The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus — John Shaqi
The Life and Adventures of Santa ClausBaum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank)
General
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank)
Christmas stories; Santa Claus -- Juvenile fiction
Soon the entire Valley, from hill to hill, was filled with the little
immortals. The Master Woodsman stood first, bearing a gleaming ax that
shone like burnished silver. Next came the Ryls, armed with sharp
thorns from bramblebushes. Then the Knooks, bearing the spears they
used when they were forced to prod their savage beasts into submission.
The Fairies, dressed in white gauze with rainbow-hued wings, bore
golden wands, and the Wood-nymphs, in their uniforms of oak-leaf green,
carried switches from ash trees as weapons.
Loud laughed the Awgwa King when he beheld the size and the arms of his
foes. To be sure the mighty ax of the Woodsman was to be dreaded, but
the sweet-faced Nymphs and pretty Fairies, the gentle Ryls and crooked
Knooks were such harmless folk that he almost felt shame at having
called such a terrible host to oppose them.
"Since these fools dare fight," he said to the leader of the Tatary
Giants, "I will overwhelm them with our evil powers!"
To begin the battle he poised a great stone in his left hand and cast
it full against the sturdy form of the Master Woodsman, who turned it
aside with his ax. Then rushed the three-eyed Giants of Tatary upon
the Knooks, and the Goozzle-Goblins upon the Ryls, and the
firebreathing Dragons upon the sweet Fairies. Because the Nymphs were
Ak's own people the band of Awgwas sought them out, thinking to
overcome them with ease.
But it is the Law that while Evil, unopposed, may accomplish terrible
deeds, the powers of Good can never be overthrown when opposed to Evil.
Well had it been for the King Awgwa had he known the Law!
His ignorance cost him his existence, for one flash of the ax borne by
the Master Woodsman of the World cleft the wicked King in twain and rid
the earth of the vilest creature it contained.
Greatly marveled the Tatary Giants when the spears of the little Knooks
pierced their thick walls of flesh and sent them reeling to the ground
with howls of agony.
Woe came upon the sharp-taloned Goblins when the thorns of the Ryls
reached their savage hearts and let their life-blood sprinkle all the
plain. And afterward from every drop a thistle grew.
The Dragons paused astonished before the Fairy wands, from whence
rushed a power that caused their fiery breaths to flow back on
themselves so that they shriveled away and died.
As for the Awgwas, they had scant time to realize how they were
destroyed, for the ash switches of the Nymphs bore a charm unknown to
any Awgwa, and turned their foes into clods of earth at the slightest
touch!
When Ak leaned upon his gleaming ax and turned to look over the field
of battle he saw the few Giants who were able to run disappearing over
the distant hills on their return to Tatary. The Goblins had perished
every one, as had the terrible Dragons, while all that remained of the
wicked Awgwas was a great number of earthen hillocks dotting the plain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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