The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig

Author:Matt Haig
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canongate Books

The Royal Seal of Approval

ueen Victoria apologised to Father Christmas. She really was very sorry.

‘To give magic to children, what a wonderful thing,’ she said.

‘The trouble is,’ said Father Christmas, ‘is that the magic is not very magic at the moment.’ He pointed at the smashed window and the billowing curtains to illustrate his point. ‘Last year, there was no magic at all. Christmas didn’t happen. And Christmas has to happen . . .’

I had nothing when I was a child,’ sighed Father Christmas. ‘Well, I had a doll made out of a turnip. And a sleigh. But it wasn’t like this one.’

He pointed at the large red sleigh and noticed a small tiny flicker of light appear inside the Barometer of Hope.

The Queen had more to say. ‘I’d have loved to have believed in magic. To know that some things can’t be explained. To have some mystery. That would have made everything better. You see, there was no mystery in my life and there never has been. Everything I’ve done was planned in advance and that can be as dull as a London fog.’

Queen Victoria sailed gracefully across the room in her nightdress to reach a small antique table, the colour of chestnut, and sat down at it, to write a note. And once she had finished writing, she picked up a wooden stamp and pressed it down on the piece of paper. It made a splodgy red mark on the paper with a picture of a crown in it.

‘The Royal Seal of Approval,’ she said with pride. ‘There,’ she said. ‘If you get into any trouble, just give them this. Show this letter to anyone and they will know it was written by the real me.’

Father Christmas looked at the letter. It wasn’t a very long letter. The letter said:

‘Dear Whoever You Are, Be nice to this man. Yours faithfully, Queen Victoria.’

Father Christmas felt a warm feeling in his belly. ‘Thank you. It’s nice to have friends in high places.’

She gave a small smile. ‘Likewise.’

‘What would you like for Christmas?’ he asked her.

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