took a piece of moist clay in his hands while he thought what sort of
toy he should make for Bessie Blithesome. He did not notice that his
fingers were working the clay into shape until, glancing downward, he
found he had unconsciously formed a head that bore a slight resemblance
to the Nymph Necile!

At once he became interested. Gathering more of the clay from the
bank he carried it to his house. Then, with the aid of his knife and
a bit of wood he succeeded in working the clay into the image of a toy
nymph. With skillful strokes he formed long, waving hair on the head
and covered the body with a gown of oakleaves, while the two feet
sticking out at the bottom of the gown were clad in sandals.

But the clay was soft, and Claus found he must handle it gently to
avoid ruining his pretty work.

"Perhaps the rays of the sun will draw out the moisture and cause the
clay to become hard," he thought. So he laid the image on a flat
board and placed it in the glare of the sun.

This done, he went to his bench and began painting the toy deer, and
soon he became so interested in the work that he forgot all about the
clay nymph. But next morning, happening to notice it as it lay on the
board, he found the sun had baked it to the hardness of stone, and it
was strong enough to be safely handled.

Claus now painted the nymph with great care in the likeness of Necile,
giving it deep-blue eyes, white teeth, rosy lips and ruddy-brown hair.
The gown he colored oak-leaf green, and when the paint was dry Claus
himself was charmed with the new toy. Of course it was not nearly so