It was before Christmas and the little angels were very busy. They were helping to prepare presents for Santa Claus. They were putting tags with names on them so that Jesus would know who they were for. But even angels get naughty sometimes.
„Hey, why don’t we play ball for a while instead of putting the tags on the presents?“ suggested Angel, the biggest rascal.
„We should finish this while I remember which gift to put which tag on,” says Angelina. „See how nicely I’ve got the packages lined up?“
„Just a minute. Don’t be a coward.”
„Okay, but really just a minute.“
Angelina and Angel pulled out a ball and started tossing instead of working. At first they just tossed gently and carefully. But then they got smarter and threw violently until it hurt their hands. They giggled all the way round.
„Now hold on, Angelina, this is going to be a blow!“ Angel shouted excitedly and threw the ball violently at Angelina.
Angelina saw that she couldn’t catch the flying ball and jumped out of the way. The ball flew through the air and landed in the flattened presents with no labels.
„Angel, what have you done? Now how will I know which one is for whom?“ gasped Angelina, close to tears.
Angel was ashamed. He thought for a moment about how he could make it right and had an idea.
„Nobody will know anything, look,“ he consoled Angelina, taking the tags and sticking them on the packages as they came to him.
In a moment they were done. Moreover, it was time to put the presents under the trees. Angel and Angelina watched through the window as Santa put their presents under the tree where the family and their children lived. Really, no one would know anything?
It looked good. Until the family came to the tree and started unwrapping presents. Dad unwrapped a bone for the dog from his present, Mom got a huge box of Legos, the little boy found a pacifier in the box with his name on it, the little girl unwrapped a drill, and the family found a doll in the dog’s present. And what did the baby get? A giant skirt.
Santa saw the stuffing, sent a spell, and all the presents went to the right people. Daddy was holding the drill, Mommy was trying on the skirt, the baby was soothering the pacifier, the little girl was already changing the doll, and the little boy was putting together a Lego car.
„And you two,“ says Santa to Angel and Angela, „next time finish your work. You can play then. Now go and empty the clouds, so it will be nice and white by morning.“
For the next year, Angel and Angela made sure they didn’t mess up any presents.
