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08 - Manhood Part 5 · The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

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  Manhood, Chapter eight, The first journey with the reindeer. Those were happy
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  days for Claws when he carried his accumulation of toys to the children who had
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  awaited them so long during his imprisonment in the valley. He had been so
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  industrious that all his shelves were filled with playthings, And after quickly supplying the
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  little ones living near by, he saw he must now extend his travels to
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  wider fields. Remembering the time when he had journeyed with Ak through all the
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  world, he knew children were everywhere, and he longed to make as many
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  as possible happy with his gifts. So he loaded a great sack with all
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  kinds of toys, slung it upon his back that he might carry it more
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  easily, and started off on a longer trip than he had yet undertaken.
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  Wherever he showed his merry face in hamlet or in farmhouse, he received a
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  cordial welcome, for his fame had bread into far lands. At each village,
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  the children swarmed about him, following his footsteps wherever he went, and
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  the women thanked him gratefully for the joy he brought their little ones, and
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  the men looked upon him curiously that he should devote his time to such a
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  queer occupation as toy making. But everyone smiled on him and gave him kindly
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  words, and Claws felt amply repaid for his long journey. When the sack
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  was empty, he went back again to the Laughing Valley and once more filled
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  it to the brim. This time he followed another road into a different part
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  of the country, and carried his happiness to many children who never before had
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  owned a toy or guessed that such a delightful plaything existed. After a third
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  journey so far away that Claws was many days walking the distance, the store
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  of toys became exhausted, and without delay he set about making a fresh supply.
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  From seeing so many children and studying their tastes, he had acquired several
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  new ideas about toys. The dollies were he had found the most delightful of
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  all playthings for babies and little girls, and often those who could not say
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  dolly would call for a doll in their sweet baby talk. So Claws resolved
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  to make many dolls of all sizes, and to dress them in bright colored
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  clothing. The older boys and even some of the girls loved the images of
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  animals, so he still made cats and elephants and horses. And many of
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  the little fellows had musical natures and longed for drums and cymbals and whistles and
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  horns, so he made a number of toy drums with tiny sticks to beat
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  them with, and he made whistles from the willow trees, and horns from
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  the ball reeds, and cymbals from bits of beaten metal. All this kept
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  him busy at work, and before he realized it, the winter season came
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  with deeper snows than usual, and he knew he could not leave the valley
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  with his heavy pack. Moreover, the next trip would take him farther from
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  home than ever before, and Jack Frost was mischievous enough to nip his nose
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  and ears if he undertook the long journey while the Frost King reigned. The
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  Frost King was Jack's father and never reproved him for his pranks, so claws
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  remained at his work bench, but he whistled and sang as merrily as ever,
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  for he would allow no disappointment to sour his temper or make him unhappy.
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  One bright morning, he looked from his window and saw two of the
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  deer he had known in the forest walking toward his house, Claws was surprised
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  not that the friendly deer should visit him, but that they should walk on
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  the surface of the snow as easily as if it were solid ground, notwithstanding
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  the fact that throughout the valley the snow lay many feet deep. He had
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  walked out of his house a day or two before and had sunk to his
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  armpits in a drift. So when the deer came near, he opened the
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  door and called to them, good morning. FLOSSI tell me, how are
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  you able to walk on the snow so easily? It is frozen hard,
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  answered Flosi. The frost king has breathed on it, said Glossie, coming
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  up, and the surface is now as solid as ice. Perhaps, remarked
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  Claws thoughtfully, I might now carry my pack of toys to the children.
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  Is it a long journey, asked Flossi. Yes, it will take me
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  many days, for the pack is heavy, answered Claws. Then the snow
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  would melt before you could get back, said the deer. You must wait
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  until spring, Claws. Claws sighed, Ah, had I your feet,
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  said he. I could make the journey in a day, but you have
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  not, returned Glossie, looking at his own slender legs with pride. Perhaps
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  I could ride upon your back, Claws ventured to remark. After a pause,
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  Oh no, our backs are not strong enough to bear your weight,
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  said Flosi decidedly. But if you had a sledge and could harness us to
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  it, we might draw you easily and your pack as well. I'll make
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  a sledge, exclaimed Claws. Will you agree to draw me? If I
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  do well, replied FLOSSI, we must first go and ask the knooks who
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  are our guardians, for permission. But if they consent and you can make
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  a sledge and harness, we will gladly assist you. Then at once,
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  cried Claws eagerly. I am sure the friendly knooks will give their consent,
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  and by the time you are back, I shall be ready to harness you
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  to my sledge. Flossy and Glossy, being deer of much intelligence, had
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  long wished to see the great world, so they gladly ran over the frozen
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  snow to ask the nooks if they might carry Claws on his journey. Meantime,
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  the toy maker hurriedly began the construction of a sledge, using material from
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  his wood pile. He made two long runners that turned upward at the front
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  ends, and across these nailed short boards to make a platform. It was
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  soon completed, but was as rude in appearance as it is possible for a
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  sledge to be. The harness was more difficult to prepare, but Claws twisted
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  strong cords together and nodded them so they would fit around the necks of the
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  deer in the shape of a collar. From these ran other cords to fasten
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  the deer to the front of the sledge. Before the work was complete,
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  Glossy and Flossi were back from the forest, having been granted permission by Willnook
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  to make the journey with Claws, provided they would to Burzee by daybreak the
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  next morning. That is not a very long time, said Flossi. But
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  we are swift and strong, and if we get started by this evening,
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  we can travel many miles during the night. Claws decided to make the attempt,
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  so he hurried on his preparations as fast as possible. After a time,
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  he fastened the collars around the necks of his steeds and harnessed them to
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  his rude sledge. Then he placed a stool on the little platform to serve
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  as a seat, and filled a sack with his prettiest toys. How do
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  you intend to guide us, asked Glossie. We have never been out of
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  the forest before, except to visit your house, so we shall not know
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  the way. Claws thought about that for a moment. Then he brought more
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  cords and fastened two of them to the spreading antlers of each deer, one
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  on the right and the other on the left. Those will be my reins,
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  said Claws. And when I pull them to the right or to the
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  left, you must go in that direction. If I do not pull the
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  reins at all, you may go straight ahead. Very well, answered Glossy
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  and Flossie, And then they asked, are you ready? Claws seated himself
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  upon the stool, placed the sack of toys at his feet, and then
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  gathered up the reins. All ready, he shouted, away we go.
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  The deer leaned forward, lifted their slender limbs, and the next moment away
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  flew the sledge over the frozen snow. The swiftness of the motion surprised Claws,
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  for in a few strides they were across the valley and gliding over the
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  broad plain beyond. The day had melted into evening by the time they started
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  for swiftly. Claws had worked many hours had been consumed in making his preparations,
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  but the moon shone brightly to light their way, and Claw soon decided
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  it was just as pleasant to travel by night as by day. The deer
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  liked it better, for although they wished to see something of the world,
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  they were timid about meeting men. And now all the dwellers in the towns
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  and farm houses were sound asleep and could not see them. Away and away
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  they sped on and on over the hills, and through the valleys and across
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  the plains, until they reached a village where Claws had never been before.
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  Here he called on them to stop, and they immediately obeyed. But a
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  new difficulty now presented itself, for the people had locked their doors when they
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  went to bed, and Claws found he could not enter the houses to leave
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  his toys. I am afraid, my friends, we have made our journey
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  for nothing said, for I shall be obliged to carry my playthings back home
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  again without giving them to the children of this village. What's the matter,
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  asked FLOSSI The doors are locked, answered Claws, and I cannot get in.
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  Glossy looked around at the houses. The snow was quite deep in that
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  village, and just before them was a roof only a few feet above the
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  sledge. A broad chimney, which seemed to Glossy big enough to admit Claws,
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  was at the peak of the roof. Why don't you climb down that
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  chimney, asked Glossi. Claws looked at it. That would be easy enough
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  if I were on top of the roof, he answered. Then hold fast
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  and we will take you there, said the deer, and they gave one
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  bound to the roof and landed beside the big chimney. Good, cried Claws.
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  Well pleased, and he slung the pack of toys over his shoulder and
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  got into the chimney. There was plenty of soot on the bricks, but
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  he did not mind that, and by placing his hands and knees against the
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  sides, he crept downward until he reached the fireplace. Leaping lightly over the
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  smoldering coals, He found himself in a large sitting room, where a dim
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  light was burning. From this room, two doorways led into smaller chambers.
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  In one a woman lay asleep with a baby beside her in a crib.
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  Claws laughed, but he did not laugh aloud, for fear of waking the
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  baby. Then he slipped a big doll from his pack and laid it in
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  the crib. The little one smiled as if it dreamed of the pretty plaything
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  it was to find on the morrow. And Claws crept softly from the room
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  and entered at the other doorway. Here were two boys fast asleep, with
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  their arms around each other's necks. Claws gazed at them lovingly a moment,
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  and then placed upon the bed a drum, two horns, and a wooden
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  elep. He did not linger, now that his work in this house was
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  done, but climbed the chimney again and seated himself on his sledge. Can
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  you find another chimney, he asked the reindeer, easily enough, replied,
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  Glossy, and flossy. Down to the edge of the roof they raced,
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  and then, without pausing, leaped through the air to the top of the
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  next building, where a huge, old fashioned chimney stood. Don't be so
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  long this time, called Flossie, or we shall never get back to the
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  forest. By daybreak, Claws made a trip down this chimney also and found
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  five children sleeping in the house, all of whom were quickly supplied with toys.
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  When he returned, the deer sprang to the next roof, But on
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  descending the chimney, Claws found no children there at all. That was not
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  often the case in this village, however, so he lost less time than
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  you might suppose in visiting the dreary homes where there were no little ones.
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  When he had climbed down the chimneys of all the houses in that village and
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  had left a toy for every sleeping child, Claws found that his great sack
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  was not yet half emptied. Onward, friends, he called to the deer,
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  we must seek another village. So away they dashed, although it was
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  long past midnight, and in a surprisingly short time they came to a large
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  city, the largest Claws had ever visited since he began to make toys,
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  but nothing daunted by the throng of houses, He set to work at once,
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  and his beautiful steeds carried him rapidly from one roof to another, only
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  the highest being beyond the leaps of the agile deer. At last, the
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  supply of toys was exhausted, and Claw seated himself in the sledge with the
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  empty sack at his feet, and turned the heads of Glossy and Flossy toward
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  home. Presently, Flossi asked, what is that streak of gray in the
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  sky. It is the coming dawn of day, answered Claws, surprised to
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  find that it was so late. Good gracious, exclaimed Glossie. Then we
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  shall not be home by daybreak, and the knooks will punish us and never
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  let us come again. We must race for the Laughing Belly and make our
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  best speed, returned Flossie. So hold fast, friend, Claws. Claws
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  held fast, and the next moment was flying so swiftly over the snow that
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  he could not see the trees as they whirled past up Hill and down Dale,
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  swift as an arrow shot from a bow. They dashed, and Claws
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  shut his eyes to keep the wind out of them, and left the deer
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  to find their own way. It seemed to him they were plunging through space,
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  but he was not at all afraid. The knooks were severe masters and
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  must be obeyed at all hazards, And the gray streak in the sky was
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  growing brighter every moment. Finally, the sledge ca came to a sudden stop,
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  and Claws, who was taken unawares, tumbled from his seat into a
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  snow drift. As he picked himself up, he heard the deer crying,
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  quick friend, quick cut away our harness. He drew his knife and rapidly
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  severed the cords. And then he wiped the moisture from his eyes and looked
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  around him. The sledge had come to a stop in the Laughing Valley,
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  only a few feet he found from his own door in the east day was
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  breaking, and turning to the edge of Bursey, he saw Glossy and Flossy
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  just disappearing in the forest. End of Chapter eight