I came up with this a few years ago as a Secret Santa type of game to play with friends and/or family around the dining table.
Just make sure there are more than two people and that everyone starts with a small present in hand, one that could go to anyone and still be appropriate. When you hear the word ‘right’ (whether it’s spelled R-I-G-H-T or sounds like it) you pass to the right, and same with the word ‘left.’ Only one spelling of that one. Here we go.
THE STORY OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS’ CHRISTMAS
BY ERIN DAVIS
(and if you’re playing correctly, you just passed that gift to the person on your right, because I said the brothers’ name. Got it? Good. Let’s go.)
ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WERE TWO BROTHERS. ORVILLE WRIGHT AND WILBUR WRIGHT. THEY LIVED IN KITTY HAWK, NORTH CAROLINA, RIGHT NEAR RALEIGH. ORVILLE AND WILBUR NEVER LEFT HOME – THEY STAYED IN KITTY HAWK AND WANTED TO FLY.
HOW COULD THAT BE RIGHT? PREVIOUS TRIES LEFT THOSE FLYING MACHINES IN PIECES ON THE GROUND.
BUT THE BOYS HAD THE RIGHT STUFF. SO, PEOPLE LEFT IT TO THEM. AFTER ALL, WHAT RIGHT DID ANYONE HAVE TO SAY THAT THEY COULDN’T FLY – RIGHT?
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS BUILT AN AIRPLANE WITH PARTS LEFT OVER FROM THEIR TRACTOR – AND EVEN USED A SURF BOARD FOR THE RIGHT WING. WHAT?
ON A CHILLY DECEMBER 24TH, RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, ORVILLE AND WILBUR GOT INTO THEIR PLANE. A PRIEST, WHO WAS WORRIED, CAME AND GAVE THEM LAST RITES. BUT THEY SAID, “OH GOODNESS, FATHER, WE’LL BE ALL RIGHT! BESIDES, WE HAVEN’T EVEN LEFT YET!”
THEY STARTED THEIR PLANE AND DESPITE THE COLD, IT BEGAN RIGHT AWAY. THEY FLEW A LITTLE TO THE LEFT, AND THEN A LITTLE TO THE LEFT AGAIN…AND THEN UP AND DOWN AND THEN…TO THE LEFT. “UH-OH,” SAID WILBUR, “THIS AIN’T RIGHT.” SO THEN THEY TRIED TO STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT, BUT INSTEAD, THE PLANE JUST KEPT GOING UP – UP – UP!
AS THE WRIGHT BROTHERS STARTED TO PANIC, THEIR PLANE CONTINUED ITS ASCENT. UP OVER ROOFTOPS, UP THROUGH THE CLOUDS.
‘TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, OVER THE WHIRRRR OF THE LITTLE PLANE’S STRUGGLING PROPELLERS, THE WRIGHT BROTHERS COULD HEAR A SOUND. WAIT, THOUGHT WILBUR, THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT!
“DO YOU HEAR BELLS?” ASKED ORVILLE.
THEY DID! THEY LOOKED ABOVE THEM, THEY LOOKED TO THE RIGHT…THEY LOOKED BELOW AND THEN THEY LOOKED TO THE LEFT…AND WHAT SHOULD THEY SEE, RIGHT THERE BESIDE THEM?
NONE OTHER THAN THE BIG MAN HIMSELF: SANTA CLAUS, AND A MAGICAL SLEIGH BEING PULLED BY EIGHT REINDEER!
“HEY!” SHOUTED SANTA, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?
IT’S MY TURN TO FLY – YOU HAVEN’T THE GEAR!
YOU LAND THAT PLANE RIGHT NOW, BEFORE YOU CRASH BADLY….”
“OKAY,” SAID THE WRIGHT BROTHERS, NODDING QUITE SADLY.
“WE DON’T KNOW THE WAY – I GUESS WE DID GOOF….”
AND SANTA SAID, “FOLLOW! I’LL LAND ON YOUR ROOF!”
SO THAT’S WHAT THEY DID, AND THEY PURSUED THE SLEIGH, LED BY RUDOLPH’S GLOWING RED NOSE. DOWN, DOWN, THEY WENT. TURNING LEFT AND LEFT AGAIN…UNTIL RIGHT BELOW THEM WAS THEIR HOUSE.
SANTA AND HIS REINDEER LANDED AND QUICKLY LEFT THEIR PRESENTS, THEN FLEW OFF INTO THE NIGHT SKY. ORVILLE AND WILBUR WRIGHT PUT THAT LITTLE PLANE DOWN GENTLY ON A SNOW-COVERED FARM FIELD RIGHT NEXT TO THEIR HOUSE.
“ALL RIGHT!” THEY EXCLAIMED AS THEY CLIMBED FROM THE PLANE AND LEFT IT BEHIND TO RUN INSIDE AND SEE WHAT SANTA HAD LEFT.
FOR ORVILLE, A PAIR OF FLYING GOGGLES AND A STICK OF RIGHT GUARD DEODORANT…FOR WILBUR A BASEBALL GLOVE SO HE COULD PLAY LEFT FIELD COME SPRING.
AND RIGHT UNDER THE TREE, THE BEST GIFT OF ALL?
SANTA LEFT THEM A MAP AND A NOTE: “PLEASE DON’T FALL!”
AND AS THE BOYS HUGGED, FOR THEY REALLY WERE TIGHT, THEY CRIED, “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD RIGHT!“
A LOVELY HOLIDAY SEASON TO YOU AND YOURS FROM ROB AND ME, AND FROM OUR WHOLE FAMILY.
THE STORY IS OVER – SO HOLD ON TO YOUR LOT,
NO PASSING, NO SASSING…. OPEN UP WHAT YOU GOT!