Life is not easy for everyone.  Sixteen year old elf Jason firmly believed that.  The Christmas Season was approaching.  Santa Land was going to be a busy hive.

Jason worked in the toy train and car workshop.   These were popular gifts for younger children.  That means that the production scale was large.  Each elf was responsible for large quantities of toys.

Jason was very concerned with due reason.  Recently he had found that he had a hard time staying awake.  Normally, he was always seen with a winning smile.  But, his face showed a worried look.  How was he supposed to fulfill his quota of toys?  He looked at the heaps of toys other elves had completed.  He sighed deeply.

Santa always kept a watchful  eye on his young elves.  He took great care in nurturing the budding talents and natures.  He believed in positive reinforcements.   He had been watching Jason for a few days.  He noticed that something was bothering the young elf.

On one morning, Santa sauntered up to the toy train workshop.  He stopped at Jason’s  work table and listened to the deep sigh.  He decided to address the issue.  He asked, “ Hi, Jason,  is anything the matter?”

Jason raised his doleful eyes.  He had the most beautiful eyes.   They were sad now.  Another deep sigh escaped.  “Santa, I am having a hard time in making my trains.  I feel drowsy all the time and I am not able to finish making the trains.  I am worried that I am going to fall short.”

Santa’s smile was kind.  He wanted to energize Jason.  He sat next to the young elf and said, “Jason, I have an idea.  I am going to a make a contraption that will keep you awake.  Then you will be able to finish like the other elves.”  Then he left leaving behind a hopeful elf.

Evening came and the sun was reaching the horizon.  The elves were putting their works away and leaving for home.  The workshops were closed.   Santa quickly approached the toy workshop and entered it after unlocking the door.  He turned on the lights and walked towards the cupboards where all the spare parts were stored.

Santa chose a very strong string, a pulley and a 5” bell.   He attached the pulley to one of the rafters of the ceiling and pulled the string over it.  One end of the string was over Jason’s worktable.   He attached the bell to the end which was pulled over the groove of the pulley.  He pulled the unattached end of the string and seconds later heard a satisfactory “ping”.   He found his contraption satisfactory.  With a smug smile, he closed the door and left the workshop.

Next morning, Jason went to his desk and sat down.  As usual, he began to feel drowsy as he started to work on attaching wheels to a blue train.  Suddenly Santa was by his side and casually said, “ Jason, I want you to try something.”  He pointed to his contraption and tied the string to his right hand.  He pulled the string and suddenly the bell tingled.  He said, “Every time you fall asleep, your hand will drop pulling the string.  Then the bell will ring and you will wake up.”  Jason  yanked the string and the bell tingled with a clear tone.

Everyone resumed work and soon got used to the tingling of the bell periodically.  Jason noticed that he advanced in completing his task.  The number of completed toys kept going up.   Soon the competitive edge of Jason’s work became well known. The constant smile on Jason’s face bore testament to his success.  The beautiful smile was back.