Frederick the Fridge Elf

Down Wattle Lane in a cream brick house lived the Alder family, Mum, Heather, Dad, Mark, and two teenage children, Juliet and Ross. As you walk in the red front door and past the formal lounge and dining, past the staircase that led to the bedrooms and through the living area, you reach the kitchen. In the spacious kitchen was a sprawling island bench, a row of cupboards and a picturesque view out the bay window to the back yard and tree-filled reserve beyond. Also in the kitchen was an enormous refrigerator with two doors above and a freezer drawer below.

The fridge was stocked well and catered to the needs of the Alder family as they went about their daily activities. But there was someone else who enjoyed the contents of the fridge.

Frederick lived in the reserve at the back of the Alder’s property. Every day he would stealthily sneak into the house and raid the fridge. At first, he took only what he needed to survive. A carrot here, some salad there. As his presence had gone unnoticed, he became more confident and delighted in a blob of jelly or an elf-sized bowl of vegetable stew. He even took enough, on occasion, to share with his elf friends.

One day Heather cooked a delicious roast dinner and placed the leftovers in the fridge for her lunch the next day. When she went to have her lunch the following day it was gone. Nobody owned up to eating it and there was tension in the house for a few days.

Ross had a gathering with some of his mates and ate a mountain of pizza. The two slices that remained were placed in the fridge. He looked forward to having them as a late night snack. Imagine his frustration when they disappeared and everyone else in the house insisted it wasn’t them.

This continued for some time where a tasty morsel was saved for future consumption and vanished without explanation. The Alders became increasingly angry and annoyed at each other and many arguments ensued.

In the meantime, Frederick would carefully make his way across the back yard, over the garden bed to the sliding door to the living area. He slid open the door and made his way along the wall, climbed up the recipe book shelf onto the row of cupboards weaving around the toaster, the kettle, the potted herbs to the fridge. To open the fridge Frederick would use the curtains to climb to the top and push with all his might on the edge of the door until the seal released and there was enough of a gap for him to squeeze in. Getting out with his loot was a little trickier. He would either drop or lower the food to the floor to gather when he was done or sometimes Frederick brought a sack to carry on his back. It took a lot longer for him to return home as he lumbered with his booty.

Frederick became famous amongst the elves living in the reserve. His escapades even reached the elf communities in the next town. Many elves shook his hand and cheered when they saw him. He was so inspiring that a few other elves decided to try their hand at food acquisition from other nearby houses. Soon several homes on Wattle Lane became targets for the enterprising elves. Little did they know what was about to take place in the Alder family home.

Disturbed by the tension in his family, Mark Alder decided to take action and find out who the fridge thief was. He bought a motion activated camera and hid it in the large bookshelf in the living area, so it took full view of the kitchen. Each time there was movement in the kitchen the camera would record.

Two days after the placing of the camera it was Juliet’s birthday. It was a wonderful celebration with Juliet’s favourite meal of Spaghetti Bolognese and a rich chocolate mud cake with whipped chocolate frosting. What remained of the spaghetti was put into a bowl in the fridge. The last slice of chocolate cake left on a plate with Juliet insisting to all her family that she would be indulging in this delicious treat the following day. No one else was to touch it!

The stage was set for the revealing of the Fridge Thief!

Mark stayed up that night to capture the thief red-handed as he watched on his computer monitor in the study. As he nodded in and out of sleep, Frederick entered the kitchen. When Frederick saw the chocolate cake he leapt for joy. He would feast on this delight for days. As he was maneuvering the cake to get it out of the fridge, Mark woke with a start and then stared at the monitor in disbelief. While Frederick was still busy with his task, Mark quietly slipped upstairs to wake the rest of the family. They all tiptoed into the study to watch the elf, amazed and lost for words.

The Alders hatched a plan to trap the elf. They placed a tub with nut brownies in the fridge with a trigger that dropped a clear cover when one of the brownies was moved. And they waited for the elf’s return.

It was a few days before Frederick reappeared, his tummy full of chocolate goodness. He made his way to the fridge and immediately eyed the nut brownies. He climbed into the tub and lifted one of the brownies when…THUD! He was trapped! Poor Frederick was terrified. He sat shaking and confused with no way to escape.

At that moment, the Alders ran over to the fridge and examined their prey. They sat at the island bench and saw the little elf quivering in fear. Feeling sorry for the creature, Heather slowly lifted the cover and gently spoke. “Don’t be afraid. We don’t want to hurt you,” she said reassuringly. “Why have you been stealing our food?”

Frederick took some deep breaths to calm himself and tried to explain that when the houses were built many trees were cut down and much of the area where the elves foraged was gone. He thought he had found a treasure trove of goodies when he discovered the refrigerator. Frederick also told the Alders a number of other elves were also raiding the fridges of other houses in the street.

Ross came up with an idea to help the elves and keep the peace in all the households. They would need to talk with the neighbours to see if they agreed.

After viewing the camera footage and coming to terms with the existence of the elves, the entire street agreed with Ross’s plan. Each house was assigned a day where they would leave a basket of food for the elf community on a special tree stump at the edge of the reserve. In return, the elves tended the gardens for their human neighbours. Wattle Lane had the most beautiful and colourful gardens in the city. And the elves agreed to stay out of the homes….except Frederick!

Frederick and the Alder family became good friends and regularly dined together sharing their elf and human stories with laughter and mutual appreciation.