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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
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