A Visit From Gebal
Based on 'A Visit From St Nicholas' by Clement C. Moore'Twas the night before Christmas on Bannerman Road,
And up in the attic the fairy lights glowed,
Mr Smith was bedecked all in tinsel and glitter,
And a Santa hat perched on his long-range transmitter.
And Sarah Jane Smith was in bed, fast asleep,
And from Luke's room, too, there came nary a peep,
The house was all quiet, and peaceful, and calm –
Until they both heard the intruder alarm…
Sarah Jane sat right up and looked warily round,
Wondering what danger was causing the sound,
She got out of bed and crept out of the room,
And walked down the stairs, peering into the gloom.
Downstairs, the moonlight made the house bright as day,
At a glance, in the hall everything seemed ok,
But then from the kitchen arose such a clatter,
Sarah Jane darted in to see what was the matter.
A creature was standing in front of the sink,
It had mottled blue skin and huge eyes, black as ink,
As Sarah came in it cried out in surprise,
Crouched under the table and covered its eyes.
'What are you doing here?' Sarah demanded,
'I'm sorry!' it squeaked. 'But my vessel crash-landed!
I was lost, I was trapped, filled with panic and fear,
I detected a long-range transmitter near here.'
'I see!' Sarah said, 'It's all right, don't you fret –
We'll get you back home, no need to be upset,
The long-range transmitter you tracked down was mine,
You can call for a rescue and get home just fine!'
Then they both heard a noise, and the door opened wide,
'It's all right,' Sarah said, and so Luke came inside,
He was sleepy, confused, and a frown creased his brow,
'Who is this?' he asked, 'Mum, is it Christmas now?'
'My name is Gebal, from the planet Strequatic,'
He explained as they climbed up the stairs to the attic,
'I'll make a quick call, then I won't long remain –
But what is this Christmas – please, could you explain?'
So Sarah told him about Christmas tree lights,
And wrapping up presents on long winter nights,
And crackers and snowmen and reindeer and cake,
Waiting for Father Christmas and lying awake.
And Gebal and Luke listened closely, enthralled,
And once Gebal's friends were successfully called,
They went back downstairs, to sit and to hear
Sarah's stories of memories of Christmassy cheer.
They talked and they laughed, Gebal's friends soon arrived,
They landed their space ship on Sarah Jane's drive,
Gebal thanked Sarah Jane as he hurried outside,
She went to the doorway, with Luke at her side.
When Gebal reached his friends and had safely embarked,
The spaceship took off in a flurry of sparks,
Luke and Sarah waved until it flew out of sight,
'Back to bed,' Sarah said, 'it's the middle of the night!'
And when they got up, it was white all around,
With new-fallen snow lying crisp on the ground,
And in the front room, by the tree, was a note,
'Come here, Mum!' Luke called, 'And see what Gebal wrote!'
'Dear Sarah,' Luke read, 'thanks for helping me out,
And for telling me what Christmas is all about,
You talked about snow, but I could see none here,
So my gift to you – I made all this appear.'
'What a lovely surprise!' Sarah gasped with delight,
Looking out at the drive with its mantle of white,
'Now there's a first Christmas you'll never forget –
And for me, well, it might just be the best one yet!'
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