Glossie; "then we shall not be home by
daybreak, and the Knooks will punish us and never let us come again."

"We must race for the Laughing Valley and make our best speed,"
returned Flossie; "so hold fast, friend Claus!"

Claus held fast and the next moment was flying so swiftly over the snow
that he could not see the trees as they whirled past. Up hill and down
dale, swift as an arrow shot from a bow they dashed, and Claus shut his
eyes to keep the wind out of them and left the deer to find their own
way.

It seemed to him they were plunging through space, but he was not at
all afraid. The Knooks were severe masters, and must be obeyed at all
hazards, and the gray streak in the sky was growing brighter every
moment.

Finally the sledge came to a sudden stop and Claus, who was taken
unawares, tumbled from his seat into a snowdrift. As he picked himself
up he heard the deer crying:

"Quick, friend, quick! Cut away our harness!"

He drew his knife and rapidly severed the cords, and then he wiped the
moisture from his eyes and looked around him.

The sledge had come to a stop in the Laughing Valley, only a few feet,
he found, from his own door. In the East the day was breaking, and
turning to the edge of Burzee he saw Glossie and Flossie just
disappearing in the Forest.

9. "Santa Claus!"

Claus thought that none of the children would ever know where the toys
came from which they found by their bedsides when they wakened the
following morning. But kindly deeds are sure to bring fame, and fame
has many wings to carry its tidings into far lands; so for miles and
miles in every direction people were talking of Claus and his wonderful
gifts to children. The sweet generousness of his work caused a few
selfish folk to sneer, but even these were forced to admit their
respect for a man so gentle-natured that he loved to devote his life to
pleasing the helpless little ones of his race.

Therefore the inhabitants of every city and village had been eagerly
watching the coming of Claus, and remarkable stories of his beautiful
playthings were told the children to keep them patient and contented.

When, on the morning following the first trip of Claus with his deer,
the little ones came running to their parents with the pretty toys they
had found, and asked from whence they came, they was but one reply to
the question.

"The good Claus must have been here, my darlings; for his are the only
toys in all the w