Page 118 - English Class 06

Claas Schlaschenschlinger was a wealthy cobbler living on New Street in New

Amsterdam. He was a contented bachelor who could afford eight-eight, mind you! — pairs
of breeches and he had a little side business of selling geese. He cut quite a figure in New
Amsterdam society and was happy being single, until he met the fair Anitje! She was as
pretty as a picture and Claas fell head over heels for her. He was not her only suitor, by any

means. The local burgomaster was also courting the fair Anitje. But, the burgomaster was a
stingy, hard man and in the end, Anitje gave her heart and hand to Claas.

At first, Claas and Anitje were very happy and prosperous, raising geese and children.
But the burgomaster was a vengeful sort of fellow, who began a series of “improvements” to
the local neighborhood, charging highly for each one,
until all their money was gone. The arrival of

a blacksmith who repaired shoes with
hob nails, so that the shoes lasted a
year or more, left Claas, Anitje and
their six children as poor as

church mice.
Christmas Eve found the

Schlaschenschlinger family down
to their last, cold meal of bread
and cheese. Claas was wondering
what he had left to sell, in order

to feed his family. Then, he
remembered a fine pipe that he
had found in one of his stockings on
a long ago Christmas morning in
Holland. It was a fine pipe, too good for

a mere cobbler. Claas knew even then
that such a gift could only be from Saint
Nicholas himself.

Claas leapt up and went to dig through an old
chest until he found the pipe. As he unearthed it from
breeches : trousers
under a pile of clothes, a draft of cold air came from the open vengeful : proceeding from

front door. Claas scolded his children for playing with the door a disire to revenge
and went to close it, but found the doorway filled by the merry, chest : box
round figure of a stranger.

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