Mr. Small's Night Out is a story from the 1986 Annual and the 1992 Annual.
Plot[]
This story is about how Mr. Small spent one Christmas Eve. It all started when Mr. Small went into town and spent the day enjoying himself. He'd bought a Christmas present for Mr. Robinson, treated himself to a delicious three-course lunch at his favourite restaurant (two chips and a pea), and visited the local library to change his library book. Unfortunately for Mr. Small, the book he wanted in exchange for the one he finished was on the top shelf. It took Mr. Small thee whole afternoon to climb up the steps of the ladder because he had to keep stopping to rest. By the time Mr. Small finally got the book he wanted, it was almost closing time!
Now that he got his book, Mr. Small had to run all the way to the bus stop to catch the last bus home. But because Mr. Small was so small, the driver didn't see him and drove off without him. Poor Mr. Small had to walk home in the dark with big snowflakes falling onto the ground. And if you're as small as Mr. Small, one snowflake is like a huge snowball landing on your head. Mr. Small was miserable during his walk and feared that he wouldn't get home until Christmas was long over.
Fortunately, just as Mr. Small was about to lose hope on getting home, Mr. Small heard sleigh bells jingling in the air. Father Christmas was flying above and saw Mr. Small down below! Upon landing, Father Christmas picked Mr. Small up out of the snow and decided to bring Mr. Small home himself. Mr. Small couldn't believe that Father Christmas knew he was out there but since Father Christmas knows all, it isn't that surprising after all. Father Christmas even had a teeny tiny parcel to deliver. But not to Mr. Small, it was for Little Miss Tiny! Father Christmas didn't know how to deliver the present into Little Miss Tiny's mousehole, but Mr. Small knew Little Miss Tiny very well and offered to deliver it himself. Father Christmas put Mr. Small in his fur pocket and flew off to Home Farm. With Mr. Small as the smallest Father Christmas in the world, he crept into Little Miss Tiny's mousehole, put the present in her stocking, and crept out again.
Thankful for his help, Father Christmas returned Mr. Small to his home and gave Mr. Small his Christmas present to open the next morning. Mr. Small was so excited that he hardly slept a wink. Once he woke up the next morning, he opened his present to find a special, fully automatic, thermostatically controlled, electric toaster inside! The right size for Mr. Small and capable of toasting one crumb at a time!
List of characters[]
- Mr. Small
- Father Christmas
- Mr. Robinson (mentioned)
- Little Miss Tiny (mentioned)