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>> Hoodie & the Elves: The Candy Cane Gift. In another time and another place, there lived
an elf named Hoodie. Hoodie was always busy up at the East Side of the North Pole. Well,
one day he had to work on the West Side, and he didn't know too many other elves. When
he asked Santa if he could go back to the East Side, Santa replied, "The elves on
the West Side of the North Pole are about to have a meeting and it's very important
for you to attend, Hoodie. The elves on the East Side had a meeting last month, and you
missed it." Hoodie replied, "All of my friends are on the East Side!" Santa closed
his eyes, pondering the dynamics. "You go to the West Side, attend the meeting, work
hard, and I guarantee by the end of the day you will have at least one new friend."
So, Hoodie got on his unicycle, and rode to the West Side. About 274 elves were working
hard at their stations, and they all stopped when they saw Hoodie wheeling over to their
side. One elf walked up to Hoodie as he was parking his unicycle and said, "Hi, I'm
Ricky." "I'm Hoodie. I'm from the East Side, but the Big Red Guy told me to
come here today." "Well, would you care to meet my friends? I have 273." "Yeah,
I'd like that! On the East Side, I only have 248 friends." Now, the elves work for
Santa Claus, so they are very giving creatures. Each elf from the East Side gave Hoodie a
candy cane, because that's all most elves are accustomed to eating, but Hoodie had only
one candy cane with him, so he whispered to Ricky, "I have only one candy cane." Ricky
replied, "No problem. On the West Side, we have a machine that can multiply anything...
except shoe polish. That's the one thing it can't make more of." So, Ricky put
Hoodie's candy cane in the machine, and six seconds later, hundreds of real candy
canes started popping out! Later that night, Hoodie saw Santa reading a letter. "Santa,
I made a new friend. His name is Ricky." "That's great, Hoodie." "Actually,
I made 274 new friends today! I was wondering. Can you combine the East Side with the West
Side of the North Pole, and maybe even bring in the North and South Sides, too?" "If
it brings my elves closer together, why not? Thanks for listening to me, Hoodie. Would
you like a candy cane?" "No, thanks. I've already got enough to make a bridge from the
West Side to the East Side!" Hoodie offered a candy cane to Santa and they both started
laughing.