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3. How the Ryls Colored the Toys
A hush lay on the Laughing Valley now. Snow covered it like a white spread
and pillows of downy flakes drifted before the dwelling where Claus sat feeding
the blaze of the fire. The brook gurgled on beneath a heavy sheet of ice and all
living plants and insects nestled close to Mother Earth to keep warm. The
face of the moon was hid by dark clouds, and the wind, delighting in the
wintry sport, pushed and whirled the snowflakes in so many directions that
they could get no chance to fall to the ground.
Claus heard the wind whistling and shrieking in its play and thanked the good
Knooks again for his comfortable shelter. Blinkie washed her face lazily and
stared at the coals with a look of perfect content. The toy cat sat opposite the
real one and gazed straight ahead, as toy cats should.
Suddenly Claus heard a noise that sounded different from the voice of the
wind. It was more like a wail of suffering and despair.
He stood up and listened, but the wind, growing boisterous, shook the door
and rattled the windows to distract his attention. He waited until the wind
was tired and then, still listening, he heard once more the shrill cry of
distress.
Quickly he drew on his coat, pulled his cap over his eyes and opened the door.
The wind dashed in and scattered the embers over the hearth, at the same
time blowing Blinkie's fur so furiously that she crept under the table to
escape. Then the door was closed and Claus was outside, peering anxiously
into the darkness.
The wind laughed and scolded and tried to push him over, but he stood firm.
The helpless flakes stumbled against his eyes and dimmed his sight, but he
rubbed them away and looked again. Snow was everywhere, white and
glittering. It covered the earth and filled the air.
The cry was not repeated.
Claus turned to go back into the house, but the wind caught him unawares
and he stumbled and fell across a snowdrift. His hand plunged into the drift
and touched something that was not snow. This he seized and, pulling it
gently toward him, found it to be a child. The next moment he had lifted it in
his arms and carried it into the house.
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