seems necessary to offer a word of caution, but it will do no
harm to say that the flame of gas, candle, or fire, should not come near
this paper-decked tree, though it is scarcely more inflammable than a
tree trimmed with tinsel.

CHAPTER XV

A HOME-MADE SANTA CLAUS

"MERRY CHRISTMAS! Merry Christmas!" calls out Santa Claus cheerily as
the guests come trooping into the room.

Laughing and joking, his eyes twinkling with fun, Santa Claus names each
person as he hands out the gifts from his fat Christmas bag and from the
generous pile at his feet. All this merriment happens at Christmastide
when you play the part of good "Kris Kringle" in your own home, in the
schoolroom, the Sunday-school, or in any place where Christmas is
celebrated and where children are gathered to enjoy the festivities.

Take a good long look at Santa Claus, as shown in the picture (Fig.
218); then turn your eyes to the illustration (Fig. 219). Can you
believe it possible that the two photographs are of the same person in
identically the same pose? Such is truly the case. The second gives the
woman's back, while the first shows her face, arms, and hands
transformed into those of the jolly saint.

You can see at a glance how very easy it will be for you to have a real,
live, little Santa Claus for your Christmas.

Any one--grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, big sister or
brother, or you yourself--can assume the character of this live little
saint, can grow suddenly short of stature, jolly and fat, be arrayed in
scarlet, ermine-trimmed, and crowned with a red-peaked hat, all in less
time than it takes to tell it; and, stranger still, the transformation
may be accomplished in a very comfortable way, without even the bother
of changing the usual attire.

It is essential merely to paste on the face tufts of raw cotton for
eyebrows, mustache and goatee, and to slip over each arm an extra
sleeve. This accomplished, and the proper position taken behind the
curtain, lo, "magic change"! There you are as fine a little Santa Claus
as any one would care to see, and your best friend would not recognize
you, so complete is the change. Disguise your voice and no one can find
you out, not even your nearest relative.

[Illustration: FIG. 218--Santa Claus as the spectators see him.]

[Illustration: FIG. 219--The real Santa Claus behind the curtain.]

When the gifts have been distributed and you are ready to go out among
the excited childr