
;******************************************************************************
;*                                                                            *
;*                               ELVES MESSAGES                               *
;*                                                                            *
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MESSAGE 1
Bizarre!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 2
Just how do you intend to do that?
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 3
Weird!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 4
Not bloody likely!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 5
Ha, Ha, Ha!  You're such a card!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 6
Give me a break!  You're not going to do that.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 7
This closet seems very familiar.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 8
This place is in such a state that it is almost impossible to distinguish the
different objects.  In fact it is much easier to describe everything together
instead of individually.  Why you have every decided to examine this jungle is
beyond me.  Surely you must recall how chaotic the workshop gets on Christmas
Eve.  The result has always been what you see lying before you...a mess!  But
if you insist..........

Let's start with the benches.  The scraps of leftover building materials are
nothing but sawdust with a few twisted nails and deformed screws mixed in.  The
paint brushes have seen better days.  They should have been soaked in varsol
because the paint on them has been allowed to dry and harden.  In fact you
could use them for a hammer!  The brushes are lying beside a couple of open
paint cans.  Of course there's nothing left in them.  Next you see three closed
cans of paint.  It's obvious what tint the paint inside is, because the labels
are different colours.  Last, but not least are the blueprints and toys.  It's
been a long time since you read one of these.  You were a very young elf when
you built toys in the workshop.  Flipping through them brings back memories...
rocking horses, bicycles, electric trains, dolls, teddy bears...
every toy that you can possibly think of has a set of plans.

Above the work benches are peg boards where the tools should hang.  Someone has
taken the time to outline the shape of each tool.  You wonder why you or one of
your buddies hadn't thought of that.  Now everybody knows what tool goes where.
Most of the hooks are bare, but from the outlines you can see that the tools
used today haven't changed from when you worked here.

The clutter on the floor is impossible to decipher.  You wish you had a broom
and dustpan.  The best place for this stuff is in the garbage.  Don't waste you
time trying to figure it out. Ignore it...looks like someone else did!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 9
What are you looking for?  Need to wrap a gift?  You have better things to do
with your time.  Remember, you are here to help Santa.  So -- get on with it!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 10
The desk and computer are the most prominent pieces of furniture in the room.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 11
The path disappears in the fog.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 12
The fog is so dense you can only see a few metres in front of your little elf
nose.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 13
Examining the corners of the barn closely, you find absolutely nothing that you
didn't see when you first walked into the barn, but the pungent odor which
pervades the air in here shocks you into a new level of awareness. Odd that you
didn't notice the enormous set of double doors leading northeast into the
corral.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 14
The door is about 3 feet tall and is made of solid ice.  There is an outline
which somewhat resembles the continent of Antarctica carved on it.  The door is
closed.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 15
The door is about 3 feet tall and is made of solid ice.  It is closed.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 16
It's just as you would expect it to be, made of dirt. Someone went to a great
deal of trouble to build this room out of the permafrost.  There is a bit of
light filtering in, making it possible for you to see what might be a tiny
opening to the southwest.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 17
You don't discover anything new about the passage.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 18
Someone must have been here before you.  They have left a piece of lined note
paper here.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 19
The wind is blowing fiercely here, sculpting the snowdrifts into fantastic
forms and figures.  It reminds you of a bad dream about getting lost in the
ice plains of the Antarctic.  Your imagination is triggered by the abstracts...
.....dragons, unicorns and other mythical beings.  There are paths leading off
in many directions.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 20
It looks like a herd of reindeer stampeded through here.  There's no point in
searching through the rubble.  It's only broken pieces of ice.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 21
There is barely enough room to turn around here.  If there was anything to find
here you'd surely be standing on it!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 22
Sorry, but you don't have time to be messing around with the $NOUN$.  You
have a very important mission to help Santa save Christmas this year.  Please
try to devote your energies and your mind to the task at hand!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 23
The drawer is in the centre of the desk.  It has an ornate gold lock.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 24
Sitting in the chair would be hazardous to the completion of your task.  You
have an urgent mission to perform and you had best get on with it.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 25
The book opens to a page......
                                     December 12, 1873
    Dear Diary:
    I have been wondering for such a long time how
    our dear old boss shrinks before he pops down
    the chimney.  I think I have figured it out.  A
    few hours ago, I was working in the giftwrap room
    and I heard a strange hissing sound coming from
    from Santa's office.  It continued for 23 seconds.
    After a bit I heard a swooshing sound, not unlike
    a tire being filled with air.  I had to peek around
    the corner.  There he was practicing the art of
    shrinking and growing.  He had his finger pressed
    tight to the side of his nose.  It looks like he
    exhales every bit of air in his body to shrink
    and then sucks in as much as he can take and then
    some!! to grow!
                                     Egbert

END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 26
The book falls opens to a page......
                                     May 29, 1887
    Dear Diary:
    Today a new little reindeer was born.  He has
    the most unusual nose.  It is rather large and
    bulbous.....and that's being polite!  Santa was
    a bit upset with us for laughing at the 'ugly
    duckling'.  He said that this has a very special
    meaning.  It seems that Santa's grandfather had
    told him a story about a very special reindeer,
    Rudolph, whose nose would glow a brilliant red,
    as bright as any poinsettia could be.  Santa's
    grandfather told him that he had used this reindeer
    to guide his sleigh on dark, foggy nights.  In fact
    they wrote a song about him.  Well, we now have
    Rudolph II among us.  It remains to be seen if the
    fable holds any truth.
                                     Egbert

END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 27
The book opens to a stained page......
                                    December 24, 1873
    Dear Diary:
    Well, it looks like the fable of Rudolph's nose is
    true.  It does glow on its' own, but at times he
    needs some help.  I have learned of a recipe, from
    a very reliable source, that will intensify the brightness,
    to the point that you can't even look at it.  You must find
    a poinsettia leaf and puree it.  After doing this,
    make haste and collect the first snowflake of this
    Christmas Eve and mix it with the juice.  Do this just
    before you give it to him.  Use this recipe with caution
    because it may cause some harm to the refractile index of
    the nasal tissues.  It is recommended that this be used only
    in an EXTREME EMERGENCY!!
                                     Egbert

END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 28
The book falls open to a page......
                                    December 3, 1899
    Dear Diary:
    As I get older and wiser I learn more and more of
    the secrets of the North Pole.  Today, I discovered
    how Santa fits all those toys into one bag.  When
    I think about it, it makes complete sense.  Santa's
    bag is a magic sack.  The opening of the bag is just
    the entrance into a void.....another dimension, so to
    to speak.  The gifts are molecularized and transformed
    into energy as they pass through the opening.  The cord
    around the top of the sack is a very special item.  It
    records every molecule of every item and its' position
    so that when Santa pulls the gift out of the sack, it
    is transformed back into matter, with every molecule in
    its' rightful position.

                                     Egbert

END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 29
The book shows you a page......
                                    December 15, 1901
    Dear Diary:
    Well, today the ultimate question was answered....
    'How does Santa visit all the houses in the world in
    one night?'.....  You see, Santa lives in a much higher
    energy sphere than us.  He is a spirit who lives in another
    dimension.  He transcends time.  He is accelerated.  Our
    time passes very slowly for him.  For instance, he can
    paint 1000 toy trains to our one!  One second to him is
    like 10 hours to us.  So with all these things taken
    into consideration, he can travel around the world in one
    night!

                                     Egbert

END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 30
The book flips open to a page......
                                     December 24, 1871
    Dear Diary:
    This Christmas Eve will probably go down in history
    as the most perfect Christmas Eve ever known to
    mankind.  The snowfall is absolutely gorgeous.
    Large fluffy flakes are fluttering downward and
    landing softly on all the objects below.  The
    whole world seems to sparkle and glitter with tiny
    lights as the moonlight dances across the landscape.
    I couldn't resist taking a short break and going
    outside for a walk.  By the time I got back to the
    Workshop, I looked like Frosty the Snowman!


                                     Egbert
  
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 31
The book quivers and falls open.....
                                     February 1, 1901
    Dear Diary:
    Well, our month of rest is over.  Time to get back
    to work.  Santa has reassured us that he will find
    more elves to give us a hand this year.  There are
    so many more children this year than last, not to
    mention the new fangled ideas for the toys.  Too
    bad Santa can't get those inventors to work with us.
    If only they knew how difficult it is to actually
    produce a reliable, safe model of their ideas!
    So what, you say.....well, try to tell the children
    that.  They all wish for the newest and first of
    everything.  Oh well, if they can't be made happy
    at Christmas then what's the point of having it at
    all.  Breaktime is over.  I have to get back to work.

                                     Egbert
  
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 32
The book finds a page......
                                     October 5, 1871
    Dear Diary:
    You'll never guess what Santa told me today.  I
    must be special.  He told me about the Penquin Colony
    in the Antarctic.  I'm not supposed to reveal any
    details; but, I can tell you that I wouldn't go there
    without having a map!  Diary, there are some very
    interesting things hidden in the Colony.  I'd better
    stop writing before I spill the beans.


                                     Egbert
  
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 33
The book opens to a page......
                                     December 1, 1889
    Dear Diary:
    Have you ever heard of Baron Justus Von Liebig's
    teleportation discovery?  I just learned about it
    today.  It's very slick.  All you have to do is
    enter a mirror.  Actually, it's not as simple as
    that.  There is some criteria that has to be met.
    First of all you have to be the oldest and wisest
    elf on the earth.  Secondly, you must be retired.
    Third, an emergency which threatens Christmas must
    arise and last of all, Santa has to initiate the
    mirrors.  The oldest, wisest elf is then summoned
    to the north pole to help Santa in his hour of need.
    The mirrors can be used by the elf to travel from
    place to place.

                                     Egbert

END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 34
Your nifty lantern is flickering on and off.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 35
Your nifty lantern flickers one last time and then goes out.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 36
The lantern is now on.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 37
The lantern is now turned off.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 38
The lantern is already on.  It doesn't make sense to turn it on again.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 39
Sorry, but this lantern has had it.  It will never light again.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 40
Sorry, but this lantern is already OFF.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 41
Please use LIGHT LANTERN and EXTINGUISH LANTERN.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 42
After considerable fumbling, you manage to separate the two mittens from the
connecting string.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 43
Your ancient Granny who knit them for you must have had more nimble fingers
than you.  You can't get the string tied back to the mittens no matter how hard
you try. abort
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 44
The styrofoam cooler has warmed up a bit.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 45
YECH!!!  Warm beer!  You spit the mouthful of beer out and decide not to drink
it.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 46
It's too cold here to build a snowman here.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 47
You can't build a snowman here.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 48
Okay, you just built a snowman.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 49
There must have been some magic in that old silk hat you found 'cause when you
placed it on his head he began to dance around.  Hey!  That's Frosty the
Snowman!  Don't see any corn cob pipe, but who could forget that face?
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 50
What would a snowman want with that?
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 51
Percival grabs the $NOUN$ and stuffs it in his tuxedo pocket.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 52
Frosty accepts your gift graciously.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 53
Because Frosty is so grateful for the return of his old silk hat, he repays you
by taking your tacky poinsettias and magically transforming them into beautiful
real flowers.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 54
WOW!  C C C COLD!  C C C C Canadian BEER!!!  Twenty four of them.  Good thing
they have those cheap twist off tops because you forgot your opener in your
other tights.  You quaff the first 20 and begin to feel a mild glow so you
slowly sip the last four and savour the flavour notice the Canadian spelling
and the colour of the brew.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 55
Percival just stole Egbert's diary.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 56
Rudolph slowly sips at the drink.  After downing the last drop, he raises his
head.  You notice that there is a twinkle in the end of his nose.  A shudder
runs through his body.  His eyes begin to sparkle and a soft red glow
illuminates his nose. You watch in awe as the light intensifies. Rudolph's
appearance certainly has changed!  Now he looks like he should.  He let's out a
reindeer yelp-of-glee.

You hear a commotion and turn to see Santa running towards you.  He's out of
breath, but manages to say, 'I was watching everything you were doing, while I
was running around trying to get the last minute preparations completed.  I
knew I could trust you to help me out.  Thanks to your wisdom Rudolph is able
to guide my sleigh tonight.  Yes, I still need him.  You may have caused it to
snow, but the drop in air temperature has only affected the North Pole.  All
surrounding areas are still fogged in.'

With those words the other reindeer arrive, with sleigh in tow, of course.
Blitzen helps Rudolph into his harness.  Santa climbs into his seat and the
last words you hear him exclaim as he drives out of sight are:

    'Merry Christmas to all!!  HO! HO! HO!  On Comet, on Cupid, on........'

Congratulations and thank you for playing Elves.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 57
Rudolph sips the drink slowly.  He raises his head and looks at you.  His eyes
begin to sparkle and a twinkle appears in the end of his nose.  Then it goes
out!!!  Rudolph lowers his head in shame.

You screwed up pal!   Santa was counting on you.

Thank you for playing Elves.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 58
Rudolph doesn't appear to be interested.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 59
The brass key slid in easily, but snapped off in the lock as you tried to
turn it.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 60
It's starting to snow EVERYWHERE!  It's snowing in Santa's Office, it's snowing
in the closet and it's snowing outside!!! It slowly flutters toward the ground
and glistens and sparkles and almost seems to wink at you.  If there were
millions of elves crowded around you now, they'd all be smiling.  Santa is
going to be very pleased with you.  Looks like Christmas isn't going to be a
washout this year after all.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 61
The mercury in the thermometer has fallen dramatically in the last few seconds
since you put it in the icy cooler.  In fact the temperature EVERYWHERE seems
to be dropping. A delicate snowflake forms in the air above you and falls to
your feet.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 62
The first snowflake melted!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 63
Gratefully, Santa takes the string and threads it through his belt loops.
'There!'  He looks at his waist and let's out a hearty 'HO! HO! HO!  The boys
and girls would have a real laugh if they could see Santa this year.'  Now for
the problem at hand.  'I've summoned you, my dear old friend, because Santa has
a BIG problem.  Rudolph has not been eating properly all year and Santa fears
his nose won't glow bright enough to get us out of this fog.'
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 64
Santa shakes his head and says 'I don't need that.'
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 65
You drop the poinsettia into the blender and puree it into a bright red juice.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 66
There is a blinding flash of light and a puff of greasy black smoke (no
adventure would be complete without greasy black smoke).  The boring old
poinsettia juice has been magically transformed into 'No Doze Noze Gloze'.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 67
Such behaviour would be most unbecoming of a Christmas elf.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 68
That's right.  You're here to help Santa.  What a smart elf!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 69
You are temporarily stunned by a flash of blinding light.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 70
The hair at the back of your neck stands straight up on end.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 71
Nothing happens.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 72
You are not properly dressed for such a cold climate.  Your little body, being
exposed to the elements, quickly becomes frozen stiff like a big green
popsicle.  You blew it!  What a let down!  All those kiddies are going to miss
Christmas just because you were too dumb to put on your parka before wandering
around out in the cold.  Let this be a lesson to you.  Don't go outside without
your parka and don't stand around in the rain.  Look both ways before you cross
the street and never cross between parked cars.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 73
Dumb!  Dumb!  Dumb!  You got this far and screwed up!  The plan was to get
Santa and Rudolph on their way, not to pull the sleigh yourself!  Great, so
your nose is glowing.  What are you going to do?  Cut it off and glue it on
Rudolph?
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 74
Listen bub, this is really a fantastic adventure so I'll give you another
chance.  Do you really really really really want to quit?
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 75
Thank you for playing Elves!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 76
I didn't think you really wanted to quit!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 77
You $VERB$ the $NOUN$, but nothing happens.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 78
Percival turns and stares you directly in the eye.  'Listen Jack, or whatever
your name is, I'm tired of you following me around.  So buzz off!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 79
Percival throws a snowball and whacks you square between the eyes.  When you
recover your senses, he's nowhere to be seen.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 80
Percival spotted an Antarctic Char swimming close to the surface of the icy
water and dove in.  He splashed around for a few minutes then climbed back onto
the ice floe with a satisfied smirk on his beak.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 81
Percival Penguin left, travelling north.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 82
Percival Penguin left, travelling south.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 83
Percival Penguin left, travelling east.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 84
Percival Penguin left, travelling west.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 85
Percival Penguin left, travelling northeast.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 86
Percival Penguin left, travelling southwest.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 87
Percival Penguin kicked you in the shin.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 88
You open the door and step into the small, cold room.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 89
You open the door and step out into the cold, cold antartica night air.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 90
You put on the right mitten.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 91
You put on the left mitten.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 92
Sorry, but the $ADJECTIVE$ $NOUN$ is locked.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 93
You open the $ADJECTIVE$ $NOUN$.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 94
Sorry, but the $ADJECTIVE$ $NOUN$ is locked.  You must unlock it first before
you can $VERB$ it.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 95
You $VERB$ the $ADJECTIVE$ $NOUN$, but find it empty.
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 96
The $ADJECTIVE$ $NOUN$ contains:
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 97
The entire room full of elves echoes your sneeze ....ACCHHOOO!!!
END_MESSAGE

MESSAGE 98
God bless you!
END_MESSAGE

