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Show I Santa and the Talking Doll Leezen Slips Away Despite Two Guardsmen on Watch I By Sigrid Arne Til atery m ter: Santa bae Ultra (itt to the Kins: at Westphalia. West-phalia. dell made by the falrlea aa aha can talk after midnight. ' Erie, the aaa at Lit htnlnx, y wanted the delL ka barn put ta deep far a day. and a alght by the falrlea. " "CHAPTER i : For an hour that night Leezen iat silently watching tha King of Westphalia, Ha stared motionless into tha leaping fir. It was ao silent In tha great hall that Leezen could hear tha aoft awish of snow against tha windows. She reached for a little gold box on tha table and opened it, There lay flashing flash-ing sapphire. She held It up to the fire, and turned it In the light ao that pink lights darted from it. "Oh, I wish Eric could see this," tha thought Then the stone felt queer In her fingers. She looked sharply, and as she did. It turned Into Utile man, only two Inchea high. He seemed to be made of blue-white glass. He bowed. "Why, who are you?" whispered Xeezeiu, J sent out Its first streak of pink. Walt," shouted Leezen. The" horse pulled up short. She slipped to tha ground and ran Into tha woods. At the foot of a great tree she stopped. She was only a Ufa-leas Ufa-leas doll that couldn't sea nor hear nor talk. The horse whinnied with fright and galloped off. Leezen was alone and lost. "1 m just a thought someone Is thinking of you," said the little man "Usually 1 11a aslaep ia, that , sapphire. But when anyone picks me up I can reflect the thought of a friend." "I see," saJd Leezen. "But who is thinking of me?" "Look," said the little man. He pulled out a tiny flue, no bigger than a pin, and began to play, "Lee-zen, Lee-zen." "It's Eric," said Leezen with shining shin-ing eyes. The little glass man played on, but he played so softly only Leezen Lee-zen heard. She whispered, "How is Eric?" Then the little man played a very sad tune. "Oh, dear," sighed Leezen. "I must escape es-cape from here and find him." She put the little man back into the gold box and aa aha closed the lid over him he disappeared and only the round aapphira lay there. Then she rose from her chair so cautiously the King didn't notice her. She barked away from him and Into the far ahadows of the great hall, where she found a wide staircase lit by candles. So she tripped lightly down them and came on a courtyard where there stood two guardsmen dressed in armor with crimson plumes waving from their helmets. They leaned on their spears. Along the top of the courtyard wall great flares of light burned. An iron gate opened onto the road. Leezen hid behind a pillar to watch, because she wanted to take one of the horses tied near the gate. Then she saw the guardsmen walk over to stand under ona f the flares. They bent to look at the hilt of a fine sword. . Quick as a breeze Leezen slipped across theyourtyard. In twinkling twin-kling she was on a big white horse and he wis galloping out of the courtyard, onto tha drawbridge, and down tha road. She leaned over to whisper to the horse, "Quick. To Toyland before be-fore dawn, for then I become a stone." The horse pricked up his ears and sped. The strong white horse ran and ran until his eyea were red. But it was many, many miles to Toyland, and the woods grew deeper and more lonesome. After the two had ridden through tall pine trees for three or four hours Leezen saw two bright spots by the side of the road. It was the glowing eyes of a young wolf that had just awakened and was stretching stretch-ing himself. Then she saw an old crow on the branch of a pine tree take his head out from under his wing and yawn. Ha cackled after them, "Who are you, who are you?" "Oh, dear," sighed Leezen, "It's near dawn." She leaned over tha horse and whispered, "Faster, faster." He pulled his muscles tauter. His steps became great leaps. But try as he would he was still galloping through the woods when the sun |