5. How Bessie Blithesome Came to the Laughing Valley
One day, as Claus sat before his door to enjoy the sunshine while hebusily carved the head and horns of a toy deer, he looked up anddiscovered a glittering cavalcade of horsemen approaching through theValley.
When they drew nearer he saw that the band consisted of a score ofmen-at-arms, clad in bright armor and bearing in their hands spears andbattle-axes. In front of these rode little Bessie Blithesome, thepretty daughter of that proud Lord of Lerd who had once driven Clausfrom his palace. Her palfrey was pure white, its bridle was coveredwith glittering gems, and its saddle draped with cloth of gold, richlybroidered. The soldiers were sent to protect her from harm while shejourneyed.
Claus was surprised, but he continued to whittle and to sing until thecavalcade drew up before him. Then the little girl leaned over theneck of her palfrey and said:
"Please, Mr. Claus, I want a toy!"
Her voice was so pleading that Claus jumped up at once and stood besideher. But he was puzzled how to answer her request.
"You are a rich lord's daughter," said he, "and have all that youdesire."
"Except toys," added Bessie. "There are no toys in all the world butyours."
"And I make them for the poor children, who have nothing else to amusethem," continued Claus.
"Do poor children love to play with toys more than rich ones?" askedBessie.
"I suppose not," said Claus, thoughtfully.
"Am I to blame because my father is a lord? Must I be denied thepretty toys I long for because other children are poorer than I?" sheinquired earnestly.
"I'm afraid you must, dear," he answered; "for the poor have nothingelse with which to amuse themselves. You have your pony to ride, yourservants to wait on you, and every comfort that money can procure."
"But I want toys!" cried Bessie, wiping away the tears that forcedthemselves into her eyes. "If I can not have them, I shall be veryunhappy."
Claus was troubled, for her grief recalled to him the thought that hisdesire was to make all children happy, without regard to theircondition in life. Yet, while so many poor children were clamoring forhis toys he could not bear to give one to them to Bessie Blithesome,who had so much already to make her happy.
"Listen, my child," said he, gently; "all the toys I am now making arepromised to others. But the next shall be yours, since your heart solongs for it. Come to me again in two days and it shall be ready foryou."
Bessie gave a cry of delight, and leaning over her pony's neck shekissed Claus prettily upon his forehead. Then, calling to hermen-at-arms, she rode gaily away, leaving Claus to resume his work.
"If I am to supply the rich children as well as the poor ones," hethought, "I shall not have a spare moment in the whole year! But is itright I should give to the rich? Surely I must go to Necile and talkwith her about this matter."
So when he had finished the toy deer, which was very like a deer he hadknown in the Forest glades, he walked into Burzee and made his way tothe bower of the beautiful Nymph Necile, who had been his foster mother.
She greeted him tenderly and lovingly, listening with interest to hisstory of the visit of Bessie Blithesome.
"And now tell me," said he, "shall I give toys to rich children?"
"We of the Forest know nothing of riches," she replied. "It seems tome that one child is like another child, since they are all made of thesame clay, and that riches are like a gown, which may be put on ortaken away, leaving the child unchanged. But the Fairies are guardiansof mankind, and know mortal children better than I. Let us call theFairy Queen."
This was done, and the Queen of the Fairies sat beside them and heardClaus relate his reasons for thinking the rich children could get alongwithout his toys, and also what the Nymph had said.
"Necile is right," declared the Queen; "for, whether it be rich orpoor, a child's longings for pretty playthings are but natural. RichBessie's heart may suffer as much grief as poor Mayrie's; she can bejust as lonely and discontented, and just as gay and happy. I think,friend Claus, it is your duty to make all little ones glad, whetherthey chance to live in palaces or in cottages."
"Your words are wise, fair Queen," replied Claus, "and my heart tellsme they are as just as they are wise. Hereafter all children may claimmy services."
Then he bowed before the gracious Fairy and, kissing Necile's red lips,went back into his Valley.
At the brook he stopped to drink, and afterward he sat on the bank andtook a piece of moist clay in his hands while he thought what sort oftoy he should make for Bessie Blithesome. He did not notice that hisfingers were working the clay into shape until, glancing downward, hefound he had unconsciously formed a head that bore a slight resemblanceto the Nymph Necile!
At once he became interested. Gathering more of the clay from the bankhe carried it to his house. Then, with the aid of his knife and a bitof wood he succeeded in working the clay into the image of a toy nymph.With skillful strokes he formed long, waving hair on the head andcovered the body with a gown of oakleaves, while the two feet stickingout at the bottom of the gown were clad in sandals.
But the clay was soft, and Claus found he must handle it gently toavoid ruining his pretty work.
"Perhaps the rays of the sun will draw out the moisture and cause theclay to become hard," he thought. So he laid the image on a flat boardand placed it in the glare of the sun.
This done, he went to his bench and began painting the toy deer, andsoon he became so interested in the work that he forgot all about theclay nymph. But next morning, happening to notice it as it lay on theboard, he found the sun had baked it to the hardness of stone, and itwas strong enough to be safely handled.
Claus now painted the nymph with great care in the likeness of Necile,giving it deep-blue eyes, white teeth, rosy lips and ruddy-brown hair.The gown he colored oak-leaf green, and when the paint was dry Claushimself was charmed with the new toy. Of course it was not nearly solovely as the real Necile; but, considering the material of which itwas made, Claus thought it was very beautiful.
When Bessie, riding upon her white palfrey, came to his dwelling nextday, Claus presented her with the new toy. The little girl's eyes werebrighter than ever as she examined the pretty image, and she loved itat once, and held it close to her breast, as a mother does to her child.
"What is it called, Claus?" she asked.
Now Claus knew that Nymphs do not like to be spoken of by mortals, sohe could not tell Bessie it was an image of Necile he had given her.But as it was a new toy he searched his mind for a new name to call itby, and the first word he thought of he decided would do very well.
"It is called a dolly, my dear," he said to Bessie.
"I shall call the dolly my baby," returned Bessie, kissing it fondly;"and I shall tend it and care for it just as Nurse cares for me. Thankyou very much, Claus; your gift has made me happier than I have everbeen before!"
Then she rode away, hugging the toy in her arms, and Claus, seeing herdelight, thought he would make another dolly, better and more naturalthan the first.
He brought more clay from the brook, and remembering that Bessie hadcalled the dolly her baby he resolved to form this one into a baby'simage. That was no difficult task to the clever workman, and soon thebaby dolly was lying on the board and placed in the sun to dry. Then,with the clay that was left, he began to make an image of BessieBlithesome herself.
This was not so easy, for he found he could not make the silken robe ofthe lord's daughter out of the common clay. So he called the Fairiesto his aid, and asked them to bring him colored silks with which tomake a real dress for the clay image. The Fairies set off at once ontheir errand, and before nightfall they returned with a generous supplyof silks and laces and golden threads.
Claus now became impatient to complete his new dolly, and instead ofwaiting for the next day's sun he placed the clay image upon his hearthand covered it over with glowing coals. By morning, when he drew thedolly f
rom the ashes, it had baked as hard as if it had lain a full dayin the hot sun.
Now our Claus became a dressmaker as well as a toymaker. He cut thelavender silk, and nearly sewed it into a beautiful gown that justfitted the new dolly. And he put a lace collar around its neck andpink silk shoes on its feet. The natural color of baked clay is alight gray, but Claus painted the face to resemble the color of flesh,and he gave the dolly Bessie's brown eyes and golden hair and rosycheeks.
It was really a beautiful thing to look upon, and sure to bring joy tosome childish heart. While Claus was admiring it he heard a knock athis door, and little Mayrie entered. Her face was sad and her eyes redwith continued weeping.
"Why, what has grieved you, my dear?" asked Claus, taking the child inhis arms.
"I've--I've--bwoke my tat!" sobbed Mayrie.
"How?" he inquired, his eyes twinkling.
"I--I dwopped him, an' bwoke off him's tail; an'--an'--then I dwoppedhim an' bwoke off him's ear! An'--an' now him's all spoilt!"
Claus laughed.
"Never mind, Mayrie dear," he said. "How would you like this newdolly, instead of a cat?"
Mayrie looked at the silk-robed dolly and her eyes grew big withastonishment.
"Oh, Tlaus!" she cried, clapping her small hands together with rapture;"tan I have 'at boo'ful lady?"
"Do you like it?" he asked.
"I love it!" said she. "It's better 'an tats!"
"Then take it, dear, and be careful not to break it."
Mayrie took the dolly with a joy that was almost reverent, and her facedimpled with smiles as she started along the path toward home.