merry sound. "But I should have two
strings of bells, one for each deer."

"Bring me another trumpet and a toy cat," replied the King, "and you
shall have a second string of bells like the first."

"It is a bargain!" cried Claus, and he went home again for the toys.

The new sledge was carefully built, the Knooks bringing plenty of
strong but thin boards to use in its construction. Claus made a high,
rounding dash-board to keep off the snow cast behind by the fleet hoofs
of the deer; and he made high sides to the platform so that many toys
could be carried, and finally he mounted the sledge upon the slender
steel runners made by the Gnome King.

It was certainly a handsome sledge, and big and roomy. Claus painted
it in bright colors, although no one was likely to see it during his
midnight journeys, and when all was finished he sent for Glossie and
Flossie to come and look at it.

The deer admired the sledge, but gravely declared it was too big and
heavy for them to draw.

"We might pull it over the snow, to be sure," said Glossie; "but we
would not pull it fast enough to enable us to visit the far-away cities
and villages and return to the Forest by daybreak."

"Then I must add two more deer to my team," declared Claus, after a
moment's thought.

"The Knook Prince allowed you as many as ten. Why not use them all?"
asked Flossie. "Then we could speed like the lightning and leap to the
highest roofs with ease."

"A team of ten reindeer!" cried Claus, delightedly. "That will be
splendid. Please return to the Forest at once and select eight other
deer as like yourselves as possible. And you must all eat of the casa
plant, to become strong, and of the grawle plant, to become fleet of
foot, and of the marbon plant, that you may live long to accompany me
on my journeys. Likewise it will be well for you to bathe in the Pool
of Nares, which the lovely Queen Zurline declares will render you
rarely beautiful. Should you perform these duties faithfully there is
no doubt that on next Christmas Eve my ten reindeer will be the most
powerful and beautiful steeds the world has ever seen!"

So Glossie and Flossie went to the Forest to choose their mates, and
Claus began to consider the question of a harness for them all.

In the end he called upon Peter Knook for assistance, for Peter's heart
is as kind as his body is crooked, and he is remarkably shrewd, as
well. And Peter agreed to furnish strips of tough leat