Klaus and his wife had moved north to Finland to escape the war and turmoil in their homeland. In time and in his new home Klaus became a successful tailor.

Then the flu epidemic came and took the lives of his wife and two children. No longer the happy, cheerful soul he had once been, Klaus no longer did tailor work. His clothes were tattered, his head hung low, and his feet dragged. His hair and beard had grown wild and tangled. Those who had known him before could now hardly recognize him!

It was winter, and as usual Helsinki was very cold. Only the children seemed to venture more than a few blocks from home. Wherever they lived, it never seemed too far to walk to “Children’s Lane,” where the town’s renowned toy makers worked their magic. Along “Children’s Lane,” window after window was filled with toys which delighted the children’s eyes and set their minds awhirl!

One day, Klaus noticed a small boy in clothes nearly as tattered as his own, gazing at the toys in a shop window. The look of hopelessness and disappointment on the boy’s face told Klaus just what the boy was thinking: “I’ll never know what it’s like to have such fine toys as those!”

The image of the small boy lingered in Klaus’ mind as he went on his way. Scarcely thinking about where his feet were taking him, Klaus eventually found himself at a small ravine on the edge of town, where people dumped their junk and trash.

A newly discarded doll lay lifeless and in pieces on one of the trash heaps still not covered with snow. Klaus bent over, picked up the pieces and put the doll back together. Was it Klaus’ imagination, or did the doll open her eyes and look at him as if she was alive? “Thank you for giving me back my life!” she seemed to say.

Then he pulled an armless teddy bear from another pile of trash. “How nice it would be if these broken toys could be repaired and given to the children of poor families. How happy they all would be!” Klaus thought. “What if…? What if I collect all the broken toys I can find and I fix them and give them to poor children for Christmas?”

Klaus didn’t waste a minute. For the next few days he collected broken toys, and took special notice or quietly asked where each needy child in town lived. This information he wrote down in a small book. Klaus then spent many days repairing, mending, gluing and stuffing toys.

Christmas Eve was cold and blustery. Just before midnight, Klaus loaded the bags of toys onto a big sled. From street to street he went, leaving a package, or a few packages on the doorstep of each house where a poor family lived. In each package was a toy for some child in the house, and on each toy was a little note that said,

”To you with love, From God above.”

On Christmas morning the poor of the town awoke to the wonderful surprise. Some thanked God for what seemed to be a miracle; some didn’t know what to think, but were glad to see their children happy.

Some said they had seen an old man covered with snow distribute the packages. Others said they had seen a mysterious sleigh loaded with many big bags. The story grew until finally it was said that the sleigh was pulled by reindeer, and had come down from Heaven!

Klaus spent the next year quietly collecting and fixing broken toys. And when Christmas came again, Klaus once more made his secret rounds to deliver toys to all the poor children. Klaus was happier than he ever thought possible.

Featured on www.freekidstories.org

Adapted from “A Christmas to Remember” by Aurora Productions. Used by permission.