Quietly he tiptoed downstairs, and there he saw, beside the fireplace, a round-bellied man in a red coat trimmed in fur. The man's beard was long and white, and he wore eyeglasses.

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"Santa?" Peter whispered, but he spoke so quietly the man didn't hear. So Peter tiptoed back to bed.

The next morning when he awoke, he did not know if the vision of Santa Claus had been a dream or something real.

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Then when Peter was 10, his family moved to Holland. One day in December, while all the Dutch children were busy filling their shoes with carrots and hay, preparing for the coming of Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas, like Santa, delivered gifts to children on Christmas Eve.

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One day in Peter's school, the teacher asked if the students, who were from many nations, were ready to welcome Sinterklaas. Some children laughed. "We're too old to believe in myths like that!" one boy called out. ωεセＷwW.FａIrＹ－ｔＡｌe．ＩｎfOカㄍメフゐ∥

Peter felt embarrassed because he still believed. He noticed that a few students were not laughing. Ans, the girl from Holland, Eino, the boy from Finland, Gabriella from Germany, and Bjorn from Sweden all were looking at their desks. The Portuguese Leonardo and the Italian girl Simona were not laughing . The Russian girl, Anya, closed her eyes, and Mary, an English girl, looked out the window. Jacques from France and Ling from China just sat there.

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When school let out, he invited these children to his home.

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They gathered in Peter's house. Peter asked, "How many of you have seen Santa?" WＷw.FAＩｒＹ－ｔａｌE。ｉnfｏ

The room instantly exploded in conversation. These were the children who knew Santa Claus existed, that he was real一except as each child told his tale, they all understood that he was many different generous and jolly men. In each country, Santa Claus had a different name and behaved a little differently, but he did exist. The children decided to throw a secret party for Santa Claus. òr!ㄖwＷｗ.FＡIｒＹ－tａｌＥ.IｎＦＯГρθ∫Ю

On Christmas Eve, the children prepared Peter's house for the party. They set out shoes beside the fireplace, and in some they placed carrots and hay for Sinterklaas, leaving others empty so that Pere Noel from France and Italy's Babbo Natale could fill them with sweets. They decorated trees for Santa's elves. They hung stockings for Father Christmas to fill.

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They swept snow off the sidewalk so that Sweden's Jultomten could pull his heavy sack of gifts to the door. They placed Russian cookies on a plate for Grandfather Frost, and under the beds they scattered grass just in case the Three Kings arrived on their camels. Little Ling wrote a letter of thanks in Chinese for Sheng Dan Lao Gong Gong, the Christmas Grandfather.

Then the children waited. At midnight, the children grew wide-eyed with joy, as one after another the jolly men from everywhere gathered, leaving their gifts. НWＷＷ．ｆAＩRY-ＴAＬE.ｉNfoㄉУηゥη

The children went to bed happy, knowing that blessings exist for those who believe in the magic of Christmas.

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