"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose..." goes the song. It's a fun holiday song that tells the story about the reindeer with the very special gift who saved Christmas.

But where did Rudolph come from? Here's the full story.

Santa Claus had eight reindeer on his team before Rudolph: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donner, Comet, Cupid, and Blitzen. These are all very magical reindeer who help him deliver presents to good little girls and boys on Christmas Eve.

Santa met his herd of reindeer in the North Pole long time ago. They were coming from Siberia in search of a place to celebrate Christmas when they stumbled on Santa and his elves struggling to pull his sleigh. That's when Santa offered each one of them a Christmas Cookie with a magical flying formula. With their new talent, they agreed to help the gift-giving Santa to distribute his Christmas presents. Many of these reindeer started their own families after settling down at the North Pole, including Donner.

Who are Rudolph’s Parents?

Rudolph’s parents are, Donner and his wife, Mrs. Donner.

They surprised the first time they saw Rudolph, because his nose was bright red! It was so bright, it shone very clearly, even in the dark.

Donner and Mrs. Donner didn’t know what to do, so they brought baby Rudolph to Santa Claus and asked for his advice. Santa looked over the baby very closely. Rudolph had everything a baby should have. He had four hooves, a bushy tail, and round brown eyes. He had little nubs where one day tall antlers would grow. But he had a nose that glowed like... well, like a light bulb.

Santa shook his head after examining baby Rudolph. "He is a good reindeer," said Santa, "but I cannot have him on my reindeer team."

Donner and Mrs. Donner were heartbroken. All they ever wanted was for their baby to grow up and fly for Santa! Because he wanted to protect Rudolph, Donner covered Rudolph’s nose with mud. The mud was thick and dark, and it blocked out all the light coming from Rudolph's nose. Poor Rudolph could never smell anything except mud, but his nose didn't glow.

When Rudolph was a little older, he joined the other young reindeer for his first day of flying school. Donner and Mrs. Donner were very proud of him! They wanted Rudolph to be the best flier in his class.

At school, the other reindeer practiced running and flying. They knew they'd have to be good to fly for Santa Claus. Rudolph met a very pretty reindeer named Clarice who said that she thought Rudolph was cute. Reindeer cannot blush, but her compliment made Rudolph fly right off the ground! It was his first time flying. He liked it very much. While celebrating with the other reindeer, the mud covering Rudolph's nose popped right off, revealing how shiny and bright it was.

Rudolph didn't know what to do. No one had ever told him he had a red nose before. He wondered why his parents had never told him. The other children didn't know what to do, either. Some of them began laughing at Rudolph. Then, others joined in. The flying coach, Comet, came over to see what was going on. When he saw Rudolph, he was very surprised and told Rudolph he had to leave.

This made Rudolph very sad. So, he ran away. He soon met an elf named Hermey. Hermey used to work for Santa Claus in the toy shop, but he didn't want to make toys as a job. Hermey wanted to be a dentist. Tired of being treated like misfits, the two of them decided to run away together.

Rudolph didn't know how sad this would make his parents. Donner and Mrs. Donner didn't know what had happened to their son. All they knew was that Rudolph had run away from home after his nose mud had fallen off. They spent many days looking for Rudolph. They asked all his friends if they had seen Rudolph. They showed everyone his picture, but no one knew that Rudolph had run away with an elf.

Meanwhile, Rudolph and Hermey met a miner named Yukon Cornelius. He was a very big man who carried a pickaxe. Yukon had spent his whole life looking for silver and gold at the North Pole, but he had never found any. He decided to join Rudolph and Hermey on their adventure.

But then they ran into the Abominable Snowman! He was very big and scary. Rudolph had never seen a monster that big. The three friends decided to run away. They ran and ran and ran until they found a place called the Island of Misfit Toys.

The Island of Misfit Toys was ruled by a toy named King Moonracer. This was where all the unloved toys were sent to live. The King's job was to find children who would love the toys on his island. But his job was very hard. He could not find enough children, so his island was full of very sad and lonely toys.

King Moonracer felt bad for Rudolph, Hermey, and Yukon Cornelius. He knew how bad it felt to not fit in. But Rudolph, Hermey, and Cornelius were not toys. So, King Moonracer could not help them. He let them stay the night before sending them back to Santa Claus.

Rudolph was very sad to have to go home. He took a very long time to return. When he did, he discovered that his parents and Clarice had been looking for him for months. They had gone into the woods to look for him and not returned yet.

Rudolph realized he had made a mistake by running away, so he set out to find them.

When he did, they were under attack! Another Abominable Snowman was trying to eat his parents and Clarice!

Rudolph ran forward, wanting to save his family. But the Abominable Snowman knocked him back. Fortunately, Hermey and Yukon came back just in time to save the day. Hermey made pig noises, which the monster thought meant food. Hermey tricked the Abominable Snowman into coming out of the cave. Then, Hermey stole all his sharp ice teeth. Without his teeth, the Abominable Snowman was much less scary.

Rudolph was very happy to see his parents and Clarice again. Everyone in town said they were very sorry for making fun of Rudolph. After hearing about their adventures, Santa promised that he would find homes for all the toys on the Island of Misfit Toys.

That Christmas, however, a very bad snowstorm happened. The snow was thick, and the wind blew so hard that Santa could not fly his sleigh. Santa was worried he might have to cancel Christmas.

While trying to deliver presents that night, Santa Claus realized that Rudolph's nose was bright enough to shine through the snow and wind. He asked Rudolph to lead his sleigh. Rudolph was thrilled. At last, his dream would come true!

So, Rudolph and Santa Claus flew off and Christmas was saved! Donner and Mrs. Donner were so proud of their son. Rudolph had grown up to be a fine reindeer and part of Santa's team, just like his parents.