“THE CUCKOO ELFIN
GLOCKENCLOCKEN”

By C. Wayne Lammers


Be still my children, everyone
And I’ll tell of an enchanted toyland
At the top of the world where Santa Claus lives
With his elves, in girl and boyland

The snow on the ground is formed in a mound
And way up on the top of the pile
Where the reindeer play on new-mown hay
Stands a village of storybook style

The buildings are splendorous sights to behold
With colors that dazzle the eye
And the tops of the roofs are so pointed and tall
They reach all the way to the sky

Candy cane streetlights light up the way
On the gingerbread lane through the town
And sugarplum trees with gumdrops for leaves
Are everywhere there to be found

The kitty cats wear Christmas Stockings
To warm up their paws in the snow
And the doggies have mittens attached to their heads
So their noses won’t freeze from the cold

The elves like to frolic and whistle a tune
That is really so old it sounds new
And sometimes they sing of elfin things
As elves are want to do

Santa Claus lives at the end of the lane
In the most dazzling house of them all
And little toy drummers tap time to a tune
While trumpeters trump in the hall

And deep in the forest surrounding the town
Down a path lined with suckers of blue
Stands a mystical workshop where all of the elves
Make the toys Santa Claus brings to you

Now I guess you wonder how they make
The toys for Christmas stockings?
Well, they have a magical factory called
The Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken

It’s as tall as the top of a mountain
And as wide as the shimmering sea
But where it came from, and who made it
Is a secret from both you and me

It is made up of long ropes and pulleys
And levers and gears and springs
From the trees of a magical forest
And other marvelous things

They say it’s as old as Santa Claus
And no one can work it but elves
But that’s all a part of the secret
And they’re keeping it all to themselves

Now each little elf has a job to do
Each one has to do his part
And while they work they sing a song
That comes from their elfin hearts

The job begins with Santa’s list
Of each little girl and boy
It says if they’ve been bad or good
And if they get a toy

Old Scribbler reads the list to see
What Santa want’s to take
Then he calls out to his elfin crew
The toy they’re about to make

Then a hush comes over the workers
And they smile at the thought of a stocking
Stuffed full of the toy, that’s about to deploy
From the Cuckoo Elfin Clockenclocken

Then Patuzzer pulls out on a lever
And the Glockenclocken is set
To make the toy for Santa Claus
The good girl or boy will get

Little Cranker slowly turns the crank
And the gears begin to grind
And the Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken
Lets out with a terrible whine

Then Merkle climbs up on a ladder
To see that the gronking goes well
Of all of the elves up in toyland
It’s all up to Merkle to tell

And Twiddle and Twaddle pull down on the ropes
That open the door for the toys
That come out of the depths of the magic machine
For good little girls and boys

And Tiger the Cat, keeps an eye out
For Thomas the mouse, his best friend
And Tweedles the Bluebird, bursts into song
And the elves are all chuckles and grins

They’re a merry bunch, a jolly good band
They all like the work that they do
On the Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken
Making toys for all good kids like you

They turn and they crank and they pull and they grind
And in only a moment, it seems
As Hecter the Inspector looks on with a smile
A toy rumbles from the machine

All year they work at a terrible pace
Making oodles and mountains of toys
That are packed in the sleigh on Christmas eve
For good little girls and boys

And the Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken
Makes one toy right after another
One for a sister, who lives on a hill
And one for her new baby brother

But one day, Hecter the Inspector cried out
In a voice they would never have dreamed
“The Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken
Has broken down, just like any machine!”

All of the toys were all broken and bad
Each one had a part that was wrong
And Tweedles the Bluebird stopped chirping
And no one was singing the song

And Merkle, up high on his ladder
Was frantically trying to see
What seemed to be the big problem
With the marvelous, wondrous machine

And Twiddle and Twaddle were left dangling
And Cranker stopped cranking and sighed
Old Patuzzer pulled once on the lever
Then slowly, he started to cry

And Scribbler stopped scribbling and thought of
The long list of good girls and boys
And how disappointed on Christmas
They’d be without all of those toys

Then Thomas the Mouse flew past Tiger the Cat
Who gave out with a swat of his paw
But the mouse ran away, there was no time to play
He had to find Santa Claus

He found Santa snoozing in dream land
Resting up for the flight in his sleigh
That would take all the toys to the children
All over the world Christmas day

Santa woke up with a start, and a groan
When he heard all the squeaking ring out
And when Thomas told Santa what happened
The old elf gave out with a shout

He ran to his shop without donning his boots
Never mind the big hole in his stocking
His most terrible nightmares were all coming true
In the broken Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken

When Santa arrived and inspected the toys
His face filled with sadness and shame
For not even he knew the secret
Of the wondrous toy-making machine

Then his eyes gave a twinkle - He started to smile
He knew just what he had to do
He’d call on the Angel of Christmas
And she’d tell them all what to do

And quick as a winkle the Angel appeared
On her face was a look that was sad
“I’ve been so afraid this would happen” she said
“The reason is awful and bad

This machine runs on dreams of the children
And the magic of Christmas day
And when they stop believing, the machine will be gone
And it will just all fade away

And you and the elves will go with it
You all exist only as long
As children believe in your magic
When that’s over, you all will be gone”

Then the Angel cried out to the children
All over the world to believe
“Close your eyes tight, with all of your might
And wish for Christmas Eveeeeeeeee . . . . . .”

Then a strange thing begin to happen
The machine that was almost gone
Began to take shape in the mind of a child
Somewhere in the world, all alone

Then another joined in - and another
Till soon there were thousands to dream
And believe in Santa and the elves
And the marvelous toy-making machine

The Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken trembled
And began to all reappear
And in only a moment, in elfin time,
All of the parts were then clear

Then Santa smiled a happy smile
And old Scribbler called out a name
And Patuzzer pulled back on the lever
And Cranker was cranking again

And Twiddle and Twaddle pulled down on the ropes
While Merkle was checking a spring
And out through the chute popped a wonderful toy
While Tweedles was starting to sing

And the Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken
Rattled on with the clanking of gears
And the Beautiful Christmas Angel
Smiled a smile, and then disappeared

Then Santa Grabbed hold of his belly
That shook as he laughed at a toy
From the Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken
And the elves shared his feeling of joy

Boys and girls, close your eyes tight and believe
Keep the vision within you, alone
Or Santa Claus and Christmas
And all of the elves will be gone

They only exist as long as children
Believe in them - Please try
When you take time to dream of Christmas
You’re keeping them alive

And the Cuckoo Elfin Glockenclocken
Will continue to make the toys
And fill the dreams on Christmas eve
Of good little girls and boys