Work Text:
There once were three brothers, who loved Christmas and wished to celebrate it better than anyone else.
One day, in early December, the three brothers were out walking in the woods, looking for the perfect tree, when they came across a beautiful mistletoe bush. Quickly deciding to strip the berries to decorate their living rooms, they were startled when Santa appeared before them.
Santa was angry, for he had wanted those berries to decorate his own house. But being by nature a jolly fellow, Santa realised that there were other mistletoe bushes available in the area, so he decided instead to congratulate the brothers on their find and offer them an early Christmas gift.
The first brother desired sugar, so he asked Santa for a Christmas snack of such power that none could beat it. Santa granted him a never-ending candy cane, and for a while the brother was happy; but soon he regretted his choice, because with great sugar came great stomach ache. And so the first brother missed his Christmas dinner.
The second brother lived alone, and all he wanted was for people to visit so he could show off his new Christmas decorations. He asked Santa for a way to let people know of his Christmas Spirit, so Santa gifted him a wreath made from the freshest holly. Sadly, everyone else had one as well, and no one cared his decorations were from a garden centre instead of Tesco like a normal person. So the brother moped at home and refused to visit his other brothers for Christmas.
The third brother was the cleverest, and asked Santa for the thing he used to celebrate Christmas with, knowing it would be the best. And so, Santa gave the brother his very own Christmas tree which stayed lit all the year.
And when the brother grew old and knew his celebrating days were coming to an end, he passed the tree on to his son. And on December 25th, he greeted Santa like an old friend and they left for the North Pole as equals.