“O, little wooden dogs and horses and birds and pigs and chickens and dolls and doll-houses,” answered grandmother.
Then she went on with her story. “St. Nicholas has a beautiful big white horse.
“At Christmas time he takes the white horse from its stall. ‘Come, my horse,’ says St. Nicholas. ‘It is Christmas time once again, and you must take me all over the land to visit the little Dutch boys and girls.’ Then St. Nicholas calls his black servant. He lets him ride on a black horse and gives him two bags to carry. One bag is full of toys and goodies for the good children, and in the other bag is a switch with which to beat the bad children. All through the night St. Nicholas rides on his white horse.”
“The little Dutch children put their wooden shoes down by the fireplace. Near by, they put a basket of hay and carrots for the white horse of St. Nicholas.
“In the morning, when the good children get up, the hay and the carrots are gone, and the wooden shoes are full of toys and goodies.”
“What a nice story,” says Katrina.
