The Story Of Santa Claus has been adapted from the original work of L. Frank Baum. Laughing Valley was a place where there were no sad people. Everyone was very happy and cheerful. The river ran freely through the mountains by the green banks, the sunbeams were warm and comfortable, the wind was soft and made the tree leaves sing, the flowers bloomed happily in their grass beds. All through the Valley spread joy and happiness.
On one side of the valley was the mysterious Forest of Burzee and on the other side were the caves of the Daemons. And deep in this wonderful valley stood Santa’s massive castle, it was huge and beautiful. Many workmen of different kinds worked hard all year long. There were ryls, pixies, knooks, and fairies. And all of them helped Santa in manufacturing beautiful toys for children all around the world!
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Everyone loved Santa except the Daemons. They hated and despised the beloved Santa. There were five Daemons in all and they all had their separate caves that were linked to each other. The first cave was of the Daemon of Selfishness, then came the cave of Daemon Envy next was the cave of Daemon hatred, then the cave of Daemon Malice, and finally the cave of Daemon Repentance. The entrance to the cave of Daemon Selfishness was beautifully decorated and the pathway was large and clean. Yet, no one ever showed up.
One day all the Daemons got together and had a meeting, for one and only reason – Santa Claus. “My cave has become lonesome,” began the Daemon of Selfishness, “Santa Claus gives away so many pretty presents to children all around the world, that they become generous. No one ever comes to visit my cave.”
“I have the same problem,” said the Daemon of Envy, “the children are so happy with him. I can’t charm children into being envious anymore.” “It’s bad for me as well!” said the Daemon of Hatred angrily, “Since the children do not come to you, they do not come to me!” The others agreed. Their caves had been neglected for a long time and the Daemons were not happy about it.
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“Something has to be done about this Santa!” Exclaimed Daemon of Envy, angrily. “This is bad for business.” They all agreed at once, but the Daemon had no idea how to stop Santa Claus. Finally, they agreed that all of them would try to lure Santa Claus into their caves, where he would get lost in the dark mazes of their caves, he would trip and fall to his death.
So, the very next day the Daemon of Selfishness went to see Santa Claus. It was well known that Santa worked all year round so that he could bring toys to the children on Christmas Eve. When the Daemon of Selfishness found Santa, he was surrounded by a group of his assistants.
“These toys are very pretty. So bright and beautiful,” said the Daemon of Selfishness. “It is such a shame that you give all this away to noisy boys and fussy little girls. You should keep them for yourself, after all, they will end up breaking these pretty things anyway.”
Santa laughed when he heard this, his eyes twinkled and his cheeks turned red. Finally, Santa said to the Daemon of Selfishness, “It does not matter. The children are not noisy and fussy when I give them presents. If I can make the children happy only for a day in the whole year, I’ll be happy with that.”
The Daemon of Selfishness realized it was impossible to take Santa Claus to their caves like this, they needed a new plan. So, the Daemon of Selfishness returned. “I have failed,” he told the rest, “Santa is not selfish!”
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So, the Daemon of Envy went next. He was sure he could get Santa to be envious and he could bring Santa back to their cave. When he saw Santa, he said, “The toy stores these days are full of toys just as beautiful and pretty as your toys. And they make those toys through machines and sell them for money, unlike you Santa. You make them by your hands and work all year round. And you don’t even get anything!”
Santa laughed at the Daemon. Again, he refused to believe a Daemon. Santa was quite happy with what he did and how he did things. The only thing Santa ever wanted was to spread joy and happiness.
“I can give them the toys I make once a year. And I am happy with that,” Santa told the Daemon of Envy. “There are many children but only one Santa and my work are of love and kindness, I would be ashamed if I took money for them. I like the toy shops they keep the children happy and amused throughout the year.”
The Daemon of Hatred was convinced he could get Santa to their caves after the first two daemons failed. “Good morning, Santa,” he greeted Santa. “I have some bad news for you.” Santa Claus was not interested in hearing any of it. “Bad news should be kept secret and they shall never be told”.
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“But this is the kind of bad news you cannot run away from,” the Daemon of Hatred continued. “Throughout the world, there are many people and children who don’t believe in you Santa. They have wronged you. You must be angry with them.” Santa continued with his work, paying no attention to the daemon. It was all rubbish to Santa.
“And then, there are those who resent you, who despise you and who hate you, Santa. They hate you because you make the children happy and call you foolish,” the Daemon continued. “Such cruel words for you, such cruel feelings towards to you, you must take your revenge.”
“But, I don’t hate them,” replied the Santa. “They don’t cause me any harm, but themselves. These people and their children become unhappy, I should help them. I do not need revenge!”
All the efforts the Daemons put in were all in vain. They could not lure Santa into their cave. The Daemons were displeased, Santa had been clever enough to know that the Daemons were up to no good and were full of mischief and deceit. So, the Daemons decided to rely on force rather than their honeyed words, which had failed time and time again.
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The daemons were well aware that they could not touch Santa as long as he was in the valley. But they knew Santa would leave Laughing Valley on Christmas Eve and that would be the best time to injure him. So, the Daemons laid their plans and waited for Christmas Eve to arrive.
At last, Christmas Eve was here. The moon shone brightly in the sky and the fresh snow sparkled as Santa rode away in his mighty sleigh full of toys. He sang and whistled a merry tune as he cracked his whip. And then suddenly, a strange thing happened. Out of nowhere, a rope shot through the moonlight with a noose on one end and it settled on Santa’s big body and arms. With a jerk, Santa fell off his sleigh and fell headfirst in the snow. The sleigh, with all the toys and the reindeer, sped away.
Santa Claus was surprised at this event. He had no doubt it was the Daemons doing. Soon the Daemons came to get Santa. Many coils of thick rope were used to tie Santa up. Then, they brought Santa to their cave as they had planned. In a secret cave, the Daemons are chained to the rock wall of Santa so he may not escape.
The Daemons were happy with their deed, they were laughing at Santa Claus. “How will the children react when they see their stockings are empty and they find no presents under the tree? They will throw tantrums, scream, and stomp. And their parents will scold them!” the Daemons laughed, “And then they will willingly run to the caves of Selfishness, Hatred, and Malice. What a delight!”
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But, Christmas Eve was not ruined. See, the Daemons did not know that on this Christmas Even Santa had decided to bring four of his favorite assistants along with him. Peter the Knook, Nutter the ryl, Kilter the pixie, and Wisk a small fairy; they all were quite useful when it came to distributing presents on Christmas Eve. They had been sleeping soundly underneath the seat when Santa had been taken away.
The little creatures had not realized that Santa had been kidnapped. When everything had become silent and could not hear their master’s singing, little Wisk stuck his head out and saw that Santa was not there! “Whoa!” he cried in surprise, the reindeer were speeding away without anyone to give them directions.
They realized that Santa was not there, but they did not know what happened to him. “What shall we do?” asked Wisk. “We shall go back and look for our master!” Nutter spoke with great determination. “No! No!” said Ryl, who was the most dependable of the lot, “If we go back, we will not be able to deliver these toys to the children.”
“It is obvious that some wicked creatures have captured our master,” Nutter said thoughtfully, “and I am certain the main objective of this was to make the children unhappy. We must go on ourselves and deliver these toys to little children.”
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It was good advice, the little creatures set to their works. This year the little assistants would deliver the presents! Peter and Ryl handled the reins of the reindeer and directed the reindeer. Finally, they made it out of the forests to the houses where little children were in their beds and were dreaming of the presents that were to be received.
The assistants had a difficult task ahead of themselves, all these years they had only assisted Santa Claus. He had been there to help them, guide them, and correct them if they were making a mistake. This time, however, the assistants were alone, they did know the children as Santa knew them. The assistants were bound to make a few mistakes.
So, this Christmas Eve Mami Brown, a girl who loved playing with dolls received a drum. And a boy, Charlie Smith, who loved nothing but playing outside wanted a pair of rubber boots that would keep his feet dry received a sewing set. He thought Santa was a fraud, for what would a boy do with all the colored threads and needles.
But, in the end, everything went fine. There were only a few mistakes such as the one with Mami Brown and Charlie Smith if there had been more of those the Daemons might have succeeded with their evil plans. But Santa’s assistants worked hard and intelligently. Soon, the sun started to rise and soon the reindeer and the assistants came back to Laughing Valley just as the sun was rising. The deer were put in their shed and the work had been done.
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Santa was yet to be found and brought home. So, little Wisk transported himself to the Fairy Queen, who lived deep in the Forest Burzee, to seek her assistance in finding Santa Claus. Once he was there, it did not take time to realize what had happened. The Queen promised to help the assistants in their search for their master. Wisk returned to the castle and told the others what had happened. They sat together and decided on their plans.
Santa was not happy. He was worried about the children not being happy because he could not be there. Santa had faith in his assistants but he could not help but worry a little. It was almost Christmas day, “the children are waking, Santa!” cried the Daemon of Malice. “They’ll wake up to empty stockings! They’ll quarrel and scream and cry! Our caves will be full today, Santa. So very full!”
Santa refused to give in to the Daemons. He did not reply, which made the Daemon of Malice send Daemon of Repentance. The last of the Daemons had a pleasant voice and soft features, unlike the rest. “The mischief is done now,” he spoke in a calm voice, “You cannot visit the children for another year!” “It is true,” Santa replied in his merry voice, “I cannot visit my dear children until next year. For the first time in many centuries, I have not visited my children.”
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“The little children shall be greatly disappointed,” he whispered in a sad tone. “But it can’t be helped now. They will become sad and flood these caves, and I too shall have some visitors.” “Do you ever repeat yourself?” Santa asked with curiosity. “Yes,” replied the Daemon of Repentance, “many times! But you see, repentance only comes after the evil deed is done. And I repent that I assisted in your capture, but it cannot be helped now.”
“So who do no evil never visit your cave,” Santa said. “That is true,” replied the Daemon of Malice. “Today, even those who have done no evil are about to visit my cave, and that makes me sad. To prove to you Santa, that I truly repent my part in your capture, I will let you escape.” The Daemon of Repentance opened the back door and let the sunlight flood in. Santa could smell the fresh air.
“I bear no malice,” he told Santa, “I believe that the world without you will be dull and I hope you will forgive me. I am not a bad person and I believe I accomplish a lot of good things in the world. So, Good morning and a Merry Christmas to you,” then he let Santa go.
Santa stepped out in the morning sunlight. Soon after that, he was walking through the snow whistling softly to himself. He was on his way to his castle when he came across an army of various creatures, marching with immense determination. They seemed to be marching towards the caves of Daemons.
The army was led by Peter, Ryl, Nutter, and Kilter. They had assembled an army to rescue their dear master from the evil Daemons. Although these tiny creatures appeared to be peaceful and soft, they were armed with heavenly powers that were terrible for those who angered them.
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When they saw Santa walking towards them, they ran to him. The little creatures surrounded him and danced around him happily. Peter, Ryl, Nutter, and Kilter hugged Santa affectionately. “It is pointless to wage a war against the Daemons,” Santa told them after giving his thanks, “they have their place in this world. And it cannot be destroyed.”
So, all of them went back to their castle dancing and singing. Everyone was glad that their Santa was safe and sound. The army went back to their regular jobs, leaving Santa with his assistants to talk about things. “We managed well this time,” the little fairy told Santa, “but you should make an effort in not being captured the next time, sir. We won’t be able to carry out your wishes so well.”
Then the fairy told Santa about the unhappiness he had found in the children that morning. Santa immediately corrected the mistake and sent a doll to Mami Brown and a pair of rubber boots to Charlie Smith. As for the Daemons, they never troubled Santa ever again. Also read, Santa’s Christmas.
Here is a visual depiction of, “Story Of Santa Claus”. See the video story below,