The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

by L. Frank Baum

  11. How the First Stockings Were Hung by the Chimneys

  When you remember that no child, until Santa Claus began his travels,had ever known the pleasure of possessing a toy, you will understandhow joy crept into the homes of those who had been favored with a visitfrom the good man, and how they talked of him day by day in lovingtones and were honestly grateful for his kindly deeds. It is true thatgreat warriors and mighty kings and clever scholars of that day wereoften spoken of by the people; but no one of them was so greatlybeloved as Santa Claus, because none other was so unselfish as todevote himself to making others happy. For a generous deed liveslonger than a great battle or a king's decree of a scholar's essay,because it spreads and leaves its mark on all nature and enduresthrough many generations.

  The bargain made with the Knook Prince changed the plans of Claus forall future time; for, being able to use the reindeer on but one nightof each year, he decided to devote all the other days to themanufacture of playthings, and on Christmas Eve to carry them to thechildren of the world.

  But a year's work would, he knew, result in a vast accumulation oftoys, so he resolved to build a new sledge that would be larger andstronger and better-fitted for swift travel than the old and clumsy one.

  His first act was to visit the Gnome King, with whom he made a bargainto exchange three drums, a trumpet and two dolls for a pair of finesteel runners, curled beautifully at the ends. For the Gnome King hadchildren of his own, who, living in the hollows under the earth, inmines and caverns, needed something to amuse them.

  In three days the steel runners were ready, and when Claus brought theplaythings to the Gnome King, his Majesty was so greatly pleased withthem that he presented Claus with a string of sweet-toned sleigh-bells,in addition to the runners.

  "These will please Glossie and Flossie," said Claus, as he jingled thebells and listened to their merry sound. "But I should have twostrings of bells, one for each deer."

  "Bring me another trumpet and a toy cat," replied the King, "and youshall have a second string of bells like the first."

  "It is a bargain!" cried Claus, and he went home again for the toys.

  The new sledge was carefully built, the Knooks bringing plenty ofstrong but thin boards to use in its construction. Claus made a high,rounding dash-board to keep off the snow cast behind by the fleet hoofsof the deer; and he made high sides to the platform so that many toyscould be carried, and finally he mounted the sledge upon the slendersteel runners made by the Gnome King.

  It was certainly a handsome sledge, and big and roomy. Claus paintedit in bright colors, although no one was likely to see it during hismidnight journeys, and when all was finished he sent for Glossie andFlossie to come and look at it.

  The deer admired the sledge, but gravely declared it was too big andheavy for them to draw.

  "We might pull it over the snow, to be sure," said Glossie; "but wewould not pull it fast enough to enable us to visit the far-away citiesand villages and return to the Forest by daybreak."

  "Then I must add two more deer to my team," declared Claus, after amoment's thought.

  "The Knook Prince allowed you as many as ten. Why not use them all?"asked Flossie. "Then we could speed like the lightning and leap to thehighest roofs with ease."

  "A team of ten reindeer!" cried Claus, delightedly. "That will besplendid. Please return to the Forest at once and select eight otherdeer as like yourselves as possible. And you must all eat of the casaplant, to become strong, and of the grawle plant, to become fleet offoot, and of the marbon plant, that you may live long to accompany meon my journeys. Likewise it will be well for you to bathe in the Poolof Nares, which the lovely Queen Zurline declares will render yourarely beautiful. Should you perform these duties faithfully there isno doubt that on next Christmas Eve my ten reindeer will be the mostpowerful and beautiful steeds the world has ever seen!"

  So Glossie and Flossie went to the Forest to choose their mates, andClaus began to consider the question of a harness for them all.

  In the end he called upon Peter Knook for assistance, for Peter's heartis as kind as his body is crooked, and he is remarkably shrewd, aswell. And Peter agreed to furnish strips of tough leather for theharness.

  This leather was cut from the skins of lions that had reached such anadvanced age that they died naturally, and on one side was tawny hairwhile the other side was cured to the softness of velvet by the deftKnooks. When Claus received these strips of leather he sewed themneatly into a harness for the ten reindeer, and it proved strong andserviceable and lasted him for many years.

  The harness and sledge were prepared at odd times, for Claus devotedmost of his days to the making of toys. These were now much betterthan the first ones had been, for the immortals often came to his houseto watch him work and to offer suggestions. It was Necile's idea tomake some of the dolls say "papa" and "mama." It was a thought of theKnooks to put a squeak inside the lambs, so that when a child squeezedthem they would say "baa-a-a-a!" And the Fairy Queen advised Claus toput whistles in the birds, so they could be made to sing, and wheels onthe horses, so children could draw them around. Many animals perishedin the Forest, from one cause or another, and their fur was brought toClaus that he might cover with it the small images of beasts he madefor playthings. A merry Ryl suggested that Claus make a donkey with anodding head, which he did, and afterward found that it amused thelittle ones immensely. And so the toys grew in beauty andattractiveness every day, until they were the wonder of even theimmortals.

  When another Christmas Eve drew near there was a monster load ofbeautiful gifts for the children ready to be loaded upon the bigsledge. Claus filled three sacks to the brim, and tucked every cornerof the sledge-box full of toys besides.

  Then, at twilight, the ten reindeer appeared and Flossie introducedthem all to Claus. They were Racer and Pacer, Reckless and Speckless,Fearless and Peerless, and Ready and Steady, who, with Glossie andFlossie, made up the ten who have traversed the world these hundreds ofyears with their generous master. They were all exceedingly beautiful,with slender limbs, spreading antlers, velvety dark eyes and smoothcoats of fawn color spotted with white.

  Claus loved them at once, and has loved them ever since, for they areloyal friends and have rendered him priceless service.

  The new harness fitted them nicely and soon they were all fastened tothe sledge by twos, with Glossie and Flossie in the lead. These worethe strings of sleigh-bells, and were so delighted with the music theymade that they kept prancing up and down to make the bells ring.

  Claus now seated himself in the sledge, drew a warm robe over his kneesand his fur cap over his ears, and cracked his long whip as a signal tostart.

  Instantly the ten leaped forward and were away like the wind, whilejolly Claus laughed gleefully to see them run and shouted a song in hisbig, hearty voice:

  "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!

  There are many joys In our load of toys, As many a child will know; We'll scatter them wide On our wild night ride O'er the crisp and sparkling snow!"

  Now it was on this same Christmas Eve that little Margot and herbrother Dick and her cousins Ned and Sara, who were visiting atMargot's house, came in from making a snow man, with their clothesdamp, their mittens dripping and their shoes and stockings wet throughand through. They were not scolded, for Margot's mother knew the snowwas melting, but they were sent early to bed that their clothes mightbe hung over chairs to dry. The shoes were placed on the red tiles ofthe hearth, where the heat from the hot embers would strike them, andthe stockings were carefully hung in a row by the chimney, directlyover the fireplace. That was the reason Santa Claus noticed them whenhe came down the chimney that night and all the household were fastasleep. He was in a tremendous hurry and seeing the stockings allbelonged to children he quickly stuffed his toys into them and dashedup the chimney again, appearing o
n the roof so suddenly that thereindeer were astonished at his agility.

  "I wish they would all hang up their stockings," he thought, as hedrove to the next chimney. "It would save me a lot of time and I couldthen visit more children before daybreak."

  When Margot and Dick and Ned and Sara jumped out of bed next morningand ran downstairs to get their stockings from the fireplace they werefilled with delight to find the toys from Santa Claus inside them. Inface, I think they found more presents in their stockings than anyother children of that city had received, for Santa Claus was in ahurry and did not stop to count the toys.

  Of course they told all their little friends about it, and of courseevery one of them decided to hang his own stockings by the fireplacethe next Christmas Eve. Even Bessie Blithesome, who made a visit tothat city with her father, the great Lord of Lerd, heard the story fromthe children and hung her own pretty stockings by the chimney when shereturned home at Christmas time.

  On his next trip Santa Claus found so many stockings hung up inanticipation of his visit that he could fill them in a jiffy and beaway again in half the time required to hunt the children up and placethe toys by their bedsides.

  The custom grew year after year, and has always been a great help toSanta Claus. And, with so many children to visit, he surely needs allthe help we are able to give him.