Hi! My name is Jolly and I am an elf.

I am Santa’s original helper elf. Some people call me the original elf.
They don’t mean that I have been with Santa since the beginning
making toys. No, that would be silly. I am the elf that one day– a long,
long time ago (forty or so years now)– solved one of Santa’s biggest
problems (and he had some big ones). Santa was worried that he could
not see how good children were being. He thought that if he could not
see, he could not help them be good when they sort of forgot. I am a
very good toy maker to be sure, and I am really good at listening when
sometimes children need someone just to listen to them. But, I thought
that some of my elf friends and I could help Santa by going to kids’
homes and doing the job for him. Boy, was Santa happy about that!

Over the years, my friends and I have been in thousands of houses and
traveled all over the world. Families have shared so much excitement
and love as this tradition has grown and grown. My friend Jo (Jo Shepherd
Ripley, that is), thought that it would be a good idea if we put my story into
a book so that more people could share our tradition. I said, “Okay, Jo– I
like the way you think!”

I hope that all of you will enjoy my original Christmas tradition as much
as thousands of people around the world have for many years.  

Love,

Jolly (and his friends)!

See a preview of Jolly the Elf at www.scribd.com or go to http://www.scribd.com/doc/21016168/Jolly-the-Elf-A-Beautiful-Christmas-Tradition