61 lines
3.3 KiB
Standard ML
61 lines
3.3 KiB
Standard ML
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O*O*O* GAMES ELVES PLAY *O*O*O
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Elves are great game players. They can mess around with a single game for
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hours on end and never get tired. And they're always good sports. An elf
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never worries about losing or looking foolish in a game. All he cares about
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is the fun he's having while he plays.
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LEAPFROG:
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One of their favorite games is leapfrog. The first step in this game is
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finding the frogs. In fact, that's half the fun. Once each elf has found
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--and caught--a large frog, they're ready to play. When the frogs are
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caught, they're already lined up in a row. Then, with a running start, the
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elves leap over one after another. The frogs don't have to do much but
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wait patiently. When the game is over, the elves let them go until next time.
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FORMATION FLYING:
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This game was devised by Limlim as he was training the first reindeer. It
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works only when the reindeer are in a mood to play. Each elf trains a group
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of deer for the great competition. Then, on the assigned day, the reindeer
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put on a dazzling display of formation flying. The prize to the winning
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elf: No more cleaning out stables for the rest of the year!
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MUSH FACE:
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This game is a game that has caught on among some children in England and
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South America. The rules are simple. While the elves are eating, suddenly
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someone yells "Mush Face!" It's amazing to watch the mad scramble that
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follows. The elves grab their food--and everyone else's--and do all they
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can to get it all over the other fellow's face. The elf who ends up with
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the cleanest face is the winner. As far as Mrs. Santa is concerned, this is
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her least favorite elvish game.
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BIG BALL:
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No one is sure who invented this game--but once the idea gets out, it will
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surely spread from Pole to Pole. In Big Ball, the first elf (usually
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selected by drawing sticks--the one with the short stick gets to go first)
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climbs into the ball. Then the other elves seal it up. Don't worry--
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there's plenty of air in the ball! Once the elf is comfortable in the ball,
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his companions start to roll it around. They roll and roll, over snowbanks,
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across the garden, down ice hills. When the elf inside finally starts to
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moan, they stop and pull him out. The elf who can roll around the longest
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without moaning is the winner.
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HIDE AND SEEK:
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Elves play hide and seek the way everyone else does--except that they can
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hide anywhere! Raful, for instance, was once found in Cincinnati under a
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garbage can--fourteen weeks after the game started! And Fringle once hid
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so well that he had to go into hibernation in Mexico. The other players
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found him that following June.
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HOPSCOTCH:
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The elves introduced this game to the North Pole, but now it's been adopted
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by Santa and Mrs. Santa. Santa first played the game in the late 1700s--
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and beat even the best elves. Then Mrs. Santa played him -- and won! Pretty
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soon it had turned into a real contest, to see who could win the most times
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at hopscotch. For quite a while Santa had a real winning streak. He and
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Mrs. Santa would play every day (except for Christmas season) and Santa
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won 1329 times in a row. But then Mrs. Santa changed her strategy. Now
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she has a slight edge on Santa. The overall score is: Mrs. Santa - 31,222
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Santa -- 30,961. The elves dropped out of the contest quite early, since
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they couldn't keep up--even though they invented the game!
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