The New Persuasion

“Are those spots candy cane stains?”
Said Santa to the elf making trains.
The elf smiled wide with a peppermint grin.
Red and white stripes oozed out on his chin.
Over in a corner sat another named Clyde
With a stack of canes piled at his side.
“You’ll turn into candy,” the jolly elf teased
Everyone was busy; Santa was pleased.
The rhythmic tapping and occasional clamor
Entwined with laughter, seldom a yammer
Made this shop a great place to be
Where the Christmas crew worked happily.
The candy canes kept running out.
One on the reindeer was growing quite stout.
So Santa kept vigil with a trained eye,
Emboldened another elf as a spy.
Sure enough! Deep into the night,
That big rack of antlers came into sight,
Crackling and crunching and lip smacking, too.
So then, of course, this woke up the crew.
They all helped themselves to canes red and white
And the rest of the reindeer crowded in tight
When Mrs. Claus walked in the door
Everything quieted down to a roar.
She walked around and took a survey
To see how much candy they needed today.
She went to her workstation, dialed up the net
And ordered the canes that were sent out by jet.