A Kidnapped Santa Claus | Page 3

the net profits
you derive calculated using the method you already use to calculate

your applicable taxes. If you don't derive profits, no royalty is due.
Royalties are payable to "Project Gutenberg Association / Illinois
Benedictine College" within the 60 days following each date you
prepare (or were legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent
periodic) tax return.
WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU
DON'T HAVE TO?
The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, scanning
machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty free copyright
licenses, and every other sort of contribution you can think of. Money
should be paid to "Project Gutenberg Association / Illinois Benedictine
College".
*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN
ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*

A Kidnapped Santa Claus
by L. Frank Baum

Santa Claus lives in the Laughing Valley, where stands the big,
rambling castle in which his toys are manufactured. His workmen,
selected from the ryls, knooks, pixies and fairies, live with him, and
every one is as busy as can be from one year's end to another.
It is called the Laughing Valley because everything there is happy and
gay. The brook chuckles to itself as it leaps rollicking between its green
banks; the wind whistles merrily in the trees; the sunbeams dance
lightly over the soft grass, and the violets and wild flowers look
smilingly up from their green nests. To laugh one needs to be happy; to
be happy one needs to be content. And throughout the Laughing Valley
of Santa Claus contentment reigns supreme.
On one side is the mighty Forest of Burzee. At the other side stands the
huge mountain that contains the Caves of the Daemons. And between
them the Valley lies smiling and peaceful.
One would thing that our good old Santa Claus, who devotes his days

to making children happy, would have no enemies on all the earth; and,
as a matter of fact, for a long period of time he encountered nothing but
love wherever he might go.
But the Daemons who live in the mountain caves grew to hate Santa
Claus very much, and all for the simple reason that he made children
happy.
The Caves of the Daemons are five in number. A broad pathway leads
up to the first cave, which is a finely arched cavern at the foot of the
mountain, the entrance being beautifully carved and decorated. In it
resides the Daemon of Selfishness. Back of this is another cavern
inhabited by the Daemon of Envy. The cave of the Daemon of Hatred
is next in order, and through this one passes to the home of the Daemon
of Malice--situated in a dark and fearful cave in the very heart of the
mountain. I do not know what lies beyond this. Some say there are
terrible pitfalls leading to death and destruction, and this may very well
be true. However, from each one of the four caves mentioned there is a
small, narrow tunnel leading to the fifth cave--a cozy little room
occupied by the Daemon of Repentance. And as the rocky floors of
these passages are well worn by the track of passing feet, I judge that
many wanderers in the Caves of the Daemons have escaped through the
tunnels to the abode of the Daemon of Repentance, who is said to be a
pleasant sort of fellow who gladly opens for one a little door admitting
you into fresh air and sunshine again.
Well, these Daemons of the Caves, thinking they had great cause to
dislike old Santa Claus, held a meeting one day to discuss the matter.
"I'm really getting lonesome," said the Daemon of Selfishness. "For
Santa Claus distributes so many pretty Christmas gifts to all the
children that they become happy and generous, through his example,
and keep away from my cave."
"I'm having the same trouble," rejoined the Daemon of Envy. "The
little ones seem quite content with Santa Claus, and there are few,
indeed, that I can coax to become envious."
"And that makes it bad for me!" declared the Daemon of Hatred. "For if
no children pass through the Caves of Selfishness and Envy, none can
get to MY cavern."
"Or to mine," added the Daemon of Malice.
"For my part," said the Daemon of Repentance, "it is easily seen that if

children do not visit your caves they have no need to visit mine; so that
I am quite as neglected as you are."
"And all because of this person they call Santa Claus!" exclaimed the
Daemon of Envy. "He is simply ruining our business, and something
must be done at once."
To this they readily agreed; but what to do was another and more
difficult matter to settle. They knew that Santa Claus worked all
through the year at his