The First Tree - Chapter 2

The Chosen Tree
As they moved more deeply into the forest, Mrs Claus stopped and pointed to a group of trees to her left.
"There might be some possibilities in that group." She said brightly. "Lets look to see, shall we." Mrs. Claus enjoyed this search immensely. She focused and planned on it throughout the year. It seemed to motivate and drive her endless flow of energy. The elves had learned quickly the extent of her exacting standards. The first few trees that they had examined had clearly been too short. This had been quite sufficient for Mrs. Claus to dismiss them and move on. The second grove of trees was definitely not too short. On the contrary, these trees were just completely too tall for the grand study with its place of honor near the great stone fireplace.
"It would never fit properly," she had said, pointing to one. "The top third of the tree would bend and droop for fear of touching the ceiling." And of course, she was correct.
Soon the elves picked up the routine of the search and commenced with their duties without the prompting from Mrs. Claus. First, they would help to select a suitable tree for examination. Then Samantha, who was called Sam by everyone at the North Pole but Mrs. Claus herself who refused to contribute to the emasculation of such a feminine little elf, would give it a few quick shoves to coax the tree to give up its winter blanket. As the snow cascaded down from the upper branches, she would give an exaggerated hop in retreat to avoid a frosty shower.
Free from the snow, the tree would straighten and curl the tips of its branches skyward, primping and posing for Mrs. Claus’s approval. Sam would then return to the base of the tree and begin measuring. She would measure the circumference of the trunk and the length of the longest branches from tip to toe. Robert would follow behind Sam as she made the measurements. As each was assessed, Sam would call out the number and Robert would quickly write it on his clip board with the proper notation to location and type. After this was done, Sam and Pete would walk slowly around the tree looking for obvious bare spots or misshapen sides. After and only after each tree passed the elves inspection would Mrs. Claus step forward and begin to scrutinize for herself.
"Not green enough!" She would say about one. "My tree skirt would be much to large for this tiny trunk" she chided about another. "Too few branches on this side!" She observed about a third.
Mrs. Claus would shuffle carefully around each prospective tree, lifting branches and calculating spaces in her mind. From deep within a warm pocket of her winter coat, she would produce a delicately hand-carved ornament in the shape of a slender reindeer and hold it up to the tree. Squinting behind narrow egg shaped spectacles, she would visualize such ornaments hung evenly across each branch.
"This one is too full. There would be no way for me to get all of my reindeer and my ribbons in this tangled mess." she commented. And toward another, she remarked, "this one is not nearly full enough, half my reindeer would remain on the floor if I used this tree."
Time and again, the elves would sigh and nod to one another before gathering up the clip board and the measuring tape. But every so often, Mrs. Claus would pause, drop her head slightly and hesitate before whispering "This one has possibilities." On these rare occasions, a wide smile would spread across the faces of the elves and Pete would promptly tie a few yellow ribbons around the most prominent of branches and scribble a star next to that tree’s measurements on his clip board.