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And what a funny dream the Nodding Donkey had! He imagined that he was tumbling around a feather bed and that a Blue Dog was chasing him with a yellow feather duster.

“Don’t tickle me with that feather duster!” he thought he cried.

“I won’t if you’ll sing a song through your ears,” said the Blue Dog.

“I can’t sing through my ears,” wailed the Nodding Donkey, and then of a sudden he seemed to roll over and the dog and the feather bed came down on top of him. Then he seemed to give a sneeze and that blew the dog away and sent the feathers of the bed out into one big snowstorm!

It was dark when the Nodding Donkey awoke. He did not hear the jingle of the bells, nor could he feel the sleigh being drawn along by the reindeer. He could see nothing, either, for it was very black and dark. But he heard some voices talking, and one he knew was that of Santa Claus.

“Now I have brought you a whole sleighful of toys,” said St. Nicholas.

“Yes, and I am glad to get them,” another voice answered. “The stores are almost empty and it is near Christmas time. I shall send a lot of the toys to the stores the first thing in the morning.”

Santa Claus had arrived, in the night, at a large warehouse, where boxes, bales and bags of toys were kept until they could be sent around to the different stores. The Nodding Donkey, the Jumping Jack and the others felt themselves being lifted out of the bag and placed on the floor or on shelves. But they could see nothing, for Santa Claus always comes to Earth in the darkness, so no one sees him. And it was the Earth that the toys had now reached.

“Dear me, this isn’t much fun!” complained the Nodding Donkey, as he stood on a shelf in the darkness. Faint and far off he could hear the bells of Santa Claus’ reindeer jingling as jolly St. Nicholas drove back to North Pole Land. “I thought the Earth was such a wonderful place,” went on the Nodding Donkey. “But I don’t like it here at all.”

“Hush!” begged the Jumping Jack. “It is night. You have seen nothing yet. Wait until morning.”

And, after a while, streaks of light began to come in through the windows of the warehouse where the toys had been left. The sun was rising. From a window near him the Nodding Donkey caught a glimpse of snow outside, but the land was very different from the North Pole where he had been made.

The Nodding Donkey was turning his head to speak to the Jumping Jack, and he was going to take a look and see what other toys were near him, when, all of a sudden, three or four men came into the room. They had hammers, nails and boards in their hands.

“Hurry now!” cried one of the men. “We must box up a lot of these toys and send them to the different stores. It will be Christmas before we know it.”

Suddenly one of the men caught hold of the Nodding Donkey, and also of a large doll that had been on the same shelf.

“I’ll pack these in a box,” said the man. “I just need them to fill one corner. Then I’ll ship them off.”

The Nodding Donkey wished his friend the Jumping Jack might go in the same box with him, but it was not to be. The Donkey gave one last look at his companion of the snowdrift, and a moment later he was being wrapped in tissue paper again, and was packed down in a corner of a large box. The doll was treated the same way.

Then the board cover was put on the box, and nailed shut with a loud hammering noise.

“Dear me, in the dark again!” said the Nodding Donkey. “I don’t seem to be having a good time at all.”