With a groan and the ear splitting squeal of unoiled and out of tune metal parts, the roof opens and overhead a sleigh pulled by eight huge reindeer circles overhead. A claw drops and fastens on the old, dry tree and hauls it up and away. The debris left behind is gathered by squid tentacles and the giant wombat and neatl stacked by the fireplace. In its place he puts a tub containing something far more pathetic than anything Charlie Brown ever considered for Christmas. Quietly he pours a glass of water and a glass of pure akavit in the tub in which it is planted.