Then, the most amazing thing happened! Thefog began to curl and furl around their feet. Then it began toswirl and whorl and twirl! … Round and round it went, faster andfaster, until the animals began to be quite frightened. They allgot close to the ground and put their paws over their eyes. No onehad ever seen anything like it!

As the animals sat there with their eyescovered, afraid to move, they heard: “He He He … Ha Ha Ha … Ho HoHo.” It was the jolliest laugh they had ever heard. Well, they HADto look. When they opened their eyes, there in the middle of theyard stood SANTA CLAUS, HIMSELF! The fog was gone.

When Cho Lee opened his eyes, he saw abeautiful white peacock with golden “eyes” in his tail feathers andhis topnotch was red and gold. He knew it was Santa because helooked just like Cho Lee had imagined him to be.

Basil and Silverthorn and the other rabbitsdid not see a peacock at all.

They saw a big white rabbit with golden earsand they knew right away it was Santa because he looked just asthey had imagined he would.

When Mr. A.A. Corn and Hoy T. Toity openedtheir eyes, they saw a fat, red squirrel with white ears and abushy white tail. Santa was just what the squirrels had known hewould be.

All the little Thousands saw a beautifulwhite mouse — and Wooffer? Wooffer saw a very jolly old man in abright red suit with big white whiskers and rosy cheeks andtwinkling eyes and a big belly that shook when he laughed, like abowl full of jelly.

Oh, there was just one Santa Claus there —but each of the animals saw him a bit differently, which was thereally amazing thing!

Santa talked to each one there and calledthem each by their own name, and wished them all a Merry Christmas.Then, he said, “I usually don’t do this kind of thing, but you allhave been so very, very good this year, and I have a very specialpresent to deliver to Margaret. Where is Margaret?” Basil explainedabout the babies about to come and that Old Agnes and Margaret werewith Marygrey waiting for them to arrive.