by the fireplace
the next Christmas Eve. Even Bessie Blithesome, who made a visit to
that city with her father, the great Lord of Lerd, heard the story from
the children and hung her own pretty stockings by the chimney when she
returned home at Christmas time.

On his next trip Santa Claus found so many stockings hung up in
anticipation of his visit that he could fill them in a jiffy and be
away again in half the time required to hunt the children up and place
the toys by their bedsides.

The custom grew year after year, and has always been a great help to
Santa Claus. And, with so many children to visit, he surely needs all
the help we are able to give him.

12. The First Christmas Tree

Claus had always kept his promise to the Knooks by returning to the
Laughing Valley by daybreak, but only the swiftness of his reindeer has
enabled him to do this, for he travels over all the world.

He loved his work and he loved the brisk night ride on his sledge and
the gay tinkle of the sleigh-bells. On that first trip with the ten
reindeer only Glossie and Flossie wore bells; but each year thereafter
for eight years Claus carried presents to the children of the Gnome
King, and that good-natured monarch gave him in return a string of
bells at each visit, so that finally every one of the ten deer was
supplied, and you may imagine what a merry tune the bells played as the
sledge sped over the snow.

The children's stockings were so long that it required a great many
toys to fill them, and soon Claus found there were other things besides
toys that children love. So he sent some of the Fairies, who were
always his good friends, into the Tropics, from whence they returned
with great bags full of oranges and bananas which they had plucked from
the trees. And other Fairies flew to the wonderful Valley of
Phunnyland, where delicious candies and bonbons grow thickly on the
bushes, and returned laden with many boxes of sweetmeats for the little
ones. These things Santa Claus, on each Christmas Eve, placed in the
long stockings, together with his toys, and the children were glad to
get them, you may be sure.

There are also warm countries where there is no snow in winter, but
Claus and his reindeer visited them as well as the colder climes, for
there were little wheels inside the runners of his sledge which
permitted it to run as smoothly over bare ground as on the snow. And
the children who lived in the warm countries l