Speaker 1: A kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum. Santa Claus
lives in the Laughing Valley, where stands the big rambling
castle in which his toys are manufactured. His workmen, selected
from the rills, nooks, pixies and fairies, live with him,
and every one is as busy as can be from
one year's end to another. It is called the Laughing
Valley because everything there is happy and gay. The brook
chuckles to itself as it leaps, rollicking between its green banks.
The wind whistles merrily in the trees, the sunbeams dance
lightly over the soft grass, and the violets and wild
flowers look smilingly up from their green nests. To laugh,
one needs to be happy. To be happy, one needs
to be content. And throughout the Laughing Valley of Santa Claus,
contentment reigns supreme. On one side is the mighty forest
of Burzi. At the other side stands the huge mountain
that contains the caves of the Demons, and between them
the valley lies smiling and peaceful. One would think that
our good old Santa Claus, who devotes his days to
making children happy, would have no enemies on all the earth,
and as a matter of fact, for a long period
of time he encountered nothing but love wherever he might go.
But the demons who live in the mountain caves grew
to hate Santa Claus very much, and all for the
simple reason that he made children happy. The caves of
the demons are five in number. A broad pathway leads
up to the first cave, which is a finely arched
cavern at the foot of the mountain, the entrance being
beautifully carved and decorated. In it resides the demon of Selfishness.
Back of this is another cavern inhabited by the demon
of Envy. The cave of the demon of Hatred is
next in order, and through this one passes to the
home of the demon of Malice, situated in a dark
and fearful cave in the very heart of the mountain.
I do not know what lies beyond this. Some say
there are terrible pitfalls leading to death and destruction, and
this may well be true. However, from each one of
the four caves mentioned there is a small, narrow tunnel
leading to the fifth cave, a cozy little room occupied
by the demon of repentance, and as the rocky floors
of these passages are well worn by the track of
passing feet. I judge that many wanderers in the caves
of the demons have escaped through the tunnels to the
abode of the demon of Repentance, who is said to
be a pleasant sort of fellow, who gladly opens for
one a little door, admitting you into fresh air and
sunshine again. Well, these demons of the caves, thinking they
had great cause to dislike old Santa Claus, held a
meeting one day to discuss the matter. I'm really getting lonesome,
said the demon of selfishness, For Santa Claus distributes so
many pretty Christmas gifts to all the children that they
become happy and generous through his example, and keep away
from my cave. I'm having the same trouble, rejoined the
demon of envy. The little ones seem quite content with
Santa Claus. And there are few, indeed, that I can
coax to become envious. And that makes it bad for me,
declared the demon of hatred, For if no children pass
through the caves of selfishness and envy, none can get
to my cavern or to mine, added the demon of malice,
for my part, said the demon of repentance. It is
easily seen that if children do not visit your caves,
they have no need to visit mine, So that I
am quite as neglected as you are, and all because
of this person they call Santa Claus, exclaimed the demon
of envy. He is simply ruining our business, and something
must be done at once. To this, they readily agreed,
but what to do was another and more difficult matter
to settle. They knew that Santa Claus worked all through
the year his castle in the Laughing Valley, preparing the
gifts he was to distribute on Christmas Eve, and at
first they resolved to try to tempt him into their caves,
that they might lead him on to the terrible pitfalls
that ended in destruction. So the very next day, while
Santa Claus was busily at work, surrounded by his little
band of assistants, the demon of selfishness came to him
and said, these toys are wonderfully bright and pretty. Why
do you not keep them for yourself. It's a pity
to give them to those noisy boys and fretful girls
who break and destroy them so quickly. Nonsense, cried the
old gray Beard, his bright eyes twinkling merrily as he
turned toward the tempting demon. The boys and girls are
never so noisy and fretful after receiving my presents, And
if I can make them happy for one day in
the year, I am quite content. So the demon went
back to the others who awaited him in their caves,
and said, I have failed, for Santa Claus is not
at all all selfish. The following day, the demon of
envy visited Santa Claus, said he the toy shops are
full of playthings quite as pretty as those you are making.
What a shame it is that they should interfere with
your business. They make toys by machinery much quicker than
you can make them by hand, and they sell them
for money, while you get nothing at all for your work.
But Santa Claus refused to be envious of the toy shops.
I can supply the little ones, but once a year
on Christmas Eve, he answered, for the children are money,
and I am but one, And as my work is
one of love and kindness, I would be ashamed to
receive money for my little gifts. But throughout all the year,
the children must be amused in some way, and so
the toy shops are able to bring much happiness to
my little friends. I like the toy shops and am
glad to see them prosper. In spite of the second rebuff,
the demon of hatred thought he would try to influence
Santa Claus, so no next day he entered the busy
workshop and said, good morning, Santa. I have bad news
for you. Then run away like a good fellow, answered
Santa Claus. Bad news is something that should be kept
secret and never told. You cannot escape this, however, declared
the demon. For in the world are a good many
who do not believe in Santa Claus, and these you
are bound to hate bitterly, since they have so wronged you.
Stuff and rubbish, cried Santa. And there are others who
resent your making children happy, and who sneer at you
and call you a foolish old rattle pate. You are
quite right to hate such base slanderers, and you ought
to be revenged upon them for their evil words. But
I don't hate em, exclaimed Santa Claus. Positively. Such people
do me no real harm, but merely render themselves and
their children unhappy, poor things. I'd much farther help them
any day than injure them. Indeed, the demons could not
tempt Old Santa Claus in any way. On the contrary,
he was shrewd enough to see that their object in
visiting him was to make mischief and trouble. And his
cheery laughter disconcerted the evil ones and showed to them
the folly of such an undertaking. So they abandoned honeyed
words and determined to use force. It was well known
that no harm can come to Santa Claus while he
is in the Laughing Valley, for the fairies and rylls
and nooks all protect him. But on Christmas Eve he
drives his reindeer out into the big world, carrying a
sleigh load of toys and pretty gifts to the children.
And this was the time in the occasion when his
enemies had the best chance to injure him. So the
demons laid their plans and awaited the arrival of Christmas Eve.
The moon shone big and white in the sky, and
the snow lay crisp and sparkling on the ground. As
Santa Claus cracked his whip and sped away out of
the valley, into the great world beyond. The roomy sleigh
was packed full with huge sacks of toys, and as
the reindeer dashed on onward our jolly old Santa laughed
and whistled and sang for very joy. For in all
his merry life, this was the one day in the
year when he was happiest, the day he lovingly bestowed
the treasures of his workshop upon the little children. It
would be a busy night for him, he well knew.
As he whistled and shouted and cracked his whip again.
He reviewed in mind all the towns and cities and
farmhouses where he was expected, and figured that he had
just enough presents to go around and make every child happy.
The reindeer knew exactly what was expected of them, and
dashed along so swiftly that their feet scarcely seemed to
touch the snow covered ground. Suddenly, a strange thing happened.
A rope shot through the moonlight, and a big noose
that was in the end of it settled over the
arms and bodies of Santa Claus and drew tight. Before
he could resist or even cry out, he was jerked
from the seat of the sleigh and tumbled head foremost
into a snow bank, while the reindeer rushed onward with
the load of toys and carried it quickly out of
sight and sound. Such a surprising experience confused Old Santa
for a moment, and when he had collected his senses,
he found that the wicked demons had pulled him from
the snow drift and bound him tightly with many coils
of the stout rope. And then they carried the kidnapped
Santa Claus away to their mountain, where they thrust the
prisoner into a secret cave and chained him to the
rocky wall so that he could not escape. Ha ha,
laughed the demons, rubbing their hands together with cruel glee.
What will the children do now, How they will cry
and scold and storm when they find there are no
toys in their stockings and no gifts on their Christmas trees,
And what a lot of punishment they will receive from
their parents, And how they will flock to our caves
of selfishness and envy and hatred and malice. We have
done a mighty clever thing, we demons of the caves.
Now it so chanced that on this Christmas Eve, the
good Santa Clause had taken with him in his sleigh,
Nutter the Rill, Peter the Nook, Kilter the Pixie, and
a small fairy named Whisk, his four favorite assistants. These
little people he had often found very useful in helping
him to distribute his gifts to the children. And when
their master was so suddenly dragged from the sleigh, they
were all snugly tucked underneath the seat, where the sharp
wind could not reach them. The tiny immortals knew nothing
of the capture of Santa Claus until some time after
he had disappeared, But finally they missed his cheery voice,
and as their master always sang or whistled on his journeys,
the silence warned them that something was wrong. Little Whisks
stuck out his head from underneath the seat and found
Santa Claus gone and no one to direct the flight
of the reindeer. Whoa, he called out, and the deer
obediently slackened speed and came to a halt. Peter and
Nutter and Kilter all jumped upon the seat and looked
back over the track made by the sleigh, but Santa
Claus had been left miles and miles behind. What shall
we do, asked whisk anxiously, all the mirth and mischief
banished from his wee face by this great calamity. We
must go back at once and find our master, said
Nutter the Rill, who thought and spoke with much deliberation. No, no,
exclaimed Peter the Knook, who cross and crabbed, though he was,
might always be depended upon in an emergency. If we
delay or go back, there will not be time to
get the toys to the children before morning, and that
would grieve Santa Claus more than anything else. It is
certain that some wicked creatures have captured him, added Kilter thoughtfully,
and their object must be to make the children unhappy.
So our first duty is to get the toys distributed
as carefully as if Santa Claus were himself present. Afterward
we can search for our master and easily secure his freedom.
This seemed such good and sensible advice that the others
said once resolved to adopt it. So Peter the Knook
called to the reindeer, and the faithful animals again sprang
forward and dashed over hill and valley, through forest and plain,
until they came to the houses wherein children lay sleeping
and dreaming of the pretty gifts they would find on
Christmas morning. The little immortals had set themselves a difficult task,
for although they had assisted Santa Claus on many of
his journeys, their master had always directed and guided them
and told them exactly what he wished them to do.
But now they had to distribute the toys according to
their own judgment. And they did not understand children as
well as did old Santa, so it is no wonder
they made some laughable errors. Mamie Brown, who wanted a doll,
got a drum instead, and a drum is of no
use to a girl who loves dolls. And Charlie Smith,
who delights to romp and play out of doors, and
who wanted some new rubber boots to keep his feet dry,
received a sewing box filled with colored worsteds and threads
in needles, which made him so provoked that he thoughtlessly
called our dear Santa Claus a fraud. Had there been
many such mistakes, the demons would have accomplished their evil
purpose and made the children unhappy. But the little friends
of the absent Santa Claus labored faithfully and intelligently to
carry out their master's ideas, and they made fewer errors
than might be expected under such unusual circumstances. And although
they worked as swiftly as possible, day had begun to
break before the toys and other presents were all distributed,
so for the first time in many years, the reindeer
trotted into the Laughing Valley on their return in broad daylight,
with the brilliant sun peeping over the edge of the forest,
to prove they were far behind their accustomed hours. Having
put the deer in the stable, the little folk began
to wonder how they might rescue their master, and they
realized they must discover, first of all what had happened
to him and where he was. So Whisk the Fairy
transported himself to the bower of the Fairy Queen, which
was located deep in the heart of the forest of Bursey,
and once there it did not take him long to
find out all about the naughty demons and how they
had kidnapped the good Santa Claus to prevent his making
children happy. The Fairy Queen also promised her assistance, and then,
fortified by this powerful support, Whisk flew back to where
Nutter and Peter and Kilter awaited him, and the four
counseled together and laid plans to rescue their master from
his enemies. It is possible that Santa Claus was not
as merry as usual during the night that succeeded his capture,
for although he had faith in the judgment of his
little friends, he could not avoid a certain amount of worry,
and an anxious look would creep at times into his
kind old eyes as he thought of the disappointment that
might await his dear little children. And the demons who
guarded him by turns, one after another did not neglect
to taunt him with contemptuous words in his helpless condition.
When Christmas Day dawned, the demon of malice was guarding
the prisoner, and his tongue was sharper than any of
the others. The children are waking up, Santa, he cried.
They are waking up to find their stockings empty. Ho ho,
how they will quarrel and wail and stamp their feet
in anger. Our caves will be full to day, old Santa,
Our caves are sure to be full. But to this,
as to other like taunts, Santa Claus answered nothing. He
was much grieved by his capture, it is true, but
his courage did not forsake him, and, finding that the
prisoner would not reply to his jeers, the demon of
Malice presently went away and sent the Demon of Repentance
to take his place. This last personage was not so
disagreeable as the others. He had gentle and refined features,
and his voice was soft and pleasant in tone. My
brother demons do not trust me over much, said he
as he entered the cavern. But it is morning now
and the mischief is done. You cannot visit the children
again for another year, that is true, answered Santa Claus,
almost cheerfully. Christmas Eve is past, and for the first
time in centuries I have not visited my children. The
little ones will be greatly disappointed, murmured the Demon of Repentance,
almost regretfully. But that cannot be helped now. Their grief
is likely to make the children selfish and envious and hateful.
And if they come to the Cave of the Demons
to day, I shall get a chance to lead some
of them to my cave of repentance. Do you never
repent yourself? Asked Santa Claus curiously. Oh, yes, indeed, answered
the demon, I am even now repenting that I assisted
in your capture. Of course, it is too late to
remedy the evil that has been done. But repentance, you know,
can only come after an evil thought or deed, For
in the beginning there is nothing to repent of. So
I understand, said Santa Claus, those who avoid evil need
never visit your cave as a rule. That is true,
replied the demon. Yet you who have done no evil,
are about to visit my cave at once, for to
prove that I sincerely regret my share in your capture,
I am going to permit you to escape. This speech
greatly surprised the prisoner, until he reflected that it was
just what might be expected of the Demon of Repentance.
The fellow at once busied himself untying the knots that
bound Santa Claus and unlocking the chains that fastened him
to the wall. Then he led the way through a
long tunnel until they both emerged in the Cave of Repentance.
I hope you will forgive me, said the demon pleadingly.
I am not really a bad person, you know, and
I believe I accomplish a great deal of good in
the world. With this, he opened a back door that
led in a flood of sunshine, and Santa Claus sniffed
the fresh air gratefully. I bear no malice, said he
to the demon in a gentle voice, and I am
sure the world would be a dreary place without you.
So good morning and a merry Christmas to you. With
these words, he stepped out to greet the bright morning,
and a moment later he was trudging along, whistling softly
to himself, on his way to his home in the
Laughing Valley. Marching over the snow toward the mountain was
a vast army made of the most curious creatures imaginable.
There were numberless nooks from the forest, as rough and
crooked in appearance as the gnarled branches of the trees
they ministered to, and there were dainty rills from the fields,
each one bearing the emblem of the flower or plant
it guarded. Behind these were many ranks of pixies, gnomes,
and nymphs, and in the rear a thousand beautiful fairies
floated along in gorgeous array. This wonderful army was led
by whisk Peter Nutter and Kilter, who had assembled it
to rescue Santa Claus from captivity and to punish the
demons who had dared to take him away from his
beloved children. And although they looked so bright and peaceful,
the little immortals were armed with powers that would be
very terrible to those who had incurred their anger. Woe
to the demons of the caves, if this mighty army
of vengeance ever met them. But lo coming to meet
his loyal friends, appeared the imposing form of Santa Claus,
his white beard floating in the breeze, and his bright
eyes sparkling with pleasure at this proof of the love
and veneration he had inspired in the hearts of the
most powerful creatures in existence. And while they clustered around
him and danced with glee at his safe return, he
gave them earnest thanks for their support. But Whisk and Nutter,
and Peter and Kilter he embraced affectionately. It is useless
to pursue the demons, said Santa Claus to the army.
They have their place in the world and can never
be destroyed. But that is a great pity. Nevertheless, he
continued musingly. So the fair and knooks, and pixies and
rills all escorted the good man to his castle, and
there left him to talk over the events of the
night with his little assistants. Whisk had already rendered himself
invisible and flown through the big world to see how
the children were getting along on this bright Christmas morning,
and by the time he returned, Peter had finished telling
Santa Claus of how they had distributed the toys. We
really did very well, cried the fairy in a pleased voice,
for I found little unhappiness among the children this morning.
Still you must not get captured again, my dear master,
for we might not be so fortunate another time in
carrying out your ideas. He then related the mistakes that
had been made, and which he had not discovered until
his tour of inspection, and Santa Claus at once sent
him with rubber boots for Charlie Smith and a doll
for Amy Brown, so that even those two disappointed ones
became happy. As for the wicked demons of the caves,
they were filled with anger and chagrin when they found
that their clever capture of Santa Claus had come to naught. Indeed,
no one on that Christmas Day appeared to be at
all selfish or envious or hateful, And realizing that while
the children Saint had so many powerful friends, it was
folly to oppose him, the demons never again attempted to
interfere with his journeys. On Christmas Eve, end of a
kidnapped Santa Claus