Come and sit my child. You are surrounded here by our ancestors.

They live on in this hall as they live on in us as we honor their traditions. And they live on in our minds, they live again as their deeds pass over our lips. Now you shall hear of your ancestors and they shall live in you. And from the hearing of this tale you shall honor them every day by living in their tradition. This is how our traditions are passed on, and how they continue to live. Such is our tradition. And this is a land of tradition. Long ago, before this house ever stood. Before the trees which, fallen, have made the sturdy roof over your head had even begun to grow. Here in this valley lived a wise and modest man. His name was Ninja. Yes, you know of him already. It is the same man. And, yes, there was a time before he took the name and the title of Master Ninja. We must remember that traditions were not hewn by the same hand that cracked the stone and let the water flow forth from it. Tradition, though it guides us and informs our lives, was created by man and followed by man. And long ago, in the time of Ninja, tradition was new. It swept through the land and into all the great houses like leaves on an autumn wind. All the houses except that of Ninja. His ways were not those of the great houses, and with each passing year, the weight of their traditions spread and grew stronger. Though Ninja liked their ways and admired them, they were not his. And he knew enough to know that it honors no one to take on a tradition that is not in your heart. No garden is empty. And stony soil in which no plant can grow is fertile with the peace of the spirit. And so, too, was Ninja's house. Soon it came to be the house of others who felt no tradition of their own. And in that rocky soil, their customs and daily patterns grew into a tradition of their own. Though, few among them were wise enough to see it. Ninja's friend Geta came to live in his house. Geta was a man as large and strong as a mill horse. Ninja's finest tea cups disappeared in Geta's giant hands as he sipped and listened to young Tabi. Tabi was but a boy, and all things were new to him. "Geta, you are wise, and I have a......question." Geta smiled. "Please child, wisdom can not be held within a man. Only when it is shared does it truly become wisdom. You honor me with your questions. Please proceed." "Thank you, Geta. You see I am...I mean....I have a friend who is having a problem." "Ah-ha! Yes, tell about your friend's problem." "Well, this friend has been charged with a sacred duty. And he is having trouble executing one important part of it. You see the roofs of all the largest and most important homes are made of wooden or clay shingles. When my friend is up on these roofs, which is an essential part of his task, the tiles make so much noise." Geta looked to the door and saw the thick wooden shoes that Tabi normally wore. He understood right away how such shoes could be a very noisy problem on a tiled roof. "Let me think some about your problem, young Tabi. For now, please prepare the hot water for our tea." Tabi did as Geta had asked. He heated tea in an adjoining room as Geta sat deep in thought. He tried to remember everything he had known about roofs and roofing tiles. After some minutes of deep consideration, a small rattle of fine porcelain roused him. Tabi stood beside him with a tea service tray. "Boy! You startled me. I did not hear you approach." They both looked at his feet. Tabi wore only the tall, split-toed socks that were worn traditionally with the thick wooden shoes. His shoes had been placed respectfully near the door. "There, Tabi! There is your answer. You can...errrr.....your FRIEND can wear his socks on these roofs. And surely he will make no more sound than a tea tray!"

Tabi was very happy and they two men enjoyed their tea together in silence. Tabi was excited to try out his new solution. The next day found Tabi again seeking Geta's council. "What is it, young one?" Tabi had approached him as he stood chopping wood for the mid-day stove fire. "Well, you remember my friend?" "Yes, the friend with the noisy roof problem." Geta winked knowingly. "Yes, my friend tried out your idea for wearing these thick socks while on roof tops. It worked wonderfully. Just as you had guessed, the socks did not make a sound. But...well, you see, a tiled roof is not nearly as level our hard wooden floors." Geta understood already. "And you are.....ahem, you friend is having trouble holding his footing? Well, you just leave an extra pair of your socks with me this afternoon, and i bet I can stop them from slipping around so much." Tabi did as he was told. That afternoon, he left a pair of his socks for Geta and continued about his house work. Later, Geta told him to go and fetch the socks from where they were drying near the cook stove. Geta had stretched the pulp from a rubber tree and applied the wet sticky substance to the toes, the balls of the foot, and the heel. Having dried, the rubber was now soft, but rather durable. The prefect way to avoid slipping on roof tiles. Tabi understood immediately and went to thank Geta. "It is always my pleasure to help you and your friend." Geta smiled. "Now come, help me chop more wood, for the season grows cold, and we need fires for more than cooking." The next morning, Geta found Tabi wrapped in a heavy robe and sitting close to the house fire. He was hungrily sipping a bowl of Ninja's hearty soup. "Did your friend try out your new socks?" "I tried them for him. They worked well, but last night's snows melted under my feet. The rubber pads held me fast, and quiet, but the melted snow soaked and froze my feet." "Hmmm...this is a problem. Fortunately I have many rubber trees which I have no use for, and I should have no trouble covering the entire sole of your socks. It will take longer for that much rubber to harden, but that should be no problem." "You say you have many of these trees?" "Yes, Why?" "Well, Geta, I would like to coat all of my socks with this substance. And I have many socks. My friend will be very grateful for them, as he needs them tonight." "You are welcome to all the paste you can use, but you had better hurry if you want that many socks treated by this evening. Preparing the pulp is difficult and it takes a long time. Come, I will show you how." Geta instructed Tabi, who went to work stripping pulp out of the bark of many trees. By early evening he had made enough to cover every pair of his socks with the sticky substance and had laid them all out to dry. His work completed, he tucked his cold, bare, feet into his robe and fell fast asleep in the glow of the house fire.

Geta saw him sleeping peacefully after a long day of hard work and commented to Ninja, "Tabi is a good friend to toil all day. Whatever task he is preparing for must be very important indeed." Ninja smiled. He was proud to have such wise and good men as these forging the traditions of his house. Later that very night, Ninja did not stir or awaken to the sound clinking metal outside his window. Neither did Geta hear muted footfalls on the roof over his head. And Tabi was far too fast asleep to notice when stealthy hands gathered the product of his hard labor and departed. When morning came, Ninja busied himself with the preparation of the morning meal. He had forgotten that Tabi was sleeping in the next room. Before long, the noise of his work, and his soft singing awakened the boy. Tabi stirred groggily, but when his eyes opened, what he saw startled him awake. All of the socks that he had laid out by the fire were gone. In their place was a single, brand new, pair of the finest socks he had ever seen. This fine new pair had the characters that spelled out "Tabi" on the side, and they seemed to have objects concealed within them. Tabi's feet were very cold and he hurried to put on these new socks. In the first one was a small scroll which he unrolled and read aloud. Ninja walked curiously into the room and listened to him read. "Tabi, my friend, thank you so much for these fine socks. Their split toes fit perfectly onto small hooves, and the special rubber soles will surely help us hold our grip and move about without waking anyone. I noticed that you used up even your last pair, so I hope this new pair will help to replace them. I also added a little something just for you to enjoy. I wish that I could stop and say hello, and thank you in person, but I am very busy this time of year. I hope that I will be able to find the time to stop in next year. Even if I am once again too busy, I will leave you another surprise, just to say thank you. Your friend, Santa-San" And Ninja looked on, one tear beginning to twinkle in his eye, as Tabi reached into the second sock and pulled out the most wonderful, shining, 4-pointed, throwing star he had ever seen. He smiled at Ninja, glowing with pride, and the two of them placed it atop the house's largest bansai tree. And, "This" said Ninja "shall be OUR tradition." And now you know, child, the true story of Christmas.