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Page 12
Would that we all might live in that delightful place!--but then,
maybe, it would become overcrowded. For ages it had awaited a tenant.
Was it chance that led young Claus to make his home in this happy
vale? Or may we guess that his thoughtful friends, the immortals, had
directed his steps when he wandered away from Burzee to seek a home in
the great world?
Certain it is that while the moon peered over the hilltop and flooded
with its soft beams the body of the sleeping stranger, the Laughing
Valley was filled with the queer, crooked shapes of the friendly
Knooks. These people spoke no words, but worked with skill and
swiftness. The logs Claus had trimmed with his bright ax were carried
to a spot beside the brook and fitted one upon another, and during the
night a strong and roomy dwelling was built.
The birds came sweeping into the Valley at daybreak, and their songs,
so seldom heard in the deep wood, aroused the stranger. He rubbed the
web of sleep from his eyelids and looked around. The house met his gaze.
"I must thank the Knooks for this," said he, gratefully. Then he
walked to his dwelling and entered at the doorway. A large room faced
him, having a fireplace at the end and a table and bench in the
middle. Beside the fireplace was a cupboard. Another doorway was
beyond. Claus entered here, also, and saw a smaller room with a bed
against the wall and a stool set near a small stand. On the bed were
many layers of dried moss brought from the Forest.
"Indeed, it is a palace!" exclaimed the smiling Claus. "I must thank
the good Knooks again, for their knowledge of man's needs as well as
for their labors in my behalf."
He left his new home with a glad feeling that he was not quite alone
in the world, although he had chosen to abandon his Forest life.
Friendships are not easily broken, and the immortals are everywhere.
Upon reaching the brook he drank of the pure water, and then sat down
on the bank to laugh at the mischievous gambols of the ripples as they
pushed one another against rocks or crowded desperately to see which
should first reach the turn beyond. And as they raced away he
listened to the song they sang:
"Rushing, pushing, on we go!
Not a wave may gently flow--
All are too excited.
Ev'ry drop, delighted,
Turns to spray in merry play
As we tumble on our way!"
Next Claus searched for roots to eat, while the daffodils turned their
little eyes up to him laughingly and lisped their dainty song:
"Blooming fairly, growing rarely,
Never flowerets were so gay!
Perfume breathing, joy bequeathing,
As our colors we display."
It made Claus laugh to hear the little things voice their happiness as
they nodded gracefully on their stems. But another strain caught his
ear as the sunbeams fell gently across his face and whispered:
"Here is gladness, that our rays
Warm the valley through the days;
Here is happiness, to give
Comfort unto all who live!"
"Yes!" cried Claus in answer, "there is happiness and joy in all
things here. The Laughing Valley is a valley of peace and good-will."
He passed the day talking with the ants and beetles and exchanging
jokes with the light-hearted butterflies. And at night he lay on his
bed of soft moss and slept soundly.
Then came the Fairies, merry but noiseless, bringing skillets and pots
and dishes and pans and all the tools necessary to prepare food and to
comfort a mortal. With these they filled cupboard and fireplace,
finally placing a stout suit of wool clothing on the stool by the bedside.
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