The whole trip in the boat and flying machine took them less time than it did to get from one village to the next in the Netherlands. Kris said it was truly amazing that people could travel so quickly.
When they exited the flying machine, the Kringles stood trying to take in the sights they were witnessing. Every building had a specific purpose just like in the rest of the world, but the busyness of each structure went at a breakneck pace, compared to the tallfolks' culture.
Even with all the bustle, things came to a grinding halt as the residents looked over their guests.
Alfie said to Kris and Annie, “You will have to forgive them, you are the first tallfolk to ever visit the North Pole. They do not mean any harm or malice.”
“Yes,” said Ella, “News of your imminent arrival had spread throughout the village before we were packing to leave.”
From earlier discussions, the Kringles knew what the term 'tallfolk' referred to, and of the mistrust and dealings the elves had with big people before moving to the village. Many of the villagers just stared and whispered to each other at the people before them.
“Well, come on, we will get you situated at the inn. We will 'ave your possessions sent up shortly,” said Willie.
The elves walked off with the Kringles in tow. Ann Marie and Kris kept slowing as they looked inside and over at each of the buildings they passed.
“Have you ever seen such beautiful work?” asked Annie.
“This is the most remarkable craftsmanship I have ever seen. And that is just the structures themselves, imagine what they can produce inside these stores that we can’t see?” questioned Kris.
They approached a multi-gabled building with doors befitting a castle and with turrets on and around every corner. Willie and Jamie each opened one of the great wooden doors and ushered the Kringles inside.
There was a large counter albeit short in stature at one end of the vestibule and a huge roaring fireplace at the other. The inside was toasty and the Kringles immediately started pulling off their outer coats and hats. From a corner behind the counter came a young man who walked to the center of the desk and said, “Ah, so the Kringles have finally arrived. We have your room ready and waiting for you, and I will have Wilhelm take you to it.” The man rang a bell and another elf came out from somewhere behind the wall and walked up to the Kringles.
“Good day mienherr, I am Wilhelm. I shall be pleased to take you to your room,” the elf stated.
“Thank you, good sir, we will be happy to follow,” said Kris with a slight bow. The Kringles bid their traveling companions goodbye for the moment and went with Wilhelm.
The room was beautiful and featured another large fireplace which held a strong fire that warmed the expanse of the room. Off to the side was a bedroom that contained a separate bathing area. It was as grand as any place Kris had ever stayed, and much grander than most.
Wilhelm said, “Dinner shall be served at 6:30, approximately two hours from now in the dining room downstairs. You vill have other guests from the village joining you there, and they vill discuss your schedule at that time.” He then clicked his heels, and with a slight but curt bow, closed the door behind him as he left.
The Kringles were still reeling from the trip and all the things they recently witnessed. “I hope I can be ready in a couple hours for anything else, I feel exhausted to my core,” said Kris.
“I think I would like to lie down for a moment,” said Annie, “Perhaps we will feel better if we could just quit moving for a few moments.” She laid down on the bed and was fast asleep before Kris could return a comment.
Kris just chuckled to himself and decided he better not make himself too comfortable as his result might be the same. He felt he could sleep straight through until tomorrow if he closed his eyes at all right now.
Kris went into the washing station and went to splash some water on his eyes. He looked around for a pitcher, but found nothing but a strange looking device attached to the bowl before him. He had never seen anything like this at all inns he had visited. He almost jumped when he turned the spigot and water began flowing without so much as a pump. “Amazing,” he said out loud to himself, “Wait until Annie sees this.” Then he noticed the porcelain bowl sitting on the floor next to the sink and began to inspect it as well. When he pulled the plunger and flushed the commode he nearly shrieked. This was amazing, no outhouses for this trip!
After revitalizing himself with the water and relieving himself, he looked outside the window to the street below. He watched as vehicles without the aid of horses or mules moved up and down the street loaded with goods. He saw elves running to and fro into the buildings with great armloads of products. He watched the scene for what seemed to be a very long time when he felt Annie’s hand take his shoulder and give it a squeeze. He turned to look at his wife who was smiling and looking much refreshed from her rest.
“You will not believe some of the things I am seeing down there,” said Kris, “They have inventions and ways that no one has ever conceived.”
“I would imagine there is a great deal more to this place than we will understand for a while,” Annie said softly to her husband, “I read a book a few months back by an author named Swift, Jonathan Swift I think. He wrote about a sailor who found himself shipwrecked on another land. These people were tiny miniatures of himself, but had a thriving culture. I feel a great deal like he must have when he awoke to find himself in an entirely different world, amazed by his surroundings.”
Kris chuckled and said, “Well they are not THAT small.”
Annie playfully hit her husband’s arm. “That’s not what I meant. It is just that we have been brought to an exciting new world and it seems we have left the one we knew to discover an entirely different one.”
“And you make a point. Do you think now that they have brought us here, and now that we have become witness to their advances, will we ever be allowed to leave in peace?” asked Kris.
“I wonder if the bigger question is whether we would want to? They have advances here to make life infinitely more comfortable and easier. Imagine what they may house inside those buildings?” she asked.
“Yes, wait until you see the washing area. You truly may not ever want to leave, ho, ho, ho!”
“Ah, there’s that laugh I’ve missed so much! That is the first time I have heard it in months my husband. I was beginning to think you had lost your humor forever.”
Kris smirked, “Well you know I put a lot of effort into getting the gifts put together and off to the children by Christmas. The world can be such a hard place, and to see them smile and laugh even for a moment…,” he said trailing off, “I wonder if these inventive people might be able to assist me in my endeavors?”
Annie thought for a moment and replied, “What if we were brought here for just such a purpose? Talking with Stacey Buttons, it sounds as if they have similar prospects to ours and want to give children joy as well.”
“That would truly be something,” said Kris.
Just then there was a knock on their door. Wilhelm and the elf that was behind the desk were on the other side with the Kringle’s belongings. As they carried the trunks inside Wilhelm asked if everything was satisfactory. They both answered enthusiastically that everything was wonderful and the elves said they were pleased.
Wilhelm reminded them that dinner would be ready in 30 minutes and that they please join their party then.
Thirty minutes later the Kringles came down the steps into the vast lobby of the inn. The elf behind the desk, whose name was Gunther Crispenclean, led his guests to the back of the inn where they saw a large banquet table lined by a variety of elves, some of which they already knew. Alfie, Carrow, Ulzana, Denny, Whitey, and Willie were all there, but many others the Kringles had not met before joined them. Among these were Denny’s wife Priscilla, Keeney Eagleye, Randy Woodturner, Pastor Goinpeace, and two of Carrow and Ulzana’s sons, Ford and Ezra among others.
The head of the table and the seat on the right was reserved for the Kringles. Kris took the head chair and sat down. He thanked them all for their hospitality and offered to say grace before the meal began. After everyone bowed their heads and Kris gave a simple blessing, with the Pastor smiling broadly, Kris was grinning as he said how much they were enjoying their stay.
Carrow was the first to speak for the elves. He thanked the Kringles for making the long journey to their village and said that as tallfolk they were welcome to be the first of their kind to the elves’ establishment.
At that opening, Kris asked exactly why they were invited to this propitious location?
Denny jumped in and said that because of Kris’ generosity toward others, specifically children, which the elves were hoping to consult with the Kringles as to how their village might better serve the children of the world along with Kris.
“As you now know, there are many advancements that we have made that could assist you in accomplishing our mutual desires. We have asked you here because we found long ago that to share ideas and ingenuity produces amazing results,” said Denny.
“If the miracles we have seen thus far are any indication, then your minds are far mightier than mine, and I could do little to improve your lot,” stated Kris humbly.
Willie responded, “It is not always additional genius we seek, often it is just a matter of figuring how to proceed. I think the Council will enlighten you in ways you can only imagine.”
“The Council?” asked Kris.
Carrow interrupted Willie, “Yes we would like to invite you to meet with our Council of Elves tomorrow morning for an exchange of thoughts and ideas. We have several questions and thoughts that we wish to review with you.”
“Perhaps,” Denny jumped in, “The Kringles would like a day to collect themselves and have a tour of the village. Mr. Kringle might be better refreshed if he were allowed a day to recuperate from his long trip.”
Carrow answered, “I believe it would be better to meet with the Council prior to providing tours for the Kringles and filling their heads with more then can be reasonably absorbed in one day. Once we have concluded our official business there would be more time for pleasantries.”
Denny thought to argue the point further but saw Carrow had set his jaw against further discussion on the topic.
“You can be of such ill humor sometimes, Carrow Chekitwice,” said Denny almost to himself. He shrugged his shoulders and asked Kris if he thought 10:00 tomorrow morning would be acceptable?
“That would be fine with me. Is Mrs. Kringle also invited?” asked Kris.
“That is completely up to both of you,” answered Whitey, “With the outsiders of this village the women have little influence, but here we find that many of our brightest minds are of the female persuasion. Ann Marie, you would be a welcome breath of fresh air to our proceedings.”
“My, how refreshing!” exclaimed Ann Marie, “I would certainly be pleased to accompany my husband if that is his wish.”
Kris took his wife’s hand, kissed it, and said, “As the gentleman said, you would be ‘a breath of fresh air’ that I would welcome.”
With that decided, questions were asked and answered about their trip, Kris asked when and how some of the things the Kringles witnessed had come about, more introductions were extended around the table, and a general feeling of ease filled the room.
Early the next morning, there was another knock at the door. Ulzana came by to offer new clothes to the Kringles that “would be more suited to the custom of our village and help you stand out less.” She also suggested that a bath would help the Kringles relax before the meeting and showed them how to use the large tub in the washing station.
Kris had begun to argue that baths were not healthy, and Ulzana cut him off immediately and told him that had been the nonsensical musings from his civilization and that the elves had learned long ago that the complete opposite was true. She also advised them that breakfast would be brought to their room shortly to allow them to bathe and dress at a more leisurely pace.
With that she was gone and the Kringles just shrugged and decided which of them would bathe first.
As with their traveling clothes, they found the new set of clothing fit beautifully and were much more comfortable and warm than their traditional clothes. They were cut in a less traditional style than the stiff tight clothing of the European variety. These more resembled the clothes of shepherds and farmers and were much easier to move in. In fact, they marveled at how easy it was to move in these garments and how well they fit.
At 10:00 sharp they entered the halls that they were guided to from the inn. The Kringles were met at the door by Whitey Slippenfall who asked them to follow him. They entered a large hall with several chairs in the center. Around the circumference of the room was a raised balcony with several elves seated in a semicircle.
There sat Denny, Carrow, Whitey, Ella, and Ulzana along with several new elves. They were then introduced to Britney Clearwater, Frederick Salsbury, Frieda Cutinglass, and Jackson Kilowatt. They were briefly told, as best as possible, what the responsibilities and departments each elf was over.
Britney handled the water works and controlled the flow and melt of ice for the North Pole, Frederick handled commerce with outsiders and controlled import/export matters, Frieda was an artist that designed and produced much of the stained glass and other decorations throughout the village, and Jackson was the overseer of power at the North Pole which included producing fluids and something called current which allowed most of the machinery to run in the village and elsewhere.
The elves thanked the Kringles again for coming to the village and hoped they were enjoying their visit. Denny complimented them on how well they looked in their clothing and joked about how they looked more like elves now.
With a loud clearing of his throat, Carrow said that was enough of the platitudes for there was business to be conducted here, and they should get down to it.
His abruptness caught everyone off guard, and it was Frederick who reminded Carrow that the Kringles were not on trial here, and that they had been invited by this Council. Denny also reminded Carrow that everything that had been said and seen about the Kringles was very complimentary and that they should be afforded all manner of respect.
Carrow, said, “Yes, yes, but we have much to discuss and we need to get to it. We need to decide our course of action going forward, if there is to be any at all.”
The Kringles watched in silent contemplation the exchange that took place before them and at Carrow’s last statement Kris blanched and said, “Excuse me, ‘course of action’? Are we in some type of trouble here?”
With the exception of Carrow they all began to vigorously shake their heads. “Of course not,” stated Whitey, who had taken his place with the other members, “We have had many discussions about dealing with the tallfolk, excuse me, your civilization, and are wondering how best to move forward.”
Britney sat higher and said, “You see we have many dealings with people of all nations outside our lands, but we also hold most of our accomplishments in check because of misuse with some of our discoveries with your civilization in prior years.”
“We acquire many things from tallfolk,” continued Jackson, “And we enjoy as you do providing treats and gifts to the children of the tallfolk, as much as we do our own. But we wish to remain anonymous with our presents and are trying to find an equitable way to meet our goals without getting too much exposure or notice from tallfolk.”
“You see, Mr. Kringle, dealings with tallfolk and elves have not gone well in the past, or even recently, for that matter,” growled Carrow.
“Please call me Kris, and my wife Ann Marie. And yes, we were informed how you were mistreated before, but not all tallfolk are bad and some are just not well informed outside of their own lives.” said Kris, “And children are completely innocent in all this. They have hardships that I suspect your own children are ignorant of, which I am pleased to say.”
“Let me ask you this Kris and Ann Marie, you have long been providing for children, and in many lands, how do you accomplish this?” asked Britney.
Kris shuffled his foot a little and started to speak, then stopped. They waited as he tried to formulate his answer. He tried to begin again and paused.
Whitey said, “Before you speak, Kris, let me caution you. The principle policy of this Council, and all that come before it, is that we invoke the law of “sincere speech”. This simply means that there is no embellishment, omissions or outright lying allowed in this hall. If you are discovered not being of sincere speech and are an elf, you can be punished up to and including banishment from the village. While you are both from outside our walls, we expect you to honor our laws.”
“Kris never lies and he’s very rich,” said Annie flatly.
“I’m sorry?” said Frieda.
Annie went on, “Kris’ family has always been wealthy, which was why his ancestor began giving gifts and helping others. The Bishop of Myra was an orphan, but his parents were wealthy beyond measure. It all began with the Bishop dropping gold into stockings of a poor merchant who had three daughters and no dowries. During that period, if one could not marry their daughters off with a dowry, they would have to be sold into prostitution, so St. Nicholas dropped three bags of gold at night into the daughters' stockings as they dried by the fire.
“St. Nicholas eventually gave most of his belongings and treasure to others but an interesting thing then happened. The more the Bishop gave, the more he received. People began taking up collections to help St. Nicholas, then subsequently his heirs, provide for others. Many times, noblemen and merchants would force gifts of food, gold and other things upon the heirs of St. Nicholas. Even when Kris’ ancestor changed the family name to Kringle to separate the, by then, famous St. Nicholas from his family, it still continued. His grandfather changed the name because of the guilt of all the gifts, certainly not shame, of being St. Nicholas’ ancestor.
“This is also why the family kept migrating across many lands, and it continues today. Kris will give gifts to families in need, someone will hear about it and insist to help replace the presents in some small measure. As much as Kris has given, he has received more than he can give. That’s why we know that there are many tallfolk, as you call us, that are kinder than you might ever believe.”
The Council sat quietly staring at the lady before them. Even Carrow’s eyes had softened and he actually began to smile. He looked at Kris and said, “That’s some kind of problem you have.”
With that the entire room erupted in chuckles and laughter, and when Kris bellowed his Ho, Ho, Ho the whole room exploded further with a new round of guffaws.
Kris related that his bigger problem was trying to gather food and gifts for the children from the towns and villages, as many of them were poor themselves, and could not provide the goods he needed. He said that because of wars and other problems in the various lands, scarcity was now the norm everywhere he went. He said the politics and egos of the ruling classes had caused shortages of every kind. The elves began to look at each other and nod heads and wink as he spoke.
After a few more questions about the types and quantities of the presents he normally bestowed, the Council asked the Kringles if they might be so good as to wait in the foyer of the hall while they had a brief discussion. They did as they were asked, even though they were unsure as to the reasoning or what this discussion consisted of.
About a half hour later, Denny came out to the Kringles and asked them to return to the hall. He sat down next to Mrs. Kringle as Frederick cleared his throat and began to speak.
“Kris and Ann Marie, we have a very successful commerce here in the North Pole, and we have capabilities that we are sure will truly amaze you. We are able to create a supply of goods that could allow you to visit every child everywhere and provide at least a little something to make them happier in their plight. Be they rich or poor, boy or girl, they could receive something to gladden their hearts.
“We would like to discuss how we can help you give to your hearts desire to children. We have some details that must be worked through and we have some thoughts that might make this task you are trying to accomplish easier, but this will take more conversations with certain elves around the village. While we are having these discussions we would like to provide you a tour of the village and allow you to see some things, so that you know what I am saying is sincere speech.
“Our only restriction is that no matter what you see up here, you are not allowed to speak of it in your civilization. This is for two reasons, the first is that we are concerned about what others would try to do with much of what we have already perfected, and the second and more likely, is that we do not wish to see you or your lovely wife locked up for lunacy. We are sure you would be accused of losing your mind and spouting flagrant exaggerations to your world if you tried to describe and explain our machinery.”
At this last statement Kris chuckled to himself, assured that Frederick was completely right on that score. He still scarcely believed what he had seen up to this point himself.
Frederick continued, “We wish to invite you both to return here tomorrow afternoon once you have had some time to see the rest of the North Pole and speak with some of the other elves. We will make certain the entire village makes you welcome and answers any questions you may have about our innovations and procedures. We will have some of our own answers and an offer to lay before you at that time.”
Denny turned to them and said, “What Frederick is saying, Kris, is that your wishes are our wishes, and we want you to be our representative to the world to make it a better place for all, tallfolk and elves, alike.”