It was Christmas Eve. When everyone went to bed, Bunny couldn't fall asleep. He still couldn't think of what he wanted as a special Christmas present. He wondered how Santa — Father Christmas would know what to bring him if he didn't know himself.
As he was sitting up in bed, Bunny heard a big noise on the roof(屋顶) and a sound downstairs. It was Santa Claus, he realized. Bunny jumped out of bed and ran down the hall to the stairs. He hoped to take a look at the old man before Santa left for his next stop.
By the time Bunny was at the bottom of the stairs, everything was silent again. Lots of presents were put under the Christmas tree, but Santa was gone. A little disappointed(失望的), Bunny turned to climb back upstairs when he heard a cry.
“Hello,”said Bunny. "Is somebody there?”
He was answered by another cry. Bunny looked around the big pile of presents to see what was making the noise. Right under the tree was a funny looking brown animal with big feet and sad eyes. It also had antlers(鹿角) on its head. Bunny almost mistook it for a dog.
“Are you a reindeer?”asked Bunny.
“Yes,” replied the brown animal with antlers. “My name is Ralph.”
“And you were pulling Santa's sled(雪橇)?”
“I was until I got air-sick,”replied Ralph. “Santa had to leave me here and go on with the other seven reindeer.”
“Isn't it a bit unusual for a reindeer to get air-sick? I mean, isn't flying what reindeer are famous for?”
“Not me, I'm afraid. It makes me scared. I always feel sick when it comes to flying,”replied Ralph. "But everyone wanted me to pull Santa's sled, so when it was my turn I gave it a try. I'm afraid I just wasn'tcut outfor the job. Now I'm stuck here and I don't know how to get back to the North Pole.”
“Well, if you like, you can stay with us as a friend," said Bunny. As he made the offer, Bunny suddenly realized the special present he wanted from Santa was a new friend!
