load it to-night."

And the toys who heard this were very much excited, wondering who would
be taken and who would be left.

"I'll take this Plush Bear!" said Santa Claus that evening, as he began
selecting the toys he wanted for his sack to take to Earth. "And I'll
take the Wax Doll, the Flannel Pig, and the Elephant. I want a lot of
other dolls, plenty of drums, some Jumping Jacks, some Jacks in the Box,
some toy soldiers, some toy engines, trains of cars, toy guns and enough
more to fill my sack to running over. It is so near Christmas that I
need all the toys I can pile into my sleigh."

The Plush Bear was lifted off the bench by one of the workmen and put in
a box, after being wrapped in tissue paper.

"I hope they don't smother me!" thought the Bear, but he need not have
been afraid. His last glimpse was of the Wax Doll. She, too, was well
wrapped and placed in a box so her complexion would not be spoiled.

"I did hope I'd have a chance to bid farewell to the toys that are
left," thought the Plush Bear, as he was placed in the sleigh of Santa
Claus. "But some of them are coming with me, that's a comfort. We shall
not have room to move around, though, and hardly a chance to talk on
our trip to the Earth. However, I suppose it cannot be helped. This is
part of our adventures in life."

A little later there was a merry jingle of bells, and Santa Claus could
be heard calling:

"Hi, Prancer! Steady there, Dashaway! Wait a minute, Comet!"

"Those are the reindeer," whispered the Wax Doll, through the side of
her box to the Plush Bear in his box.

"I supposed so," was the answer. "I hope I am not made seasick on this
voyage through the air."

"Seasick! The idea! The sleigh of Santa Claus is not a boat!" squealed
the Flannel Pig.

Then the sack of toys was lifted up and put in the sleigh. The reindeer
shook their heads, making the bells jingle more merrily than ever. There
came a jolly laugh from Santa Claus, and then he cried:

"Away we go! Over the ice! Over the snow! Down to the Earth below!"

And a moment later the Plush Bear and the other toys found themselves
being swiftly carried through the cold air. But they were snug and warm
in the sleigh of Santa Claus.

Of all the things that happened to the Plush Bear and the other toys on
their trip from the shop of Santa Claus to Earth I have not room to tell
you here. Enough to say that, unlike the Nodding Donkey, they suffered
no accident. None of them w