Die Geschichte des Klaus Long, long ago on the edge of the Siberian wilderness, there was a patch of evergreens, nearby to a small village. Among the patch of evergreens, an evil satyr frequented the little den. He was hideous to look upon. His legs were crooked, and his feet were cloven hoofs; his hands were like claws; his skin was a burned red, and he wore an open, red frock coat. He carried a scythe and a pitchfork, with which he harvested men’s souls. He preferred this little spot on the earth, because it was here, he found a respite from the world, wherein he was given never a quarter. His home was in the underworld, and he used the trees as portals to move between the underworld and the world above. One day, as the satyr was going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it, he chanced upon the little nearby village. It was very late, and everyone in the village was deep asleep in their beds. The satyr walked quietly through the snow-covered streets until he came to a square, in which he saw a humble display. There was a donkey, and young woman and a baby. The satyr turned away unsettled and angry. He continued on until he came to a house where a dim light shown in an upper room. The satyr walked quietly through the front door and began to inspect the various things in the home. He made his way up the stairs and into a bedroom from which the dim little night light glowed serenely. As the satyr turned to leave, a little girl stirred in the bed and awoke. She called to the satyr and asked who he was. I am the Satan, answered the satyr. Santa? mistook the little girl. Yes, answered the satyr, Santa. What’s wrong with your hands? They look like claws. I was born with a defect. They’ve always looked this way. My friends sometimes call me claws, he lied… you can call me Santa Claws if you like. Why are you here in my room? I saw your light from the street, and I was curious, said the satyr, pointing to the night light. But now I must go and return to my helpers. Who are your helpers? Asked the little girl. They are the fallen, said the satyr. The elfen,? pronounced the little girl incorrectly again. Yes, answered the satyr, the elfen. What is your name little girl,? Asked the satyr. My name is Cindy Lou, she told the satyr. Cindy, he thought out loud; I’ll return for you. And the satyr made his way quickly and quietly out of the house and back to his den of evergreens. From here, he passed back to the underworld to commune with his fallen. I have found a little village where the people worship a little baby, he told them. I wish to stop them from this service they do to Him. One by one, the fallen suggested ways to punish the villagers for their reverence of the little baby. Finally, one of the fallen told the satyr, you cannot stop them by punishing them. Their natures are selfish. The creator sent the baby to speak to them, because their selfishness made them unable to hear Him. I think the only way to get them to stop worshipping the little baby is to speak to their selfishness and give them something. Give them something that will keep them busy and distract them. One of the other fallen spoke up and said, That won’t work. They’ll soon forget the distraction and return their attention to the baby. Another fallen answered, Then you’ll have to keep giving them things. Don’t just give them something they want; give them everything they want. As soon as they get what they want, as quick as you can, give them something else they want. If that starts to grow old, speak into their hearts, and tell them what they want. But don’t tell them, you want this or that; tell them, I want this, and I want that. Then give it to them. So the satyr went forth from the presence of the fallen, and passed back through the trees to the patch of evergreens on the edge of the wilderness. He made his way back to the village, bringing an evergreen with him. The satyr came to the house where the little light shown dimly out into the street and came to Cindy in her room. Cindy, the satyr said, wake up; I have a gift for you. What is it? Asked Cindy. It’s this beautiful tree. I’ve seen trees before, said Cindy. This tree is special. It allows me to pass from where it is to where any other tree is. We can put it in your house, then anytime I want to come here, I can pass from the trees to your tree in an instant. But what will I do with the tree,? asked Cindy. It looks like any old tree. We’ll make it look beautiful, said the satyr. We’ll put colored ribbons and lights on it. We’ll put colors and candy on it. It will be the most beautiful tree anyone has ever seen. The idea of lights and colors and candy was very exciting to Cindy, and she agreed. The satyr told Cindy, when everyone sees the beautiful tree, they will ask where it came from. Let it be a magical surprise for them, and tell them you don’t know where it came from. So that night, the satyr decorated the tree just as he described, while Cindy watched in wonder and amazement. In the morning, when Cindy’s family woke, they saw the beautiful tree, but nobody knew where it came from or how it got there. Cindy didn’t say anything. She just let it be a beautiful surprise. All that day, the family went to all their neighbors and asked them about the tree, but nobody knew anything about it. All the neighbors were curious and wanted to see the tree for themselves. Everyone who came to their home was amazed by the wonder of the beautiful tree and held the mystery of it in their hearts. The following day, everyone in the town made their way to the square to honor and worship the creator’s baby. When the satyr saw that his distraction had failed, he passed back through the trees to the underworld to confer with the fallen. Right away, one of them came up with a brilliant idea. Remember, he said, these people are selfish at heart. We need to give them something more. Let’s speak jealousy into their hearts and get them all to want a beautiful tree in their homes too. We’ll send a traveler to their village who asks for work. The people will discuss among themselves and come up with a plan to have the traveler cut down a tree for each of their homes. The next day, the fallen passed through the town and whispered into everyone’s heart how they wished they had a beautiful tree in their home, just like Cindy and her family had in their home. Later that morning, a traveler passed through the town. He traveled down the main street past the town square where he encountered a small crowd of people gathered at a fire warming themselves. He told them his sad story, and how he was driven from his home and has been wandering looking for work. He was cold and hungry and had been traveling several days with no help. One of the villagers said to the traveler, I’ll give you ten penny if you’ll cut down a tree and place it in my house. I want it to look just like the beautiful tree. Quickly another villager said, I’ll give you ten penny too if you’ll cut down a tree for me as well. One by one, the villagers asked him to get them trees for their homes. The traveler spent all day cutting trees and bringing them to everyone’s homes, and the villagers spent all day decorating the trees, just like the tree in Cindy’s home. At the end of the day, everyone was so excited. They all went from house to house, admiring each other’s trees. It was a special day, and everyone was very proud of themselves. The following day, everyone in the town made their way to the square to honor and worship the creator’s baby. When the satyr saw that his distractions had failed again, he passed back through the trees to the underworld to confer with the fallen. Right away, one of them came up with the next brilliant idea. Let us all go and spend the day with the villagers. We’ll listen to them talk and learn what they like. Then we’ll provide everything we can for them. We’ll give them gifts and leave them under the trees. They’ll be so excited; they’ll forget all about the baby. So the fallen did just that. They spent the day following the people and the children in the village. They learned as much as they could about them by listening to what they talked about, because everyone knows that the things people talk about issue from the things they think about. Then, when they had learned enough to entice the people, they secured gifts to each person’s liking and at night while they all slept, the satyr placed the gifts under the tree in Cindy’s house. Then he went to Cindy’s room and found her waiting up for him. The satyr told Cindy that he had a new surprise under the tree, and she would see it first thing in the morning when she woke up. He hushed her back to sleep and made his way back downstairs to the tree. Then he used the tree to pass instantaneously back to the underworld to gather the gifts for the next house with a tree and placed the gifts under their tree. The satyr did this from house to underworld to house. He traveled in a moment back and forth, and in no time, he had each home prepared with the gifts that each person desired. When the villagers woke the next morning and saw all the gifts under the trees, they were amazed. At first, each of the villagers didn’t know that they weren’t they only home with gifts under their trees, and they were reluctant to tell any of their neighbors about it. They didn’t want there to be any chance of losing their beautiful gifts. As the villagers began to talk to each other, they began to realize that some of the other homes had also found gifts under their trees. Eventually, they understood that everyone who had a tree found gifts under their tree. This is amazing, said one of the villagers. Where could all these gifts have come from? Everyone was curious and confused. Finally, they decided to call a town meeting to discuss what had happened in their town these past few days. At the meeting, each person took turns suggesting ideas. When none of the ideas made any sense, Cindy’s father said, well, somebody had to have put all the gifts there. They didn’t just appear by themselves. Surely somebody knows something. I think it had to be one of us who did all this. Doesn’t anyone know anything about who did this for us? Then Cindy, pricked in her heart by the knowledge that she was the only one who knew the truth, spoke up. I know whose idea it was for the tree and the presents. It was Santa and his elfen. She told them about the visitor who wore a red coat and talked to her that first night. It was his idea to do something very special for them. Though nobody has ever seen him, they all believed Cindy because of the presents. The next day, everyone met back at the town square and each person expressed their gratitude and thankfulness to the kindness of the stranger named Santa who gave them all such beautiful gifts. They spent the day celebrating with food and talking and playing outside in the snow. They made a big bonfire and drank cocoa. Some people’s hearts were so touched, that they took some of their presents and shared them with each other. They all celebrated late into the night, thankful for the beautiful trees and presents, and for Santa, who gave of himself to the people of the village at the edge of the Siberian wilderness, nearby to a patch of evergreens.