The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

by L. Frank Baum

  10. Christmas Eve

  The day that broke as Claus returned from his night ride with Glossieand Flossie brought to him a new trouble. Will Knook, the chiefguardian of the deer, came to him, surly and ill-tempered, to complainthat he had kept Glossie and Flossie beyond daybreak, in opposition tohis orders.

  "Yet it could not have been very long after daybreak," said Claus.

  "It was one minute after," answered Will Knook, "and that is as bad asone hour. I shall set the stinging gnats on Glossie and Flossie, andthey will thus suffer terribly for their disobedience."

  "Don't do that!" begged Claus. "It was my fault."

  But Will Knook would listen to no excuses, and went away grumbling andgrowling in his ill-natured way.

  For this reason Claus entered the Forest to consult Necile aboutrescuing the good deer from punishment. To his delight he found hisold friend, the Master Woodsman, seated in the circle of Nymphs.

  Ak listened to the story of the night journey to the children and ofthe great assistance the deer had been to Claus by drawing his sledgeover the frozen snow.

  "I do not wish my friends to be punished if I can save them," said thetoy-maker, when he had finished the relation. "They were only oneminute late, and they ran swifter than a bird flies to get home beforedaybreak."

  Ak stroked his beard thoughtfully a moment, and then sent for thePrince of the Knooks, who rules all his people in Burzee, and also forthe Queen of the Fairies and the Prince of the Ryls.

  When all had assembled Claus told his story again, at Ak's command, andthen the Master addressed the Prince of the Knooks, saying:

  "The good work that Claus is doing among mankind deserves the supportof every honest immortal. Already he is called a Saint in some of thetowns, and before long the name of Santa Claus will be lovingly knownin every home that is blessed with children. Moreover, he is a son ofour Forest, so we owe him our encouragement. You, Ruler of the Knooks,have known him these many years; am I not right in saying he deservesour friendship?"

  The Prince, crooked and sour of visage as all Knooks are, looked onlyupon the dead leaves at his feet and muttered: "You are the MasterWoodsman of the World!"

  Ak smiled, but continued, in soft tones: "It seems that the deer whichare guarded by your people can be of great assistance to Claus, and asthey seem willing to draw his sledge I beg that you will permit him touse their services whenever he pleases."

  The Prince did not reply, but tapped the curled point of his sandalwith the tip of his spear, as if in thought.

  Then the Fairy Queen spoke to him in this way: "If you consent to Ak'srequest I will see that no harm comes to your deer while they are awayfrom the Forest."

  And the Prince of the Ryls added: "For my part I will allow to everydeer that assists Claus the privilege of eating my casa plants, whichgive strength, and my grawle plants, which give fleetness of foot, andmy marbon plants, which give long life."

  And the Queen of the Nymphs said: "The deer which draw the sledge ofClaus will be permitted to bathe in the Forest pool of Nares, whichwill give them sleek coats and wonderful beauty."

  The Prince of the Knooks, hearing these promises, shifted uneasily onhis seat, for in his heart he hated to refuse a request of his fellowimmortals, although they were asking an unusual favor at his hands, andthe Knooks are unaccustomed to granting favors of any kind. Finally heturned to his servants and said:

  "Call Will Knook."

  When surly Will came and heard the demands of the immortals heprotested loudly against granting them.

  "Deer are deer," said he, "and nothing but deer. Were they horses itwould be right to harness them like horses. But no one harnesses deerbecause they are free, wild creatures, owing no service of any sort tomankind. It would degrade my deer to labor for Claus, who is only aman in spite of the friendship lavished on him by the immortals."

  "You have heard," said the Prince to Ak. "There is truth in what Willsays."

  "Call Glossie and Flossie," returned the Master.

  The deer were brought to the conference and Ak asked them if theyobjected to drawing the sledge for Claus.

  "No, indeed!" replied Glossie; "we enjoyed the trip very much."

  "And we tried to get home by daybreak," added Flossie, "but wereunfortunately a minute too late."

  "A minute lost at daybreak doesn't matter," said Ak. "You are forgivenfor that delay."

  "Provided it does not happen again," said the Prince of the Knooks,sternly.

  "And will you permit them to make another journey with me?" askedClaus, eagerly.

  The Prince reflected while he gazed at Will, who was scowling, and atthe Master Woodsman, who was smiling.

  Then he stood up and addressed the company as follows:

  "Since you all urge me to grant the favor I will permit the deer to gowith Claus once every year, on Christmas Eve, provided they alwaysreturn to the Forest by daybreak. He may select any number he pleases,up to ten, to draw his sledge, and those shall be known among us asReindeer, to distinguish them from the others. And they shall bathe inthe Pool of Nares, and eat the casa and grawle and marbon plants andshall be under the especial protection of the Fairy Queen. And nowcease scowling, Will Knook, for my words shall be obeyed!"

  He hobbled quickly away through the trees, to avoid the thanks of Clausand the approval of the other immortals, and Will, looking as cross asever, followed him.

  But Ak was satisfied, knowing that he could rely on the promise of thePrince, however grudgingly given; and Glossie and Flossie ran home,kicking up their heels delightedly at every step.

  "When is Christmas Eve?" Claus asked the Master.

  "In about ten days," he replied.

  "Then I can not use the deer this year," said Claus, thoughtfully, "forI shall not have time enough to make my sackful of toys."

  "The shrewd Prince foresaw that," responded Ak, "and therefore namedChristmas Eve as the day you might use the deer, knowing it would causeyou to lose an entire year."

  "If I only had the toys the Awgwas stole from me," said Claus, sadly,"I could easily fill my sack for the children."

  "Where are they?" asked the Master.

  "I do not know," replied Claus, "but the wicked Awgwas probably hidthem in the mountains."

  Ak turned to the Fairy Queen.

  "Can you find them?" he asked.

  "I will try," she replied, brightly.

  Then Claus went back to the Laughing Valley, to work as hard as hecould, and a band of Fairies immediately flew to the mountain that hadbeen haunted by the Awgwas and began a search for the stolen toys.

  The Fairies, as we well know, possess wonderful powers; but the cunningAwgwas had hidden the toys in a deep cave and covered the opening withrocks, so no one could look in. Therefore all search for the missingplaythings proved in vain for several days, and Claus, who sat at homewaiting for news from the Fairies, almost despaired of getting the toysbefore Christmas Eve.

  He worked hard every moment, but it took considerable time to carve outand to shape each toy and to paint it properly, so that on the morningbefore Christmas Eve only half of one small shelf above the window wasfilled with playthings ready for the children.

  But on this morning the Fairies who were searching in the mountains hada new thought. They joined hands and moved in a straight line throughthe rocks that formed the mountain, beginning at the topmost peak andworking downward, so that no spot could be missed by their bright eyes.And at last they discovered the cave where the toys had been heaped upby the wicked Awgwas.

  It did not take them long to burst open the mouth of the cave, and theneach one seized as many toys as he could carry and they all flew toClaus and laid the treasure before him.

  The good man was rejoiced to receive, just in the nick of time, such astore of playthings with which to load his sledge, and he sent word toGlossie and Flossie to be ready for the journey at nightfall.

  With all his other labors he had managed to find time, since the lasttrip, to
repair the harness and to strengthen his sledge, so that whenthe deer came to him at twilight he had no difficulty in harnessingthem.

  "We must go in another direction to-night," he told them, "where weshall find children I have never yet visited. And we must travel fastand work quickly, for my sack is full of toys and running over thebrim!"

  So, just as the moon arose, they dashed out of the Laughing Valley andacross the plain and over the hills to the south. The air was sharpand frosty and the starlight touched the snowflakes and made themglitter like countless diamonds. The reindeer leaped onward withstrong, steady bounds, and Claus' heart was so light and merry that helaughed and sang while the wind whistled past his ears:

  "With a ho, ho, ho! And a ha, ha, ha! And a ho, ho! ha, ha, hee! Now away we go O'er the frozen snow, As merry as we can be!"

  Jack Frost heard him and came racing up with his nippers, but when hesaw it was Claus he laughed and turned away again.

  The mother owls heard him as he passed near a wood and stuck theirheads out of the hollow places in the tree-trunks; but when they sawwho it was they whispered to the owlets nestling near them that it wasonly Santa Claus carrying toys to the children. It is strange how muchthose mother owls know.

  Claus stopped at some of the scattered farmhouses and climbed down thechimneys to leave presents for the babies. Soon after he reached avillage and worked merrily for an hour distributing playthings amongthe sleeping little ones. Then away again he went, signing his joyouscarol:

  "Now away we go O'er the gleaming snow, While the deer run swift and free! For to girls and boys We carry the toys That will fill their hearts with glee!"

  The deer liked the sound of his deep bass voice and kept time to thesong with their hoofbeats on the hard snow; but soon they stopped atanother chimney and Santa Claus, with sparkling eyes and face brushedred by the wind, climbed down its smoky sides and left a present forevery child the house contained.

  It was a merry, happy night. Swiftly the deer ran, and busily theirdriver worked to scatter his gifts among the sleeping children.

  But the sack was empty at last, and the sledge headed homeward; and nowagain the race with daybreak began. Glossie and Flossie had no mind tobe rebuked a second time for tardiness, so they fled with a swiftnessthat enabled them to pass the gale on which the Frost King rode, andsoon brought them to the Laughing Valley.

  It is true when Claus released his steeds from their harness theeastern sky was streaked with gray, but Glossie and Flossie were deepin the Forest before day fairly broke.

  Claus was so wearied with his night's work that he threw himself uponhis bed and fell into a deep slumber, and while he slept the Christmassun appeared in the sky and shone upon hundreds of happy homes wherethe sound of childish laughter proclaimed that Santa Claus had madethem a visit.

  God bless him! It was his first Christmas Eve, and for hundreds ofyears since then he has nobly fulfilled his mission to bring happinessto the hearts of little children.