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for a minute while she wondered if Santa would notice her, but she didn’t have to wonder long, for he spied her at once and said:

      “Bless my soul! Who’s this? And where did you come from?”

      Little Girl thought perhaps she might be afraid to answer him, but she wasn’t one bit afraid. You see he had such a kind little twinkle in his eyes that she felt happy right away as she replied, “Oh, I’m Little Girl, and I wanted so much to see Santa that I just came, and here I am!”

      “Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!” laughed Santa, “and here you are! Wanted to see Santa, did you, and so you came! Now that’s very nice, and it’s too bad I’m in such a hurry, for we should like nothing better than to show you about and give you a real good time. But you see it is quarter of twelve now, and I must be on my way at once, else I’ll never reach that first chimney-top by midnight. I’d call Mrs. Santa and ask her to get you some supper, but she is busy finishing dolls’ clothes which must be done before morning, and I guess we’d better not bother her. Is there anything that you would like, Little Girl?” and good old Santa put his big warm hand on Little Girl’s curls and she felt its warmth and kindness clear down to her very heart. You see, my dears, that even though Santa was in such a great hurry, he wasn’t too busy to stop and make some one happy for a minute, even if it was some one no bigger than Little Girl.

      So she smiled back into Santa’s face and said: “Oh, Santa, if I could ONLY ride down to Earth with you behind those splendid reindeer! I’d love to go; won’t you PLEASE take me? I’m so small that I won’t take up much room on the seat, and I’ll keep very still and not bother one bit!”

      Then Santa laughed, SUCH a laugh, big and loud and rollicking, and he said, “Wants a ride, does she? Well, well, shall we take her, Little Elves? Shall we take her, Little Fairies? Shall we take her, Good Reindeer?”

      And all the Little Elves hopped and skipped and brought Little Girl a sprig of holly; and all the Little Fairies bowed and smiled and brought her a bit of mistletoe; and all the Good Reindeer jingled their bells loudly, which meant, “Oh, yes! Let’s take her! She’s a good Little Girl! Let her ride!” And before Little Girl could even think, she found herself all tucked up in the big fur robes beside Santa, and away they went, right out into the air, over the clouds, through the Milky Way, and right under the very handle of the Big Dipper, on, on, toward the Earthland, whose lights Little Girl began to see twinkling away down below her. Presently she felt the runners scrape upon something, and she knew they must be on some one’s roof, and that Santa would slip down some one’s chimney in a minute.

      How she wanted to go, too! You see if you had never been down a chimney and seen Santa fill up the stockings, you would want to go quite as much as Little Girl did, now, wouldn’t you? So, just as Little Girl was wishing as hard as ever she could wish, she heard a Tiny Voice say, “Hold tight to his arm! Hold tight to his arm!” So she held Santa’s arm tight and close, and he shouldered his pack, never thinking that it was heavier than usual, and with a bound and a slide, there they were, Santa, Little Girl, pack and all, right in the middle of a room where there was a fireplace and stockings all hung up for Santa to fill.

      Just then Santa noticed Little Girl. He had forgotten all about her for a minute, and he was very much surprised to find that she had come, too. “Bless my soul!” he said, “where did you come from, Little Girl? And how in the world can we both get back up that chimney again? It’s easy enough to slide down, but it’s quite another matter to climb up again!” and Santa looked real worried. But Little Girl was beginning to feel very tired by this time, for she had had a very exciting evening, so she said, “Oh, never mind me, Santa. I’ve had such a good time, and I’d just as soon stay here a while as not. I believe I’ll curl up on his hearth-rug a few minutes and have a little nap, for it looks as warm and cozy as our own hearth-rug at home, and–why, it is our own hearth and it’s my own nursery, for there is Teddy Bear in his chair where I leave him every night, and there’s Bunny Cat curled up on his cushion in the corner.”

      And Little Girl turned to thank Santa and say goodbye to him, but either he had gone very quickly, or else she had fallen asleep very quickly–she never could tell which–for the next thing she knew, Daddy was holding her in his arms and was saying, “What is my Little Girl doing here? She must go to bed, for it’s Christmas Eve, and old Santa won’t come if he thinks there are any little folks about.”

      But Little Girl knew better than that, and when she began to tell him all about it, and how the Christmas fairies had welcomed her, and how Santa had given her such a fine ride, Daddy laughed and laughed, and said, “You’ve been dreaming, Little Girl, you’ve been dreaming.”

      But Little Girl knew better than that, too, for there on the hearth was the little Black Coal, which had given her Two Shoes and Bright Light, and tight in her hand she held a holly berry which one of the Christmas Sprites had placed there. More than all that, there she was on the hearth-rug herself, just as Santa had left her, and that was the best proof of all.

      The trouble was, Daddy himself had never been a Little Girl, so he couldn’t tell anything about it, but we know she hadn’t been dreaming, now, don’t we, my dears?

      The Elves and the Shoemaker

      (Brothers Grimm)

       Table of Contents

      A shoemaker, by no fault of his own, had become so poor that at last he had nothing left but leather for one pair of shoes. So in the evening, he cut out the shoes which he wished to begin to make the next morning, and as he had a good conscience, he lay down quietly in his bed, commended himself to God, and fell asleep. In the morning, after he had said his prayers, and was just going to sit down to work, the two shoes stood quite finished on his table. He was astounded, and knew not what to say to it. He took the shoes in his hands to observe them closer, and they were so neatly made that there was not one bad stitch in them, just as if they were intended as a masterpiece.

      Soon after, a buyer came in, and as the shoes pleased him so well, he paid more for them than was customary, and, with the money, the shoemaker was able to purchase leather for two pairs of shoes. He cut them out at night, and next morning was about to set to work with fresh courage; but he had no need to do so, for, when he got up, they were already made, and buyers also were not wanting, who gave him money enough to buy leather for four pairs of shoes. The following morning, too, he found the four pairs made; and so it went on constantly — what he cut out in the evening was finished by the morning, so that he soon had his honest independence again, and at last became a wealthy man.

      Now it befell that one evening not long before Christmas, when the man had been cutting out, he said to his wife, before going to bed, "What think you if we were to stay up to-night to see who it is that lends us this helping hand?" The woman liked the idea, and lighted a candle, and then they hid themselves in a corner of the room, behind some clothes which were hanging up there, and watched. When it was midnight, two pretty little naked men came, sat down by the shoemaker's table, took all the work which was cut out before them and began to stitch, and sew, and hammer so skilfully and so quickly with their little fingers that the shoemaker could not turn away his eyes for astonishment. They did not stop until all was done, and stood finished on the table; and then they ran quickly away.

      Next morning the woman said, "The little men have made us rich, and we really must show that we are grateful for it. They run about so, and have nothing on, and must be cold. I'll tell thee what I'll do: I will make them little shirts, and coats, and vests, and trousers, and knit both of them a pair of stockings, and do thou, too, make them two little pairs of shoes." The man said, "I shall be very glad to do it;" and one night, when everything was ready, they laid their presents all together on the table instead of the cut-out work, and then concealed themselves to see how the little men would behave. At midnight they came bounding in, and wanted to get to work at once, but as they did not find any leather cut out, but only the pretty little articles of clothing, they were at first astonished, and then they showed intense delight. They dressed themselves with the greatest rapidity, putting the pretty clothes on, and singing,

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