Just as she neared the steps and before she could possibly have had
time to ring the bell, the door opened--opened of itself as wide as
could be--and there stood--not Santa himself--don't think it--but a
funny Little Man with slender little legs and a roly-poly stomach which
shook every now and then when he laughed. You would have known right
away, just as Little Girl knew, that he was a very happy little man,
and you would have guessed right away, too, that the reason he was so
roly-poly was because he laughed and chuckled and smiled all the
time--for it's only sour, cross folks who are thin and skimpy. Quick as
a wink, he pulled off his little peaked red cap, smiled the broadest
kind of a smile, and said, "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Come in!
Come in!"
So in went Little Girl, holding fast to Little Man's hand, and when she
was really inside there was the jolliest, reddest fire all glowing and
snapping, and there were Little Man and all his brothers and sisters,
who said their names were "Merry Christmas," and "Good Cheer," and ever
so many other jolly-sounding things, and there were such a lot of them
that Little Girl just knew she never could count them, no matter how
long she tried.
All around her were bundles and boxes and piles of toys and games, and
Little Girl knew that these were all ready and waiting to be loaded
into Santa's big sleigh for his reindeer to whirl them away over
cloudtops and snowdrifts to the little people down below who had left
their stockings all ready for him.
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