Good evening.
Welcome to Dreamtime Stories with Jackie.
I'm so glad you're here tonight.
We're going to continue with the life and adventures of Santa Claus and how he became the merry fellow who comes around at Christmas time and leaves toys for little boys and girls.
The story was written by the same author who wrote The Wizard of Oz,
L.
Frank Baum.
We've been reading about his babyhood in the first seven chapters,
And now we're in the section of his manhood.
Now he's an adult.
And last chapter,
We found out how he lived in the forest and how he made his home.
And now with chapter two,
We're gonna find out how he makes his first toy.
How exciting.
So snuggle down in your covers and make sure your pillow is just right.
Big breath and let it out.
And here we begin chapter two in the section of manhood.
How Claus made the first toy.
Truly our Claus had wisdom for his good fortune,
But strengthened his resolve to befriend the little ones of his own race.
He knew his plan was approved by the immortals or else they would not have favored him so greatly.
So he began at once to make acquaintance with mankind.
And he walked through the valley to the plain beyond and crossed the plain in many directions to reach the abodes of men.
These stood singly or in groups of dwellings called villages.
And in nearly all the houses,
Whether big or little,
Claus found children.
The youngsters soon came to know his merry laughing face and the kind glance of his bright eyes.
And the parents were content that the boys and girls had found a playfellow who seemed willing to amuse them.
So the children romped and played games with Claus and the boys rode upon his shoulders and the girls nestled in his strong arms and the babies clung fondly to his knees.
Wherever the young man chanced to be,
The sound of childish laughter followed him.
Those who knew him were,
And you may be sure,
Very happy indeed.
The faces of the poor children grew bright for once.
The handicapped children smiled despite their misfortune.
The ailing ones hushed their minds.
The poor moans when their merry friend came to comfort them.
After a time,
The winter drew near.
The flowers lived out their lives and faded and disappeared.
The beetles burrowed far into the warm earth.
The butterflies deserted the meadows and the voice of the brook grew hoarse as if it had taken cold.
And one day,
Snowflakes filled all the air in the laughing valley,
Dancing boisterously toward the earth and clothing it in pure white.
The young man went in the house and closed the door after looking at the snow.
He threw a log on the fire,
Which burned brightly.
Beside the hearth sat Blinky,
A big cat given to him by Peter the Knook.
Her fur was soft and glossy and she purred never-ending songs of contentment.
I shall not see the children again soon,
Said Klaus to the kitty,
Who kindly paused in her song of purr to listen.
The winter is upon us.
The snow will be deep for many days and I shall be unable to play with my little friends.
The cat raised a paw and stroked her nose thoughtfully but made no reply.
So long as the fire burned and Klaus sat in his easy chair by the hearth,
She did not mind the weather.
So passed many days and many long evenings.
The cupboard was always full,
But Klaus became weary of having nothing to do more than feed the fire from the big wood pile.
One evening,
He picked up a stick of wood and began to cut it with his sharp knife.
He had no thought at first except to occupy his long evening.
And he whistled and sang to the cat as he carved away portions of the stick.
Puss sat up on her haunches and watched him listening at the same time to her master's merry whistle,
Which she loved to hear even more than her own purring sounds.
Klaus glanced at Puss and then at the stick he was whittling until presently the wood began to have a shape and the shape was like the head of the cat with two ears sticking upward.
Klaus stopped whistling to laugh and then both he and the cat looked at the wooden image in some surprise.
Then he carved out two eyes and a nose and rounded the lower part of the head so that it rested upon a neck.
Puss hardly knew what to make of it now and sat up stiffly as if watching Klaus with some suspicion of what would come next.
Klaus knew the head gave him an idea.
He plied his knife carefully and with skill forming slowly the body of the cat which he made to sit upon its haunches just as the real cat did with her tail wound around her two front legs.
The work cost him much time,
But the evening was long and he had nothing else to do.
Finally,
He gave a loud and delighted laugh at the result of his labors and placed the wooden cat now fully complete upon the hearth opposite the real kitty.
Puss thereupon glared at her image,
Raised her hair in anger and uttered a defiant mew.
The wooden cat paid no attention and Klaus,
Much amused,
Laughed again.
Then Blinky advanced toward the wooden image to eye it more closely and smell it intelligently.
Eyes and nose told her the creature was wood in spite of its natural appearance.
So Puss resumed her seat and her purring.
But as she neatly washed her face with her padded paw,
She cast more than one admiring glance at her clever master.
Perhaps she felt the same satisfaction we feel when we look upon good photographs of ourselves.
The cat's master was himself pleased with his handiwork without knowing exactly why.
Indeed,
He had great cause to congratulate himself that night and all the children throughout the world should have joined him rejoicing for Klaus had made his first toy.
Oh,
How exciting.
So that ends chapter two in the manhood section on how he made his first toy.
Come back soon and find out in chapter three how the Rills colored the toys.
So have a good night's sleep now and come back soon.
This is Jackie sending you big hugs.
Good night.
