The Christmas Legend, by Mia Anson

There was a blizzard outside, but the Sunberry Village Town Hall, where the yearly Christmas dinner was held, was as warm as a summer’s day. Everyone was laughing, singing and dancing the night away. The food on the table was glistening in all its glory. There were gingerbread houses, Christmas pudding and shiny turkeys galore! Everything was perfect — until an ear-splitting howl pierced through the icy air. That could only mean one thing…

Thunder roared into the night. Lightning struck and lit up the whole forest! The town hall lights flickered, but everyone kept dancing. Another howl pierced the freezing night air. It was different — louder and closer. Still, everyone danced. More thunder roared through the night. Lightning struck a nearby tree, and the tree burst into flames, but the snow put it out. The blizzard stormed and swirled around the town hall. Suddenly, the sound of stamping footsteps started to grow louder and louder. This, the people did hear. Everyone thought it was strange but ignored it and kept dancing — all but one person…

More footsteps thundered towards the town hall. The people started to stop dancing, and someone asked, “What’s that noise?”

Another person said, “It sounds like footsteps — a stampede of them.”

“They’re coming!”

“We are all going to die!” screamed someone.

Everyone panicked, running around like headless chickens. All of a sudden, someone yelled, “Don’t panic—”