The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-12-22
Bnthesome, who had SO much already


Listen, my child" said he gently;
call the toys l am now making are
promised to others. But the next shall
be yours, since your heart so longs for
it. Come to me again in two days and
it shall be ready for YOU
Bessie gave a cry of delight, and.
leaning over the pony's neck, she kiss
ed Claus prettily upon his forehead.
Then, calling to her men-at-arms, she
rode gayly away, leaving Claus to re-
sumo his work.
"If am to supply the rich children
as we'll as the poor Ones" he thought,
Il shall not have spare moment in
the whole year! But is it right I
should give to the rich? Surely must
go to Necile and talk with her about
this matters
So when he had finished the toy
deer, which was very like a deer he
had known in the Forest glades, he
walked into BurZee and made his way
to the bower Of the beautiful Nymph
Necile, who had been his foster
mother
She greeted him tenderly and loving
ly, listening with interest to his story
of the visit Of Bessie Blithesome.
"And now tell me-" said he, ':shall
give toys to rich children?'
eve of the Forest know nothing of
riches,'' she replied. TT seems to me
that one child is like another child,
since they are all made of the same
clay, and that riches are like a gown,
which may be put on or taken away,
leaving the child unchanged. But the
Fairies are guardians of 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 relate his reasons for thinking
the rich children could get along with
out his toys, and also what the Nymph
had said.
''Necile is right" declared the Queen;
'.for, whether it be rich or poor, a
childs longings for pretty playthings
are but natural. Rich Bessie's heart
may suffer as much grief as poor
Mayrie's; she can be just as lonely and
discontinued and just as gay and hap
py. I think, friend Claus, it is your
duty to make all little ones glad, wheth-
er they chance to live in palaces or in
cottages"
"Your words are wise, fair Queen"
replied Claus, "and my heart tells me
they are as just as they are wise. Here
after. all children may claim my sery-
ices"
Then he bowed before the gracious
Fairy and, kissing Needles 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 for Bessie Blithesome. He did
not notice that his fingers were work
ing the clay into shape until, glancing
downward, he found he had uncon-
sciously formed head that bore a
slight resemblance to the Nymph Ne
cile!
At once he became interested. Gath
ering more of the clay from the bank
he carried it to his house. Then, with
the aid Of his knife and bit of wood
he succeeded in working the clay into
the image of toy nymph. With skill
full strokes he formed long, waving
hair on the head and covered the body
with 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 become hard,' he thought. So
he laid the image on fat board and
placed it in the glare of the sun.
This done, he went to his bench and
began painting the toy deer, and soon
he became so interested in the work
that he forgot all about the clay
nymph. But next morning. happen
ing to notice it as it lay on the board,
he found the sun had baked it to the
hardness of stone, and it was strong
enough to be safely handled.
oAouS III" pd1Atcu Tue uyupu WIFI
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 Claus himself
was charmed with the new toy. OF
course it was not nearly so lovely al
the real Necile, but, considering the
material of which it was made, Claus
thought it was very beautiful.
When Bessie, riding upon her white
palfrey, came to his dwelling next day,
Claus presented her with the new toy.
The little 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, as mother does
her child.
"What is it 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