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02 - The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus - L Frank Baum · Thrilling Adventures - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter three, The Adoption, The Master Woodsman suddenly rose with
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  Speaker 1: knitted brows. There was a strange presence in the forest,
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  Speaker 1: he declared. Then the Queen and her nymphs turned and
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  Speaker 1: saw standing before them Necile, with the sleeping infant clasped
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  Speaker 1: tightly in her arms, and a defiant look in her
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  Speaker 1: deep blue eyes. And thus for a moment they remained,
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  Speaker 1: the nymphs filled with surprise and consternation, but the brow
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  Speaker 1: of the Master Woodsman gradually clearing as he gazed intently
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  Speaker 1: upon the beautiful immortal who had wilfully broken the law.
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  Speaker 1: Then the great act to the wonder of all, laid
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  Speaker 1: his hand softly on Nisilee's flowing locks and kissed her
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  Speaker 1: on her fair forehead for the first time within my knowledge,
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  Speaker 1: said he, jess, a nymph has defied me and my laws.
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  Speaker 1: Yet in my heart I can find no word of chiding.
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  Speaker 1: What is your desire, Nail, Let me keep the child,
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  Speaker 1: she answered, beginning to tremble and falling on her knees
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  Speaker 1: in supplication. Here in the forest of Berzi, where the
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  Speaker 1: human race has never yet penetrated, questioned ac Here in
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  Speaker 1: the forest of Berzi, replied the nymph boldly, it is
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  Speaker 1: my home, and I am weary for lack of occupation.
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  Speaker 1: Let me care for the babe. See how weak and
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  Speaker 1: helpless it is. Surely it cannot harm Berzi nor the
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  Speaker 1: Master Woodsman of the world. But the law child, the law,
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  Speaker 1: cried ac sternly. The law is made by the master Woodsman,
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  Speaker 1: returned Narcile. If he bids me care for the babe,
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  Speaker 1: he himself has saved from death. Who in all the
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  Speaker 1: world dare oppose me? Queen Zurline, who had listened intently
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  Speaker 1: to this conversation, clapped her pretty hands gleefully at the
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  Speaker 1: Nymph's answer. You are fairly trapped, o Ac, she exclaimed, laughing.
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  Speaker 1: Now I pray you give heed to Nisile's petition. The woodsman,
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  Speaker 1: as was his habit, when the in thought stroked his
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  Speaker 1: grizzled beard slowly. Then he said, she shall keep the babe,
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  Speaker 1: and I will give it my protection. But I warn
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  Speaker 1: you all that, as this is the first time I
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  Speaker 1: have relaxed the law, so shall it be the last time? Nevermore,
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  Speaker 1: to the end of the world shall a mortal be
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  Speaker 1: adopted by an immortal? Otherwise would we abandon our happy
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  Speaker 1: existence for one of trouble? And anxiety. Good night, my nymphs.
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  Speaker 1: Then ac was gone from their midst, and this Usille
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  Speaker 1: hurried away to her bower to rejoice over her newfound treasure.
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  Speaker 1: End of Chapter three, Chapter four Claws. Another day found
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  Speaker 1: Nasilee's bower the most popular place in the forest. The
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  Speaker 1: nymphs clustered around her and the child that lay asleep
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  Speaker 1: in her lap, with expressions of curiosity and delight. Nor
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  Speaker 1: were they wanting in praises for the Great Ax's kindness
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  Speaker 1: in allowing Nzilee to keep the babe and to care
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  Speaker 1: for it. Even the Queen came to peer into the innocent,
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  Speaker 1: childish face and to hold a helpless, chubby fist in
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  Speaker 1: her own fair hand. What shall we call him, Nasilee,
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  Speaker 1: she asked, smiling. He must have a name, you know.
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  Speaker 1: Let him be called Claus, answered Nasile, for that means
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  Speaker 1: a little one. Rather let him be called Necklaus. Begin footnote.
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  Speaker 1: Some people have spelled this name Nicklaus, and others Nicolas,
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  Speaker 1: which is the reason that Santa Claus is still known
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  Speaker 1: in some lands as Saint Nicholas. But of course Neclaus
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  Speaker 1: is his right name, and Claus the nickname given him
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  Speaker 1: by his adopted mother. The fair nymph Nessilee end footnote.
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  Speaker 1: Rather let him be called Neclaus, returned the queen, for
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  Speaker 1: that will mean Nessilee's little one. The nymphs clapped their
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  Speaker 1: hands in delight, and Necklaus became the infant's name, although
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  Speaker 1: Nesicile loved best to call him Claus, and in after
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  Speaker 1: days many of her sisters followed her example. Nessille gathered
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  Speaker 1: the softest moss in all the forest for Claus to
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  Speaker 1: lie upon, and she made his bed in her own
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  Speaker 1: bower of food. The infant had no las. The nymphs
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  Speaker 1: searched the forest for bell utters, which grow upon the
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  Speaker 1: goa tree, and when opened, are found to be filled
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  Speaker 1: with sweet milk, and the soft eyed doze willingly gave
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  Speaker 1: a share of their milk to support the little stranger,
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  Speaker 1: while Chiegra, the lioness, often crept stealthily into Nicile's bower
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  Speaker 1: and purred softly as she lay beside the babe and
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  Speaker 1: fed it. So the little one flourished and grew big
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  Speaker 1: and sturdy day by day. While Nicilee taught him to
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  Speaker 1: speak and to walk, and to play. His thoughts and
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  Speaker 1: words were sweet and gentle, for the nymphs knew no evil,
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  Speaker 1: and their hearts were pure and loving. He became the
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  Speaker 1: pet of the forest, for acte decree had forbidden beast
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  Speaker 1: or reptile to molest him, and he walked fearlessly wherever
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  Speaker 1: his will guided him. Presently, the news reached the other
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  Speaker 1: immortals that the nymphs of Burzee had adopted a human infant,
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  Speaker 1: and that the act had been sanctioned by the Great ac. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: many of them came to visit the little stranger, looking
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  Speaker 1: upon him with much interest. First the rills, who are
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  Speaker 1: first cousins to the wood nymphs, although so differently formed,
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  Speaker 1: for the rills are required to watch over the flowers
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  Speaker 1: and plants. As the nymphs watch over the forest trees,
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  Speaker 1: they search the wide world for the food required by
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  Speaker 1: the roots of the flowering plants, while the brilliant colors
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  Speaker 1: possessed by the full blown flowers are due to the
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  Speaker 1: dyes placed in the soil by the rills, which are
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  Speaker 1: drawn through the little veins and the roots and the
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  Speaker 1: body of the plants as they reach maturity. The rills
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  Speaker 1: are a busy people, for their flowers bloom and fade continually,
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  Speaker 1: but they are merry and light hearted and are very
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  Speaker 1: popular with the other immortals. Next came the nooks, whose
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  Speaker 1: duty it is to watch over the beasts of the world,
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  Speaker 1: both gentle and wild. The knooks have a hard time
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  Speaker 1: of it, since many of the beasts are ungovernable and
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  Speaker 1: rebel against restraint. But they know how to manage them
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  Speaker 1: after all, and you will find that certain laws of
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  Speaker 1: the knooks are obeyed by even the most ferocious animals.
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  Speaker 1: Their anxieties make the knooks look old and worn and crooked,
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  Speaker 1: and their natures are a bit rough from associating with
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  Speaker 1: wild creatures continually. Yet they are most useful to humanity
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  Speaker 1: and to the world in general, as their laws are
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  Speaker 1: the only laws the forest beasts recognize, except those of
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  Speaker 1: the master woodsmen. Then there were the fairies, the guardians
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  Speaker 1: of mankind, who were much interested in the adoption of
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  Speaker 1: claus because their own laws forbade them to become familiar
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  Speaker 1: with their human charges. There are instances on record where
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  Speaker 1: the fairies have shown themselves to human beings and have
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  Speaker 1: even conversed with them. But they are supposed to guard
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  Speaker 1: the lives of mankind, unseen and unknown, and if they
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  Speaker 1: favor some people more than others, it is because they
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  Speaker 1: have won such distinction fairly, as the fairies are very
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  Speaker 1: just and impartial. But the idea of adopting a child
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  Speaker 1: of men had never occurred to them, because it was
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  Speaker 1: in every way opposed to their laws. So their curiosity
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  Speaker 1: was intense to behold the little stranger, adopted by Nisilla
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  Speaker 1: and her sister nymphs claws. Looked upon the immortals, who
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  Speaker 1: thronged around him with fearless eyes and smiling lips. He
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  Speaker 1: rode laughingly upon the shoulders of the merry rills. He
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  Speaker 1: mischievously pulled the gray beards of the low browed knooks.
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  Speaker 1: He rested his curly head confidently upon the dainty bosom
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  Speaker 1: of the fairy queen herself, and the ryls loved the
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  Speaker 1: sound of his laughter. The knooks loved his courage, the
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  Speaker 1: fairies loved his innocence. The boy made friends of them
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  Speaker 1: all and learned to know their laws intimately. No forest
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  Speaker 1: flower was trapped beneath his feet lest the friendly rill
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  Speaker 1: should be grieved. He never interfered with the beasts of
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  Speaker 1: the forest, lest his friends, the knooks, should become angry.
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  Speaker 1: The fairies he loved dearly, but knowing nothing of mankind,
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  Speaker 1: he could not understand that he was the only one
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  Speaker 1: of his race admitted to friendly intercourse with them. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: Claws came to consider that he alone, of all the
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  Speaker 1: forest people, had no like nor fellow to him. The
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  Speaker 1: forest was the world. He had no idea that millions
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  Speaker 1: of toiling, striving human creatures existed, and he was happy
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  Speaker 1: and content. End of Chapter four, Chapter five, the Master Woodsman.
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  Speaker 1: Years passed swiftly in Bursey, for the nymphs had no
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  Speaker 1: need to regard time in any way. Even centuries make
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  Speaker 1: no change in the dainty creatures. Ever, and ever, they
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  Speaker 1: remained the same, immortal and unchanging. Claws, however, being mortal,
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  Speaker 1: grew to manhood day by day. Nessilee was disturbed presently
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  Speaker 1: to find him too big to lie in her lap,
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  Speaker 1: and he had a desire for other food than milk.
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  Speaker 1: His stout legs carried him far into Bersey's heart, where
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  Speaker 1: he gathered supplies of nuts and berries, as well as
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  Speaker 1: several sweet and wholesome roots, which suited his stomach better
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  Speaker 1: than the bell utters. He sought Nesilee's bower less frequently,
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  Speaker 1: till finally it became his custom to return thither only
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  Speaker 1: to sleep. The nymph who had come to love him dearly,
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  Speaker 1: was puzzled to comprehend the changed nature of her charge,
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  Speaker 1: and unconsciously altered her own mode of life to conform
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  Speaker 1: to his whims. She followed him readily through the forest paths,
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  Speaker 1: as did many of her sister nymphs, explaining as they
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  Speaker 1: walked all the mysteries of the gigantic wood and the
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  Speaker 1: habits and nature sure of the living things which dwelt
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  Speaker 1: beneath its shade. The language of the beasts became clear
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  Speaker 1: to little claws, but he never could understand their sulky
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  Speaker 1: and morose tempers. Only the squirrels, the mice, and the
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  Speaker 1: rabbits seemed to possess cheerful and merry natures. Yet would
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  Speaker 1: the boy laugh when the panther growled and stroke the
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  Speaker 1: bear's glossy coat, while the creature snarled and bared its
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  Speaker 1: teeth menacingly. The growls and snarls were not for claws,
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  Speaker 1: he well knew, so what did they matter. He could
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  Speaker 1: sing the songs of the bees, recite the poetry of
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  Speaker 1: the wood flowers, and relate the history of every blinking
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  Speaker 1: owl in Burzee. He helped the rills to feed their plants,
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  Speaker 1: and the nooks to keep order among the animals. The
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  Speaker 1: little immortals regarded him as a privileged person, being especially
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  Speaker 1: protected by Queen Zerline and her nymphs, and favored by
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  Speaker 1: the Great Ac himself. One day the Master Woodsman came
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  Speaker 1: back to the forest of Burzee. He had visited in
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  Speaker 1: turn all his forests throughout the world, and they were
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  Speaker 1: many and broad. Not until he entered the glade where
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  Speaker 1: the Queen and her nymphs were assembled to greet him,
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  Speaker 1: did Ac remember the child he had permitted Nesile to adopt.
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  Speaker 1: Then he found, sitting familiarly in the circle of lovely immortals,
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  Speaker 1: a broad shouldered, stalwart youth, who, when erect stood fully
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  Speaker 1: as high as the shoulder of the Master himself. Ac paused,
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  Speaker 1: silent and frowning, to bend his piercing gaze upon claws.
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  Speaker 1: The clear eyes met his own steadfastly, and the Woodsman
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  Speaker 1: gave a sigh of relief as he marked their placid
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  Speaker 1: depths and read the youth's brave and innocent heart. Nevertheless,
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  Speaker 1: as Ak sat beside the fair Queen and the golden
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  Speaker 1: chalice filled with rare nectar passed from lip to lip,
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  Speaker 1: the Master woodsman was strangely silent and reserved, and stroked
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  Speaker 1: his beard many times with a thoughtful motion with mourning.
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  Speaker 1: He called claws aside in kindly fashion, saying bid good
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  Speaker 1: bye for a time to Nasille and her sisters, for
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  Speaker 1: you shall accompany me on my journey through the world.
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  Speaker 1: The venture pleased Claus, who knew well the honor of
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  Speaker 1: being companion of the master woodsman of the world. But
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  Speaker 1: Nasile wept for the first time in her life, and
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  Speaker 1: clung to the boy's neck as if she could not
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  Speaker 1: bear to let him go. The nymph who had mothered
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  Speaker 1: this sturdy youth was still as dainty, as charming and
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  Speaker 1: beautiful as when she had dared to face ak with
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  Speaker 1: the babe clasped to her breast, Nor was her love less.
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  Speaker 1: Great ac beheld the two clinging together seemingly as brother
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  Speaker 1: and sister to one another, and again he wore his
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  Speaker 1: thoughts for look end of chapter five