have a dirty diaper.”
Katie was shocked. That wasn’t Santa-like at all. Suzanne had been right! This guy was a really lousy fake Santa Claus.
“Here! Take her,” the Santa Claus said. As he held out the baby, he turned his head away.
Katie had no choice. She took Alison in her arms and carried her back to her parents. It was pretty gross. The baby smelled like spoiled milk and dirty diapers, mixed together.
And to top it off, Alison had started to cry.
“What did you do to her?” Alison’s mother demanded as she took her baby in her arms.
“Nothing,” Katie said. “That Santa asked me to bring her back to you because her diaper was dirty.”
“ You made her cry,” Alison’s father yelled at Katie.
“No I didn’t,” Katie assured him. “She’s just crying because her diaper is full.”
“This is awful,” Alison’s mother moaned. “Her first experience with Santa Claus, and you ruined it!”
“No,” Katie insisted. She wrinkled her nose. Alison was really starting to stink. Katie took a big step backward. “I just . . .”
Toot Toot!
Just then, the North Pole Express came chugging by.
Whoosh! The model train swept Katie right off her feet. She had been so busy getting away from smelly baby Alison, she hadn’t noticed that she’d stepped onto the train tack!
Chugga chugga. Chugga chugga. Choo! Choo!
The train kept circling around the track, carrying Katie along with it.
“Get this elf off of me!” a girl in the front seat shouted as Katie fell into her train car.
“Stop this thing!” Katie shouted even louder.
Boom! As the little engine went around a bend, Katie fell off the train. She banged her head on a plastic Christmas tree near Santa’s chair.
Clink. Clank. Clunk. Three big star-shaped ornaments fell from the tree . . . and landed right on the fake Santa Claus’s head.
“That’s it!” he shouted. He leaped up from his chair and yanked his phony white beard from his face. “I quit!”
When the children saw the make-believe Santa take off his beard, they started to cry.
The grown-ups all began screaming at once.
Katie frowned. This was so not good!
Chapter 11
The crowd of parents and children grew more and more upset. So did the photographer.
“Ella, what happened?” he demanded.
“Well, that baby really stunk, so I moved away, and I stepped onto the train track, and then the North Pole Express scooped me up, then I hit the tree and . . .” Katie began.
“No, not that,” the photographer said angrily. “I saw that. I mean what happened to John?”
“John?” Katie asked. “Who’s John?”
“The guy who was playing Santa,” the photographer reminded her. He sounded kind of angry.
“Oh, him. He quit,” Katie explained.
“This is awful,” the photographer moaned. “I can’t have a Winter Wonderland without a Santa Claus.”
“Can’t you hire somebody else to pretend to be Santa?” Katie asked.
“At this time of year?” the photographer asked. “All the really good Santa impersonators already have jobs.”
“Well, maybe you can get John to come back,” Katie suggested.
“I sure hope so,” the photographer agreed. “But I can’t leave now. I have to deal with all these angry people. You’ll have to find him and talk him in to coming back to work.”
“Me?” Katie asked. “Why me?”
“Because you gave him the dirty baby and hit him in the head with the ornaments,” the photographer insisted. “Don’t just stand here talking. Go! He shouldn’t be too hard to find. Just look for the guy in the red velvet suit with a pillow stuffed in the belly.”
As Katie walked away, she wondered what she could possibly say
Oh, no! Alison had spit up on her. Now Katie had baby throw-up all over her neck. Yuck!
“Here,” Katie said, handing Alison to the Winter Wonderland Santa.
“Hey, this kid’s got a full diaper,” Santa groaned. “I told you elves, I don’t want them on my lap if they have a dirty diaper.”
Katie was shocked. That wasn’t Santa-like at all. Suzanne had been right! This guy was a really lousy fake Santa Claus.
“Here! Take her,” the Santa Claus said. As he held out the baby, he turned his head away.
Katie had no choice. She took Alison in her arms and carried her back to her parents. It was pretty gross. The baby smelled like spoiled milk and dirty diapers, mixed together.
And to top it off, Alison had started to cry.
“What did you do to her?” Alison’s mother demanded as she took her baby in her arms.
“Nothing,” Katie said. “That Santa asked me to bring her back to you because her diaper was dirty.”
“ You made her cry,” Alison’s father yelled at Katie.
“No I didn’t,” Katie assured him. “She’s just crying because her diaper is full.”
“This is awful,” Alison’s mother moaned. “Her first experience with Santa Claus, and you ruined it!”
“No,” Katie insisted. She wrinkled her nose. Alison was really starting to stink. Katie took a big step backward. “I just . . .”
Toot Toot!
Just then, the North Pole Express came chugging by.
Whoosh! The model train swept Katie right off her feet. She had been so busy getting away from smelly baby Alison, she hadn’t noticed that she’d stepped onto the train tack!
Chugga chugga. Chugga chugga. Choo! Choo!
The train kept circling around the track, carrying Katie along with it.
“Get this elf off of me!” a girl in the front seat shouted as Katie fell into her train car.
“Stop this thing!” Katie shouted even louder.
Boom! As the little engine went around a bend, Katie fell off the train. She banged her head on a plastic Christmas tree near Santa’s chair.
Clink. Clank. Clunk. Three big star-shaped ornaments fell from the tree . . . and landed right on the fake Santa Claus’s head.
“That’s it!” he shouted. He leaped up from his chair and yanked his phony white beard from his face. “I quit!”
When the children saw the make-believe Santa take off his beard, they started to cry.
The grown-ups all began screaming at once.
Katie frowned. This was so not good!
Chapter 11
The crowd of parents and children grew more and more upset. So did the photographer.
“Ella, what happened?” he demanded.
“Well, that baby really stunk, so I moved away, and I stepped onto the train track, and then the North Pole Express scooped me up, then I hit the tree and . . .” Katie began.
“No, not that,” the photographer said angrily. “I saw that. I mean what happened to John?”
“John?” Katie asked. “Who’s John?”
“The guy who was playing Santa,” the photographer reminded her. He sounded kind of angry.
“Oh, him. He quit,” Katie explained.
“This is awful,” the photographer moaned. “I can’t have a Winter Wonderland without a Santa Claus.”
“Can’t you hire somebody else to pretend to be Santa?” Katie asked.
“At this time of year?” the photographer asked. “All the really good Santa impersonators already have jobs.”
“Well, maybe you can get John to come back,” Katie suggested.
“I sure hope so,” the photographer agreed. “But I can’t leave now. I have to deal with all these angry people. You’ll have to find him and talk him in to coming back to work.”
“Me?” Katie asked. “Why me?”
“Because you gave him the dirty baby and hit him in the head with the ornaments,” the photographer insisted. “Don’t just stand here talking. Go! He shouldn’t be too hard to find. Just look for the guy in the red velvet suit with a pillow stuffed in the belly.”
As Katie walked away, she wondered what she could possibly say
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