Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-22
mankind, and know mortal children better

mankind, and know mortal children better
than I. Let US call the Fairy Queen"
This was done, and the Queen Of the
Fairies sat beside them and heard Claus re-
late his reasons for thinking the rich chill
| dren could get along without his toys, and
also what the Nymph had said.
| Necile is right" declared the Queen;
| for whether 1t be rich or poor, child's
| longings for pretty play.hings are but nat
| ural. Rich Besse's heart may suffer as
much grief as poor Mayrie's: she can be
| just as lonely and discontented and just
| as gay and happy. l think. friend Claus,
1t is your duty to make all little ones glad
whether they chance to live in palaces or
l in cottages
| Your words are wise, fair Queen" re-
piled Claus. land my heart tells me they
are as just as they are wise. Hereafter all
children may claim my 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 and took a
| piece of moist clay in his hands while he
! thought what sort of toy he should make
| Tor Bessie Blithesome. He did not notice
| that his fingers were working the clay into
shape until, glancing downward, he found
| ne had unconsciously formed a head that
| bore slight resemblance to the Nymph
| Necile!
At once he became interested. Gathering
| more OF the clay from the bank he carried
] 1t to his house. Then, with the aid of his
| knife and a bit of wood he succeeded in
working the clay into the image of a toy
! nymph With skilful strokes he formed
/ long, waving hair on the head and covered
| the body with a gown of oak leaves while
| the two feet sticking out at the bottom of
| the gown were clad in sandals.
| But the clay was soft, and Claus found he
| must handle it gently to avoid running his
| pretty work.
| Perhaps the rays Of the sun will draw
| out the moisture and cause the clay to be-
come hard" he thought. So he laid the
4 irfDQ eta on Got
| glare of the sun
This done, he went to his bench and be-
| gan painting the toy deer and soon he be-
came SO interested in the work that he for
| got all about the clay nymph. But next
| morning, happening to notice it as it lay
| on the board, he found the sun had baked
1t to the hardness Of stone, and 1t was
| strong enough to be safely handled
Claus now painted the nymph with great
| care in the likeness of Necile, giving 1t
| deep-blue eyes, white teeth. rosy lips and
ruddy-brown hair. The gown he colored
| oak-leaf green, and when The paint was dry
| Claus himself was charmed with the new
| toy. OF course it was not nearly so lovely
| as the real Necile; but, considering the ma
| terial of which 1t was made Claus thought
| it was very beautiful.
| When Bessie, riding upon her white pal
! frey, came to his dwelling next day, Claus
presented her with the new toy. The lit
| tie girls eyes were brighter than ever as
| she examined the pretty image and she
| loved it at once, and held it close to her
| breast, a mother does her child
| What is 1t called, CLAUSE" she asked
| Now Claus knew that Nymphs do not
| like to be spoken of by mortals, so he could
| not tell Bessie it was an image of Necile
| he had given her. But as it was new toy
| he searched his mind for a new name to
| call it by, and the first word he thought of
| he decided would do very well.
| 1T is called a dolly, my dear" he said
| to Bessie.
Il shall call the dolly my baby" re-
| turned Bessie, kissing it fondly; land I
| shall tend it and care for it just as Nurse
cares for me. Thank you very much
| Claus; your gift has made me happier than
| 1 have ever been beforeI"
| Then she rode away, hugging the toy in
| her arms, and Claus, seeing her delight
| thought he would make another dolly, bet
| ter and more natural than the first.
| He brought more clay from the brook
and remembering that Bessie had called
| the dolly her baby, he resolved to form
| this one into babys image. That was
| no difficult task to the clever workman
| and the baby 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 Bessie Blithesome her
| self.
| This was not so easy, for he found he
could not make the slken robe Of the lord g
| daughter out of the common clay So he
| called the Fairies to his aid, and asked
| them to bring him coIored silks with which
| to make real dress for the clay image
Inc Fairies set off at once on their Grand
and before nightfall they returned with a