"Santa's Helpers" is the ninth short story in More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps.
Plot
Siblings Spenser and Beth Mayhew, twelve and eleven years old respectively, love teasing their little sister, Diana. They take pleasure in telling Diana that she isn't really related to them, saying that she came from another planet or was hatched. Spenser and Beth want to go outside, but their mother demands that they take their little sister. The kids eventually relent and take Diana along. Spenser and Beth also have to wear ugly green snowsuits that their mother bought for cheap.
Outside, Spenser and Beth continue to insist that Diana isn't related to them, citing the fact that she doesn't have red hair like the rest of them. The siblings' mother comes to take Diana home, but Mrs. Mayhew allows Spenser and Beth to stay out a little longer. While the duo is sledding, they have a net thrown over them by four small men. The men, who appear to be elves, ignore the siblings as they carry the two to a workshop. The kids are let go, and they are greeted coldly by Santa Claus, who reprimands them for running away. The kids don't know what he's talking about. Santa asserts that the kids are elves who tried to escape, as evidenced by their green clothes and red hair. The kids deny this, and Mr. Claus gives them one opportunity to prove that they're human.
Spenser and Beth are taken home, accompanied by elves. The group finds Diana. Spenser and Beth ask Diana to confirm that the three of them are related and that they're not elves. Diana says that she isn't related to the duo, citing the conversations in which Spenser and Beth denied being related to her. The elves take Beth and Spenser away. Diana waves goodbye, and she asks her siblings to tell Santa that she's been good.
Trivia
- "Santa's Helpers" only mentions its narrator's first name once. This story and "Attack of the Christmas Present" are the only stories in More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps where this happens.
- This is the 2nd story in More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps with a character named Beth, the first being A Holly Jolly Holiday.