by Karl Stephany

Created on: December 01, 2010   Last Updated: November 11, 2011

An Elf Called "Stinky"

There was this young elf called Stinky, who got his name from working in the reindeer stable at the North Pole. The stable although fairly well ventilated could smell so strong sometimes it would make his eyes water. He only had one set of tattered clothes, if you could call them that, which he reluctantly cleaned once a year usually during summer when it was warmer. Then he washed everything including his boots and hat.

The other elves tolerated him, but kept their distance, usually as far upwind as they could get. They said he smelled bad, but it didn’t seem to bother him much. Their isolation of him did make him feel lonely and he began talking to the old rat that lived in the stable. The rat, who called himself "Berwitz", had the reputation among the elves that he would do just about anything if he thought he could get away with it.

One day the elf asked the rat, "Do I smell?"

The rat replied, "Smell, I think you smell great."

"The other elves say I smell bad."

"Forget them, they wouldn’t know a good smell if it flew up their nose."

When the other elves saw him talking to the rat, it caused them to isolate him even more from the general population. Always alone, Stinky didn’t mind cleaning the stable and feeding the reindeer. It was his good old job. He had his three hot meals and a pile of straw in the stable to sleep on. The other elves provided him with his own little table and chair over in the corner of the mess hall. Someone always brought his meals to him, which meant there was no need to stand in line with the rest of them. The reason they said was that he spoiled their appetite.

There were nights in the stable when it was bitter cold he would take his blankets and sleep up against one of the reindeer. It never lasted long because sooner or later they would get up and move to another spot leaving him behind. He never felt insulted, only cold and lonely. Even the rat had a nice warm den under the stable wall.

Occasionally, he would try to smuggle food from the mess hall for the rat. The rat being particularly fond of that apple pie the cook made, but the gooey pastry was difficult to smuggle out. The last time he tried, it made his pants stick to his leg for over a month.

Mrs. Claus wouldn’t let him in the house even during the Christmas Season. The other elves went over there all the time and she let them in. This further added to his feelings of rejection and loneliness.

One day the rat asked him,"What

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