xt70k649pf1p https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70k649pf1p/data/mets.xml Page, Thomas Nelson, 1853-1922. 1908 books b92-242-31439613 English C. Scribner's Sons, : New York : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Santa Claus Juvenile fiction. Christmas stories. Tommy Trot's visit to Santa Claus / by Thomas Nelson Page ; illustrated by Victor C. Anderson. text Tommy Trot's visit to Santa Claus / by Thomas Nelson Page ; illustrated by Victor C. Anderson. 1908 2002 true xt70k649pf1p section xt70k649pf1p
TOMMY TROTS VISIT
TO
SANTA CLAUS

O130OKS FOR YOUNG READERS
! BiY THOMAS NELSON PAGE

I PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

Tonmy Trot's Visit to Santa Claus.
1hint rated il n(nhr .
Santa Claus's Partner
hllfs. trat f in ((lir .
A Captured Santa Claus
Illustratt.d it)iur
Among the Camps. Illustrated
Two Little Confederates. Illustrated
The Page Story Book. Illustratel

. 1.50

. 51.50

. .75
1.50
. 1.50
. 5.50

This page in the original text is blank.

As eily ;isdeaake as a bo4YV emild b1 who hadt made Ill, his
mwoindl to. keep uw;ake mntil miuidight.

TOMMY TROT'S VISIT
TO

SANTA

CLAUS

THOMAS NELSON PAGE

ILLUSTRATED BY
VICTOR C. ANDERSON

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1908

COPYmOITr, 1908. BY

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

Published October. 1908

THE GREATEST LOVER OF CHILDREN
THE AUTHOR HAS EVER KNOWN
AND TO THE CHILDREN SHE LOVES
BEST IN ALL THE WORLD

This page in the original text is blank.

I LLUSTRRATIONS

As tvide awvakc as a boy could be wttho had made up
his mind to keep awake until midnight . Frontispiece

FAMINO
PAG H

Tommy had nerer before had any real coasting like this 10

They flewt on, otcr fields of uahite snowv . . . . . 42

Look, look! Thc captain has lent that little boy his
'Seven Leaguers' " . . . . . . . . . . 52

What was their horror to finil that thcy both had for-
gotten to load their guns . . . . . . . . 82

Santa Claus said to himt, "I avant to ptut Johnny in.
bed without u'aking hin up" .92

This page in the original text is blank.

TOMMY TROT'S VISIT TO
SANTA CLAUS

T HE little boy whose story is told here
lived in the beautiful country of
"Once upon a Time." His name, as I
heard it, was Tommy Trot; but I think
that, maybe, this was only a nick-name.
When he was about your age, he had, on
Christmas Eve, the wonderful adventure
of seeing Santa Claus in his own country,
1

TOMAIMY TROT'S VISIT

where he lives and makes all the beauti-
ful things that boys and girls get at Christ-
mas. In fact, he not only went to see
him in his own wonderful city away up
toward the North Pole, where the sznow
never melts and the Aurora lightens up the
sky; but he and his friend, Johnny Stout,
went with dogs and guns to hunt the great
polar bear whose skin afterwards always lay
in front of the big library fireplace in
Tommy's home.
This is the way it all happened.
Tommy lived in a big house on top of
quite a high hill, not far from a town which
could be seen clearly from the front portico
and windows. Around the house was a large
lawn with trees and shrubbery in it, and at
the back was a big lot, in one corner of which
stood the stables and barns, while on the other
side sloped down a long steep hill to a little
2

TO SANTA CLAUS

stream bordered with willows and maples
and with a tract of woodland beyond. This
lot was known as the "cow-pasture," and
the woodland was known as the "wood-
lot," while yet beyond was a field which
Peake, the farmer, always spoke of as the
"big field." On the other side of the cow-
lot, where the stables stood, was a road
which ran down the hill and across the
stream and beyond the woods, and on the
other side of this road near the bottom of the
hill was the little house in which lived Johnny
Stout and his mother. They had no fields or
lots, but only a backyard in which there were
chickens and pigeons and, in the Fall, just
before Tommy's visit to Santa Claus, two
white goats, named "Billy" and "Carry,"
which Johnny had broken and used to drive
to a little rough wagon which he had made
himself out of a box set on four wheels.
3

TOMM-\IY TROT'S VISIT

Tommy had no brothers or sisters, and
the only cousins he had in town were little
girls younger than himself, to whom he
ha(l to "give up" when any one was
around, so he was not as fond of them as
he should have been; and Sate, his dog,
a terrier of temper and humours, was about
his only real playmate. He used to play
by himself and he was often very lonely,
though he hadl more toys than any other boy
he knew. In fact, he had so many toys that
he was unable to enjoy any one of them very
long, and after having them a little while he
usually broke them up. Ile used to enjoy the
stories which his father read to him out of
Mother Goose and the fairy-books and
the tales he told him of travellers and
hunters who had shot lions and bears and
Bengral tigers; but when he grew tired of this,
he often w ished he could go out in the street
4

TO SANTA CLAUS

and play all the time like Johnny Stout and
some of the other boys. Several times he
slipped out into the road beyond the cow-
lot to try to get a chance to play with
Johnny who was only about a year older
than he, but could do so many things
which Tommy could not do that he quite
envied him. It was one of the proudest
days of his life when Johnny let him come
over and drive his goats, and when he went
home that evening, although he was quite
cold, he was so full of having driven them
that he could not think or talk of anything
else, and when Christmas drew near, one of
the first things lie wrote to ask Santa Claus
for, wshen he put the letter in the library fire,
was a wagon and a pair of goats. Even his
father's statement that he feared he was too
small yet for Santa Claus to bring him such
things, did not wholly dampen his hope.
5

TOMMIY TROT'S VISIT

He even began to dream of being able to
go out some time and join the bigger boys
in coasting down the long hill on the other
side from Johnny Stout's, for though his
father and mother thought he was still
rather small to do this, his father had prom-
ised that he might do it sometime, and
Tommy thought "sometime" would be
after his next birthday. When the heavy
snow fell just before Christmas he began
to be sorry that he had broken up the sled
Santa Claus had given him the Christmas
before. In fact, Tommy had never wanted a
sled so much as he did the afternoon two days
before Christmas, when he persuaded his
father to take him out again to the coasting
hill to see the boys coasting. There were
all sorts of sleds: short sleds and long sleds,
bob-sleds and flexible fliers. They held
one, two, three, and sometimes even half a
6

TO SANTA CLAUS

dozen boys and girls-for there were girls,
too-all shouting and laughing as they went
flying down the hill, some sitting and some
lying down, but all flying and shouting, and
none taking the least notice of Tommy.
Sate made them take notice of him; for he
would rush out after the sleds, barking just
as if they had been cats, and several times
he got bowled over-once, indeed, he got
tangled up in the string of a sled and was
dragged squealing with fright down the
hill. Suddenly, however, Tommy gave a
jump. Among the sleds flying by, most of
them painted red, and very fine looking,
was a plain, unpainted one, and lying full
length upon it, on his stomach, with his
heels high in the air, was Johnny Stout,
with a red comforter around his neck, and
a big cap pulled down over his ears. Tom-
my knew him at once.
7

TOMMIY TROT'S VISIT

"Look, father, look!" he cried, pointing;
but Johnny's sled was far down the hill
before his father could see him. A few
minutes later he came trudging up the hill
again and, seeing Tommy, ran across and
asked him if he would like to have a ride.
Tommy's heart bounded, but sank within
him again when his father said, " I am
afraid he is rather little."
"Oh! I'll take care of him, sir," said
Johnny, whose cheeks were glowing. Tom-
my began to jump up and down.
"Please, father, please," he urged. His
father only smiled.
"Why, you are not so very big yourself,"
he said to Johnny.
"Big enough to take care of him," said
Johnny.
"W hy, father, lie's awful big," chimed
in Tommy.
8

TO SANTA CLAUS

"Do you think so" laughed his father.
Hle turned to Johnny. "What is your name "
" Johnny, sir. I live down lelow your
house." Ile pointed across toward his
own home.
"I know him," said Tommy proudly. " He
has got goats and he let me drive them."
"Yes, he can drive," said Johnny, con-
descendingly, with a nod, and Tommy was
proud of his praise. His father looked at him.
"Is your sled strong " he asked.
"Yes, sir. I made it myself," said
Johnny, and lie gave the sled a good kick
to show how strong it wA-as.
"All right," said ToimImy's father. They
followed Johnny to the top of the slide,
and Tommy got on in front and his father
tucked his coat in.
"Hold on andl do1Iit be afraid," lie said.
"Afraid!" said Tonmminy contemptuously.
9

TOMIMIY TROT'S VISIT

Just then Johnny, with a whoop and a
push which almost upset Tommy, flung
himself on behind and away they went down
the hill, as Johnny said, "just ski-uting."
Tommy had had sledding in his own
yard; but he had never before had any
real coasting like this, and he had never
dreamed before of anything like the thrill
of dashing down that long hill, flying like
the wind, with Johnny on behind, yelling
"Look out!" to every one, and guiding so
that the sled tore in and out among the
others, and at the foot of the hill actually
turned around the curve and went far on
down the road.
"You're all right," said Johnny, and
Tommy had never felt prouder. His only
regret was that the hill did not tilt up the
other way so that they could coast back in-
stead of having to trudge back on foot.
10

I(utiiiniv ha.ld never before had and real coa stilng like Hiti.

This page in the original text is blank.

TO SANTA CLAUS

When they got back again to the top of
the hill, Tommy's father wanted to know
if they had had enough, but Tommy told
him he never could have enough. So they
coasted down again and again, until at
length his father thought they had better
be going home, and Johnny said he had to
go home, too, "to help his mother."
"How do you help" asked Tommy's
father, as they started off.
"Oh, just little ways," said Johnny.
"I get wood-and split it up-and go to
Mr. Bucket's and get her things for her-
draw water and feed the cow, when we had
a cow-we ain't got a cow now since our
cow died-and-oh-just a few little things
like that."
Tommy's father made no reply, and
Tommy, himself, was divided between won-
der that Johnny could call all that work
11

TOMIMY TROT'S VISIT

"just a few little things," and shame that
he should say, "ain't got," which he, him-
self, had been told lie must never say.
His father, however, presently asked,
"Who is 'Mr. Bucket "
" Don't you know AMr. Bucket " said
Johnny. " He keeps that grocery on Hill
Street. Ile gave me the box I made this
old thing out of."
"Oh," said Tommy's father, and turned
and looked the sled over again.
"What was the matter with your cow"
asked Tommy.
"Broke her leg-right here," and Johnny
pulled up his trousers and showed just
where the leg was broken below the knee.
" The doctor said she must be killed, and so
she was; but Mlr. Bucket said he could have
saved her if the 'Siety would've let him.
He'd 'a just swung her up until she got well."
1

TO SANTA CLAUS

" Hov " asked Tommy, much inter-
ested.
"What Society " asked his father.
Johnny answered the last question first.
"'Pervention of Cruelty,"' he said, shortly.
"Oh," said Tommy's father.
"I know how she broke her leg," said
Johnny.
" how did she break her leg " inquired
Tommy.
"A boy done it. I know him and I know
he done it, and some day I'm going to catch
him when he ain't looking for me."
"You have not had a cow since " in-
quired Tommy's father. " Then you do
not have to go and drive her up and milk
her when the weather is cold "
"Oh, I would not mind that," said
Johnny cheerily. "I'd drive her up if the
weather was as cold as Greenland, and
13

TOMMN1Y TROT'S VISIT

milk her, too, so I had her. I used to love
to feed her and I didn't mind carryin' milk
around; for I used to get money for it for
my mother to buy things with; but now,
since that boy broke her leg and the 'Siety
killed her "
He did not say what there was since; he
just stopped talking and presently Tom-
my's father said: "You do not have so
much money since "
"No, sir!" said Johnny, "and my mother
has to work a heap harder, you see."
"And you work too "
"Some," said Johnny. "I sell papers
and clean off the sidewalk when there is
snow to clean off, and run errands for Mr.
Bucket and do a few things. XVell, I've
got to go along," he added, "I've got some
things to do now. I was just trying this old
sled over on the hill to see how she would
14

TO SANTA CLAUS

go. I've got some work to do now "; and
he trotted off, whistling and dragging his
sled behind him.
As Tommy and his father turned into
their grounds, his father asked, " Where did
he say he lived "
" Wait, I'll show you," said Tommy,
proud of his knowledge. " Down there
[pointing]. See that little house down in
the bottom, away over beyond the cow-
pasture "
"How do you know he lives there "
" Because I've been there. lie's got
goats," said Tommy, "and he let me drive
them. I wish I had some goats. I wish
Santa Claus would bring me two goats
like Johnny's."
"Which would you rather have Goats
or a cow " asked his father.
"Goats," said Tommy, promptly.
1h

TOAUMMY TROT'S VISIT

"I wonder if Johnny would!" laughed his
father.
"Father, where is Greenland " said
Tommy, presently.
"A country away up at the North-away
up in that direction." His father pointed
far across the cow-pasture, which lay shin-
ing in the evening light. "I must show it
to you on the map."
"Is it very cold there " asked Tommy.
"Very cold in winter."
" Colder than this '"
"Oh, yes, because it is so far north that
the sun never gets up in winter to warm
it, and away up there the winter is just
one long night and the summer one long
day."
"Why, that's where Santa Claus comes
from," said Tommy. "Do people live up
there "
16

TO SANTA CLAUS

"People called Eskimos," said his father,
"who live by fishing and hunting."
"Tell me about them," said Tommy.
"What do they hunt"
"Bears," said his father, "polar bears-
and walrus-and seals-and "
"Oh, tell me about them," said Tommy,
eagerly.
So, as they walked along, his father told
him of the strange little, flat-faced people,
who live all winter in houses made of ice
and snow and hunted on the ice-floes for
polar bears and seals and walrus, and in the
summer got in their little kiaks and paddled
around, hunting for seals and walrus with
their arrows and harpoons, on the "pans"
or smooth ice, where every family of
"harps" or seals have their own private
door, gnawed down through the ice with
their teeth.
17

TI'OMMY TROT'S VISIT

"I wish I could go there," said Tommy,
his eyes gazing across the long. white glis-
tening fields with the dark border of the
woodland beyond and the rich saffron of
the winter sky above the tree-tops stretch-
ing across in a border below the steelly
white of the upper heavens.
"What would you do " asked his father.
"Hunt polar bears," said Tommy
promptly. "I'd get one most as big as the
library, so mother could give you the skin;
because I heard her say she would like to
have one in front of the library fire, and the
only way she could get one would be to give
it to you for Christmas."
His father laughed. "All right, get a big
one.
" You will have to give me a gun. A
real gun that will shoot. A big one-so
big." Tommy measured with his arms out
18

TO SANTA CLAUS

straight. "Bigger than that. And I tell
you what I would do. I would get Johnny
and we would hitch his goats to the sled
and drive all the way up there and hunt
polar bears, and I'd hunt for sealskins, too,
so you could give mother a coat. I heard
her say she wanted you to give her one.
Wouldn't it be fine if I could get a great big
bearskin and a sealskin, too! I wish I had
Johnny's goats!"
"You must have dogs up there to draw
your sled," said his father.
"All right! After I got there I would get
Santa Claus to give me some," said Tommy.
"But you give me the gun."
His father laughed again. " Well, may-
be-some day," said he.
"' Some day' is too far away," said
Tommy. "I want to go now."
"Not so far away when you are my
19

TOMAMY TROT'S VISIT

age," said his father smiling. "Ah, there
is where the North Star is," he said, point-
ing. "You cannot see it yet. I will show
it to you later, so you can steer by it."
"That is the way Santa Claus comes,"
said Tommy, his eyes on the Northern
sky. " I am going to wait for him to-
morrow night."
"You know he does not bring things to
boys who keep awake!"
"I know; but I won't let him see me."
As they trudged along Tommy suddenly
asked, " Don't you wish, Father, Santa Claus
would bring Johnny a cow for his mother "
"'Why, yes," said his father.
"Like Cowslip or Rose or even old
Crumpled Horn "
"Like our cows!" echoed his father, ab-
sently. " Why, yes."
"Because they are all fine cows, you
20

TO SANTA CLAUS

know. Peake says so, and Peake knows
a good cow," said Tommy, proud of his
intimacy with the farmer. " I tell you
what I am going to do when I get home,"
he declared. "I am going to write another
letter to Santa Claus and put it in the chim-
ney and ask him to send Johnny a whole
lot of things: a cow and a gun and all sorts
of things. Do you think it's too late for him
to get it now "
"I don't know. It is pretty late," said
his father. "WAThy didn't you ask him to
send these things to Johnny when you
wrote your other letter"
" I did not think of it," said Tommy,
frankly. "I forgot him."
"Do you ask only for yourself"
" No. For little Sis and -Mother and
Peake and one other, but I'm not going to
tell you who lie is."
21

TOMIMAY TROT'S VISIT

His father smiled. "Not Johnny"
"No," said Tommy. "I forgot him."
"I am afraid I did, too," said his father
slowly. " Well, write another and try.
You can never tell. Trying is better than
crying."
This was two days before Christmas.
And the next afternoon Tommy went again
with his father to the coasting-hill to see
the boys and once more take a coast with
Johnny. But no Johnny was there and no
other boy asked Tommy if he wanted a ride.
So, they returned home much disappointed,
his father telling him more about the Eski-
mos and the polar bears. But, just as they
were turning the corner before reaching the
gate which led into their grounds, they
came on Johnny struggling along through
the snow, un(ler the weight of a big basket
full of bundles. At sight of them he swung
22

TO SANTA CLAUS

the basket down in the snow with a loud,
" Whew, that's heavy! I tell you." Tommy
ran forward to meet him.
" We have been looking for you," he said.
" I could not go to-day," explained
Johnny. "I had to work. I am working
for Mr. Bucket to-day to make some money
to buy Christmas things."
"How much do you make " asked
Tommy's father.
"Half a dollar to-day, if I work late. I
generally make ten cents, sometimes fifteen."
" That is a pretty heavy load-in the
snow," said Tommy's father, as Johnny
stooped and swung his basket up on his hip.
" Oh, I can manage it," said the boy,
cheerfully. "A boy stole my sled last night,
or I would carry it on that."
"Stole your sled!" cried Tommy.
"Yes, I left it outside the door when I
23

TOMIMNY TROT'S VISIT

was getting my load to put on, and when I
came out it was gone. I wish I could
catch him."
"I am going to watch for him, too," said
Tommy.
'If I had a box I could make another
one," said Johnny. "'Maybe, Mr. Bucket
will give me one after Christmas. He said
maybe he would. Then I will give you an-
other ride." I-e called over his shoulder to
them, as he trudged off, "Well, good-by.
I hope you will have a merry Christmas,
and that Santa Claus will bring you lots of
things," and away he trudged. They wished
him a merry Christmas, too, and then turned
into their grounds.
"Father," said Tommy, suddenly, "let's
give Johnny a sled."
"Yes," said his father, "you might give
him yours-the one you got last Christmas."
24

TO SANTA CLAUS

"I haven't got it now. It's gone," said
Tommy.
"Did some one take it-like Johnny's i
"No, I broke it," said Tommy, crestfallen.
" You might mend it " suggested his
father.
"I broke it all up," said Tommy, sadly.
"Ah, that is a pity," said his father.
Tommy was still thinking.
"Father, why can't I give him a box"
he said. " The basement and the wood-
shed are full of big boxes."
"Why not give him the one I gave you
a few days ago "
" I broke it up, too," said Tommy shame-
facedly.
"Oh," said his father. "That's a pity.
Johnny could have made a sled out of it."
Tommy felt very troubled, and he began
to think what he might do.
25

TOMMIY TROT'S VISIT

"If you will give me another, I will give
it to Johnny," he said presently.
" Why, I'll tell you what I will do," said
his father. "I will furnish the box if you
will carry it over to Johnny's home."
" All right. I will do it," said Tommy
promptly. So as soon as they reached
home Tommy dived down into the base-
ment and soon came out, puffing and blow-
ing, dragging along with him a big box as
high as his head.
"I am afraid that is too big for you to
carry," suggested his father.
"Oh, I will make Richard carry it."
"Richard is my servant, not yours," said
his father. "Besides, you were to carry it
yourself."
"It is too big for me. The snow is too
deep."
"Now, if you had not broken up your
26

TO SANTA CLAUS

sled you might carry it on that," said his
father.
" Yes," said Tommy sadly. " I wish I
had not broken it up. I'll be bound that I
don't break up the next one I get."
"That's a good beginning," said his
father. "But wishing alone will never do
anything, not even if you had the magical
wishing-cap I read you about. You must
not only wish; you must help yourself.
Now, Johnny would make a sled out of
that box."
"I wish I could," said Tommy. "I
would try if I had some tools. I wish I had
some tools."
"What tools would you need "
Tommy thought a minute. " Why, a ham-
mer and some nails."
" A hammer and nails would hardly
make a sled by themselves."
27

TOMM11Y TROT'S VISIT

"Why, no. I wish I had a saw, too."
"I thought Santa Claus brought you all
these tools last Christmas" suggested his
father.
"He did; but I lost them," said Tommy.
"Did you ever hunt for them "
"Some. I have hunted for the hammer."
"Well, suppose you hunt again. Look
everywhere. If you find any I might lend
you the others. You might look in my
lumber room." Tommy ran off and soon
returned with a hammer and some nails
which he had found, and a few minutes later
his father brought a saw and a hatchet,
and they selected a good box, which
Tommy could drag out, and put it in the
back hall.
"Now," said Tommy, "what shall we
do next "
"That is for you to say," said his father.
28

TO SANTA CLAUS

"Johnny does not ask that question. He
thinks for himself."
" Well, we must knock this box to pieces,"
said Tommy.
"I think so, too," assented his father.
"Very carefully, so as not to split the
boards."
"Yes, very carefully," said Tommy, and
he began to hammer. The nails, however,
were in very tight and there was a strip of
iron along each of the edges, through which
they were driven, so it was hard work; but
when Tommy really tried and could not
get the boards off, his father helped him,
and soon the strips were off and the boards
quickly followed.
" Now what shall we do " asked his
father.
"Why, we must make the sled."
"Yes-but how"
29

TOMMY TROT'S VISIT

"Why, we must have runners and then
the top to sit on. That's all."
"Very well. Go ahead," said his father.
So Tommy picked up two boards and
looked at them. But they were square at
the ends.
"We must make the runners," he said
sadly.
"That's so," said his father.
" Will you saw them for me " asked
Tommy.
"Yes, if you will show me where to saw."
Tommy pondered.
"Wait," he said, and he ran off, and in a
moment came back with a picture of a sled
in a magazine. "Now make it this way,"
he said, showing his father how he should
saw the edges.
He was surprised to see how well his
father could do this, and his admiration for
30

TO SANTA CLAUS

him increased as he found that he could
handle the tools quite as well as Peake, the
farmer; and soon the sled began to look
like a real sled with runners, sawed true,
and with cross-pieces for the feet to rest on,
and even with a strip of iron, taken from
the edges of the boxes, carefully nailed on
the bottom of the runners.
Suddenly Tommy cried, "Father, why
not give Johnny this sled "
"The very thing!" exclaimed his father
with a smile. And Tommy felt quite proud
of having suggested it.
"I wish it had a place to hitch on the
goats," said Tommy, thoughtfully.
"Let's make one," said his father; and
in a few minutes two holes were bored in
the front of the runners.
It was now about dusk, and Tommy said
he would like to take the sled down to
31

TOMMENIY TROT'S V'ISIT

Johnny's house and leave it at his door
where he could find it when he came home
from work, and, maybe, he might think
Santa Claus had brought it. So he and his
father went together, Tommy dragging the
sled and, while his father waited at the
gate, Tommy took the sled and put it in
the yard at the little side-door of Johnny's
home. As they were going along, he said,
pointing to a small shed-like out-building
at the end of the little yard, "That's the
cow-house. He keeps his goats there,
too. Don't you wish Santa Claus would
bring his mother a cow I don't see
how he could get down that small chim-
ney!" he said, gazing at the little flue
which came out of the roof. "I wonder if
he doesH"
"I wonder if he does" said his father to
himself.
32

TO SANTA CLAUS

When Tommy slipped back again and
found his father waiting for him at the
gate, he thought he had never had so
fine a time in all his life. He determined
to make a sled for somebody every Christ-
mas.

W HEN they reached home Tommy,
after warming his hands and tell-
ing his mother about the sled, set to work
to write a letter to Santa Claus on behalf of
Johnny, and as he wrote, a number of
things came to him that he thought Johnny
would like to have. He remembered that
he had no gloves and that his hands were
very red; that his cap was very old and too
small for him; that a real flexible flier would
be a fine thing for him. Then, as he had
34

T___TOiWIMY TROT'S VISIT

asked for a gun for himself to hunt polar
bears with and a fur coat to go out with in
the snow, he added these in Johnny's letter
also; in fact, he asked for Johnny just the
things he had asked for himself, except the
goats, and, as Johnny had two goats, it was
not necessary to ask for them for him. In-
stead of goats, however, he asked that Santa
Claus might give Johnny's mother a cow,
as good as one of their cows. As he was
not a very rapid writer it took him some
time to write this letter, especially, as he did
not know how to spell a good many words,
and had to ask his mother how to spell
them, for his father had gone out soon after
their return from taking the sled to Johnny,
and immediately after showing him the
picture of the polar bear and the map of
the North-pole region. Then when the
letter was all done, signed and sealed,
35

TOMIMY TROT'S VISIT

Tommy carefully dropped it in the fire
in the library, and watched it as it first
twisted up, then burst into a blaze, and
finally disappeared in flame and smoke up
the big chimney, hoping that it would blow
away like the wind to Santa Claus to catch
him before he started out that night on his
round of visits.
By this time his supper was ready and he
found that he was very hungry. He had
no sooner finished it than he drew up in a
big chair by the warm fire, and began to
wonder whether Santa Claus would get his
letter in time, and, if so, what he would bring
Johnny. The fire was warm and his eyes
soon began "to draw straws," but lie did
not wish to go to bed quite yet andl, indeed,
had a lingering hope that when his father
returned he might coax him into lettinghim
go out again and slide with Johnny and
36

TO SANTA CLAUS

then, perhaps, stand a chance of seeing
Santa Claus come up the long hill, with his
reindeer flying like the wind over the snow
and taking the roofs of the houses with a
single bound. So he moved over to the sofa
where he could see better, and w-here it
would not be likely his sleepiness would be
observed.
The last thing he recalled in the sitting-
room was when he parted the heavy cur-
tains at the foot of the sofa and looked out
at the snow stretching away down the hill
toward the woods, and shining in the light
of the great round moon which had just
come up over the side of the yard to the
eastward. Then lie curled up in the corner
of the sofa as wide awake as a boy could be
who had made up his mind to keep awake
until midnight. The next thing he remem-
bered was Sate jumping up and snuggling
37

TOMAIY TROT'S VISIT

by him, and the next was his father coming
in and telling him Johnny wvas waiting out-
side with his sled and the two goats hitched
to it to take a long ride, and his wrapping
him up carefully in his heavy overcoat. In
a second he was out in the yard and made
a dash for the cow-lot, and there, sure
enough, was Johnny waiting for him at the
gate in the cow-pasture with a curious little
peaked cap on his head and his coat collar
turned up around his chin and tied with a
great red comforter, so that only his eyes
an(l nose peeped over it. As Tommy had
never seen Johnny with that cap on before,
he asked him where he had got it, and he
said hie had swapped caps with a little old
man he had met driving a cow in the road
as he came home. lie could not keep this
cap on his head, so Johnny had given him his
in place of it, as it fitted him very well. And
38

TO SANTA CLAUS

there were the two goats hitched to the very
sled Tommy had made. In a minute they
were on the sled, Tommy in front with the
reins and Johnny sitting behind. Just as
they were about to start, to Tommy's hor-
ror, out came Sate, and do as they might,
Sate would not go back; but jumped up on
the sled and settled down at Tommy's feet,
and as Johnny said lie did not mind and
that Sate would keep Tommy's feet warm,
they let him stay, which proved in the end
to be a very fortunate thing. Just after they
had fixed themselves comfortably, Johnny
said, "Are you ready" "Ready!" said
Tommy, and gathered up the reins, and the
next moment the goats started off, at first
at a walk and then at a little trot, while
Tommy was telling Johnny what his father
had told him about the night in Santa
Claus's country being so long that sometimes
39

TOM