le thing.

JACK FROST. Hello, daddy; merry Christmas.

SANTA CLAUS (_shaking hands with him_). Hello yourself. Merry
Christmas to you, too. Are you all ready for me?

JACK FROST. Yes, it's all ready. The magical tree is just waiting for
your touch to turn into a real Christmas tree.

ANITA. Oh, we're going to have a real Christmas tree.

SANTA CLAUS. Hello, who's this young person?

JACK FROST. This is Anita.

SANTA CLAUS. And why isn't she sound asleep like the rest of the
children?

JACK FROST. She's such a good little girl that I told her she could
stay up with me and wait until you came.

SANTA CLAUS (_laughs_). Oh, ho; so you've made a hit with my boy, Jack
Frost, have you? Well, if that's the case, I guess you can stay.

ANITA. But all of the children would like to see you, Santa Claus.
See, they've prepared the candle and the wreath of holly and the star
of Bethlehem all for you. There's Sergius and Tomasso and Hulda and
Meeny and Hans and Yakob and Neelda and Ah Goo and Sano San and Mieze
and the leetla Dutch twins, Klinker and Schwillie Willie Winkum.
They've all been awfully good children. And Biddy Mary and Paddy Mike
they brought the candle. They're good, too.

SANTA CLAUS. Hurry, Jack, and fill up the shoes and stockings.

JACK FROST (_filling them from the sack_). Yes, daddy, I'm hurrying.

SANTA CLAUS. It's just two minutes till Christmas morning. I've had a
hard night's work and I think I'll just take a little vacation here in
the steerage.

ANITA. Oh, Santa Claus, may I wake up all the leetla children and let
them see you?

SANTA CLAUS. Yes, just as soon as you hear the chimes announcing the
birth of Christmas Day.

ANITA. And don't you have any other place to go this year?

SANTA CLAUS. I hope not. Here I am in the middle of the ocean and my
air ship is just about played out. Jack, dump everything out of the
sack and we'll give the little immigrants the jolliest kind of a
Christmas. I'm not going to lug all of those toys and candy and things
back to the North Pole again.

JACK FROST (_empties sack on floor_). Here they are, daddy.

SANTA CLAUS. Now, where's the tree?

JACK FROST (_goes to rear of the stage and removes the curtains that
have been concealing the dazzling Christmas tree._). There she is.
Isn't she a beauty?

ANITA. Oh, it's the greatest, most grand-a tree in all the world.

(_Faint chimes are heard in the distance._)

JACK FROST. There are the chimes. It is C