In the heart of the New Hampshire woods, so, so wide,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaINtqLeUI
Where the red maple trees like shadows in silence abide,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0s8xfS3p0v
A blizzard blow through the northern night air,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bKU7c9ASq
And winter sank deep in the forest's cold stare.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAaK85iCTw
One night in December, the forest stood deathly still,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NOU5UGUor
There was frost in the air and a couple of icicles upon the hills,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPsdypZfA9
The stars, like chilly diamonds, refused to share their heat,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fvvZVMY4v
And lots, and lots, and lots of snow covered our frostbitten feet.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7lFrnMhRS
My girl, Lucy Hambleton, and I, were only seventeen years old and lost,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IVcItTV4S
We both wanted to return home to our cozy town at any cost,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFz9u68Jt3
The coldness behind our winter jackets knew no bounds,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uxiGv6WqX
And we could feel our feet becoming parts of the chilly ground.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0vIAjE4N7
Then, among the eerie woods we saw something red,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PNc0NTsKK
We rushed towards the sparkle with hope and with dread,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlzV9W01Pt
An old man in reddish and white clothes, stood all alone,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsML59vtd34
And his thick beard was as white as a vanilla ice cream cone.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOfbXEarI6
He turned with a nod, and his eyes softly glowed,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZW79qeDpE
Not with fear, but a warmth like the hearth back at home.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzN2iz1ylbV
He sighed, “I have lost what I treasure the most”,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJD2FyBrLN
“My Christmas sack’s gone, and I need to find it at any cost!”
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyPYQnhS9W
We looked at each other, then nodded as one,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGR625Vfyo
“If we help, Lucy said, “will you promise the magic’s not done?”
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZF0ydlm7qh
He smiled through the snowflakes and gave us a grin,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2N4bDc3SVV
“If you find what I've lost, the magic begins.”
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLogSpkxcp
We headed back into the forest, we searched everywhere
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTHLXoIaaO
We searched under stones, we searched inside a fox lair,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNv6KcOxMd
We searched under trees, we searched beneath rocks,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcapuzalt4F
We even searched behind an empty and abandoned toolbox.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51b42xrTxd
Then, all of sudden, we found what we were looking for!
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOnhHsOocG
The sack was floating inside a lake next to a beachshore!
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOX8mZrUCbu
We jumped into the lake, it was very cold I tell ya,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpgNCVrYIH
Like some icy wonderland in a children’s fantasy novella.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ87etzgZKC
But Lucy and I, with our hearts full of cheer,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlayxDfnzC
Swam through the dark with the sack drawing near.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsvEg1VlTW
We climbed from the lake, soaked, shivering, stunned,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFTiPzZBwi
Yet smiling because we'd done what we’d done,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVkQHdiLAB
We carried the sack back through pine, snow, and stone,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIg8c0ykOYu
And there stood the old man, still waiting alone.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XUDHlkcaN
When he saw the red bundle, he lit up with glee,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mjltVZMGo
Clapped his white gloves and said, “You’ve rescued Christmas for me!”
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Vzl7YON3g
He opened the sack just to be sure it was true,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZ0HDKlttn
Then hugged us both tightly and whispered, “Thank you.”
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPHLBd21dl
From the woods came a rustle, a shimmer, a sound,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBepjrsuZe
Dasher and Prancer descended, their hooves off the ground,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoB2lqcDtvP
They bowed to old Santa and nuzzled his hand,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchvK7Vz4NV
Then turned to face us like they’d known the plan.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouXOf4D7Py
“These two will guide you, they know the way home.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBedpmGHhS
They fly better than maps or a digital Iphone!”
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkcCmSWrTz
We climbed on their backs, still dripping and cold,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU80PIMTQ79
But the sky opened wide, like a painting of old.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4su2EpQsq
Through clouds we did soar, through wind sharp as glass,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnOAjdQfze
Past moonbeams and starlight, they carried us fast.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vdqBmjsRY
The trees fell away, and our fears did too,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjT0qOYThN
As the reindeer flew under a sky painted blue.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzhNbC2J5t
But before they had gone, they dropped something neat,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczeQXpPzpn
Two small wooden boxes, tied up so sweet.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkO2FyD9gK
Inside each was nestled a gift wrapped in gold,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhpMzjFGTD
With a note that read: "For the brave and the bold."
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5so3iF0Q8D
Lucy unwrapped hers and gasped with delight,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsu0MwNtdBM
And mine sparkled bright in the pale morning light.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVD0a7lcEuw
Inside, not a toy, nor a treat, nor a card game,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXPPia7xgZ
But a magical map, marked with Santa’s name.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxr909ifi1g
It shimmered with stars and showed one glowing track,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibiHKhnNZp
From our town to the North Pole and then safely back.
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuf2WcIgEm
With sleigh routes and candy cane trails on display,
365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SVV64cT7X
It sang to us, "You're both welcome to visit someday.365Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡInMU2Zf8nB
and then Add to home screen.