Late on Christmas Eve, after the town has gone to sleep, a boy boards a mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express bound for the North Pole. When he arrives there, Santa offers him any gift he desires. The boy asks for one bell from the reindeer's harness. It turns out to be a special gift, for only believers in Santa can hear it ring.

After seeing the hypnotist Lomax the Magnificent, Calvin and Rodney decide to make a hypnotizing machine and try it out on Calvin's little sister Trudy. The machine works and Trudy is convinced that she's a dog - panting, drooling, and barking at squirrels! Unfortunately, the boys can't get Trudy to snap out of her trance.

Late on Christmas Eve, a boy boards a mysterious train that waits for him, the Polar Express bound for the North Pole. When he arrives there, Santa offers him any gift he desires. The boy asks for one bell from the reindeer's harness. It turns out to be a very special gift, for only believers in Santa can hear it ring.

Presents a series of loosely related drawings each accompanied by a title and a caption which the reader may use to make up his or her own story.