“Merry Christmas! Keeping the peace!” the Friendly Toy Soldier said, as he stood in the doorway of the most famous toy store in New York City, the Toymaker’s Shop. He made sure that the customers in the store behaved and did not fight or quarrel with anyone.
Miles Osborne adjusted his tall black hat as a little girl saluted him.
“Merry Christmas, soldier!” she said. No one in the store knew his real name, but that was fine. To them, he was the Friendly Toy Soldier.
He lived in a Brooklyn apartment and took the subway to work every day in his red coat with gold buttons and embellishments, blue trousers, white sash, tall black hat, and black boots. He loved his job as a security guard more than anything and was so proud to protect children as they shopped for toys, especially at Christmas.
As the children pulled at his wool coat and toy gun with pellets, he yawned. He kept his real gun inside his jacket in case of emergencies. Thankfully, he never had to use it. Most military soldiers endured hardship in wars and faced battle with gunfire. On the contrary, he spent the day taking pictures with children and handing out candy to customers. Once a week, he presented the winner of the weekly ticket drawing with a free prize, which was usually the newest toy in the store, to make other customers want to buy it.
“Nothing dangerous ever happens here—guess that means I’m doing my job right,” he said. He watched as customers poured in from Fifth Avenue. A large holiday wreath hung on the door with a red ribbon.
Each morning, Miles shook the customers’ hands as they entered through the glass door of the shop. Children didn’t walk through the Toymaker’s Shop—they floated. Eyes wide, mouths open, they whispered in reverent tones like they’d entered a chapel made of dreams. Even grown-ups, for a moment, forgot their to-do lists and acted like five-year-olds again.
The Toymaker’s Shop didn’t just have aisles—it had realms. One wing mimicked a snow-covered forest filled with sleds and snowmen. Enchanted snowflakes drifted from the ceiling and disappeared just before hitting the ground. Another resembled a candy village with shelves made of gingerbread. And somewhere on the third floor, rumor had it a portal opened to the North Pole if you knocked three times on the back wall.
The three-story building had shelves of every kind of toy imaginable—stuffed bears and animals, dolls, dollhouses, model trains, blocks, musical instruments, kitchen play sets, blackboards, jungle gyms, swing sets, kaleidoscopes, tree houses, painting easels, puzzles, board games, picture books, sports equipment, skates, and toy cars.
It wasn’t just a toy store—Miles knew it was a place of wonder, and he had given his life to protect it. The air smelled of cinnamon gumdrops and peppermint cocoa, with a faint hint of fresh sawdust and magic glue, as if elves had just finished assembling something wonderful.
Lights twinkled not just from Christmas trees, but from inside the toys themselves. When customers listened closely, they could hear the gentle purr of a music box or the clack of wooden horses dancing in the distance. Toy train whistles chimed from distant corners. Some said the building was enchanted, as if Santa himself had dusted the place with magic.
Every now and then, Miles was sure that he saw a stuffed bear blink or a doll giggle—as if the store itself were secretly alive with Christmas spirit. Kaleidoscopes turned on their own accord. A model airplane buzzed past his head, looping gracefully before landing on a velvet runway.
With advanced technology, some of the toys were quite pricey, not your average mom-and-pop shop, like the real-life fire engine that sat in the store’s entrance, which had a long hose connected to a hydrant in the store. A large yellow school bus stood next to it in the display. They might have seemed too big to be toys, but they were in fact only made for fun.
“That will be $1,500,” the cashier said to the man in line with his two children. The customer held a mini gas-powered car. “You’re a big spender this Christmas!”
“That’s the Christmas spirit of giving!” the store manager said.
The manager shook the hand of the father in line with his children. Then, he gave them complimentary stockings full of small gifts stuffed into them.
As he walked over to the Friendly Toy Soldier and stood in front of him, he sighed and shook his head. The Friendly Toy Soldier had a bad feeling down to his toes.
Despite all the good that Miles did for the store, Mr. Cartwright never really liked him.
“We’re letting you go,” Mr. Cartwright said to the Soldier. “This is a toy shop. It’s full of kids. No one ever steals anything. You’ve been standing here for years, and I’ve been paying you out of my pocket, and it’s a waste of money. You’ll have two weeks of severance pay, and I’m sure you’ll be able to find another job. Your last night will be Christmas Eve.”
As the Friendly Toy Soldier fought back tears, he found the courage to say, “Yes, sir. I understand. I will miss my job very much.”
Then, Miles looked across the store full of strangers. He had given his life to protect them, and he was not sure they even appreciated it. It was a cold day in the city, and many of the customers would leave with hundreds of dollars of toys.
Maybe I don’t do much, he thought, as his last days in the store passed by. I’ve never once even shot my gun.
As Miles pondered his current situation, he noticed that a little girl dropped her baby doll as the store door closed behind her. The Soldier ran into the street and stopped traffic to give the girl her doll. In one of her hands, she held a cup of banana nut pudding. Being that it was too much to hold, she must have dropped her new toy doll.
“Thank you so much,” the girl’s father said. He took the baby doll from Miles and shoved it under his arm while holding other bags filled with Christmas packages. “Oh, and I heard that Christmas Eve will be your last day at the shop. We’ll miss you!”
“I appreciate your kind words, sir,” the Friendly Toy Soldier said. “I’m grateful to have served you for the time I did.”
While the Soldier walked back into the shop, he was unaware of the listening ears that had heard of his departure. Two of the worst hoodlums in the neighborhood happened to be crossing the street at the moment of the conversation.
“Did you hear that, Bubba Joe? The Friendly Toy Soldier at the Toymaker’s Shop got the axe,” said Brother Jim, as he spoke with his hand covering his mouth. He wore a red flannel shirt and a heavy winter jacket with a knit hat.
“We ain’t stealing. We’re just doing a little after-hours shopping spree!” Bubba Joe said with a grin, as if that cleared things up for him and Brother Jim. He scratched his chin and adjusted his collar. His dark jeans had holes in them.
“Too bad that he’s not already fired,” Brother Jim said. “We could really ruin Christmas for a bunch of bratty kids!”
“Well, this way we can ruin Christmas, Easter, and everybody’s birthday for years to come!” Bubba Joe said. “Why don’t we set the place on fire after we rob it to teach everybody a lesson? That would definitely ruin Christmas and shut the place down for good.”
When Christmas Eve arrived, Miles felt sadder than he had let the customers know. It was his last day, and he would have to return his Friendly Toy Soldier outfit.
“I’m sure I’ll find another job,” Miles said to the families, many of them shaking his hand on the way out the door. “I have a good reference after all the years that I worked here.”
However, the Soldier knew that his chances of finding another job anywhere were slim to none. If he did find another job, it would not give him the respect in the community that working at the Toymaker’s Shop had provided. Even still, he kept his chin up and tried to be thankful for his opportunities in the heart of New York City for the past several years.
At least I don’t have a wife and children to support, the Soldier thought. He was mostly alone in the world and sacrificed his life for others.
“This is your Christmas bonus,” Mr. Cartwright said. He handed the Friendly Toy Soldier a golden medal with an envelope. When he opened the envelope, he found a check for $1,000. “I know today is your last day, but I wanted to give you something special. Have a Happy New Year! I know you’ll find a new job.”
“Again, thank you, sir!” the Soldier said. As Mr. Cartwright walked away, he choked up. He almost wanted to leave just then and not wait until the end of the day.
Since I’m the last one in the store, I’m just going to spend the night, he thought to himself. Then, I’ll leave in the morning when no one sees me. At least, I can spend one final night alone in the Toymaker’s Shop and remember the good times.
While the last customers piled out of the shop on Christmas Eve, including Mr. Cartwright, the Friendly Toy Soldier bided his time, as he shuffled toys back to their shelves. Then, he locked the front door behind everyone, sat down in Santa Claus’ armchair, and watched the lights on the store Christmas tree flicker in the darkness.
While the Friendly Toy Soldier closed his eyes to go to sleep on the armchair, someone threw a rock through the front store window. He stood to his feet, ready to act.
“Ouch! What in the world?” the Soldier said, as another rock hit his leg. He grabbed his real, loaded gun from beneath his jacket and sounded the store alarm, which would notify the police of a burglary.
Then, Miles watched as Bubba Joe and Brother Jim jumped through the broken window with giant flaming torches. How could this be happening? He was so glad that he had stayed in the store for the night. Just at the moment that he was about to leave his job, havoc broke out.
“Stop right there!” the Friendly Toy Soldier said. He aimed his loaded gun at the intruders. Since he could not arrest them, he tried to delay them until the police arrived. “I’m here to keep the peace. You’re disturbing it.”
“Are we? Gee! We didn’t know we were disturbing anything,” Bubba Joe said to Brother Jim. Waving his torch, Joe began stuffing his large sacks with loot. He grabbed one toy after the other. Jim did the same and dumped shelves and shelves of toys into his bags.
“We were just gonna light the place up after we cleaned it out,” Brother Jim said with a sneer. He laughed with a snort that echoed through the shop. The Soldier found him disgusting and wanted him out the place that was sacred to the children of New York City.
“Not on my watch,” said the Soldier. He grabbed the water hose from the toy fire engine in the store’s entrance and doused the torches before Bubba Joe and Brother Jim could burn anything.
Miles was relieved that he had put out their torches, so they could not burn down the shop. Then, he wrestled the duo to the ground and bought time for the cops to show up.
With that, the New York City Police Department arrived and arrested Bubba Joe and Brother Jim for a memorable Christmas behind bars. A squad of police cars with loud sirens and K9 police dogs lined the streets. Mr. Cartwright bustled into the shop in his robe and pajamas.
“I saw the news,” Mr. Cartwright said to the Soldier. “You saved this place, Miles. I was wrong about you. I’m giving you your job back immediately!”
By morning, Miles, the Friendly Toy Soldier, was the Christmas hero of the nation, the defender of Fifth Avenue in New York City. And so, he kept his job for years to come.
Each day, Miles stood proudly at the Toymaker’s Shop—guarding the wonder, defending the joy, and keeping the magic of Christmas alive for children and grown-ups alike.
Copyright 2016, 2025 Jennifer Waters
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