She then proceeded to apologize to Santa because that wonderful present he had given her last Christmas, that beautiful doll, was "just gone", she couldn't find it anywhere! With a little tear in his eye but a smile on his face, Santa said "It's all right, we will just have to see what I have in my bag for you today!"
After his helpers took out all the wonderful presents from his bag (actually, truth be known, he had six bags!) Santa took a chair and one by one, the children sat on Santa's lap and talked about everything from being good and helping their Mom and Dad with their little brothers and sisters, to the color of house they wanted because their old one was gone. When each child had told Santa everything they needed to talk about, they were able to pick out two presents.
What about the little girl who greeted Santa on his way in?
She picked out some books to read, and was so engrossed in those, she didn't notice when one of Santa's helpers handed him the doll he had set aside. The little girl didn't say a word (which was out of character for her since she was quite the "Chatty Cathy") when Santa handed her the doll. She hugged the doll still in the box with one arm and Santa with the other. Santa later told Mrs. Claus that he didn't know who squeezed harder, he or the little girl.
After treating all the families and the children (and the Red Cross volunteers of course) to ice cream and wonderful toppings, the mother of the little five year old girl that had become Santa's newest friend told him that the doll was just like the one she had lost. That brought a tear, a smile and a hug along with the realization that this is exactly what he needed to be doing all year 'round.