Words of Old at Christmastime: "A Kidnapped Santa Claus" by L. Frank Baum

Excerpt: 

"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 everyone is 
as busy as can be from 
one year's end to another."


First Published 1904.
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Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Words of Old at Christmastime: "Is There a Santa Claus?"

Excerpt from letter to the editor, The New York Sun, 1897:

Dear Editor—

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon
115 West Ninety Fifth Street

"Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see."

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Excerpt reprinted from editorial September 21, 1897, The New York Sun.

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

The Classics - Opening Lines: Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies

"If you searched every old folks' home in the country, you couldn't find anyone who looked more like Santa Claus. He was the living, breathing incarnation of the old gent--white beard, pink cheeks, fat tummy and all--and his name was Kris Kringle, too. Whether this was coincidence or design--a sort of stage name he had assumed--his friends at the Maplewood Home for the Aged never knew." (Published 1947)

I love the classics and plan to share some "opening lines" over the coming months. Comment if you like, or read for inspiration. Writing styles were different then, but were they really?

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing