SIDE 1

WALTER

You have to work on Christmas Eve, tough luck, so do I. Get it through your heads, Greenway s on his way and if he doesn t buy our pitch, we re all fired.

DEB

May I make a suggestion?

WALTER

Anything.

DEB

Whenever we visited my grammy in Budapest, she would tell us the story of little Palko, the one-legged boy. He wished and he wished every year for a leg and then one Christmas morning there it was, under the tree. From Santa.

WALTER

A leg?

DEB

Yes. A leg.

WALTER

A human leg?

DEB

Yes, because he d been a very good boy.

WALTER

That s the most disgusting story I ve ever heard.

DEB

Well, it s incredibly touching when you hear it in Hungarian.

SIDE 2

DEB

Mr. Greenway, sir.

BUDDY

(standing up)

Hi, Mr. Greenway, I m Buddy the Elf!

MR. GREENWAY

What? Who the devil is that?

WALTER

Well, he s, uh, he s my, son.

MR. GREENWAY

What?!


WALTER

Deb! Buddy needs a break.

DEB

(to BUDDY)

Buddy, why don t you come help me put these documents through the shredder?

BUDDY

What s a shredder?


DEB

It s a machine that makes snow.

BUDDY

No way!

(BUDDY and DEB leave the office.)

MR. GREENWAY

Hobbs! My phone has been ringing off the hook. Angry mothers, kids crying, _x001c_ What happened to Jingles, the jolly Christmas puppy?_x001d_

WALTER

It was an unfortunate oversight, Mr

MR. GREENWAY

Hobbs, you re out of a job unless you can come up with a blockbuster idea for a new Christmas book. I mean a through- the-roof national bestseller!

WALTER

Well, sir, that s easier said than done

MR. GREENWAY

Yes, it is. So you better get your top writers on it, because I will be back in New York on the evening of December twenty- fourth. At that time, you will present to me, in exact detail, your plans for the book! Happy holidays, Hobbs.