Christmas story 'Promise' by Ken Crane

Promise by Ken Crane

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The child was nestled in his bed, while visions of sugar-plums danced in his head.
Outside the house, it was covered with new-fallen snow.


Around midnight, someone has sneaked in his room.
It was his father dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot.
He checked whether his son was sleeping, and left the present on the side of his bed.
When he went out of the room, he felt the sound in the back so he turned back, and saw his son looking up at him.
'Thank you very much for the present, Mr Santa Claus!'
said the son to him.


'....you've been a very good boy, so I brought you video game that you always wanted. But you should go back to bed. It is very late, boy!' surprised father said to his son.
'Yes I will sir! I am very happy to see you Mr Santa Claus,......will I ever see you again?' asked the boy.
Father looked out the window, and saw a fir tree on a garden.
It was a fir tree that his father planted a long time ago.
'Do you see that fir tree outside the window?' Santa Claus said to a boy.
The boy looked out the window and saw a fir tree covered with snow.
'Yes, I've heard from my father that my grandpa planted it long time ago'
answered the boy.
'I'll promise you that I'll be back again when the fir tree grows high as the cross of that church in the neighbor'
Santa Claus exchanged the promises with a child.
Feeling relieved, the child returned to his room and went inside his bed and went back to sleep.




Many years has passed.
One day, the boy had a　quarrel with his father about his future course.
The boy wanted to be an artist, but his father did not agree with his idea.
His father was an engineer, and did not wanted his son to follow ridiculous dream.
After a long quarrel, father told his son to get out of his house.
So he did.
The boy packed his baggage, left his house, got on a bus and headed toward the city.


It took many years for him to succeed as an artist.
But now he was very famous, got married and　got two children.
He spent busily every day as an artist and he was quite happy with his life.
........And several years has passed.
On one autumn day early in the morning, he got a　call from his mother,
told him that father have passed away.






After the funeral, the artist decided to inherit the house which his father left.
He called his wife and children to live in the house he inherited.
Children were very happy to live together with their grandma.
He carried on creating his artworks at the house which he spent his childhood.
Time has passed, his children has grown up, and they both left their house.
And many several years has passed.




It was the night before Christmas.
Artist's grand-children were visiting the house to meet their grandpa.
After giving his grand-children Christmas present, an old artist left the living room to go to sleep.
He went into his bedroom, thinking about the Santa Claus he met when he was a child.
He knew since he was in early teenage that it was his father disguised as Santa Claus.
An artist looked out the window, noticed it was snowing outside.
It didn't snow for many years in the area where he lived.
When he saw the fir tree in the garden covered with snow,　he suddenly remembered the promise Santa Claus made with him.
Santa Claus told him that I'll be back when the fir tree grows high as the cross of the church.


Artist wore a glass and looked outside to see the fir tree.
The fir tree was high as the church in the neighbor.
It took dozens of years　for the fir tree to grow to the height.
'Probably my father did not expect that the tree will extend so highly'
Old artist laughed alone in his bed.
'So that is why he made such a promise!'
When he looked outside the window again, he noticed something moving under the tall fir tree.
Artist strained his eyes to see what it was.
He saw a silhouette of a person under the tree.
It was a man with a long white beard, dressed all in fur from his head to his foot.
Santa Claus noticed an old artist looking out the window, so he waved his hand to an old artist.