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08 - The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus - L Frank Baum · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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Speaker 1: Manhood, Chapter eight, The first journey with the reindeer. Those
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Speaker 1: were happy days for Claws when he carried his accumulation
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Speaker 1: of toys to the children who had awaited them so
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Speaker 1: long during his imprisonment in the valley. He had been
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Speaker 1: so industrious that all his shelves were filled with playthings,
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Speaker 1: And after quickly supplying the little ones living near by,
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Speaker 1: he saw he must now extend his travels to wider fields.
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Speaker 1: Remembering the time when he had journeyed with Ak through
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Speaker 1: all the world, he knew children were everywhere, and he
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Speaker 1: longed to make as many as possible happy with his gifts.
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Speaker 1: So he loaded a great sack with all kinds of toys,
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Speaker 1: slung it upon his back that he might carry it
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Speaker 1: more easily, and started off on a longer trip than
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Speaker 1: he had yet undertaken. Wherever he showed his merry face
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Speaker 1: in hamlet or in farmhouse, he received a cordial welcome,
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Speaker 1: for his fame had bread into far lands. At each village,
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Speaker 1: the children swarmed about him, following his footsteps wherever he went,
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Speaker 1: and the women thanked him gratefully for the joy he
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Speaker 1: brought their little ones, and the men looked upon him
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Speaker 1: curiously that he should devote his time to such a
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Speaker 1: queer occupation as toy making. But everyone smiled on him
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Speaker 1: and gave him kindly words, and Claws felt amply repaid
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Speaker 1: for his long journey. When the sack was empty, he
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Speaker 1: went back again to the Laughing Valley and once more
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Speaker 1: filled it to the brim. This time he followed another
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Speaker 1: road into a different part of the country, and carried
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Speaker 1: his happiness to many children who never before had owned
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Speaker 1: a toy or guessed that such a delightful plaything existed.
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Speaker 1: After a third journey so far away that Claws was
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Speaker 1: many days walking the distance, the store of toys became exhausted,
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Speaker 1: and without delay he set about making a fresh supply.
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Speaker 1: From seeing so many children and studying their tastes, he
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Speaker 1: had acquired several new ideas about toys. The dollies were
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Speaker 1: he had found the most delightful of all playthings for
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Speaker 1: babies and little girls, and often those who could not
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Speaker 1: say dolly would call for a doll in their sweet
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Speaker 1: baby talk. So Claws resolved to make many dolls of
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Speaker 1: all sizes, and to dress them in bright colored clothing.
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Speaker 1: The older boys and even some of the girls loved
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Speaker 1: the images of animals, so he still made cats and
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Speaker 1: elephants and horses. And many of the little fellows had
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Speaker 1: musical natures and longed for drums and cymbals and whistles
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Speaker 1: and horns, so he made a number of toy drums
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Speaker 1: with tiny sticks to beat them with, and he made
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Speaker 1: whistles from the willow trees, and horns from the ball reeds,
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Speaker 1: and cymbals from bits of beaten metal. All this kept
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Speaker 1: him busy at work, and before he realized it, the
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Speaker 1: winter season came with deeper snows than usual, and he
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Speaker 1: knew he could not leave the valley with his heavy pack. Moreover,
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Speaker 1: the next trip would take him farther from home than
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Speaker 1: ever before, and Jack Frost was mischievous enough to nip
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Speaker 1: his nose and ears if he undertook the long journey
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Speaker 1: while the Frost King reigned. The Frost King was Jack's
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Speaker 1: father and never reproved him for his pranks, so claws
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Speaker 1: remained at his work bench, but he whistled and sang
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Speaker 1: as merrily as ever, for he would allow no disappointment
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Speaker 1: to sour his temper or make him unhappy. One bright morning,
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Speaker 1: he looked from his window and saw two of the
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Speaker 1: deer he had known in the forest walking toward his house,
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Speaker 1: Claws was surprised not that the friendly deer should visit him,
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Speaker 1: but that they should walk on the surface of the
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Speaker 1: snow as easily as if it were solid ground, notwithstanding
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Speaker 1: the fact that throughout the valley the snow lay many
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Speaker 1: feet deep. He had walked out of his house a
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Speaker 1: day or two before and had sunk to his armpits
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Speaker 1: in a drift. So when the deer came near, he
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Speaker 1: opened the door and called to them, good morning. FLOSSI
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Speaker 1: tell me, how are you able to walk on the
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Speaker 1: snow so easily? It is frozen hard, answered Flosi. The
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Speaker 1: frost king has breathed on it, said Glossie, coming up,
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Speaker 1: and the surface is now as solid as ice. Perhaps,
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Speaker 1: remarked Claws thoughtfully, I might now carry my pack of
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Speaker 1: toys to the children. Is it a long journey, asked Flossi. Yes,
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Speaker 1: it will take me many days, for the pack is heavy,
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Speaker 1: answered Claws. Then the snow would melt before you could
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Speaker 1: get back, said the deer. You must wait until spring, Claws.
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Speaker 1: Claws sighed, Ah, had I your feet, said he. I
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Speaker 1: could make the journey in a day, but you have not,
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Speaker 1: returned Glossie, looking at his own slender legs with pride.
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Speaker 1: Perhaps I could ride upon your back, Claws ventured to remark.
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Speaker 1: After a pause, Oh no, our backs are not strong
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Speaker 1: enough to bear your weight, said Flosi decidedly. But if
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Speaker 1: you had a sledge and could harness us to it,
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Speaker 1: we might draw you easily and your pack as well.
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Speaker 1: I'll make a sledge, exclaimed Claws. Will you agree to
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Speaker 1: draw me? If I do well, replied FLOSSI, we must
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Speaker 1: first go and ask the knooks who are our guardians,
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Speaker 1: for permission. But if they consent and you can make
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Speaker 1: a sledge and harness, we will gladly assist you. Then
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Speaker 1: at once, cried Claws eagerly. I am sure the friendly
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Speaker 1: knooks will give their consent, and by the time you
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Speaker 1: are back, I shall be ready to harness you to
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Speaker 1: my sledge. Flossy and Glossy, being deer of much intelligence,
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Speaker 1: had long wished to see the great world, so they
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Speaker 1: gladly ran over the frozen snow to ask the nooks
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Speaker 1: if they might carry Claws on his journey. Meantime, the
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Speaker 1: toy maker hurriedly began the construction of a sledge, using
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Speaker 1: material from his wood pile. He made two long runners
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Speaker 1: that turned upward at the front ends, and across these
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Speaker 1: nailed short boards to make a platform. It was soon completed,
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Speaker 1: but was as rude in appearance as it is possible
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Speaker 1: for a sledge to be. The harness was more difficult
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Speaker 1: to prepare, but Claws twisted strong cords together and nodded
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Speaker 1: them so they would fit around the necks of the
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Speaker 1: deer in the shape of a collar. From these ran
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Speaker 1: other cords to fasten the deer to the front of
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Speaker 1: the sledge. Before the work was complete, Glossy and Flossi
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Speaker 1: were back from the forest, having been granted permission by
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Speaker 1: Willnook to make the journey with Claws, provided they would
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Speaker 1: to Burzee by daybreak the next morning. That is not
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Speaker 1: a very long time, said Flossi. But we are swift
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Speaker 1: and strong, and if we get started by this evening,
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Speaker 1: we can travel many miles during the night. Claws decided
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Speaker 1: to make the attempt, so he hurried on his preparations
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Speaker 1: as fast as possible. After a time, he fastened the
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Speaker 1: collars around the necks of his steeds and harnessed them
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Speaker 1: to his rude sledge. Then he placed a stool on
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Speaker 1: the little platform to serve as a seat, and filled
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Speaker 1: a sack with his prettiest toys. How do you intend
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Speaker 1: to guide us, asked Glossie. We have never been out
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Speaker 1: of the forest before, except to visit your house, so
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Speaker 1: we shall not know the way. Claws thought about that
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Speaker 1: for a moment. Then he brought more cords and fastened
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Speaker 1: two of them to the spreading antlers of each deer,
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Speaker 1: one on the right and the other on the left.
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Speaker 1: Those will be my reins, said Claws. And when I
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Speaker 1: pull them to the right or to the left, you
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Speaker 1: must go in that direction. If I do not pull
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Speaker 1: the reins at all, you may go straight ahead. Very well,
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Speaker 1: answered Glossy and Flossie, And then they asked, are you ready?
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Speaker 1: Claws seated himself upon the stool, placed the sack of
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Speaker 1: toys at his feet, and then gathered up the reins.
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Speaker 1: All ready, he shouted, away we go. The deer leaned forward,
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Speaker 1: lifted their slender limbs, and the next moment away flew
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Speaker 1: the sledge over the frozen snow. The swiftness of the
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Speaker 1: motion surprised Claws, for in a few strides they were
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Speaker 1: across the valley and gliding over the broad plain beyond.
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Speaker 1: The day had melted into evening by the time they
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Speaker 1: started for swiftly. Claws had worked many hours had been
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Speaker 1: consumed in making his preparations, but the moon shone brightly
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Speaker 1: to light their way, and Claw soon decided it was
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Speaker 1: just as pleasant to travel by night as by day.
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Speaker 1: The deer liked it better, for although they wished to
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Speaker 1: see something of the world, they were timid about meeting men.
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Speaker 1: And now all the dwellers in the towns and farm
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Speaker 1: houses were sound asleep and could not see them. Away
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Speaker 1: and away they sped on and on over the hills,
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Speaker 1: and through the valleys and across the plains, until they
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Speaker 1: reached a village where Claws had never been before. Here
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Speaker 1: he called on them to stop, and they immediately obeyed.
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Speaker 1: But a new difficulty now presented itself, for the people
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Speaker 1: had locked their doors when they went to bed, and
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Speaker 1: Claws found he could not enter the houses to leave
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Speaker 1: his toys. I am afraid, my friends, we have made
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Speaker 1: our journey for nothing said, for I shall be obliged
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Speaker 1: to carry my playthings back home again without giving them
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Speaker 1: to the children of this village. What's the matter, asked
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Speaker 1: FLOSSI The doors are locked, answered Claws, and I cannot
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Speaker 1: get in. Glossy looked around at the houses. The snow
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Speaker 1: was quite deep in that village, and just before them
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Speaker 1: was a roof only a few feet above the sledge.
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Speaker 1: A broad chimney, which seemed to Glossy big enough to
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Speaker 1: admit Claws, was at the peak of the roof. Why
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Speaker 1: don't you climb down that chimney, asked Glossi. Claws looked
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Speaker 1: at it. That would be easy enough if I were
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Speaker 1: on top of the roof, he answered. Then hold fast
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Speaker 1: and we will take you there, said the deer, and
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Speaker 1: they gave one bound to the roof and landed beside
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Speaker 1: the big chimney. Good, cried Claws. Well pleased, and he
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Speaker 1: slung the pack of toys over his shoulder and got
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Speaker 1: into the chimney. There was plenty of soot on the bricks,
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Speaker 1: but he did not mind that, and by placing his
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Speaker 1: hands and knees against the sides, he crept downward until
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Speaker 1: he reached the fireplace. Leaping lightly over the smoldering coals,
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Speaker 1: He found himself in a large sitting room, where a
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Speaker 1: dim light was burning. From this room, two doorways led
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Speaker 1: into smaller chambers. In one a woman lay asleep with
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Speaker 1: a baby beside her in a crib. Claws laughed, but
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Speaker 1: he did not laugh aloud, for fear of waking the baby.
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Speaker 1: Then he slipped a big doll from his pack and
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Speaker 1: laid it in the crib. The little one smiled as
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Speaker 1: if it dreamed of the pretty plaything it was to
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Speaker 1: find on the morrow. And Claws crept softly from the
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Speaker 1: room and entered at the other doorway. Here were two
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Speaker 1: boys fast asleep, with their arms around each other's necks.
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Speaker 1: Claws gazed at them lovingly a moment, and then placed
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Speaker 1: upon the bed a drum, two horns, and a wooden elep.
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Speaker 1: He did not linger, now that his work in this
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Speaker 1: house was done, but climbed the chimney again and seated
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Speaker 1: himself on his sledge. Can you find another chimney, he
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Speaker 1: asked the reindeer, easily enough, replied, Glossy, and flossy. Down
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Speaker 1: to the edge of the roof they raced, and then,
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Speaker 1: without pausing, leaped through the air to the top of
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Speaker 1: the next building, where a huge, old fashioned chimney stood.
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Speaker 1: Don't be so long this time, called Flossie, or we
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Speaker 1: shall never get back to the forest. By daybreak, Claws
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Speaker 1: made a trip down this chimney also and found five
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Speaker 1: children sleeping in the house, all of whom were quickly
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Speaker 1: supplied with toys. When he returned, the deer sprang to
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Speaker 1: the next roof, But on descending the chimney, Claws found
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Speaker 1: no children there at all. That was not often the
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Speaker 1: case in this village, however, so he lost less time
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Speaker 1: than you might suppose in visiting the dreary homes where
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Speaker 1: there were no little ones. When he had climbed down
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Speaker 1: the chimneys of all the houses in that village and
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Speaker 1: had left a toy for every sleeping child, Claws found
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Speaker 1: that his great sack was not yet half emptied. Onward, friends,
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Speaker 1: he called to the deer, we must seek another village.
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Speaker 1: So away they dashed, although it was long past midnight,
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Speaker 1: and in a surprisingly short time they came to a
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Speaker 1: large city, the largest Claws had ever visited since he
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Speaker 1: began to make toys, but nothing daunted by the throng
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Speaker 1: of houses, He set to work at once, and his
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Speaker 1: beautiful steeds carried him rapidly from one roof to another,
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Speaker 1: only the highest being beyond the leaps of the agile deer.
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Speaker 1: At last, the supply of toys was exhausted, and Claw
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Speaker 1: seated himself in the sledge with the empty sack at
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Speaker 1: his feet, and turned the heads of Glossy and Flossy
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Speaker 1: toward home. Presently, Flossi asked, what is that streak of
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Speaker 1: gray in the sky. It is the coming dawn of day,
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Speaker 1: answered Claws, surprised to find that it was so late.
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Speaker 1: Good gracious, exclaimed Glossie. Then we shall not be home
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Speaker 1: by daybreak, and the knooks will punish us and never
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Speaker 1: let us come again. We must race for the Laughing
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Speaker 1: Belly and make our best speed, returned Flossie. So hold fast, friend, Claws.
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Speaker 1: Claws held fast, and the next moment was flying so
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Speaker 1: swiftly over the snow that he could not see the
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Speaker 1: trees as they whirled past up Hill and down Dale,
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Speaker 1: swift as an arrow shot from a bow. They dashed,
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Speaker 1: and Claws shut his eyes to keep the wind out
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Speaker 1: of them, and left the deer to find their own way.
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Speaker 1: It seemed to him they were plunging through space, but
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Speaker 1: he was not at all afraid. The knooks were severe
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Speaker 1: masters and must be obeyed at all hazards, And the
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Speaker 1: gray streak in the sky was growing brighter every moment. Finally,
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Speaker 1: the sledge ca came to a sudden stop, and Claws,
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Speaker 1: who was taken unawares, tumbled from his seat into a
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Speaker 1: snow drift. As he picked himself up, he heard the
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Speaker 1: deer crying, quick friend, quick cut away our harness. He
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Speaker 1: drew his knife and rapidly severed the cords. And then
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Speaker 1: he wiped the moisture from his eyes and looked around him.
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Speaker 1: The sledge had come to a stop in the Laughing Valley,
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Speaker 1: only a few feet he found from his own door
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Speaker 1: in the east day was breaking, and turning to the
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Speaker 1: edge of Bursey, he saw Glossy and Flossy just disappearing
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Speaker 1: in the forest. End of Chapter eight