Laura writes…

Rudolph the reindeer was feeling quite old,
He’d been ill for days with a terrible cold.
His joints were all achy, his throat was so sore.
He just wasn’t able to work anymore.
He did what he had to, and went to his bed,
By blowing his nose he had made it quite red!

He tried lemon and honey, and then ginger root,
Echinacea and blueberries, soothers to boot,
But nothing was helping, he kept getting sicker,
The nights, they were drawing in quicker and quicker.
It was hard for poor Rudolph, so often left out,
Some of the reindeer would frequently shout:

“Rudolph is dumb! He’s not part of our games,”
And then they would call him such horrible names.
Dasher kept laughing, and Dancer would smirk,
And Prancer and Vixen would drive him bezerk.
Comet and Cupid just followed the crowd,
Cracking jokes in the corner and snorting out loud.

But Donner and Blitzen were on Rudolph’s side,
They wanted him well for their upcoming ride.
The presents were wrapped, and the lists were checked twice,
So everyone knew who was naughty and nice.
Outside lay a carpet of shimmering snow,
But Santa was missing, with minutes to go…

At last he was coming, and when he was near,
The reindeer they knew they had nothing to fear.
Held back by the snow and the foggiest weather,
His jolliness gone, at the end of his tether:
“My satnav is broken, the sleigh lights are too,
The weather’s atrocious, what are we to do?”

And then he gave Rudolph a curious gaze,
Our Rudolph stood up, coming out of a daze.
His cold was no longer, and as he arose,
Santa remarked on his glowing red nose:
“I’m so glad you’re well but your nose is still bright!
It’s perfect for guiding my sleigh through the night!”

So thanks to a nose that was red and so shiny,
The reindeer they stopped being mean and so whiny.
They rallied round Rudolph for saving the day,
Took off on their sleigh, dashing up and away.
Presents and carrots — you know how it goes,
It’s all thanks to Rudolph, and his bunged-up nose.

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