Next morning, I donned my pillow-stuffed Santa uniform and itchy white whiskers and stood with Mommy on the Auditorium stage, beaming into a bright sea of expectant faces. "Merry Christmas, everybody. Mer-r-r-y Christmas! _Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!_" "_Merry Christmas, Santa Claus!_" came the answering chorus. "Did you all manage to bust up your toys from last Christmas?" "Ye-e-e-s!" "Good!" I boomed. "Ho-ho-ho! Can't get new ones unless we bust up the old ones, you know!" We all sang "Christmas in Fairyland," and then it was Present Passing Time. Santa's Space Sled was behind me, chock full of toys. I reached back and pulled out a package. "Julia-Three!" "Here I am, Santy!" She came running down the aisle, a lovely blonde of about twenty-five, curls flying. "Have you been a good girl, Julia-Three?" "Yes, Santy." "And you wanted a new dolly?" She nodded emphatically. "You broke your dolly from last Christmas?" "Yes, Santy." "_Fine._" She took her present and went skipping off the far side of the stage. Everything went smoothly for perhaps half an hour and the sled was about half empty when I snagged a small, flat package marked "Adam-Two." He strolled down the aisle and up onto the stage. His eyes were bright--a little too bright--and there was just the hint of a smile on his thin face. "Well, well, Adam-Two! Have you been a good boy?" "Not very." I gave him a fierce Santa Claus frown. "Well, now, that's too bad. But old Santa's glad that you're honest about it.... By the way, you didn't send old Santy a letter, did you?" "No. I didn't think I'd get a present because I wasn't good. Anyway, I didn't know what I wanted." He was staring fixedly at my beard. "Well, suppose we give you a present anyway, and you try very hard to be good between now and next Christmas, eh? Ho-ho-ho-ho!" We'd gotten him a set of chess men. He took the package without looking at it. "Where's Daddy?" he asked suddenly. It was so unexpected, so matter-of-fact, that it caught me off balance. The Kids were always too excited on Christmas morning to worry about where Daddy might be. "Well, sir ... ho-ho-ho ... ah, Daddy was kinda sleepy this morning, so he thought he'd rest up a bit and let Mommy and Santa Claus look after things--Merry Christmas, Adam-Two! Now, let's see who's next--" I turned to pull another package from the sled, and Adam took one quick step forward, grabbed my beard and yanked hard! It came away in his hands, and there I stood with my naked Daddy-face exposed to all the Kids. The silence was immediate, and deadly. Then I heard Adam's sudden, sharp intake of breath that was almost like a sob. I glanced at him for just an instant, but in that instant I glimpsed the terrible disappointment he must have felt. It was all there, in his eyes and in his face. He hadn't wanted that beard to come off. He'd wanted Santa Claus to be real....