Three Days Before Christmas Poem by Wolfgang Steinmann

Flakes to the left and flakes to the right,
It was three more days til Christmas night!
As I was stomping home through the blur
All wrapped in my cloak with a collar of fur,
The staff in my fist and mittens of wool,
And looking a bit like an old backwoods fool;
My face was all warm with a long beard of white -
I must have presented a curious sight!
Hark! There! Behind me, a pitter, a patter
Of many small feet - what might be the matter? !
Like ducklings they gather, like chicken they scatter
Like owlets they whisper, like sparrows they chatter!
I turn and I see, they are fighting the snow,
Seven shivering elves, their noses aglow.
They fidget and fret and tug at my laces
And look up at me with sad little faces. The smallest one lisps and he hems and he haws:
'Pray, say, sir! Are you … maybe? … Santa Claus? '
I lied just a little and took them straight down
To the very best baker in the center of town.
And when we were standing outside of the store
Our hands full with candy and cookies and more,
The smallest elf said with a smile on his lips:
'Tomorrow, we promise, we'll be back at six! '

(after the original German: Drei Tage vor Weihnachten, by Adolf Ey)