My second-favorite Christmas Story...

[MonkeyFunk]

by Neil Gaiman. 100 words:


Nicholas Was...

older than sin, and his beard could grow no whiter. He wanted to die.

The dwarfish natives of the Arctic caverns did not speak his language, but conversed in their own, twittering tongue, conducted incomprehensible rituals, when they were not actually working in the factories.

Once every year they forced him, sobbing and protesting, into Endless Night. During the journey he would stand near every child in the world, leave one of the dwarves' invisible gifts by its bedside. The children slept, frozen into time.

He envied Prometheus and Loki, Sisyphus and Judas. His punishment was harsher.

Ho.

Ho.

Ho.

[MonkeyFunk]

1. Kick for Gaiman

[skygazer]

2. I love Gaiman

And I love that story. Neat little take on the whole christmas bit. :thumbsup:

[bicentennial_baby]

3. I fucking love that one!

And Neil as well. He's the best. :bounce:

[ThomCat]

4. Wow. I haven't read that one before.

But it rocks! Gaiman is a genius. :)

[Blue-Jay]

5. That's from a book of Gaiman's short stories.

If I remember correctly, he wrote it as an exercise of sorts, and included it on the XMas cards that he sent out that year.

[MonkeyFunk]

7. Yes

it's in "Smoke and Mirrors"

[DarkTirade]

6. Whoa...

[FloridaJudy]

8. Gaiman is a freaking genius

Nothing by him that I've read has been a disappointment. American Gods is still my favorite, though.

[MonkeyFunk]

9. I'm about to start that...

my bf's been reading it for-fucking-EVER and he's just about done.