It was Christmas Eve, and Little
Girl had just hung up her stocking by the fireplace—right where it would be all
ready for Santa when he slipped down the chimney. She knew he was coming,
because—well, because it was Christmas Eve, and because he always had come to
leave gifts for her on all the other Christmas Eves that she could remember,
and because she had seen his pictures everywhere down town that afternoon when
she was out with Mother.
Still, she wasn't JUST satisfied.
'Way down in her heart she was a little uncertain—you see, when you have never
really and truly seen a person with your very own eyes, it's hard to feel as if
you exactly believed in him—even though that person always has left beautiful
gifts for you every time he has come.
"Oh, he'll come," said
Little Girl; "I just know he will be here before morning, but somehow I
wish—"
"Well, what do you wish?"
said a Tiny Voice close by her—so close that Little Girl fairly jumped when she
heard it.
"Why, I wish I could SEE Santa
myself. I'd just like to go and see his house and his workshop, and ride in his
sleigh, and know Mrs. Santa—'twould be such fun, and then I'd KNOW for
sure."
"Why don't you go, then?"
said Tiny Voice. "It's easy enough. Just try on these Shoes, and take this
Light in your hand, and you'll find your way all right."
So Little Girl looked down on the
hearth, and there were two cunning little Shoes side by side, and a little
Spark of a Light close to them—just as if they were all made out of one of the
glowing coals of the wood-fire. Such cunning Shoes as they were—Little Girl
could hardly wait to pull off her slippers and try them on. They looked as if
they were too small, but they weren't—they fitted exactly right, and just as
Little Girl had put them both on and had taken the Light in her hand, along
came a little Breath of Wind, and away she went up the chimney, along with ever
so many other little Sparks, past the Soot Fairies, and out into the Open Air,
where Jack Frost and the Star Beams were all busy at work making the world look
pretty for Christmas.
Away went Little Girl—Two Shoes,
Bright Light, and all—higher and higher, until she looked like a wee bit of a
star up in the sky. It was the funniest thing, but she seemed to know the way
perfectly, and didn't have to stop to make inquiries anywhere. You see it was a
straight road all the way, and when one doesn't have to think about turning to
the right or the left, it makes things very much easier. Pretty soon Little
Girl noticed that there was a bright light all around her—oh, a very bright
light—and right away something down in her heart began to make her feel very
happy indeed. She didn't know that the Christmas spirits and little Christmas
fairies were all around her and even right inside her, because she couldn't see
a single one of them, even though her eyes were very bright and could usually
see a great deal.
But that was just it, and Little
Girl felt as if she wanted to laugh and sing and be glad. It made her remember
the Sick Boy who lived next door, and she said to herself that she would carry
him one of her prettiest picture-books in the morning, so that he could have
something to make him happy all day. By and by, when the bright light all
around her had grown very, very much brighter, Little Girl saw a path right in
front of her, all straight and trim, leading up a hill to a big, big house with
ever and ever so many windows in it. When she had gone just a bit nearer, she
saw candles in every window, red and green and yellow ones, and every one
burning brightly, so Little Girl knew right away that these were Christmas
candles to light her on her journey, and make the way dear for her, and
something told her that this was Santa's house, and that pretty soon she would
perhaps see Santa himself.
Just as she neared the steps and
before she could possibly have had time to ring the bell, the door
opened—opened of itself as wide as could be—and there stood—not Santa
himself—don't think it—but a funny Little Man with slender little legs and a
roly-poly stomach which shook every now and then when he laughed. You would
have known right away, just as Little Girl knew, that he was a very happy
little man, and you would have guessed right away, too, that the reason he was
so roly-poly was because he laughed and chuckled and smiled all the time—for
it's only sour, cross folks who are thin and skimpy. Quick as a wink, he pulled
off his little peaked red cap, smiled the broadest kind of a smile, and said,
"Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Come in! Come in!"
So in went Little Girl, holding
fast to Little Man's hand, and when she was really inside there was the
jolliest, reddest fire all glowing and snapping, and there were Little Man and
all his brothers and sisters, who said their names were "Merry
Christmas," and "Good Cheer," and ever so many other
jolly-sounding things, and there were such a lot of them that Little Girl just
knew she never could count them, no matter how long she tried.
All around her were bundles and boxes and piles of toys and games,
and Little Girl knew that these were all ready and waiting to be loaded into
Santa's big sleigh for his reindeer to whirl them away over cloudtops and
snowdrifts to the little people down below who had left their stockings all
ready for him. Pretty soon all the little Good Cheer Brothers began to hurry
and bustle and carry out the bundles as fast as they could to the steps where
Little Girl could hear the jingling bells and the stamping of hoofs. So Little
Girl picked up some bundles and skipped along too, for she wanted to help a bit
herself—it's no fun whatever at Christmas unless you can help, you know—and
there in the yard stood the BIGGEST sleigh that Little Girl had ever seen, and
the reindeer were all stamping and prancing and jingling the bells on their
harnesses, because they were so eager to be on their way to the Earth once
more.
She could hardly wait for Santa to come, and just as she had begun
to wonder where he was, the door opened again and out came a whole forest of
Christmas trees, at least it looked just as if a whole forest had started out
for a walk somewhere, but a second glance showed Little Girl that there were
thousands of Christmas sprites, and that each one carried a tree or a big
Christmas wreath on his back. Behind them all, she could hear some one laughing
loudly, and talking in a big, jovial voice that sounded as if he were good
friends with the whole world.
And straightway she knew that Santa himself was coming. Little
Girl's heart went pit-a-pat for a minute while she wondered if Santa would
notice her, but she didn't have to wonder long, for he spied her at once and
said:
"Bless my soul! who's this? and where did you come
from?"
Little Girl thought perhaps she might be afraid to answer him, but
she wasn't one bit afraid. You see he had such a kind little twinkle in his
eyes that she felt happy right away as she replied, "Oh, I'm Little Girl,
and I wanted so much to see Santa that I just came, and here I am!"
"Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" laughed Santa, "and here you
are! Wanted to see Santa, did you, and so you came! Now that's very nice, and
it's too bad I'm in such a hurry, for we should like nothing better than to
show you about and give you a real good time. But you see it is quarter of
twelve now, and I must be on my way at once, else I'll never reach that first chimney-top
by midnight. I'd call Mrs. Santa and ask her to get you some supper, but she is
busy finishing dolls' clothes which must be done before morning, and I guess
we'd better not bother her. Is there anything that you would like, Little
Girl?" and good old Santa put his big warm hand on Little Girl's curls and
she felt its warmth and kindness clear down to her very heart. You see, my
dears, that even though Santa was in such a great hurry, he wasn't too busy to
stop and make some one happy for a minute, even if it was some one no bigger
than Little Girl.
So she smiled back into Santa's face and said: "Oh, Santa, if
I could ONLY ride down to Earth with you behind those splendid reindeer! I'd
love to go; won't you PLEASE take me? I'm so small that I won't take up much
room on the seat, and I'll keep very still and not bother one bit!"
Then Santa laughed, SUCH a laugh, big and loud and rollicking, and
he said, "Wants a ride, does she? Well, well, shall we take her, Little
Elves? Shall we take her, Little Fairies? Shall we take her, Good
Reindeer?"
And all the Little Elves hopped and skipped and brought Little
Girl a sprig of holly; and all the Little Fairies bowed and smiled and brought
her a bit of mistletoe; and all the Good Reindeer jingled their bells loudly,
which meant, "Oh, yes! let's take her! She's a good Little Girl! Let her
ride!" And before Little Girl could even think, she found herself all
tucked up in the big fur robes beside Santa, and away they went, right out into
the air, over the clouds, through the Milky Way, and right under the very
handle of the Big Dipper, on, on, toward the Earthland, whose lights Little
Girl began to see twinkling away down below her. Presently she felt the runners
scrape upon something, and she knew they must be on some one's roof, and that
Santa would slip down some one's chimney in a minute.
How she wanted to go, too! You see if you had never been down a
chimney and seen Santa fill up the stockings, you would want to go quite as
much as Little Girl did, now, wouldn't you? So, just as Little Girl was wishing
as hard as ever she could wish, she heard a Tiny Voice say, "Hold tight to
his arm! Hold tight to his arm!" So she held Santa's arm tight and close,
and he shouldered his pack, never thinking that it was heavier than usual, and
with a bound and a slide, there they were, Santa, Little Girl, pack and all,
right in the middle of a room where there was a fireplace and stockings all
hung up for Santa to fill.
Just then Santa noticed Little Girl. He had forgotten all about
her for a minute, and he was very much surprised to find that she had come,
too. "Bless my soul!" he said, "where did you come from, Little
Girl? and how in the world can we both get back up that chimney again? It's
easy enough to slide down, but it's quite another matter to climb up
again!" and Santa looked real worried. But Little Girl was beginning to
feel very tired by this time, for she had had a very exciting evening, so she
said, "Oh, never mind me, Santa. I've had such a good time, and I'd just
as soon stay here a while as not. I believe I'll curl up on his hearth-rug a
few minutes and have a little nap, for it looks as warm and cozy as our own
hearth-rug at home, and—why, it is our own hearth and it's my own nursery, for
there is Teddy Bear in his chair where I leave him every night, and there's
Bunny Cat curled up on his cushion in the corner."
And Little Girl turned to thank Santa and say goodbye to him, but
either he had gone very quickly, or else she had fallen asleep very quickly—she
never could tell which—for the next thing she knew, Daddy was holding her in
his arms and was saying, "What is my Little Girl doing here? She must go
to bed, for it's Christmas Eve, and old Santa won't come if he thinks there are
any little folks about."
But Little Girl knew better than that, and when she began to tell
him all about it, and how the Christmas fairies had welcomed her, and how Santa
had given her such a fine ride, Daddy laughed and laughed, and said,
"You've been dreaming, Little Girl, you've been dreaming."
But Little Girl knew better than that, too, for there on the
hearth was the little Black Coal, which had given her Two Shoes and Bright
Light, and tight in her hand she held a holly berry which one of the Christmas
Sprites had placed there. More than all that, there she was on the hearth-rug
herself, just as Santa had left her, and that was the best proof of all.
The trouble was, Daddy himself had never been a Little Girl, so he
couldn't tell anything about it, but we know she hadn't been dreaming, now,
don't we, my dears?