“Indeed, you may,� said Santa Claus. “I need two such helpers. I was just wondering how I could gather all these toys in time for to-morrow. Willie, will you please go over to the garden-bed in the corner and pull up some tops?�
“Pull up some tops!â€� echoed Willie in amazement. But he took a red sack and went to the garden and began to pull up toy tops. There were large tops growing like turnips and little tops growing like beets and radishes. There were all kinds of tops; some would humm-humm-humm-m-m and make music while Willie pulled them up. Next, Willie climbed a tree and began to pick red marbles growing just like cherries; and he found purple and blue marbles growing on a trellis, just like grapes—so he filled many small bags with marbles. He also climbed other trees where he thought he saw apples and oranges growing, but, when he came near them, he found different-colored balls—so he picked a bag of balls for Santa.
“Oh, Santa, may I help too?� asked Annie.
“Indeed you may, my child,� he answered. “How should you like to pick dollies?� So all this time Annie was busy getting him dollies, and she was very happy.
“You dear, dear dollies!� Annie said, as she hugged each one in turn. “How happy all the little girls will be when they find these dollies Christmas morning!� There were large dolls with the cutest bonnets on their heads, growing just like roses, and other dollies with the dearest pointed hats, growing up like tall holly-hocks. And then there were tiny dollies like pansies turning their pretty little faces up toward Annie.
Presently Santa Claus began to water the grass and suddenly every blade of grass was a tiny tin soldier with his musket erectly held, while soldiers’ tents, like mushrooms, sprang up all around. War-ships, sail-boats, steam-boats, motor-boats, row-boats and canoes were all out on a lake nearby, but they could never sink, for the lake was a large looking-glass, and fishes, ducks and swans were swimming on looking-glass streams. The children rushed from one garden to another and saw so many things to pick that they were kept very busy helping Santa Claus.
“Oh, see those pumpkins and squashes over there on those vines!� exclaimed Willie, but when he went to pick them he found drums, large and small, and foot-balls and basket-balls lying on the ground, like melons and pumpkins turned brown.
“Whee-ee-ee-ee! Isn’t this jolly! See those funny brown leaves blowing in the wind,� called Annie. “They are all sizes and shapes.� When the children came near to pick them, they found no leaves at all, but brown Teddy-bears with their arms and feet out-stretched. The children hugged them in their arms and the Teddy-bears gave little squeaks of glee, for they were so glad to be gathered in with this harvest of toys.
Suddenly, overhead, the children heard a whirr-whirr-whirring noise, and when they looked up it seemed as if great swarms of dragon-flies and butterflies were hovering over them. “Ha, ha, ha!â€� laughed Santa Claus, as he watched the surprised children. “Those are new toys; they only lately have come to my land—but, here, take these butterfly nets and try to catch a few of them.â€� And when Annie and Willie brought these toys down a little nearer, they saw that they were not dragonflies or butterflies, but toy air-ships.
Tiny, toy trains went gliding over steel rails, across switches, under tunnels, over bridges, and stopped at stations, quite like really, truly trains.