Selected-By: Jonathan "Dr. Who" Monsarrat <jgm@cs.brown.edu>

The Usenet Oracle has pondered your question deeply.
Your question was:

> O Great Oracle, in this festive Christmas season sometimes the little
> players get overlooked.  Please tell me:
>
> Whatever happened to the 10th and 11th reindeer?  You know, Olive, who
> used to taunt Rudolph so much, and Rudolph's lover Thenow?
>
> Eh?
>
> You know, like in the song:
>
> "Olive the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names..."
> "Thenow the reindeer loved him..."
>
> Yours etc,
> Deeply Concerned.

And in response, thus spake the Oracle:

} Well I can feel your concern. What happened was, one evening after a
} hard day leading that sleigh, Rudolph came home a little early. As he
} walked through the door, much to his surprise there was his beloved
} Thenow in the massive arms of Olive. Rudolph was shocked. Olive had his
} hand on Thenow's little puffy white tail while Thenow was stroking
} Olives rack. Well Rudolph stood there a few moments in shock and then
} finally said unbelievingly "What is going on here?", as if he couldn't
} tell. Thenow, being the little vixen she was, tried to get out of it,
} without any thought of Olive she said "Oh Rudolph thank Santa you're
} here, Olive came over looking for you and when I said you weren't here
} he said that I would do, barged in and started taking advantage of me".
} Now Olive was totally shocked because this was his little dear, the one
} who was only with Rudolph for his "bucks", but now she was turning her
} back on him to cover up for herself. Well he figured since this was how
} she really felt he might just as well tell Rudolph the truth. So in
} anger and frustration he screams "You lying tramp!! You invited me over
} just as you have for the past six months." Now Rudolph not knowing now
} who to believe ran straight at Olive, jumped on him and pinned him to
} the floor. Well by now that little nose was all aglow. As he held him
} there he asked Thenow who was telling the truth. By now Thenow is in
} tears trying to play out her little mascarade. She says whimpering "I
} am baby, dont you believe me. We've been together since that Christamas
} you led Santa's sleigh for the first time. Remember?" Well Rudolph
} finally got off of Olive and suprisingly helps him up. He looks at
} Thenow and says, "You know since day one I haven't trusted you. I just
} kept you around for a piece of tail. I've known all along about you and
} Olive. I was hoping that you would come to me and tell me about it, and
} if you did I would let everything else pass like water. But this was
} your last chance babe. Pack your things and get out." He turned to Olive
} and says "Wanna go get a drink?" Olive looks at him in surprise. Is
} this the same guy he always makes fun of? The one he laughs at and
} calls names? Well he doesn't seem as bad as I thought. He looks at
} Rudolph and says "I would've thought you'd be pissed at me" Rudolph
} says sadly "NO Olive, you just got caught up in the manipulations of a
} little doe with a nice tail. It wasn't your fault at all you just
} followed your instincts." So Olive and Rudolph walked out the door and
} as they did Rudolph turned to Thenow and said "Be gone when I get back.
} I think you better find another job too, because when the man finds out
} he is not gonna be to happy. Goobye my dear." And Rudolph leaves and
} quietly shuts the door. As Thenow sat there many things crossed her
} mind, 'Why did I do it? Rudolph was good to me and I had to go mess it
} up for a good buck.' Of all the thoughts that passed through her head
} only one seemed to be the answer. So she grabbed the pistol Rudolph
} always kept by the bed and got it ready. She wrote Rudolph a note
} apologizing and telling him she loved him but she made the mistake of a
} lifetime. Then she placed the note on her lap and placed the gun to her
} head and ended it all. Olive and Rudolph became good friends after
} that. Rudolph never was made fun of again.
}
} Well now you see why they don't tell this story often around the
} Christmas fire.