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10 - Manhood Part 7 · The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

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Chapter eleven of Claus's adulthood, how the first stockings were hung by the chimneys.
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When you remember that no child until Santa Claus began his travels had ever
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known the pleasure of possessing a toy, you will understand how joy crept into
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the homes of those who had been favored with a visit from the good Man,
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and how they talked of him day by day in loving tones, and
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were honestly grateful for his kindly deeds. It is true that great warriors,
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and mighty kings, and clever scholars of that day were often spoken of by
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the people, but no one of them was so greatly beloved as Santa Claus,
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because none other was so unselfish as to devote himself to making others happy.
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For a generous deed lives longer than a great battle or a king's decree
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of a scholar's essay, because it spreads and leaves its mark on all nature
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and endures through many generations. The bargain made with the nook prints change the
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plans of Claws for all future time. For being able to use the reindeer
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on but one night of each year, he decided to devote all the other
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days to the manufacture of playthings, and on Christmas Eve to carry them to
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the children of the world. But a year's work would, he knew,
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result in a vast accumulation of toys. So he resolved to build a new
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sledge that would be larger and stronger, and better fitted for swift travel than
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the old and clumsy one. His first act was to visit the Nome King,
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with whom he made a bargain to exchange three drums, a trumpet,
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and two dolls for a pair of fine steel runners, curled beautifully at the
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ends. For the Nome King had children of his own, who living in
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the hollows under the use earth, in mines and caverns, needing something to
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amuse them. In three days, the steel runners were ready, and when
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Claws brought the playthings to the Nome King, his Majesty was so greatly pleased
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with them that he presented Claws with a string of sweet toned sleigh bells in
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addition to the runners. These will please Glossy and Flossy, said Claws,
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as he jingled the bells and listened to their merry sound. But I should
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have two strings of bells, one for each deer. Bring me another trumpet
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and a toy, cat, replied the king, and you shall have a
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second string of bells like the first. It is a bargain, cried Claws,
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and he went home again for the toys. The new sledge was carefully
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built, the Knooks, bringing plenty of strong but thin boards to use in
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its construction. Claws made a high rounding dashboard to keep off the snow cast
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behind the fleet hoofs of the deer, and he made high sides to the
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platform so that many toys could be carried. And finally he mounted the sledge
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upon the slender steel runners made by the Nome King. It was certainly a
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handsome sledge, and big and roomy. Claws painted it in bright colors,
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although no one was likely to see it during his midnight journeys, and when
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all was finished he sent for Glossy and Flossy to come and look at it.
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The deer admired the sledge, but gravely declared it was too big and
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heavy for them to draw. We might pull it over the snow, to
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be sure, said Glossy, but we would not pull it fast enough to
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enable us to visit the far away cities and villages and return to the forest
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by daybreak. Then I must add two more deer to my team, declared
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Claws. After a moment's thought. The knook prints allowed you as many as
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ten, Why not use them, all, asked FLOSSI. Then we could
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speed like the lightning and leap to the highest roofs with ease. Team of
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ten reindeer, cried claws, delightedly. That will be splendid. Please return
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to the forest at once and select eight other deer as like yourselves as possible.
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And you must all eat of the casa plant to become strong, and
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of the grawl a plant to become fleet afoot, and of the marbon plant,
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that you may live long to accompany me on my journeys. Likewise,
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it will be well for you to bathe in the pool of nares, which
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the lovely Queen Zurline declares will render you rarely beautiful. Should you perform these
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duties faithfully, there is no doubt that on next Christmas Eve, my ten
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reindeer will be the most powerful and beautiful steeds the world has ever so.
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Glossy and Flossy went to the forest to choose their mates and Claws began to
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consider the question of a harness for them all. In the end he called
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upon Peter Nook for assistance, for Peter's heart is as kind as his body
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is crooked, and he is remarkably shrewd as well. And Peter agreed to
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furnish strips of tough leather for the harness. This leather was cut from the
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skins of lions that had reached such an advanced age that they died naturally,
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and on one side was tawny hair, while the other side was cured to
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the softness of velvet by the deft Nooks. When Claws received these strips of
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leather, he sowed them neatly into a harness for the ten reindeer, and
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it proved strong and serviceable, and lasted him for many years. The harness
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and sledge were prepared at odd times, for Claws devoted most of his days
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to the making of toys. These were now much better than the first ones
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had been, for the immortals often came to his house to watch him work
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and to offer suggestions. It was Nesile's idea to make some of the dolls,
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say Papa and Mamma. It was a thought of the knooks to put
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a squeak inside the lambs, so that when a child squeezed them, they
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would say ba a a. And the fairy queen advised Claus to put whistles
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in the birds so they could be made to sing, and wheels on the
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horses so children could draw them around. Many animals perished in the forest from
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one cause or another, and their fur was brought to Claws that he might
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cover it with the small images of beasts he made for playthings. A merry
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real suggested that Claws make a donkey with a nodding head, which he did
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and afterward found that it amused the little ones immensely. And so the toys
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grew in beauty and attractiveness every day, until they were the wonder of even
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the immortals. When another Christmas Eve drew near, there was a monster load
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of beautiful gifts for the children ready to be loaded upon the big sledge.
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Claws filled three sacks to the brim and tucked every corner of the sledge box
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full of toys. Besides, then at twilight, the ten reindeer appeared,
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and Flossi introduced them all to Claws. They were racer and pacer, reckless
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and speckless, fearless and peerless, and ready and steady, who with Glossy
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and Flossy made up the ten who have traversed the world these hundreds of years
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with their generous master. They were all exceedingly beautiful, with slender limbs,
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spreading antlers, velvety dark eyes, and smooth coats of fawn color spotted with
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white. Claws loved them at once and has loved them ever since, for
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they are loyal friends and have rendered him priceless service. The new harness fitted
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them nicely, and soon they were all fastened to the sledge by twos,
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with Glossy and Flossy in the lead. These wore the strings of sleigh bells,
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and were so delighted with the music they made that they kept prancing up
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and down to make the bells ring. Claws, now seated himself in the
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sledge, drew a warm robe over his knees and his fur cap over his
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ears, and cracked his long whip as a signal to start. Instantly,
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the ten leaped forward and were away like the wind, while jolly Claws laughed
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gleefully to see them run, and shouted the song in his big hardy voice.
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Wi the ho ho ho a ha ha ha and ho ho ha ha
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he. Now away we goat or the frozen in snow, as merry as
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we can be. There are many joys in our load of toys, as
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many a child will know. We'll scatter them wide on our wild night ride
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or the crisp ben sparkling snow. Now. It was on this same Christmas
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Eve that little Margot and her brother Dick, and her cousins Ned and Sarah,
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who were visiting at Margo's house, came in from making a snow man,
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with their clothes damp, their mittens stripping, and their shoes and stockings
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wet through and through. They were not scolded, for Margot's mother knew the
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snow was melting, but they were sent early to bed that their clothes might
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be hung over chairs to dry. The shoes were placed on the red tiles
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of the hearth, where the heat from the hot embers would strike them,
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and the stockings were carefully hung in a row by the chimney directly over the
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fireplace that was the recent Santa Claus noticed them when he came down the chimney
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that night, and all the household were fast asleep. He was in a
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tremendous hurry, and seeing the stockings all belonged to children, he quickly stuffed
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his toys into them and dashed up the chimney again, appearing on the roof
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so suddenly that the reindeer were astonished at his agility. I wish they would
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all hang up their stockings, he thought, as he drove to the next
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chimney. It would save me a lot of time, and I could then
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visit more children before daybreak. When Margot and Nick, and Ned and Sarah
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jumped out of bed next morning and ran downstairs to get their stockings from the
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fireplace, they were filled with delight to find the toys from Santa Claus inside
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them. In face, I think they found more presents in their stockings than
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any other children of that city had received, for Santa Claus was in a
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hurry and did not stop to count the toys. Of course, they told
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all their little friends about it, and of course every one of them decided
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to hang his own stockings by the fireplace the next Christmas Eve. Even Bessie
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Blithesome, who made a visit to that city with her father, the Great
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Lord of Lurd heard the story from the children, and hung her own pretty
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stockings by the chimney when she returned home at Christmas time. On his next
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trip, Santa Claus found so many stockings hung up in anticipation of his visit
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that he could fill them in a jiffy and be away again in half the
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time required to hunt the children up and place the toys by their bedsides.
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The custom grew year after year and has always been a great help to Santa
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Claus. And with so many children to visit, he surely needs all the
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help we are able to give him. End of Chapter eleven. Chapter twelve
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of Claus's Manhood the first Christmas Tree Claws had always kept his promise to the
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Nooks by returning to the Laughing Valley by daybreak. But only the swiftness of
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his reindeer has enabled him to do this, for he travels over all the
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world. He loved his work, and he loved the brisk night ride on
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his sledge and the gay tinkle of the sleigh bells. On that first trip
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with the ten reindeer, only Glossy and Flossy wore bells, but each year
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thereafter for eight years, Claws carried presents to the children of the Nome king,
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and that good natured monarch gave him in return a string of bells at
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each visit, so that finally every one of the ten deer was supplied.
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And you may imagine what a merry tune the bells played as the sledge spread
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over the snow. The children's stockings were so long that it required a great
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many toys to fill them, and soon Claws found there were other things besides
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toys that children love, So he sent some of the fairies, who were
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always his good friends, into the tropics, from whence they returned with great
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bags full of oranges and bananas, which they had plucked from the trees.
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And other fairies flew to the wonderful valley of funny Land, where delicious candies
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and bon bonds grew thickly on the bushes, and returned laden with many boxes
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of sweetmeats for the little ones. These things Santa Claus on each Christmas Eve
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placed in the long stockings together with his toys, and the children were glad
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to get them. You may be sure there are also warm countries where there
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is no snow in winter, but claws and his reindeer visited them as well
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as the colder climes, for there were little wheels inside the runners of his
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sledge, which permitted it to run as smoothly over bare ground as on the
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snow. And the children who lived in the warm countries learned to know the
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name of Santa Claus, as well as those who lived nearer to the Laughing
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Valley. Once, just as the reindeer were ready to start on their yearly
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trip, a fairy came to Claws and told him of three little children who
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lived beneath a rude tent of skins on a broad plain where there were no
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trees whatever. These poor babies were miserable and unhappy, for their parents were
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ignorant people who neglected them. Sadly, Claws resolved to visit these children before
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he returned home, and during his ride he picked up the bushy top of
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a pine tree which the wind had broken off, and placed it in his
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sledge. It was nearly morning when the deer stopped before the lonely tent of
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skins where the poor children lay asleep. Claws at once planted the bit of
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pine tree in the sand and stuck many candles on the branches. Then he
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hung some of his prettiest toys on the tree, as well as several bags
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of candies. It did not take long to do all this, for Santa
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Claus works quickly, and when all was ready, he lighted the candles,
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and, thrusting his head in at the opening of the tent, he shouted,
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Merry Christmas, little ones. With that he leaped on to his sledge
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and was out of sight before the children, rubbing the sleep from their eyes,
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could come out to see who had called them. You can imagine the
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wonder and joy of those little ones, who had never in their lives known
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a real pleasure beaufort when they saw the tree sparkling with lights that shone brilliant
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in the gray dawn, and hung with toys enough to make them happy for
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years to come. They joined hands and danced around the tree, shouting and
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laughing until they were obliged to pause for breath. And their parents also came
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out to look and wonder, and thereafter had more respect and consideration for their
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children since Santa Claus had honored them with such beautiful gifts. The idea of
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a Christmas tree pleased Claws, and so the following year, He carried many
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of them in his sledge and set them up in the homes of poor people
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who seldom saw trees, and placed candles and toys on the branches. Of
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course, he could not carry enough trees in one load of all who wanted
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them. But in some homes the fathers were able to get trees and have
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them all ready for Santa Claus when he arrived. And these the good claws
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always decorated as prettily as possible, and hung with toys enough for all the
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children who came to see the tree lighted. These novel ideas and the generous
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manner in which they were carried out, made the children long for that one
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night in the year when their friend Santa Claus should visit them, And as
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such anticipation is very pleasant and comforting. The little ones gleaned much happiness by
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wondering what would happen when Santa Claus next arrived. Perhaps you remember that stern
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Barren Brown who once drove claws from his castle and forbade him to visit his
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children. Well, many years afterwards, when the old baron was dead and
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his son ruled in his place, the new baron Brown came to the house
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of Claws with his train of knights and pages and henchmen, and, dismounting
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from his charger, bared his head humbly before the friend of children. My
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father did not know your goodness and worth, he said, and therefore threatened
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to hang you from the castle walls. But I have children of my own
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who long for a visit from Santa Claus, and I have come to beg
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that you will favor them hereafter, as you do other children. Claws was
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pleased with this speech, for Castle Brown was the only place he had never
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visited, and he gladly promised to bring presents to the baron's children the next
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Christmas Eve. The baron went away contented, and Claws kept his promise faithfully.
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Thus did this man, through very goodness, conquer the hearts of all.
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And it is no wonder he was ever merry and gay, for there
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was no home in the wide world where he was not welcomed more royally than
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any king. End of Chapter twelve, end of Santa Claus's Manhood