th 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.

11. How the First Stockings Were Hung by the Chimneys

When you remember that no child, until Santa Claus began his travels,
had ever known the pleasure of possessing a toy, you will understand
how joy crept into the homes of those who had been favored with a visit
from the good man, and how they talked of him day by day in loving
tones and were honestly grateful for his kindly deeds. It is true that
great warriors and mighty kings and clever scholars of that day were
often spoken of by the people; but no one of them was so greatly
beloved as Santa Claus, because none other was so unselfish as to
devote himself to making others happy. For a generous deed lives
longer than a great battle or a king's decree of a scholar's essay,
because it spreads and leaves its mark on all nature and endures
through many generations.

The bargain made with the Knook Prince changed the plans of Claus for
all future time; for, being able to use the reindeer on but one night
of each year, he decided to devote all the other days to the
manufacture of playthings, and on Christmas Eve to carry them to the
children of the world.

But a year's work would, he knew, result in a vast accumulation of
toys, so he resolved to build a new sledge that would be larger and
stronger and better-fitted for swift travel than the old and clumsy one.

His first act was to visit the Gnome King, with whom he made a bargain
to exchange three drums, a trumpet and two dolls for a pair of fine
steel runners, curled beautifully at the ends. For the Gnome King had
children of his own, who, living in the hollows under the earth, in
mines and caverns, needed something to amuse them.

In three days the steel runners were ready, and when Claus brought the
playthings to the Gnome King, his Majesty was so greatly pleased with
them that he presented Claus with a string of sweet-toned sleigh-bells,
in addition to the runners.

"These will please Glossie and Flossie," said Claus, as he jingled the
bells and listened to their