10. Christmas Eve
The day that broke as Claus returned from his night ride with Glossie
and Flossie brought to him a new trouble. Will Knook, the chief
guardian of the deer, came to him, surly and ill-tempered, to complain
that he had kept Glossie and Flossie beyond daybreak, in opposition to
his 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 as
one hour. I shall set the stinging gnats on Glossie and Flossie, and
they 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 and
growling in his ill-natured way.
For this reason Claus entered the Forest to consult Necile about
rescuing the good deer from punishment. To his delight he found his
old friend, the Master Woodsman, seated in the circle of Nymphs.
Ak listened to the story of the night journey to the children and of
the great assistance the deer had been to Claus by drawing his sledge
over the frozen snow.
"I do not wish my friends to be punished if I can save them," said the
toy-maker, when he had finished the relation. "They were only one
minute late, and they ran swifter than a bird flies to get home
before daybreak."
Ak stroked his beard thoughtfully a moment, and then sent for the
Prince of the Knooks, who rules all his people in Burzee, and also for
the Queen of the Fairies and the Prince of the Ryls.
When all had assembled Claus told his story again, at Ak's command,
and then the Master addressed the Prince of the Knooks, saying:
"The good work that Claus is doing among mankind deserves the support
of every honest immortal. Already he is called a Saint in some of the
towns, and before long the name of Santa Claus will be lovingly known
in every home that is blessed with children. Moreover, he is a son of
our 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
deserves our friendship?"
The Prince, crooked and sour of visage as all Knooks are, looked only
upon the dead leaves at his feet and muttered: "You are the Master
Woodsman of the World!"
Ak smiled, but continued, in soft tones: "It seems that the deer which
are guarded by your people can be of great assistance to Claus, and as
they seem willing to draw his sledge I beg that you will permit him to
use their services whenever he pleases."
The Prince did not reply, but tapped the curled point of his sandal
with the tip of his spear, as if in thought.
Then the Fairy Queen spoke to him in this way: "If you consent to Ak's
request I will see that no harm comes to your deer while they are away
from the Forest."
And the Prince of the Ryls added: "For my part I will allow to every
deer that assists Claus the privilege of eating my casa plants, which
give strength, and my grawle plants, which give fleetness of foot, and
my marbon plants, which give long life."
And the Queen of the Nymphs said: "The deer which draw the sledge of
Claus will be permitted to bathe in the Forest pool of Nares, which
will give them sleek coats and wonderful beauty."
The Prince of the Knooks, hearing these promises, shifted uneasily on
his seat, for in his heart he hated to refuse a request of his fellow
immortals, although they were asking an unusual favor at his hands,
and the Knooks are unaccustomed to granting favors of any kind.
Finally he turned to his servants and said:
"Call Will Knook."
When surly Will came and heard the demands of the immortals he
protested loudly against granting them.
"Deer are deer," said he, "and nothing but deer. Were they horses it
would be right to harness them like horses. But no one harnesses deer
because they are free, wild creatures, owing no service of any sort to
mankind. It would degrade my deer to labor for Claus, who is only a
man in spite of the friendship lavished on him by the immortals."
"You have heard," said the Prince to Ak. "There is truth in what
Will says."
"Call Glossie and Flossie," returned the Master.
The deer were brought to the conference and Ak asked them if they
objected 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 were
unfortunately a minute too late."
"A minute lost at daybreak doesn't matter," said Ak. "You are
forgiven for 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?" asked
Claus, eagerly.
The Prince reflected while he gazed at Will, who was scowling, and at
the 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 go
with Claus once every year, on Christmas Eve, provided they always
return 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 as Reindeer, to distinguish them from the others. And they shall
bathe in the Pool of Nares, and eat the casa and grawle and marbon
plants and shall be under the especial protection of the Fairy Queen.
And now cease scowling, Will Knook, for my words shall be obeyed!"
He hobbled quickly away through the trees, to avoid the thanks of
Claus and the approval of the other immortals, and Will, looking as
cross as ever, followed him.
But Ak was satisfied, knowing that he could rely on the promise of the
Prince, 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,
"for I shall not have time enough to make my sackful of toys."
"The shrewd Prince foresaw that," responded Ak, "and therefore named
Christmas Eve as the day you might use the deer, knowing it would
cause you 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 hid
them 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 he
could, and a band of Fairies immediately flew to the mountain that had
been haunted by the Awgwas and began a search for the stolen toys.
The Fairies, as we well know, possess wonderful powers; but the
cunning Awgwas had hidden the toys in a deep cave and covered the
opening with rocks, so no one could look in. Therefore all search for
the missing playthings proved in vain for several days, and Claus, who
sat at home waiting for news from the Fairies, almost despaired of
getting the toys before Christmas Eve.
He worked hard every moment, but it took considerable time to carve
out and to shape each toy and to paint it properly, so that on the
morning before Christmas Eve only half of one small shelf above the
window was filled with playthings ready for the children.
But on this morning the Fairies who were searching in the mountains
had a new thought. They joined hands and moved in a straight line
through the rocks that formed the mountain, beginning at the topmost
peak and working 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 up by the wicked Awgwas.
It did not take them long to burst open the mouth of the cave, and
then each one seized as many toys as he could carry and they all flew
to Claus and laid the treasure before him.
The good man was rejoiced to receive, just in the nick of time, such a
store of playthings with which to load his sledge, and he sent word to
Glossie and Flossie to be ready for the journey at nightfall.
With all his other labors he had managed to find time, since the last
trip, to repair the harness and to strengthen his sledge, so that when
the deer came to him at twilight he had no difficulty in harnessing them.
"We must go in another direction to-night," he told them, "where we
shall find children I have never yet visited. And we must travel fast
and work quickly, for my sack is full of toys and running over the brim!"
So, just as the moon arose, they dashed out of the Laughing Valley and
across the plain and over the hills to the south. The air was sharp
and frosty and the starlight touched the snowflakes and made them
glitter like countless diamonds. The reindeer leaped onward with
strong, steady bounds, and Claus' heart was so light and merry that he
laughed 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 he
saw it was Claus he laughed and turned away again.
The mother owls heard him as he passed near a wood and stuck their
heads out of the hollow places in the tree-trunks; but when they saw
who it was they whispered to the owlets nestling near them that it was
only Santa Claus carrying toys to the children. It is strange how
much those mother owls know.
Claus stopped at some of the scattered farmhouses and climbed down the
chimneys to leave presents for the babies. Soon after he reached a
village and worked merrily for an hour distributing playthings among the
sleeping little ones. Then away again he went, signing his joyous carol:
"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 the
song with their hoofbeats on the hard snow; but soon they stopped at
another chimney and Santa Claus, with sparkling eyes and face brushed
red by the wind, climbed down its smoky sides and left a present for
every child the house contained.
It was a merry, happy night. Swiftly the deer ran, and busily their
driver worked to scatter his gifts among the sleeping children.
But the sack was empty at last, and the sledge headed homeward; and
now again the race with daybreak began. Glossie and Flossie had no
mind to be rebuked a second time for tardiness, so they fled with a
swiftness that enabled them to pass the gale on which the Frost King
rode, and soon brought them to the Laughing Valley.
It is true when Claus released his steeds from their harness the
eastern sky was streaked with gray, but Glossie and Flossie were deep
in the Forest before day fairly broke.
Claus was so wearied with his night's work that he threw himself upon
his bed and fell into a deep slumber, and while he slept the Christmas
sun appeared in the sky and shone upon hundreds of happy homes where
the sound of childish laughter proclaimed that Santa Claus had made
them a visit.
God bless him! It was his first Christmas Eve, and for hundreds of
years since then he has nobly fulfilled his mission to bring happiness
to the hearts of little children.
