‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
The Nigerian Prince was as mum as a mouse.
“They know me,” he thought, “as the Master of Sham.
But they’ll still take the bait for my Christmas Eve scam.”
“I’ll tell them that Santa Claus had his sleigh filched,
And children all over the world will be zilched
Unless they send ten million smackers to me,
So I can make sure Santa’s sleigh is set free.”
The Prince laughed a laugh that was haughty and smug,
Quite sure that his plan had not one single bug.
It seems he forgot or perhaps never guessed:
The one who laughs last is the one who laughs best.
Then just as his laughter was fading away,
He heard something pealing … like bells from a sleigh.
He heard something else, like a loud, “Ho, Ho, Ho!”
That seemed like it came from within a stone’s throw.
He ran to the window and there in the light,
The Nigerian Prince saw eight reindeer in flight.
Sure enough, they were hitched to a shiny red sleigh,
With Santa Claus calling, “Up, up, and away!”
“Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now Prancer and Cupid!
That dastardly Prince wants to play folks for stupid.
On Comet! On Blitzen! On Vixen and Donder!
We’ll give that Clown Prince something worthy to ponder.”
With that, Santa pulled on the reins one more time.
The sleigh and the reindeer then started to climb
Up into the sky to deliver the toys
The Elves had all made for the good girls and boys.
With a nod of his head and a shake of his fist,
Even Santa, that good man, just couldn’t resist
Forewarning the shifty Nigerian Prince
He’d seen through his villainous scamming long since.
“You might fool us now and then,” Santa exclaimed.
But when you do, know that it’s you who’ll be blamed
For taking advantage of people’s goodwill.
But they’ll remain faithfully generous still.”
“Especially now, on this bright Christmas Eve,
The people you target will always believe
That hope, peace, and charity always prevail.
And scoundrels like you will be destined to fail.”
Perhaps, there and then, the Prince started to hear
Because we could swear his eyes started to tear.
When Santa saw that, he knew all would be right.
And he called, “Merry Christmas. To all a good night!”
The moral of this story, if there is one,
Is that good can always triumph over bad.
And Santa Claus might be here to remind us
Christmas miracles aren’t just a passing fad.
Originally Published on https://www.bizcatalyst360.com/category/lifecolumns/notes-to-self/
