The Writer and the Elf

The Writer and the Elf

Once, there was a young man who wanted desperately to be a famous writer. He tried very hard, took courses, studied the craft and then wrote some very fine stories, but none of them ever made him any money. In order to pay his bills, he had to take a day job doing manual labour and really didn’t like it.  

The supervisor didn’t like him and gave him a really hard time. He thought of all kinds of situations where he would get her in trouble, but it never happened. So, he endured and kept working on his storytelling craft.

One night, it was spring and there was a big storm outside with lots of lightning and thunder and pounding rain. These types of natural events always kept him awake. So, he got out of bed and went to sit in his chair by the window.

He was sitting there watching the storm unfold when a bolt of lightning lit up the front yard.  In the front yard, there was a little elf that was in a very bad situation. A tree branch had fallen on him and he looked crushed.

So, Henry put his slicker on and rain boots, then headed out fighting the rain and heavy winds. It took a while, but he managed to lift the heavy tree limb off the elf.  The guy trudged through the mud and slipped and fell, but managed not to drop the elf.

Then, he carried the elf in the house and put the little creature down.  He stood over it and didn’t know what to do.  Henry walked into the kitchen and got a glass of water. When, he came back, the elf was sitting up rubbing his sore back.

“Hello, how are you?”

“I am good. Are you okay?”

“Well, my back is a little sore.”

“I was afraid that you were dead.”

“No, I am an elf and we are fairy tale material so we are pretty much indestructible.”

“Oh, I see. So what were you doing in my yard on such a horrible night?”

“Well, I was going to visit my cousin Dorf who lives in your neighbour’s garden.”

“Oh, I see.”

“So what do you do as like your human job?”

“I work a low-paying menial job. I am also a writer.”

“What do you write?”

“All kinds of stories, but nobody is really interested in them.”

“That is a shame. Do you write fairytales?”

Henry thought about it for a second and shrugged his shoulders.

“No, I never have written a fairytale. I think that all of the good fairytales have been written.”

“I know of hundreds of fairytales.”

“You do?”

“Yes, and because you saved my life tonight, I am going to tell you one.”

“Hang on a second, let me fire up my computer.”

So, the two of them spent the rest of the night telling and listening to the elf’s story. The next day, Henry was so excited about the magical tale that he did a quick re-write and then sent it to his publisher.

Overnight, the fairytale was a huge success.  Henry was so excited that he could barely believe it.  

“I need to write more,” he said to himself.

But how was he supposed to get a hold of the elf?

“I could set a trap,” he said to himself one night looking in the mirror.  

But, he decided against this and realized that he needed a better plan.  

The days went by and gave birth to weeks. His celebrity increased and he basked in the limelight. His publishers wanted a new story to capture on the success.

Henry tried very hard to write more fairytales, but they were all dismal and boring.  None had the magic of the first one that had made him famous overnight.

“What is a writer to do?”

Then one night, he was at the computer trying to put another story together when there was a knock on the door.

He went to the door and it was Sammy the Elf.

“Hey, please come in and take your shoes off.”

Sammy walked in and looked happy.

“How are you?”

“I am good thanks to you. I would have drowned that night. My back is much better.”

“I am glad to hear it.”

“So, did you do anything with the story I told you?”

“I sure did. I have made a lot of money with it and was able to quit my job. I really owe you one.”

“I thought we were even. But, I was thinking that it was a lot of fun telling you that story and what if I could tell you more?”

“That would be great.”

“Okay, let’s get started.”

Henry rushed to the computer and they spent hours writing down Sammy’s stories. The next day, he told his publisher that he had a great story.

It was more popular than the first one. His publisher was ecstatic. The children and the adults loved it and he won an award.

Henry dished out one story after another and became famous for the fairytales.  

One day, Sammy dropped by and Henry was very happy to see him.

“I hope everything is well,” said Sammy.

“Everything is super great thanks to you.”

“I was glad to help you out.”

“As happy as I am, I feel that I owe you something.  Without you, I would be still working that horrible job and be a frustrated writer.”

Sammy smiled and looked a little bashful.

“Look, I have something I need to tell you.”

“Go right ahead, friend.”

“Well, the reason I told you all of those stories was because I knew you would do something with them.  My cousin told me you were a writer.  You see, I also wanted to be a writer, but how was an elf supposed to reach the human population?”

“So you told me those stories knowing that they would make me famous. This way your stories became International?”

“That’s right, I hope I didn’t mislead you?”

“Not at all, my good friend, Sammy,” smiled Henry. “After all, we both got what we wanted.  I make a great living as a writer and your stories became internationally famous.”

“So we both won.”

“Yes, we did.”

Human and elf shook hands and their smiles were a mile wide.