The Elf Who Ate Lichen

Tarina is a young elf who has just completed her time out in the world learning as a brand new Do-Good elf, learning from children the difference between Naughty and Nice. She is now back at Santa’s Village and spending time with each of the elf clans to find out just where she fits in best.

She knows that she loves animals, so the first clan that she wants to spend time with is the Holhoojas out at the Polar Ranch. She just can’t wait to meet some of the reindeer and learn more about them!

Once she is settled in, she is introduced to her elf mentor, Norra! Norra will be spending time with Tarina and explain everything about being one of the Holhooja, and all the work that they need to do.

Tarina follows Norra around each day and helps out as much as she can with chores and tasks, and anything else she can. Gathering and preparing food for the reindeer, cleaning out the stables and laying down fresh bedding every day so that everyone is super comfy, and even trimming hooves in a reindeer version of a manicure.

But the thing that little Tarina is most interested in is the magic lichen, and how the reindeer fly!

Norra is happy to explain just how much the reindeer need to eat, and how long the effects last, but she cannot explain the recipe to making the magical lichen. Only full Holhooja are allowed to know that, so Tarina will have to decide if she truly wants to be a Holhooja before she can find that out.

Norra can’t show Tarina how to make the magical lichen, but she is happy to have Tarina help her in passing it out to the reindeer who need it.

Norra gathers up some buckets of already prepared lichen and hands one to Tarina before leading her to the stables that Santa’s sleigh team are currently staying in. The reindeer on the sleigh team each year need to eat lichen regularly for quite some time before the big night to make sure there is enough in their system to make it all the way around the world and back.

Norra and Tarina start passing out the lichen to the reindeer one by one, and Tarina has a sudden thought, what if she were to eat some of the lichen herself? Would she be able to fly just like the reindeer? The little elf is so terribly curious!

When Norra goes to the other room to check on something, Tarina sneakily grabs a handful of lichen and pops it in her mouth!

Eeeyuuck! That tastes terrible! But it will be worth it if it works!

Norra returns and gives Tarina a funny look, but doesn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

Not very much later, Tarina’s tummy starts to grumble, then it rumbles, and then it fizzes! “Oh dear, I don’t feel so good.”

Suddenly, hiccups! And with each hiccup, Tarina floats just a little bit into the air and then drops back down! Ouch!

Norra realizes what has happened and laughs. “A lot of new Holhooja are tempted to try out the lichen, even though they’re told not to, and this is what happens. You’ll hiccup like this for a little while, and have a tummy ache for the rest of the day. The lichen is made for reindeer and it only works on them, not on elves!”

After this lesson, Tarina will always remember that she shouldn’t eat things that weren’t meant for her!

We have more stories for you! Read about Kaino’s First Year.