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Page 43
"We bestow this Mantle upon Claus, who is called the Patron
Saint of Children!"
At this the Mantle came away from its lofty crypt, and they carried it
to the house in the Laughing Valley.
The Spirit of Death was crouching very near to the bedside of Claus,
and as the immortals approached she sprang up and motioned them back
with an angry gesture. But when her eyes fell upon the Mantle they
bore she shrank away with a low moan of disappointment and quitted
that house forever.
Softly and silently the immortal Band dropped upon Claus the precious
Mantle, and it closed about him and sank into the outlines of his body
and disappeared from view. It became a part of his being, and neither
mortal nor immortal might ever take it from him.
Then the Kings and Queens who had wrought this great deed dispersed to
their various homes, and all were well contented that they had added
another immortal to their Band.
And Claus slept on, the red blood of everlasting life coursing swiftly
through his veins; and on his brow was a tiny drop of water that had
fallen from the ever-melting gown of the Queen of the Water Sprites,
and over his lips hovered a tender kiss that had been left by the
sweet Nymph Necile. For she had stolen in when the others were gone
to gaze with rapture upon the immortal form of her foster son.
2. When the World Grew Old
The next morning, when Santa Claus opened his eyes and gazed around
the familiar room, which he had feared he might never see again, he
was astonished to find his old strength renewed and to feel the red
blood of perfect health coursing through his veins. He sprang from
his bed and stood where the bright sunshine came in through his window
and flooded him with its merry, dancing rays. He did not then
understand what had happened to restore to him the vigor of youth, but
in spite of the fact that his beard remained the color of snow and
that wrinkles still lingered in the corners of his bright eyes, old
Santa Claus felt as brisk and merry as a boy of sixteen, and was soon
whistling contentedly as he busied himself fashioning new toys.
Then Ak came to him and told of the Mantle of Immortality and how
Claus had won it through his love for little children.
It made old Santa look grave for a moment to think he had been so
favored; but it also made him glad to realize that now he need never
fear being parted from his dear ones. At once he began preparations
for making a remarkable assortment of pretty and amusing playthings,
and in larger quantities than ever before; for now that he might
always devote himself to this work he decided that no child in the
world, poor or rich, should hereafter go without a Christmas gift if
he could manage to supply it.
The world was new in the days when dear old Santa Claus first began
toy-making and won, by his loving deeds, the Mantle of Immortality.
And the task of supplying cheering words, sympathy and pretty
playthings to all the young of his race did not seem a difficult
undertaking at all. But every year more and more children were born
into the world, and these, when they grew up, began spreading slowly
over all the face of the earth, seeking new homes; so that Santa Claus
found each year that his journeys must extend farther and farther from
the Laughing Valley, and that the packs of toys must be made larger
and ever larger.
So at length he took counsel with his fellow immortals how his work
might keep pace with the increasing number of children that none might
be neglected. And the immortals were so greatly interested in his
labors that they gladly rendered him their assistance. Ak gave him
his man Kilter, "the silent and swift." And the Knook Prince gave him
Peter, who was more crooked and less surly than any of his brothers.
And the Ryl Prince gave him Nuter, the sweetest tempered Ryl ever
known. And the Fairy Queen gave him Wisk, that tiny, mischievous but
lovable Fairy who knows today almost as many children as does Santa
Claus himself.
With these people to help make the toys and to keep his house in order
and to look after the sledge and the harness, Santa Claus found it
much easier to prepare his yearly load of gifts, and his days began to
follow one another smoothly and pleasantly.
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