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"Merry Christmas, little ones!"
With that he leaped into his sledge and was out of sight before the
children, rubbing the sleep from their eyes, could come out to see who
had called them.
You can imagine the wonder and joy of those little ones, who had never
in their lives known a real pleasure before, when they saw the tree,
sparkling with lights that shone brilliant in the gray dawn and hung
with toys enough to make them happy for years to come! They joined
hands and danced around the tree, shouting and laughing, until they
were obliged to pause for breath. And their parents, also, came out
to look and wonder, and thereafter had more respect and consideration
for their children, since Santa Claus had honored them with such
beautiful gifts.
The idea of the Christmas tree pleased Claus, and so the following
year he carried many of them in his sledge and set them up in the
homes of poor people who seldom saw trees, and placed candles and toys
on the branches. Of course he could not carry enough trees in one
load of all who wanted them, but in some homes the fathers were able to
get trees and have them all ready for Santa Claus when he arrived; and
these the good Claus always decorated as prettily as possible and hung
with toys enough for all the children who came to see the tree lighted.
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