The Miracle on 34th Street Read Online Free PDF Page A

better sneak back into the bedroom.
    "Susan? What are you doing out of bed?"
    Too late. "Something's driving me crazy and I can't sleep," Susan replied.
    She walked into the room and plopped onto the couch next to her mom.
    "What's on your mind?" Dorey asked.
    "Santa Claus," Susan said "Mr. Kringle. He talked sign language with a kid today. It's weird how he knows so much about toys and kids. He speaks Russian and Japanese."
    "He might be a very learned man."
    "He looks exactly like every picture of Santa Claus I ever saw. Are you positive he's not the real Santa?"
    "He fits the type, Susan. That's why I chose him." Dorey let out a deep sigh. "We've talked about Santa Claus. You understand what he is."
    "What if we're wrong? That would be extremely rude. And besides, all of my friends believe in Santa Claus."
    "A lot of kids your age do."
    Susan frowned. "How come I don't?"
    "Because you know the truth," Dorey replied. "And truth is the most important thing in the world. Believing in myths and fantasies makes people unhappy."
    "Did you believe in Santa Claus when you were my age, and were you unhappy?"
    "I did believe, and when all of the things I believed in turned out not to be true, I was very unhappy." Dorey smiled. "Look, you can believe what you want to believe. If I'm wrong, I'll admit it. Next time you see Mr. Kringle, ask for something you'd never ask me for. Then, if you don't get it for Christmas, you'll know the honest truth about Santa Claus. Okay?"
    "Okay, Mom." Susan stood up. "Good night."
    "Good night."
    Susan walked to her bedroom, but her mind was spinning with an idea. Something that would settle the truth once and for all.
    On the morning of December 12, television cameras swarmed all over the Cole's employee locker room. Good Morning America was about to interview Kriss Kringle.
    Dorey helped him put on his cape. "Just be yourself," she encouraged him. "Don't think about the camera."
    "I must confess," Kringle said. "I don't understand this fuss being made over me. To most people, I'm just an old man with a beard."
    "But you're still the symbol of the holiday season.
    Kringle looked at her evenly. "You think I'm a fraud, don't you? And so does your daughter."
    "Well, I don't think there's any harm in not believing in a figure that many acknowledge to be a fiction."
    "Oh, but there is," Kringle said. "I'm not just a jolly, whimsical figure in a charming suit. I'm a symbol of the human ability to suppress the selfish, hateful tendencies that rule so much of our lives. If you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you are doomed to a lifetime dominated by doubt."
    Dorey could not believe what she was hearing. This looney old guy was lecturing her ! What nerve!
    When Kringle spoke again, his voice was softer, kinder. "I like you very much, Mrs. Walker. If I can make you and your daughter believe, there's hope for me. If not, I'm finished." He smiled and took Dorey's arm. "Shall we go?"
    Dorey brought him to the TV camera. Then she watched his interview.
    He was good. Professional. Friendly. Sincere.
    And somehow, he made her feel totally mixed-up inside.
    An hour later, Dorey's office phone was ringing off the hook. It seemed that the whole city had seen the interview.
    "No, I'm sorry, he can't do private sessions," she said into the receiver. "That wouldn't be fair to the other kids—"
    Myrna peeked into her office. "Mr. Bedford's on line three," she whispered.
    "Excuse me for a moment," Dorey said into the phone. She pressed line three. "Bryan? I've got the mayor's office on hold. What's up?"
    Bryan's voice replied, "If I can arrange a reputable baby-sitter for Susan tonight, do you want to do some shopping and have dinner? Say, at seven?"
    "I'm not sure what—" Dorey thought about the mayor waiting on the other line. "Oh, okay. Fine. Seven."
    Dorey was dead tired as she walked into her apartment that night at 7:01.
    Sure enough, Bryan was already there, with Susan and Kriss