10. Christmas Eve

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

by L. Frank Baum

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.