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 QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 
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 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS
 
 Page Irti 
 THE TREE WAS TO THEM LIKE A GLIMPSE OF FAIRYLAND
 
 KRISTY'S 
 
 QUEER 
 CHRISTMAS 
 
 OLIVE THORNE MILLER 
 
 BOSTON 
 AND NEW YORK f* 
 
 HOUGHTON 
 
 MIFFLIN & CO. 
 
 1904
 
 COPYRIGHT 1904 BY H. M. MILLER 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
 Published October 1904
 
 7 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. HOW IT HAPPENED 1 
 
 II. CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE ... 8 
 
 III. A DROLL SANTA CLAUS 29 
 
 IV. How A BEAR BROUGHT CHRISTMAS . . 53 
 V. CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW ... 67 
 
 VI. CAROL'S GOOD WILL 85 
 
 VII. OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL .... 104 
 
 VIII. How A TOBOGGAN BROUGHT FORTUNE . 121 
 
 IX. THE TELLTALE TILE 136 
 
 X. THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE . . . 153 
 
 XI. How THE HORSE TOLD 173 
 
 XII. THE CAT'S CHARM ... . . 187 
 
 XIII. MAY'S HAPPY THOUGHT . . . .205 
 
 XIV. THE MAGIC FIGURE . ... . 220 
 XV. CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 236 
 
 9-f 5?c5r 
 -sLGoO

 
 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 HOW IT HAPPENED 
 
 THE way Kristy came to have a queer Christ- 
 mas at all, was this : she had been very ill at 
 her grandmother's, and though she tried her 
 best, and the good doctor tried his best, she 
 could not get well enough to go home for 
 Christmas. 
 
 This was a great grief, of course, for all the 
 girls were having fine times in town, Christ- 
 mas trees and all sorts of festive doings, and 
 Kristy thought so much about it all and felt 
 so bad about it that the doctor began to 
 shake his head again. 
 
 So Mamma told Kristy that she might plan 
 anything she liked, to celebrate the day, and 
 if it were possible, she should have her way. 
 
 This was a capital idea of Mamma's, for it
 
 2 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 gave Kristy something to think of for sev- 
 eral days before she hit upon just such a pro- 
 gramme as she should like best. Christmas 
 trees she was tired of, and besides, a tree would 
 be stupid where she was the only young person. 
 At last a happy thought came to her, which 
 almost made her dance with delight. She 
 would have a party, a new kind of a party, 
 and give everybody a surprise. How her 
 guests would like it she did not know, but 
 that she should enjoy it she was sure. 
 
 She told Mamma her plan, first making her 
 promise to keep it secret, at least the surprise 
 part of it, and Mamma approved. 
 
 It was to be in Grandma's big, old-fashioned 
 kitchen, with its shining oak ceiling and pol- 
 ished floor. The stove that was used for cook- 
 ing in these days was to be taken away ; the 
 great fireplace nearly across the whole end of 
 the room was to be uncovered. The tall brass 
 " fire-dogs " with their queer heads were to be 
 put in place, and a royal fire of logs built up. 
 ^ There was to be no other light in the room, 
 and here on Christmas eve her party was to
 
 HOW IT HAPPENED 3 
 
 assemble to be surprised. After that was over 
 they would be treated to doughnuts, apples, 
 and cider not another thing. 
 
 Mamma consulted with Grandma, and the 
 whole thing was arranged just as Kristy 
 wished. Invitations were sent out, mostly to 
 uncles and aunts and kind neighbors, and 
 hardly a person under twenty years of age. 
 
 When Grandma saw this queer list of guests 
 she was surprised, and suggested that quite a 
 nice party could be brought together, even 
 here in the country, of young people. But 
 Kristy laughed and said she did n't want a 
 single girl to giggle and disturb, and added 
 that Grandma would understand when she 
 heard the surprise. 
 
 The day before Christmas there were great 
 doings in the big kitchen. The stove was car- 
 ried into the laundry and a big pan of dough- 
 nuts, or nut-cakes as they called them, were 
 cooked, while the fire-board was taken away 
 and the fireplace filled with big sticks on a' 
 foundation of solid log. 
 
 Then Aunt Jeanie came over from her house
 
 4 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 and hung the room with evergreen and bitter- 
 sweet, and laid down a big rug before the fire, 
 on one side of which was placed like a throne 
 the great " sick-chair " out of the attic, cov- 
 ered with a gay chintz comfortable, and fur- 
 nished with pillows and everything to make it 
 as nice as a bed. 
 
 As soon as it grew dark on Christmas eve 
 and Kristy had taken her supper, the company 
 began to arrive, and two uncles came up to 
 Kristy's room to carry down the " Queen of 
 the Evening," as they called her. 
 
 She was already dressed in a soft new 
 double-wrapper of light blue merino which 
 Mamma had made for her, and Uncle John 
 brought her a lovely bouquet of rosebuds 
 that had come in a box from the city, and 
 Uncle Will put on her head a delicate wreath 
 of fresh violets from the same box. Then they 
 crossed hands and " made a chair," which they 
 gravely and with great ceremony offered to 
 the " Queen " to ride down on. 
 
 Kristy was delighted ; this was somebody's 
 surprise to her. So she laughingly seated her-
 
 HOW IT HAPPENED 5 
 
 self on the four crossed hands, put one arm 
 around each dear uncle's neck, and away they 
 went down the stairs. 
 
 The kitchen looked charming, and no one 
 regretted the stately parlor left alone in the 
 cold. The guests were assembled and already 
 seated as Mamma had arranged, in a large 
 half-circle around the fire, Grandma in her 
 usual rocking-chair at one end, and Kristy 
 on her throne at the other. 
 
 " Now, Mamma," said Kristy, after greet- 
 ings were over, " will you please tell the sur- 
 prise?" 
 
 " Ladies and gentlemen," said Mamma, 
 standing by Kristy's chair, " you know this 
 is to be a surprise party, differing from the 
 common kind because you the guests are 
 to be surprised instead of your young hostess 
 here. Not to keep you in suspense I will an- 
 nounce that the ruling love of the ' Queen of 
 the Evening ' is stories ; and she requests 
 nay, demands of every one present that he 
 or she shall each in turn tell her a story." 
 
 A chorus of " Oh's " in tones of dismay
 
 6 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 came from the circle, followed by such remarks 
 as " That 's too bad of the little witch ! " and 
 " I never could tell a story in my life ! " 
 But Mamma rapped on the fire-dogs for 
 silence and spoke again. 
 
 " I hear murmurs ; let me explain ; the terms 
 are not hard. Each one shall tell of the oddest, 
 most miserable or most agreeable Christmas he 
 ever knew about. I 'm sure every one of you 
 can remember some story, long or short, con- 
 nected with that pleasant time, and as good 
 1 subjects ' I 'm sure you will be glad to gratify 
 our little story-lover." 
 
 That silenced every one, for all were fond 
 of Kristy and glad to make her Christmas as 
 bright as possible. 
 
 Grandma spoke next. " I think that 's a 
 very cunning plan on the part of my grand- 
 daughter, and while you are all collecting 
 your wits, and brushing up your memories of 
 old times, I '11 tell the first story myself. As 
 it is about myself, I have no trouble in recall- 
 ing it." 
 
 " That 's lovely of you, Grandma," said
 
 HOW IT HAPPENED 
 
 Kristy warmly. Grandma smiled across the 
 fireplace, and while Uncle Will stirred up the 
 fire to make a brighter blaze, she brought her 
 knitting out of her pocket and began.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 
 
 IT was all my own fault, the way we spent 
 our Christmas. I '11 say that to begin with. I 
 was a willful girl in those days, and well was I 
 punished for insisting upon having my own 
 way, that strange Christmas day so long ago. 
 
 We were all going to my grandmother's 
 to a family gathering, and I teased my father 
 to take us in the big sleigh. The ride was 
 only forty miles, and I thought it would be 
 fine and grand to show off our stylish city 
 vehicle, with prancing horses and plenty of 
 bells. 
 
 Yes, I '11 confess the whole. I 'm afraid I 
 was mean enough to think of the sensation we 
 should make in the little village, and of how 
 our country cousins would stare. 
 
 Well, after some demurring, father and 
 mother consented and everything was ar-
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 9 
 
 ranged. A big square basket of good things 
 which we always carried when we all went 
 together to grandmother's was packed and 
 fitted under the back seat in a sort of box ; 
 Willie's and my presents to our cousins, as 
 well as mother's ; mine carefully stowed away 
 in a safe corner, and everything was ready to 
 start the night before we were to go. 
 
 On that morning, however, the sky was 
 cloudy and it looked like snow. Father came in 
 and said he believed we had better go by rail 
 after all ; we could telegraph Uncle James to 
 meet us at the station, for if it should snow 
 we might have trouble with a sleigh. 
 
 Mother agreed that it would be best ; but 
 I took it upon myself to be so disappointed, 
 and made such a commotion, that at last, in 
 order that I might have a pleasant Christmas, 
 they consented as it was not certain that it 
 would snow after all to gratify me. 
 
 Great was my pride and delight when we 
 drove off; horses prancing and bells jingling. 
 Mother and I packed into the back seat, with 
 plenty of cloaks and wraps and fur robes to
 
 10 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 keep us warm, with hot bricks for our feet, 
 and everything snug and nice ; and father and 
 Willie in front, just as comfortable ; father 
 driving, in his warm fur gloves. 
 
 The first ten miles were very pleasant, but 
 as we went on snow began to come down in 
 earnest. I noticed that father grew silent and 
 hurried the horses, and mother looked anx- 
 iously at the fast falling flakes. 
 
 After an hour or so, it settled into a steady, 
 thick storm. The track was soon covered and 
 we could not hear our horses' feet ; in fact, 
 after a while we could not see the horses' ears, 
 much less the road. 
 
 Mother grew more worried, but father spoke 
 cheerfully and said the horses would follow 
 the track, and he let them take their own 
 way. The horses hurried on, and we should 
 have been at grandmother's. The short day 
 was nearly over, it began to grow dark, and 
 now even I was no longer held up by my 
 pride. I began to be dreadfully frightened, 
 especially as the road was so uneven, and we 
 constantly ran against things and over things
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 11 
 
 that nearly upset us, so that we knew we were 
 out of the road and of course lost. 
 
 Perhaps you don't know what that word 
 means to people traveling on the wide west- 
 ern prairie, where the road is on a level with 
 the rest of the country, and one can go for 
 miles and not see a house or even a fence. 
 The very thought struck terror to all of us. 
 Lost on the terrible prairies, with snow so 
 thick we could not see ! 
 
 I began to cry, but mother consoled me by 
 reminding me that at most we should not 
 starve, for we could eat the contents of the 
 Christmas basket, and the storm could not 
 last forever. But I felt the pangs of remorse, 
 and remembered that it was I alone who had 
 brought the family into this disagreeable if 
 not dangerous position. 
 
 By this time it was dark, and we were steal- 
 ing cautiously along, the horses almost tired 
 out dragging the heavy load through unbroken 
 snow. We kept watch on all sides for a light 
 any light that would lead us to shelter. It 
 was eight o'clock in the evening before we
 
 12 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 caught sight of a faint gleam on the right, 
 and father at once turned the horses towards 
 it. A few minutes' floundering and plunging 
 of the poor beasts through drifts almost up to 
 their necks brought us near that welcome 
 light. There seemed to be a house of some 
 sort, very small, and father jumped out 
 and stumbled about till he found a door, on 
 which he knocked. 
 
 In a moment it opened and a frightened- 
 looking face appeared, holding a candle above 
 the head. It was a poor-looking woman's face, 
 but she seemed like an angel to us. Father 
 told her our trouble, and asked her to let us 
 come in and stay all night. 
 
 She said she could not turn away a dog on 
 such a night and to what she had we were wel- 
 come, but she had little to offer us, and she 
 feared we would not be very comfortable. 
 
 " At least," said mother, " you have fire 
 and a roof over you, and we shall be glad of 
 them to-night." 
 
 Well, of course we hurried out, and thank- 
 ful enough I was to leave the sleigh I had
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 13 
 
 entered with such pride. The poor tired horses 
 had to go into a sort of shed where the woman 
 kept her wood, and for a long time father was 
 busy making them as comfortable as he could, 
 rubbing them down and putting on their blan- 
 kets, while we took off our wraps and looked 
 around the one room of the log cottage in which 
 we were to pass the night, and though we 
 did n't suspect it then the next day as well. 
 
 The family consisted of a mother and two 
 children, a boy and girl, about Willie's and 
 my age. They were evidently very poor, for 
 there was hardly anything in the house, except 
 a bed with little skimpy pillows, a table, and 
 a few hard chairs. The fire was in a big fire- 
 place, and the one candle stood on the shelf 
 above it. A cupboard on one side held a few 
 dishes, and that was about all. 
 
 And this was Christmas eve ! and at my 
 grandmother's now the aunts and uncles and 
 cousins were having a merry time, a delicious 
 supper, which made my mouth water to think 
 of, so hungry was I, a roaring big fire, plenty 
 of lights, and lots of fun.
 
 14 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 "And but for you, willful girl," something 
 within me kept suggesting, " but for you, you 
 would all be in the midst of it at this moment." 
 
 Nobody spoke of that, however. 
 
 Father asked if he could get anything to 
 feed the horses, and the woman brought out 
 a basket of corn. So Billy and Jack had to 
 do without their usual oats, and eat corn out 
 of a pail. They did n't seem to mind, but 
 crunched away as though it were sugar-plums. 
 
 It was different with us. We were half- 
 starved, and when we asked about something to 
 eat we found that the terrible little house had 
 nothing but corn-meal and a little salt pork. 
 
 How dreadful ! I could not bear corn-meal, 
 and I loathed pork, but mother asked her 
 cheerfully to cook a supper for us. So she 
 bustled about and cut some very thin slices 
 and broiled them over the coals, and mixed up 
 some of the meal with water and things, and 
 brushed clean a place on the hearth and baked 
 it there on the hot stones, and by that time 
 I was so ravenous I could eat shoestrings, I 
 thought. So I did make a hearty supper on
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 15 
 
 corn bread. Father ate, too, and so did Willie, 
 but I noticed that mother only nibbled at 
 hers. 
 
 Then we began to think of sleeping. The 
 woman (Mrs. Burns was her name) insisted 
 upon giving mother and me her own bed, but 
 I saw a queer look go over mother's face as she 
 glanced at it, and she utterly refused. She 
 said we had carriage robes and cushions and 
 shawls, and could make ourselves very com- 
 fortable on the floor before the fire. So father 
 and Willie brought the things in, and mother 
 spread up two beds side by side, cushions and 
 robes on the floor, and shawls for covering. 
 
 Such a strange night as that was ! I lay 
 awake a long time, watching the dancing 
 shadows which the fire threw on the rafters of 
 the little house, holding fast to mother's hand 
 all the while, for I was half-scared out of my 
 wits to be on the floor. I thought of rats and 
 mice and many horrible things I had heard 
 of, and I was sure I should not sleep a wink, 
 especially as that troublesome monitor inside 
 kept suggesting to me that it was my own
 
 16 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 doing, my own willfulness that had brought 
 this upon the whole family. 
 
 I tried to put away the thought to think 
 of something else ; to make excuses for my- 
 self; but somehow everything looked different 
 here, and I could not bring back my own sat- 
 isfaction with myself. Moreover, it seemed as 
 if that little ray of light, that was showing me 
 my real self, was determined to reveal more 
 things. I remembered that I had always wanted 
 to have my own way, and the dreadful moni- 
 tor reminded me that I did n't much care if I 
 did put other people out of their way, or oblige 
 them to do what they did n't like, to please me, 
 and and I could n't blink the fact that I 
 was apt to be very ugly and cross when I had 
 to give up my own plans ; and at last came the 
 word which all this meant : it was selfishness. 
 
 It seemed as if that word suddenly burst on 
 me, and I saw it as in letters of fire. It was a 
 disagreeable word. I hated selfish people, and 
 I had often given up friendship for a girl be- 
 cause of this ugly trait ; and was it my own, 
 too?
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 17 
 
 I was startled, but I could not get away 
 from that stern monitor within, which seemed 
 to have taken this dismal occasion to show me 
 my true self. 
 
 Hours I lay awake thinking, about myself 
 to be sure, but not in a cheering way. Even 
 now, I remember how, in this wretched plight, 
 brought on by my own selfishness, I had 
 not thought of any one else ; nothing of my 
 mother's discomfort, unable to sleep on the 
 floor, unable to eat coarse food, anxious about 
 grandmother's anxiety about us ; nothing of 
 father's cares, worry about our comfort, about 
 his horses, about how we could get on to- 
 morrow ; nothing about Willie, the gay even- 
 ing he had expected, the evident disappoint- 
 ment ; nothing of the family we were putting 
 to so great inconvenience ; nothing of the 
 worry of grandmother and all our relatives 
 at our absence. Nothing nothing with 
 shame I confess it nothing but the sole, in- 
 dividual disappointment of one small, selfish 
 girl. 
 
 I saw myself, and I didn't like the picture,
 
 18 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 and with tears of shame I said to myself : " I '11 
 begin to do better to-morrow. I will ! I will ! " 
 I slept at last, and awoke full of my good 
 resolve. The sun was not shining ; that I no- 
 ticed the first thing, and next I saw the flakes 
 begin to fall. Father went out to look at the 
 weather, and reported alas for our hopes ! 
 a steady fall of snow, fences all covered, 
 no road to be seen, not a chance of our getting 
 away till the people got out and broke the 
 roads with heavy teams, and it was Christ- 
 mas morning ! I saw mother's quick clasp of 
 the hands, and heard her murmur, " Oh ! if I 
 could only let her know where we are ! " and 
 I knew she was thinking of grandmother's 
 anxiety. I saw father's face as he came in 
 from attending the horses, and asked Mrs. 
 Burns if she had any more corn, and I was 
 just resigning myself to a great burst of tears, 
 when I remembered the thoughts of last night. 
 " Now, here is a good chance to begin to think 
 of some one else," said the monitor. There 
 was no comfort in thinking of any of us, so I 
 turned to the family of the log house.
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 19 
 
 The mother looked thin and ill, and was 
 hurrying about to get breakfast, which I could 
 see was a repetition of the supper of last night. 
 I turned to the girl. Her name was Elsie, and 
 she was near my own age. I went over to 
 where she stood near the small window, in 
 awe of her guests. 
 
 When I reached her I did n't know what 
 to say, for with the best of intentions I was 
 new at the business. At last I began timidly : 
 
 "Elsie, what do you do here on Christ- 
 mas?" 
 
 "I d' know what you mean," said Elsie 
 shyly. " What is Christmas ? " 
 
 " You don't know that ! " I cried in amaze- 
 ment. " I thought everybody in the world 
 knew about Christmas ! Why, why "I 
 stopped. What could I say? How could I 
 begin ? " Mother," as a thought struck me, 
 " please tell Elsie what Christmas is ; she 
 does n't know." 
 
 Mother turned. "Well, dear, come here 
 and let me tell you, though my daughter is so 
 astonished that I must first tell her that there
 
 20 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 are hundreds of thousands of children who 
 never heard of Christmas." 
 
 Then calling the boy John, who was stand- 
 ing stupidly by the door of the shed, as though 
 about to run away, mother told them the whole 
 story : why we keep it, and what we do to 
 celebrate it. John got interested and forgot 
 to shut his mouth, and Elsie's eyes got bigger 
 and bigger and brighter and brighter; and 
 when mother stopped, she drew a long breath 
 and said : " Oh, how beautiful ! how I should 
 like to see Christmas ! But I don't suppose I 
 ever shall out here on the prairie," she added 
 in a moment, the light fading out of her face. 
 
 At that instant a thought came like a flash 
 to me I believe it came from the same 
 monitor which had shown me myself in the 
 night ; anyway, it came the same way, and I 
 must say I did n't like it a bit. I just hated 
 it. What do you suppose it was ? 
 
 " You have things enough packed into the 
 sleigh to make this poor family perfectly happy 
 for a long time ; things intended for people 
 who already have more than they need. Pre-
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 21 
 
 sents you have prepared for your girl cousins 
 will do nicely for Elsie, those for the boys 
 will just suit John. The mittens you knit 
 for grandmother's old servant will keep Mrs. 
 Burns's hands warm, and the New Testament 
 in big print, that you bought with your own 
 money for grandmother, will be just the thing 
 for this dreary little house in long winter 
 evenings. Then, there is the basket ; why 
 carry lots of nice things to eat into a house 
 already too full, when these poor souls have 
 nothing yes, truly nothing meal and 
 pork." 
 
 I took this new suggestion and went to the 
 window to fight it out with myself. Selfish- 
 ness said, " What are these to you ? and how 
 your cousins will feel ! " But, on the other 
 hand 
 
 Well, in a few minutes I went to mother 
 and whispered my thought. Her face bright- 
 ened. 
 
 " I am so glad you thought of it, my daugh- 
 ter. It had occurred to me, but I dreaded to 
 propose it, lest you should be disappointed.
 
 22 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Now we '11 do it, and our Christmas will not 
 be so very gloomy after all, I 'm sure." 
 
 Once settled, we entered into the plan with 
 enthusiasm, we even if you '11 believe me 
 planned a Christmas tree, for father (whom, of 
 course, we told at once) said we were close on 
 the edge of an evergreen wood. He took John 
 and Willie, who was delighted with the plan, 
 borrowed Mrs. Burns's axe, and waded through, 
 I don't know how deep snow to the grove. 
 Very soon he cut down a nice tree, and the 
 two boys dragged it in, prancing through the 
 snow like a pair of horses, and scattering it 
 on every side. I even heard a laugh from 
 John, at the door. 
 
 The tree was quickly set up, and after we 
 had eaten breakfast we went to work on it. 
 Mrs. Burns was interested : said she 'd heard 
 of those things, but never saw one ; and the 
 children were just wild ; I never saw folks so 
 delighted. 
 
 There was n't much to trim it with ; only, 
 luckily, one of the things in the sleigh was a 
 great big box of bon-bons. They are pretty
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 23 
 
 to look at, you know, and we used them *to 
 decorate our tree. Do you suppose a Christ- 
 mas tree was ever before trimmed with bon- 
 bons, hearts, and Jacob's ladders, and rings 
 of dancers (you know how to cut them), and 
 all sorts of droll figures which mother cut out 
 of paper, white and pink, which came around 
 the packages? 
 
 You 'd hardly believe it, but that tree looked 
 really pretty when it came dark, and the fire- 
 light fell on it. But before that time we had 
 our Christmas dinner. The table was set out 
 and covered with newspapers that we had 
 (Mrs. Burns had n't even a tablecloth) and 
 then hidden with sprigs of evergreen that 
 came off in trimming the tree. The things 
 out of the basket made a funny dinner, but 
 was n't it good ! A splendid roast turkey, 
 a big chicken pie, a lovely frosted cake, a 
 plum pudding, and beautiful jelly. Not a bit 
 of bread or potato, not a vegetable nor a piece 
 of butter. Mrs. Burns baked some corn bread, 
 and it looked very queer beside the other 
 things. I tell you the dinner was a wonder in
 
 24 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 that log house. The children were so surprised 
 and happy they could hardly eat, and I hope 
 they enjoyed what was left after we went 
 away, for it was not half eaten. 
 
 Then after dinner was cleared away, father 
 and Willie brought in the box which held our 
 presents. Mother's were really useful. She 
 had a nice merino dress which she was tak- 
 ing to grandmother's Netty, an old servant 
 who lived there when mother was a little girl. 
 It was all made, and just fitted Mrs. Burns. 
 Father had a shawl for her, too. I gave the 
 mittens I had knit to Johnnie, and the Testa- 
 ment to Mrs. Burns, and she was delighted 
 with it. I gave Elsie a book I had for Cousin 
 Addie, and mother gave her a cunning little 
 work-box with all the sewing things in it. 
 Willie gave Johnnie a little set of tools he 
 was carrying to Cousin Harry, and I never 
 saw a boy so pleased. 
 
 Then we had some boxes of games, and we 
 showed them how to play afterwards. 
 
 Everything that was not too big was hung 
 on the tree, and those two children just stood
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 25 
 
 and stared. They could n't take their eyes 
 off, and Elsie every few minutes drew a long 
 breath, as if she could not contain herself for 
 
 I never enjoyed a tree so much in my life, 
 those two children were so perfectly over- 
 whelmed with happiness. 
 
 Then we sat by the fire and told stories and 
 taught them the games, and ate some of the 
 bon-bons from the tree, though we left most 
 of them till we should be gone, and we gave 
 them the bon-bon boxes, which they thought 
 were too fine to use, and the evening fairly 
 flew. Before we thought of it, it was time to 
 go to bed, and I went right to sleep that 
 night. 
 
 The next morning the sun was shining, and 
 before long came a great noise, shouting and 
 yelling, and we saw lots of country people 
 with oxen and heavy sleds breaking the road. 
 Father went out to see them, and he found that 
 we were about three miles from grandmother's, 
 but off the regular road. Then we packed 
 into the sleigh again and went off, and mother
 
 26 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 left Elsie my old cloak and Johnnie Willie's 
 ulster, that he used only for country drives 
 we had so many extra wraps for our long ride. 
 Father gave Mrs. Burns some money, too, and 
 when we drove off she stood by the door 
 crying (if you '11 believe me), while Elsie and 
 Johnnie shouted " Good-by," and Willie and I 
 waved our handkerchiefs and called back. 
 
 Before noon we got to grandmother's and 
 found them very much alarmed about us. 
 Mother told our story and promised to send 
 a fresh Christmas box from home, but no- 
 body would hear of it. Everybody seemed 
 delighted that we had given away their pre- 
 sents, and brought heaps of things that Santa 
 Glaus had left for us. 
 
 It may seem strange, but I believe that 
 queer Christmas in the little log house was the 
 very happiest I ever spent, and Willie and 
 mother always said so, too. 
 
 " And that 's why you 've been so nice and 
 generous ever since ! " cried Kristy as the 
 story ended.
 
 CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE 27 
 
 Everybody laughed, and Grandma even 
 blushed a little, but Kristy added indignantly, 
 " You need n't laugh ! You all know it 's 
 true ! " 
 
 "So we do, little girl," said Uncle Will 
 warmly ; " the most generous, the nicest, 
 the " 
 
 " There, there ! " interrupted Grandma, 
 " that '11 do. It 's your turn now, Mr. Tom." 
 
 Now Uncle Tom pretended to be greatly 
 distressed because he could not tell half so 
 good a story, and Kristy laughed at him and 
 told him he need n't pretend, for everybody 
 knew he could make up stories so good that 
 they were printed in the newspapers. 
 
 This made Uncle Tom blush, and he 
 said : 
 
 " Very well then, Miss Queeny ! If I must 
 tell a story, I shall do it in newspaper style. 
 For I can't talk stories ; I can only write 
 them." 
 
 " Do it any way you please," said Kristy, 
 " only begin ! Begin ! Sh ! Listen, every- 
 body."
 
 28 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 "Well," said Uncle Tom, slowly drawing 
 a fresh newspaper from his pocket, " the 
 queerest Christmas I ever heard of was in a 
 negro cabin out in the woods of Ohio, and I '11 
 read you that." 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! " came in a chorus from the lis- 
 teners. " You must tell your story ! " 
 
 " This is my story," Uncle Tom admitted at 
 last, " and it 's new, and nobody here has seen 
 it," and he turned to Kristy. 
 
 "Yes, read it, Uncle Tom," she said. "I 
 know it '11 be nice." 
 
 Uncle Tom turned his back to the fire so 
 that he could see to read, and then began.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A DROLL SANTA CLAUS 
 
 " BERTIE," whispered seven-year-old Lily mys- 
 teriously, " I know where to find Santa Glaus. 
 Barbara told me." 
 
 " Where ? " cried Bertie, dropping the block 
 he was about adding to his house. 
 
 " Out on the hill," Lily went on eagerly. 
 " Barbara says that Christmas eve the Christ 
 Child comes down on the hill, with oh ! lots 
 and lots of presents, and picks them over and 
 gives them to Santa Glaus to take to the 
 children." 
 
 "What hill?" asked Bertie, jumping up 
 from the floor. 
 
 " The one the moon comes over, Barbara 
 says," answered Lily. " And I guess it 's that 
 one," pointing to the peak of a mountain 
 miles and miles away. " Christmas eve 's this 
 very night," she went on earnestly. " Let 's
 
 30 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 you and I go up there and see him and pick 
 out our presents." 
 
 " Well," said Bertie, always ready to do 
 what Lily suggested. 
 
 " We must n't let Barbara see us, or she 
 won't let us go," said Lily. " But I guess 
 she '11 be glad when we come back with lots 
 of things." 
 
 "I'll bring her a horse," said Bertie, "'at 
 she can ride." 
 
 " And I '11 bring her a be-au-ti-f ul long dress 
 that'll drag on the ground," said Lily, start- 
 ing down-stairs. Bertie followed. Barbara had 
 gone to the kitchen for a few moments ; 
 Mamma was busy in the parlor with company ; 
 and nobody saw the two children creep down- 
 stairs, open the front door, and slip out. 
 
 " I wonder which way it is ! " said Lily, 
 when they had reached the walk. " Oh ! I 
 guess that way, 'cause there 's the hill," and 
 she turned the way that led from the village 
 toward the woods. 
 
 The sun was just down, and away the eager 
 children tramped, too much excited to feel
 
 A DROLL SANTA GLAUS 31 
 
 cold, though they had nothing over them, and 
 too much afraid of being overtaken by the 
 nurse to linger. When they reached the woods 
 it looked rather dark, and Bertie was afraid 
 to go in. But Lily said they 'd soon be there, 
 she guessed ; and the Christ Child would take 
 care of them, 'cause he loved little children. 
 
 So hand in hand they entered the dreary 
 wood. It looked much darker inside, and, in 
 fact, the short winter day was about over and 
 night was falling fast. Anxiously the two 
 little wanderers hurried along, not saying 
 much, now running when the ground was 
 smooth, and stumbling along over roots and 
 sticks when it was rough. 
 
 " I 'm cold, 'n I want my Mamma," burst 
 out Bertie at last. 
 
 " So am I cold," said Lily, " and I guess 
 we must be most there ; and then think how 
 nice it '11 be!" 
 
 " Will it be warm ? " asked the anxious 
 little voice. 
 
 " Oh ! of course, and light," said Lily cheer- 
 fully, " and plenty of nice things to eat."
 
 32 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " I want something now," wailed Bertie, the 
 tears rolling down his face. 
 
 " Well, don't cry," said Lily, in a soothing, 
 motherly way. " We '11 soon be there now." 
 And on they trudged, through swamps half up 
 to their knees, falling over logs, scratching 
 their faces on bushes, hungry, cold, wet, and 
 at last frightened when the snow began to 
 come down thick and fast. 
 
 " I want to go home," sobbed Bertie. 
 
 "Well," said Lily, "we'll go," and they 
 turned around and began to retrace their 
 steps. But alas ! they had not come straight, 
 and they only went farther and farther from 
 home. 
 
 The prospect of going home quieted Bertie 
 for a while ; but when some time had gone by, 
 and it was almost totally dark, and they could 
 see nothing, and ran against trees and hurt 
 themselves, even Lily's courage began to fail, 
 and the tears ran down her face, though she 
 tried to choke them back. But still they stum- 
 bled on. 
 
 " Don't cry, Bertie," the brave little crea-
 
 A DROLL SANTA CLAUS 33 
 
 ture said after a while. " If we die out here 
 in the woods, maybe the robin redbreasts '11 
 come and cover us up with leaves, as they did 
 the children in the woods in my book." 
 
 " I don't want to be covered up with leaves," 
 sobbed Bertie, who could n't see any consola- 
 tion in that. 
 
 Just at that moment they came out from be- 
 hind a rock, and they saw a light. Lily was 
 ablaze in a minute. 
 
 " There it is ! There they are ! " she cried. 
 " Look, Bertie ! That must be the place ! " 
 And they hurried on, losing the light now and 
 then, as a tree came in the way, and finding it 
 again in a minute. 
 
 When they drew near the light they saw 
 that it came from a window, and when they 
 got close to it there was a small house with 
 a door beside the window. Lily knocked. 
 In a moment it was opened by a negro, 
 old and bent and white-haired, who gazed 
 at the two weary children as though they 
 were ghosts. 
 
 " Please, sir, are you Santa Glaus ? " asked
 
 34 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Lily, with trembling lips and tears on her 
 cheeks. 
 
 " Santa Glaus ! " said the bewildered negro. 
 " Bless yo' heart, who 's that ? But come in 
 out o' the storm. Yo' must be nigh froze to 
 death. Who 's come with yo' ? " and he peered 
 out into the darkness. 
 
 " No one," said Lily timidly, half afraid of 
 his looks, yet reassured by his good-natured 
 voice. "We came alone, to see Santa Glaus. 
 But I 'm afraid we missed the way." 
 
 " Come alone, this yere cold night, from the 
 village ? " he ejaculated in amazement. " Did 
 yo' Ma know ? " 
 
 " No," said Lily, casting down her eyes. 
 "We did n't tell her." 
 
 " Well, come in by the fire," said he, draw- 
 ing them in and closing the door. " What yo' 
 s'pose yer Ma '11 say when she finds yo' done 
 runned away ? " 
 
 Bertie burst into loud crying, and Lily 
 sobbed : " Oh ! please won't you show us the 
 way back ? I did n't think of that." 
 
 "Well, well, don't cry," said he. "Yo'
 
 A DROLL SANTA CLAUS 35 
 
 must get warm and have a bite to eat, and 
 then I'll see about getting on yo' home. I 
 ain't so young as I was onct, and it 's no fool 
 of a tramp through these yere woods after 
 night, I kin tell ye." 
 
 It was a droll little place that the children 
 had come into. The whole house consisted 
 of one room, roughly built, evidently by old 
 Philip himself. On one side was a rude lounge- 
 frame, holding some sort of a coarse bed and a 
 blanket or two ; on the other a table, made by 
 turning a packing-box on one end. The third 
 side was given up to the rickety old stove, the 
 pipe of which went out through a hole in the 
 side of the shanty, and a rough shelf behind 
 it, on which were a plate or two, as many cups, 
 a package or two of corn-meal, tobacco, and 
 other necessaries, with a lighted tallow candle, 
 stuck into a hollowed-out potato. There were 
 no chairs, but a soap-box by the stove looked 
 as though it was used for that purpose. A saw 
 and sawbuck in the corner by the door and 
 an old coat and hat hanging up completed the 
 furniture of the dwelling.
 
 36 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 But, if the house was odd, it was warm, and 
 the two half-frozen children eagerly crowded 
 up to the stove. 
 
 " Pore chillen ! " said their tender-hearted 
 host. " It 's a miracle yo' did n't freeze to 
 death out in them woods." 
 
 " We did most," said Lily, with quivering 
 lip. " And oh, dear ! how can we get home 
 again ? " 
 
 " Don't you fret yo'r heart, my little lady," 
 said old Philip kindly. " I see about that 'ar. 
 'Pears to me yo'd 'mazin'ly like a hot 'tater, 
 now, would n't yo', my little man?" 
 
 " Yes," said Bertie, who was more than half 
 afraid of him. 
 
 Philip opened the door of his stove, raked 
 away the ashes, and there were two nice pota- 
 toes, haked to a lovely brown. He took them 
 out, carefully brushed off the ashes, laid them 
 on the table, brought out a cracked teacup 
 with salt in it, and an old knife, and told the 
 children to come up and eat. 
 
 " If I 'd a know'd I was gwine to have com- 
 pany to tea," he said, laughing, " I 'd a got
 
 A DROLL SANTA GLAUS 37 
 
 up a supper in style. But eat the 'taters and 
 I '11 bake yo' a oncommon nice hoecake. Yo' 
 like hoecake?" 
 
 " I don't know," said Lily, who stood irre- 
 solute before the table, not knowing just how 
 to begin such a meal. " How do you eat these? 
 They 're hot." 
 
 " Sure 'nuff," said Philip. " I done forgot 
 yo' was n't used to my sort o' eatin'. I jest cut 
 off the end, drop a pinch o' salt in, and dig 
 out the inside." 
 
 " Oh ! " said Lily, hastening to follow his 
 directions for herself. As for Bertie, he had 
 already half eaten his potato without salt. 
 
 Philip now brought out a bowl and mixed 
 up some corn-meal in it ; then brushing off 
 the hot griddle of his stove, he poured the 
 mixture on. In a few minutes he turned it over 
 with a knife, and in a short time he handed it 
 in the same way onto a plate and put it on the 
 table. It was brown and smelt good, and the 
 hungry children eagerly devoured it, while 
 Philip made another. 
 
 When they had eaten as much as they could,
 
 38 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 and drank some water out of teacups, Philip 
 gave Lily a seat on the soap-box, while he 
 turned a big stick of wood up on end and sat 
 down on that himself. He then took Bertie, 
 who had got over his fright, onto his lap and 
 proceeded to take off the soaked shoes and 
 stockings and warm the little cold red feet. 
 Lily meantime did the same for hers, which 
 ached with the cold. 
 
 " Now teh 1 me how yo' corned to run away," 
 said Philip, when they were more comfortable. 
 
 " We came out to find the Christ Child," 
 said Lily. " Barbara says he comes on Christ- 
 mas eve down on a hill and gives the presents to 
 Santa Glaus ; and we wanted to pick ours out." 
 
 " Yes, I want a horse 't I can ride," said 
 Bertie, who had recovered his spirits, now that 
 he was warm and fed. 
 
 "Pore little things!" said Philip compas- 
 sionately. " Yo' mus' have had a dreffle 
 tramp ! I '11 see how the weather is." 
 
 So he sat Bertie on the lounge-bed and 
 went to the door. A fierce blast came in as 
 he opened it, with a flurry of snow, nearly
 
 A DROLL SANTA CLAUS 39 
 
 putting out the light. He shut it quickly, and 
 stood a few moments with a look of perplexity 
 on his face. 
 
 " I '11 tell you what/' he said at length, in 
 answer to Lily's anxious look, " it 's teetotally 
 umpossible to go through the woods to-night. 
 I would n't 'tempt it in this yere storm myself, 
 let alone toting two chillen. I'll fix yo' up as 
 comf 'able as I can hyere to-night, an' soon as 
 it 's light I '11 go to the village an' tell y'r 
 folks, an' they '11 come with a sleigh. There 's 
 a wood-road round a little piece down here." 
 
 Bertie's lip went up for a cry ; but Lily 
 took him in her arms in a motherly way, and 
 said : " Never mind, Bertie, dear ; it '11 soon 
 be morning, and we '11 go home in a sleigh, 
 maybe. And then it'll be Christmas, you 
 know." 
 
 They talked a little more, and then Philip 
 fixed a place for them to sleep. He shook up 
 the bed till it was high and round, laid one 
 blanket over it, put the now half-asleep chil- 
 dren in it, and covered them up as snug as he 
 could with the other blanket.
 
 40 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " 'T ain't much of a cover to them, I 
 reckon," said he to himself, " but I kin keep 
 a fire all night, an' I don't suspicion they '11 
 get cold." 
 
 Having fixed them as nicely as he could, 
 shaded his light so it would not shine in their 
 eyes, and replenished his stove, old Philip sat 
 down on his soap-box, and fell to talking to 
 himself, as he often did out there in the woods, 
 for want of other company. 
 
 " Pore creeturs ! " he said, looking at the 
 sleeping children. " What a marcy that they 
 got sight o' my light. They 'd be done dead 
 by this time. An' to think the little innocents 
 come out this-a-way to find Santa Glaus. Pore 
 things ! Little 'nun Christmas they '11 have, 
 I 'se a thinkin'. I wonder what they 'r a-doing 
 down to their house. Tearin' round fit to kill, I 
 reckon. They 'r somebody's darlin's I see plain 
 'miff. Won't they be powerful glad to see 
 this nigga in the mornin' ? Yah ! yah ! " he 
 laughed softly to himself. " I reckon they 
 never so glad to see this chile afore. Pore 
 things ! " he went on after a little, " come out
 
 A DROLL SANTA CLAUS 41 
 
 yere to see Santa Glaus an' get some presents. 
 Golly ! " he exclaimed, as a new thought 
 struck him. " I wonder if I could n't hunt up 
 somethin' 'r other to make a Christmas mornin' 
 bright. They '11 be powerful forlorn when they 
 wakes up." 
 
 He was silent some time, scratched his head, 
 whistled a little ; and after a while he got up 
 softly and hung their stockings up to dry. " I 
 know what Ize gwine to do," he said. " I '11 
 give 'em some nuts and pop-corn, anyway." 
 
 He drew a box from under the foot of the 
 bed, opened it, and took out some beechnuts 
 delicious little three-cornered things that 
 he had gathered in the woods. From the same 
 box he took two pr three ears of small pop- 
 ping-corn. As he attempted to push it back 
 it hit something, and he put in his hand and 
 drew out a stick. 
 
 " Golly ! " said he again, "if there ain't the 
 very stick fur a hoss fur that boy, that he 
 wants so bad. I did n't 'spect, when I done 
 shoved it in under there fur a walking-stick, 
 what I 'd want it fur."
 
 42 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 It was a piece of a branch of a tree, and on 
 one end it was bent over so as to make a 
 natural sort of a handle. It would do very 
 well for a horse's head, too. So Philip got out 
 his old jack-knife, cut a sort of a mouth for 
 the horse, dug holes in the bark to represent 
 the eyes, made a sort of a bridle of string, 
 whittled the end off smooth, and there was as 
 fine a riding-horse as any boy of five could 
 ask for. 
 
 " There," said Philip, " that '11 do fur the 
 boy; now what kin I find fur the gal?" A 
 long time he puzzled over this, till he remem- 
 bered some birds' eggs that had been in his 
 shanty for months. He took down the old coat 
 that hung on the wall, and there they were, 
 very dusty now, but not broken. Carefully 
 he took them down and washed them clean, 
 breaking one or two, but on the whole suc- 
 ceeding very well. Then he strung them on 
 a clean string, and they looked very pretty 
 indeed. 
 
 " Little curly head '11 like that 'ar, I know," 
 said he, with a grin of pleasure on his black
 
 A DROLL SANTA GLAUS 43 
 
 face ; " an I '11 learn her the name of every 
 kind." 
 
 Next the droll old Santa Glaus proceeded to 
 prepare his pop-corn. He took out from some 
 dark corner a sort of iron saucepan, and put 
 it on the stove while he shelled the corn. 
 When it was hot he dropped in the corn, 
 covered it up, and began to shake it about, 
 first slowly, and then faster and faster as the 
 corn popped off in little explosions inside, 
 every few seconds looking at the sleepers to 
 see that they did n't wake up. They were far 
 too tired to wake, and when he had poured 
 the beautiful white shower out on the table 
 they had not stirred once. 
 
 Then he went on to hang a stocking of 
 each child on the wall near the bed ; and then, 
 tiptoeing around as though he were stepping 
 on eggs, he went back and forth filling them. 
 First down in the toe came beechnuts, filling 
 all the foot ; then popped corn stuffed the leg 
 into a funny bunchy shape. Then over Lily's 
 he hung the string of birds' eggs, and over 
 Bertie's the comical horse. 
 
 *
 
 44 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 All this work, varied by replenishing the 
 fire, kept old Philip busy till nearly morning, 
 and then he began to prepare breakfast. His 
 potatoes were baked and his hoecakes mixed 
 in the highest style of the art when Lily 
 opened her eyes. 
 
 At first sight of Philip a look of fright 
 came into her face, and then she remembered. 
 " Oh ! '' said she, " I thought it was all a 
 dream, and I was in my bed at home." 
 
 " But you is n't, honey. Yo 's my guest this 
 blessed Christmas mornin'. Wish yo' Merry 
 Christmas. How do yo' feel ? " 
 
 " I feel well enough," said Lily, sitting up. 
 " Is this Christmas, really ? " 
 
 "Yes," said old Philip. "See your stock- 
 ing hanging up thar ? " 
 
 Lily looked around quickly. " Oh ! what a 
 lovely string of eggs. Oh ! where did you get 
 it? Is it for me? " burst out of her eager lips. 
 
 "Course it's for yo'," said Philip, showing 
 all his teeth. " Santa Claus mus' a know'd 
 whar yo' was, an' done come down the chimbly 
 an' leff it hyer fur yo'."
 
 A DROLL SANTA GLAUS 45 
 
 " Oh ! Bertie, wake up ! " cried Lily, shak- 
 ing the sleepy boy. " It 's Merry Christmas, 
 and Santa Glaus has been here." 
 
 Bertie was wide awake in a minute. " There 's 
 my horse," he shouted, as soon as he saw it. 
 " Let me have a ride." And he snatched it 
 down, got astride, and rode around the small 
 room, perfectly happy. 
 
 " Let 's see what else is in the stockings," 
 said Lily, taking them down. 
 
 " Oh ! pop-corn ! Is n't it nice ? " and they 
 began to eat it at once. 
 
 " And what are these ? " she asked, as she 
 emptied the corn into her lap, and the nuts 
 came down in a little brown shower. 
 
 " Le 's see," said Philip, looking at them 
 curiously, as though he had never seen them. 
 " Why, them 's beechnuts ! Did n't you never 
 see beechnuts afore ? There 's heaps in the 
 woods." 
 
 " No, I never saw any," said Lily. " How 
 do you open them ? " 
 
 Philip showed her how to take out the deli- 
 cate nut, and she declared it the most delicious
 
 46 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 nut in the world. " Santa Glaus made them 
 purpose for us, I guess," she said. 
 
 It was some time before Philip could get 
 them to have their stockings and shoes on and 
 eat their breakfast. But he hurried them by 
 reminding them how anxious their mother 
 would be ; and as soon as he had seen them 
 fed he got ready for his journey. 
 
 It did not look very promising outside. 
 The snow was a foot deep, though it had 
 stopped falling, and he resolved to start. 
 
 " Now mind yo' don't set the house afire," 
 he said, as he put on his buckskin mittens and 
 buttoned his one coat up tight to his chin. 
 " Don't let the fire go out, nuther, or you '11 
 freeze." 
 
 " I '11 tend to it," said Lily. 
 
 " Good-by. I '11 hurry fast as ever I kin," 
 said Philip, and went out and shut the door, 
 leaving them alone. But not sad. Far from 
 it ; they were as merry over their rude Christ- 
 mas presents as though they had a room full 
 of toys. 
 
 And how do you suppose the night had
 
 A DROLL SANTA GLAUS 47 
 
 passed in the home of Lily and Bertie? Not 
 so quietly as in the shanty in the woods. 
 When their absence was discovered there was 
 great excitement, deepening as the village was 
 searched and no trace of them revealed, turn- 
 ing to horror as the storm came up and the 
 hours went by and no children to be found, 
 and settling into despair when the various 
 parties who were out hunting returned with 
 no trace. There was excitement all through 
 the village ; but in their home it was agony. 
 The father spent the night in scouring the 
 country, the mother in going from one faint- 
 ing fit to another, till the doctor despaired 
 of her life. 
 
 It was a welcome sound when old Philip's 
 voice rang out at the door. " Done loss any 
 chillen hyer?" 
 
 Mr. Deane, who had just returned, rushed 
 out. " Yes. Do you bring any news ? " 
 
 " Well, 'spects I does. Two chillen done 
 spent the night in my cabin." 
 
 " Come in," cried the father, hastily draw- 
 ing him in. " Where are they now ? How
 
 48 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 did you find them ? Where is your house ? 
 Bless you, I '11 never forget this ! " he poured 
 out in a stream. 
 
 " One at a time, Massa," said old Philip, 
 going up to the stove in the hall and spread- 
 ing out his black hands to the pleasant 
 warmth. " My shanty is over in the woods a 
 piece nigh on to two miles from here, I 
 reckon. An' them two chillen sot out, nigh 's 
 I kin make out, about sundown, to find Santa 
 Claus. They see my light, an' come to my 
 do' 'bout eight o'clock, I reckon, nigh about 
 froze an' starved ; the boy cryin', but the little 
 gal brave an' peart to the last." 
 
 By the time the story was finished all the 
 household had gathered around, and the fa- 
 ther had Philip's rough hands in both of his. 
 " Bless you, my man, I '11 pay you for this." 
 
 "No, you won't," said Philip. "I don't 
 want no pay. But them young ones is alone 
 in the shanty, an' they mowt set it afire, 
 though I charged the little gal to look out." 
 
 " Is there a road ? Can I get there with a 
 sleigh?" asked Mr. Deane.
 
 A DROLL SANTA CLAUS 49 
 
 " You kin go purty nigh," said Philip. 
 
 " Well, you get warm and have some break- 
 fast. Cook," turning to her, " give him the best 
 you can in five minutes, while I see about the 
 horses. You, Barbara, get cloaks and things." 
 
 Seated by the kitchen table, Philip disposed 
 of a cup or two of hot coffee and some cold 
 meat and bread in a few minutes, and when 
 the sleigh came up to the door he came out. 
 
 " Have you no overcoat for this weather ? " 
 asked Mr. Deane, as he put on his own in the 
 hall. 
 
 " No, sir," said Philip. " The wood-sawin' 
 business is n't over 'n above good since so 
 many burns coal. I hasn't had an obercoat 
 fur many a year." 
 
 Mr. Deane turned to the rack from which 
 he had taken his. " Here 's one for you," he 
 said, handing him a heavy overcoat. 
 
 Philip was overcome. Something choked 
 him so that he could n't speak, but he speed- 
 ily got into it and followed Mr. Deane out to 
 the sleigh. He was already in, and he bade 
 Philip get in by him, and they started off.
 
 50 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Of course, it did not take very long to reach 
 the point nearest the shanty, though the road 
 was not broken and it was rather hard pulling 
 for the stout pair of horses. 
 
 When the father opened the door he found 
 Bertie prancing around on his horse and Lily 
 perfectly happy, studying out her birds' eggs. 
 
 " Oh ! Papa," she exclaimed when she saw 
 him, " Santa Glaus came here and left us such 
 beautiful things ! " 
 
 " See my horse ! " shouted Bertie. " Santa 
 Glaus bringed him ! " 
 
 Mr. Deane looked around the room and un- 
 derstood the poverty of its owner, and a happy 
 idea occurred to him. 
 
 " Philip," he said, " in the chamber of my 
 barn is a comfortable room, built for a man, 
 but my man don't Occupy it. I'm going to 
 have you move down there this very day and 
 live in it. There 's furniture enough about the 
 house to make it comfortable, and I can find 
 work enough for you to do all the year round. 
 We burn lots of wood and have a garden in 
 the summer ; and, in fact, I take you into my
 
 A DROLL SANTA CLAUS 51 
 
 employment from this hour, at the best wages 
 going, to last your life. You need n't say any- 
 thing," as Philip struggled to speak. " I can 
 never repay you for what you have done for 
 me ; but I '11 do what I can. Now, if you '11 
 help me carry these little ones over to the 
 sleigh, you shall have a team to come for your 
 things." 
 
 Well, the children were soon in their mo- 
 ther's arms ; and Mr. Deane, with the help of 
 the whole household, spent the morning in 
 furnishing up old Philip's room. 
 
 A very cosy place it was when all was ready : 
 a carpet ; a new little cooking-stove ; a nice 
 bed, made up with white sheets and things ; a 
 table, a chair or two, including one rocking- 
 chair ; a cupboard, containing dishes, tin, and 
 ironware enough to set up a family ; jars of 
 sugar and tea and coffee and meal ; and, in 
 fact, everything the combined household could 
 think of to add to the old man's comfort 
 not forgetting a goodly array of half -worn gar- 
 ments from the family storeroom. 
 
 And Philip ! Well, he stood and looked at
 
 52 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 it in silence, taking it in item by item, till he 
 reached a picture which Lily had insisted on 
 giving, hanging it up with her own hands, and 
 then he just turned his face to the wall and 
 covered it up with his hands. 
 
 And they all stole away and left him alone. 
 
 When Uncle Tom ended his story it was 
 very still in the room for a minute ; nobody 
 seemed inclined to speak. At last Kristy 
 cleared her throat and said : 
 
 " I knew you 'd tell a tip-top story, Uncle 
 Tom. It 's lovely, and you must put it in a 
 book for me." 
 
 " Humph ! " said Uncle Tom. " We shall 
 see, Miss Queeny ! Your reign is over to- 
 night. Now, Aunt Joe, it 's your chance," 
 said he, turning mockingly upon his neigh- 
 bor. 
 
 "Well," said Aunt Joe quietly, "the 
 strangest Christmas doings I know of hap- 
 pened a good many years ago."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 IT 's a queer story, but if it had not been for 
 a big black bear there would not have been any 
 Christmas at all in that poor little log hut in 
 the woods I mean any Christmas doings, of 
 course. You see the father had gone off to 
 the village to get a bag of meal. He had been 
 away three days, and there were no signs of 
 his coming. It was Christmas eve, and the 
 very last spoonful of meal was boiling in the 
 kettle for supper. Every minute the children 
 were looking out of the one little window to 
 see if Father were coming, and Mother was 
 getting the bowls ready, and the mush was 
 nearly done, when suddenly a shout came from 
 the window. 
 
 " Mother ! there 's a big black bear ! " 
 Mrs. Carson glanced out of the window. 
 Bears were not so rare as to be startling in
 
 54 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 the woods ; but with her husband away she 
 felt nervous about everything. 
 
 Sure enough, there was a big bear, and 
 what was worse he was plainly as much inter- 
 ested in them as they were in him. He was 
 headed for the cabin, and shuffling along in 
 a sort of trot, as if he had been invited to 
 supper. Mrs. Carson turned pale. 
 
 " He looks hungry," she said, " and he 's 
 coming straight here, as if he knew we were 
 alone. Children ! hurry up into the loft, while 
 I fasten the door ! " 
 
 The little ones, Carry and Jack, needed no 
 further orders ; they hastily scrambled up the 
 ladder to where a few boards had been laid 
 across the beams and formed a loft used for 
 storing things when they had any to store. 
 
 Frank, however, demurred. " Mother ! let 
 me take Father's gun and shoot him out of 
 the window ? " he cried. 
 
 " No, indeed ! " said his mother, as she 
 barred up the door ; " you 're not a good shot 
 like your father, and a wounded bear is a ter- 
 rible creature."
 
 HOW A BEAR BROUGHT CHRISTMAS 55 
 
 " He 's coming right here ! " shouted Frank; 
 " straight for the window ! Run ! run ! " 
 
 Up the ladder he went, his mother after 
 him, and when they turned and looked down, 
 the bear was staring in at the window in a 
 most neighborly way. He saw, or perhaps 
 he smelled, the boiling mush, for he sniffed 
 as if it pleased him, and made up his mind to 
 come in. 
 
 Now, of course, he did n't understand glass, 
 and thought that where he could look in he 
 could go in ; and, in fact, he could ; for one 
 thrust of his enormous paw smashed every 
 pane of glass and the sash besides, and in he 
 scrambled. 
 
 " Mother ! " whispered Frank, " bears 
 can climb." 
 
 " Sh ! " his mother replied in the same 
 tone ; " we must n't let him suspect we 're 
 here." 
 
 The little ones were already speechless with 
 terror. 
 
 But the bear paid no attention to whisper- 
 ing, if he heard it ; he looked neither at the
 
 56 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 ladder nor at the gun in the corner ; he had 
 eyes for only one thing the kettle of boiling 
 mush. He sniffed again, as if the odor were 
 agreeable and mush his favorite food ; and he 
 shuffled straight across the room to the open 
 fireplace where it hung. " He surely won't 
 touch it so hot ! " thought Mrs. Carson ; but 
 she did not know him. What could a bear 
 out of the woods know about heat? He 
 snatched the kettle, dragged it off the hook, 
 held it in his arms, and thrust his nose 
 into it. 
 
 A pang, and a low groan from above as 
 the party in the loft saw their last chance of 
 supper gone ; but a howl of pain rose from 
 the bear as his nose touched the boiling mass. 
 He held on tighter ; that was his way when 
 anything hurt, to squeeze the life out of it. 
 He clasped the kettle closer and closer to his 
 breast, and louder and wilder grew his cries ; 
 but he never thought of giving up. He rolled 
 on the floor with pain ; still he held on to 
 the kettle, and the mush poured out into his 
 face and eyes, and in about two minutes
 
 HOW A BEAR BROUGHT CHRISTMAS 57 
 
 there was nothing but a black mass rolling 
 around, knocking over the chairs, wild and 
 blinded. 
 
 Now was Mrs. Carson's chance. The gun 
 stood in a corner ; she could use it. With 
 white lips she bade the children keep still 
 while she stole down the ladder, but Frank 
 held her tightly. 
 
 "Mother! Mother! " he cried eagerly, "let 
 me ! I 'm quicker 'n you ! I '11 bring the 
 gun!" 
 
 She pushed him back. " Never ! if I " 
 
 But Frank was quick and light ; he slipped 
 between the bars and dropped to the floor. 
 Then a shriek came from his mother ; but in 
 an instant he had seized the gun and was half- 
 way up the ladder again. How he got up he 
 never knew, but in a moment he was safe in 
 the loft, again looking down on that roaring 
 and tumbling mass below. 
 
 " Oh, if your father were here ! " came 
 tremblingly from Mrs. Carson's white lips. 
 
 " I can shoot, Mother ! " cried Frank, and 
 shoot he did. He could not take much aim, of
 
 58 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 course, but he shot at random. I spare you 
 the particulars ; it is enough that two or three 
 shots put an end to the distress of the poor 
 fellow on the floor, and when all was quiet 
 the pale, trembling little group crept down 
 the ladder. Frank, of course, was wild; he 
 danced around the fallen foe. 
 
 " My first bear, Mother ! and such a big 
 one ! won't Father be pleased ! and now we 
 can have a splendid supper ! bear's meat 's tip- 
 top ! And, Mother," as a new thought struck 
 him, " now we can have a Christmas ! now, 
 youngsters," he turned to the little ones who 
 sat on the lower rounds of the ladder ready 
 to scamper up on the slightest movement of 
 the big beast, " now Santa Claus '11 come 
 here sure." 
 
 " You said he did n't know the way out 
 here," began Carry. 
 
 "Yes, I know I did; but this splendid 
 fellow '11 show him the way you '11 see ! " 
 
 "But, Frank," said his mother, "I can't 
 see myself what you can do ; the skin is worth 
 something, but out here in the woods there 's
 
 HOW A BEAR BROUGHT CHRISTMAS 59 
 
 no one to buy it, and to-morrow 's Christmas, 
 you know." 
 
 " Yes ; and to-morrow morning I '11 cut this 
 fellow up. I '11 take off his coat to-night, I 
 know how, for Father taught me, and I '11 
 pack him, or what we don't want ourselves, on 
 to my big sled, and " 
 
 "And drag it five miles to the village?" 
 said his mother, with a faint smile. 
 
 " Yes, Mother ; why not ? And then I can 
 hunt up Father, too." 
 
 " I don't believe you can do it, with such a 
 load." 
 
 " Well, I know I can ; and I '11 sell that skin 
 and the meat, Mr. Brown buys them, I 
 know, and I '11 " and he nodded his head 
 in a mysterious way toward the children. 
 
 " Now, Mother ! " as he saw her lips open 
 to reply, " please, please, let me have my way 
 this time ! I know I can do it, and besides," 
 he said hesitatingly, " what did you say about 
 i trusting the Lord ' ? Can't you trust him to 
 get me safe to the village ? " 
 
 This was a home thrust, and Mrs. Carson
 
 60 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 closed her mouth. Sure enough, she had 
 talked about " trusting ; " it was now time to 
 trust. 
 
 Moreover, she was getting very anxious 
 about her husband, who she knew would not 
 have left them so long alone unless something 
 had happened. So she went to work to patch 
 up the window with a piece of white cloth 
 tacked over it, the best she could do, and to 
 make up the fire and restore the room to or- 
 der, while Frank proceeded to his part of the 
 work, taking off Master Bruin's warm thick 
 overcoat, which he would not need any more. 
 
 Before long, too, a delicious fragrance filled 
 the little log house, and if a bear had come 
 along just then, he 'd have smelled something 
 more savory than mush. It was quite late that 
 night before Mrs. Carson and Frank were in 
 bed, for it was a pretty big piece of work for 
 a boy of twelve ; but boys of that age can do 
 a good many things when they happen to live 
 in the woods and have a father to teach them. 
 
 With the first light the family were astir. 
 Frank packed his long sled which was made
 
 HOW A BEAR BROUGHT CHRISTMAS 61 
 
 to drag wood to the house, and after an early 
 breakfast wrapped himself up and started. 
 
 " Mind," said his mother, as she bade him 
 good-by, " get Mr. Brown to bring you back 
 if Father is n't ready to come, or if anything 's 
 the matter. I shall be worried to death if 
 you 're not home before dark." 
 
 " Don't you worry, Mother. It 's Christ- 
 mas day and I 'm bound to be home. Carry 
 and Jack, hang up your stockings before you 
 go to bed, if I 'm not here ! I 'm sure old 
 Santa '11 be around," and off he went. Mrs. 
 Carson watched him out of sight, and then 
 turned with a sigh to her work in the house, 
 for children must eat and work must go on, 
 you know, whatever happens. 
 
 Frank started off bravely, though the load 
 was heavy and the way was long, but how he 
 would have got on, and whether he would 
 ever have reached the village all by himself, 
 nobody can tell ; for when he got up onto the 
 main road, and just as he was trying to per- 
 suade himself that his arms did n't ache the 
 least bit, a man came along with a yoke of oxen
 
 62 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 and an empty wood-sled. As soon as Frank 
 saw him he knew him ; he lived in the vil- 
 lage, and no doubt was going right home, and, 
 to tell you the truth, it took Frank about one 
 minute to make a bargain with him to drag 
 his load and him, and take part of the bear's 
 meat in payment. When everything was ar- 
 ranged and Frank climbed up under the buffalo- 
 robe beside the driver, he had to admit to him- 
 self that his arms were a little tired, and " How 
 I wish Mother knew," he thought all the way. 
 
 Just before noon Frank and his sled were 
 dropped before the door of Mr. Brown's store, 
 and having paid for his passage, and feeling 
 at least a foot taller than he did yesterday, he 
 walked in. 
 
 " Mr. Brown," he said, trying to make his 
 voice steady, it did shake so, " do you 
 want to buy a bear skin, and some meat ? " 
 
 " Why, bless me ! it 's Frank Carson ! " 
 said the good-natured storekeeper. " Where 's 
 your bear, sonny ? " 
 
 " Out here," said Frank, trying very hard 
 not to look proud.
 
 HOW A BEAR BROUGHT CHRISTMAS 63 
 
 Half a dozen men of the kind that always 
 hang around a country store started up and 
 rushed to the door. 
 
 " Well ! the boy was n't lying," said one, 
 surprised. 
 
 " Humph ! " said Mr. Brown, " I knew 
 that. He does n't come of that sort of stock. 
 How 's your mother, boy ? " 
 
 "Well," said Frank, "but can you tell 
 me about Father?" 
 
 " Your father," said Mr. Brown, undoing 
 the fastenings preparatory to spreading out 
 the skin, " your father calculated to go home 
 this very afternoon : he 's had a spell of sick- 
 ness ; has n't set up since the day he come. 
 He 's been most wild about you all, and he 's 
 upstairs in my store this identical minute. 
 Why, what a big fellow ! " he interrupted 
 himself, " how did you get him ? " 
 
 Then Frank had to tell the story of his 
 capture while his audience laughed and 
 thought it was the first time a bear had been 
 caught in a mush-kettle trap. 
 
 In an hour more a very happy load set off
 
 64 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 behind Mr. Brown's mule for the little log 
 house. Mr. Carson, wrapped and bolstered up 
 in a big chair, so that he would not get too 
 tired, and Frank, with more money than he 
 ever had in his life, and a big bundle besides 
 a very mysterious package that even his father 
 did n't know about, and that Mr. Brown had 
 helped him hide under the straw of the sleigh. 
 Not least of all, there was a new sash for the 
 window, and a board out of which to make a 
 strong shutter, so that the next hungry bear 
 that chose to come smelling around after their 
 mush might not find it quite so easy to get in. 
 
 " Though I 'm mighty glad he did get in, 
 Father," said Frank. 
 
 " Yes, since it ended well," said his father. 
 " But suppose it had been night." And he 
 shuddered at the thought of what might have 
 been. 
 
 It was after dark when the little light of the 
 log house was seen, and the children were fast 
 asleep. After having some supper and much 
 talk on both sides, Frank begged his father 
 and mother to go to bed and let him play Santa
 
 HOW A BEAR BROUGHT CHRISTMAS 65 
 
 Glaus. They were very willing, and thus it was 
 done. 
 
 The next morning there was almost as much 
 noise in the house as when that bear was hug- 
 ging the mush-kettle. Two wilder or happier 
 children could not be found anywhere. Their 
 stockings were full and running over, and be- 
 sides there was a nice warm dress for Mother 
 and a subscription to a weekly paper for Father; 
 and all the rest of the money handed to Mrs. 
 Carson with, " There, Mother ! I Ve had all 
 the fun I want out of that bear. You may 
 have the rest. But are n't you glad he came 
 to see us, anyway?" 
 
 " But where is your present ? " s$d Mother. 
 " What did you get for yourself? " 
 
 "Oh, Mother! I didn't think anything 
 about it," said Frank. 
 
 " But I thought of it," said his father ; and 
 then he brought out of the folds of Mr. Brown's 
 big cloak that he had been wrapped up in to 
 take his long ride the day before, the prettiest, 
 neatest, brightest, best little gun you ever saw. 
 
 What did Frank say ?
 
 
 66 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Well, his eyes grew big; he stared and 
 gasped, but all he said was, 
 Oh, Father ! " 
 
 " Now, Auntie, " said Kristy with shining 
 eyes, when the story ended, " you always told 
 me you could n't tell stories." 
 
 " No more I can," said Aunt Joe. 
 
 " Well, we '11 see ! " said Kristy threaten- 
 ingly. " I shall not forget this one, and you 
 may as well rack your brains for more." 
 
 Aunt Joe laughed, and everybody turned to 
 Cousin Harry, who sat next. 
 
 " My story," said he at once, " is about a 
 great snowstorm. It happened away out on 
 the prairies to a family I knew. Perhaps you 
 remember them, Grandma. George Barnes was 
 the man's name ; they used to li ve near here." 
 
 " To be sure I do," said Grandma with in- 
 terest ; " what about them ? "
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW 
 
 IT was just before' Christmas, and Mr. Barnes 
 was starting for the nearest village. The fam- 
 ily were out at the door to see him start, and 
 give him the last charges. 
 
 " Don't forget the Christmas dinner, Papa," 
 said Willie. 
 
 " 'Specially the chickens for the pie ! " put 
 in Nora. 
 
 " An' the waisins," piped up little Tot, stand- 
 ing on tiptoe to give Papa a good-by kiss. 
 
 " I hate to have you go, George," said Mrs. 
 Barnes anxiously. " It looks to me like a 
 storm." 
 
 "Oh, I guess it won't be much," said Mr. 
 Barnes lightly ; " and the youngsters must 
 have their Christmas dinner, you know." 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Barnes, " remember this, 
 George ; if there is a bad storm don't try to
 
 68 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 come back. Stay in the village till it is over. 
 We can get along alone a few days, can't we, 
 Willie?" turning to the boy, who was giving 
 the last touches to the harness of old Tim, the 
 horse. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! Papa, I can take care of Mamma," 
 said Willie earnestly. 
 
 " And get up the Christmas dinner out of 
 nothing ? " asked Papa, smiling. 
 
 "I don't know," said Willie, hesitating, as 
 he remembered the proposed dinner, in which 
 he felt a deep interest. 
 
 " What could you do for the chicken pie ? " 
 went on Papa with a roguish look in his eye, 
 " or the plum-pudding ? " 
 
 " Or the waisins ! " broke in Tot anxiously. 
 
 " Tot has set her heart on the raisins," said 
 Papa, tossing the small maiden up higher than 
 his head, and dropping her all laughing on the 
 doorstep, "and Tot shall have them sure, if 
 
 Papa can find them in S . Now good-by, 
 
 all ! Willie, remember to take care of Mamma, 
 and I depend on you to get up a Christmas 
 dinner if I don't get back. Now, wife, don't
 
 CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW 69 
 
 worry ! " were his last words as the faithful old 
 horse started down the road. 
 
 Mrs. Barnes turned one more glance to the 
 west, where a low, heavy bank of clouds was 
 slowly rising, and went into the little house to 
 attend to her morning duties. 
 
 " Willie," she said, when they were all in 
 the snug little log cabin in which they lived, 
 " I 'm sure there 's going to be a storm, and it 
 may be snow. You had better prepare enough 
 wood for two or three days ; Nora will help 
 bring it in." 
 
 " Me, too ! " said grave little Tot. 
 
 " Yes, Tot may help too," said Mamma. 
 
 This simple little home was a busy place, 
 and soon every one was hard at work. It was 
 late in the afternoon before the pile of wood, 
 which had been steadily growing all day, was 
 high enough to satisfy Willie, for now there 
 was no doubt about the coming storm, and it 
 would probably bring snow ; no one could 
 guess how much, in that country of heavy 
 storms. 
 
 " I wish the village was not so far off, so
 
 70 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 that Papa could get back to-night," said 
 Willie, as he came in with his last load. 
 
 Mrs. Barnes glanced out of the window. 
 Broad scattering snowflakes were silently fall- 
 ing, the advance guard, she felt them to be, 
 of a numerous host. 
 
 " So do I," she replied anxiously, " or that 
 he did not have to come over that dreadful 
 prairie where it is so easy to get lost." 
 
 " But old Tim knows the way, even in the 
 dark," said Willie proudly. " I believe Tim 
 knows more 'n some folks." 
 
 " No doubt he does, about the way home," 
 said Mamma, "and we won't worry about 
 Papa, but have our supper and go to bed. 
 That '11 make the time seem short." 
 
 The meal was soon eaten and cleared away, 
 the fire carefully covered up on the hearth, 
 and the whole little family quietly in bed. 
 Then the storm which had been making ready 
 all day came down upon them in earnest. 
 The bleak wind howled around the corners, 
 the white flakes by millions and millions came 
 with it, and hurled themselves upon that
 
 CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW 71 
 
 house. In fact, that poor little cabin alone on 
 the wide prairie seemed to be the object of 
 their sport. They sifted through the cracks 
 in the walls, around the windows, and \mder 
 the door, and made pretty little drifts on the 
 floor. They piled up against it outside, cov- 
 ered the steps, and then the door, and then 
 the windows, and then the roof, and at last 
 buried it completely out of sight under the 
 soft white mass. 
 
 And all the time the mother and her three 
 children lay snugly covered up in their beds 
 fast asleep, and knew nothing about it. 
 
 The night passed away and morning came, 
 but no light broke through the windows of 
 the cabin. Mrs. Barnes woke at the usual 
 time, but finding it still dark and perfectly 
 quiet outside, she concluded that the storm 
 was over, and with a sigh of relief turned 
 over to sleep again. About eight o'clock, 
 however, she could sleep no more, and became 
 wide-awake enough to think the darkness 
 strange. At that moment the clock struck, 
 and the truth flashed over her.
 
 72 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Being buried under snow is no uncommon 
 thing on the wide prairies, and since they had 
 wood and corn-meal in plenty, she would not 
 have been much alarmed if her husband had 
 been home. But snow deep enough to bury 
 them must cover up all landmarks, and she 
 knew her husband would not rest till he had 
 found them. To get lost on the trackless 
 prairie was fearfully easy, and to suffer and 
 die almost in sight of home was no unusual 
 thing, and was her one dread in living there. 
 
 A few moments she lay quiet in bed, to 
 calm herself and get control of her own anx- 
 ieties before she spoke to the children. 
 
 " Willie ! " she said at last, " are you 
 awake?" 
 
 " Yes, Mamma," said Willie, " I Ve been 
 awake ever so long ; is n't it most morning ? " 
 
 " Willie," said the mother quietly, " we 
 must n't be frightened, but I think I 'm 
 afraid we are snowed in." 
 
 Willie bounded to his feet and ran to the 
 door. 
 
 " Don't open it ! " said Mamma hastily, "the
 
 CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW 73 
 
 snow may fall in. Light a candle and look 
 out the windows." 
 
 In a moment the flickering rays of the 
 candle fell upon the windows. Willie drew 
 back the curtain. Snow was tightly banked 
 up against it to the top. 
 
 " Why, Mamma ! " he exclaimed, " so we 
 are ! and how can Papa find us ? and what 
 shall we do ? " 
 
 " We must do the best we can," said 
 Mamma, in a voice which she tried to make 
 steady, " and trust that it is n't very deep, 
 and that Tim and Papa will find us, and dig 
 us out." 
 
 By this time the little girls were awake 
 and inclined to be very much frightened, but 
 Mamma was calm now, and Willie was brave 
 and hopeful. 
 
 They all dressed, and Willie started the 
 fire. The smoke refused to rise, but puffed 
 out into the room, and Mrs. Barnes knew 
 that if the chimney were closed they would 
 probably suffocate, if they did not starve or 
 freeze.
 
 74 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 The smoke in a few moments choked them, 
 and seeing that something must be done, she 
 put the two girls, well wrapped in blankets, 
 into the shed outside the back door, closed the 
 door to keep out the smoke, and then went 
 with Willie to the low attic where a scuttle 
 door opened onto the roof. 
 
 " We must try," she said, " to get it open 
 without letting in too much snow, and see if 
 we can manage to clear the chimney." 
 
 " I can reach the chimney from the scuttle 
 with a shovel," said Willie. " I often have with 
 a stick." 
 
 After much labor, and several small ava- 
 lanches of snow, the scuttle was opened far 
 enough for Willie to stand on the top round 
 of the short ladder, and beat a hole through 
 to the light, which was only a foot above. 
 He then shoveled off the top of the chimney, 
 which was ornamented with a big round cush- 
 ion of snow, and then by beating and shovel- 
 ing he was able to clear the door, which he 
 opened wide, and Mrs. Barnes came up on the 
 ladder to look out. Dreary indeed was the
 
 CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW 75 
 
 scene ! Nothing but snow as far as the eye 
 could reach, and flakes still falling, though 
 lightly. The storm was evidently almost over, 
 but the sky was gray and overcast. 
 
 They closed the door, went down, and soon 
 had a fire, hoping that the smoke would guide 
 somebody to them. 
 
 Breakfast was taken by candle-light, dinner 
 in time in the same way, and supper 
 passed with no sound from the outside world. 
 
 Many times Willie and Mamma went to the 
 scuttle door to see if any one was in sight, but 
 not a shadow broke the broad expanse of white 
 over which toward night the sun shone. Of 
 course there were no signs of the roads, for 
 through so deep snow none could be broken, 
 and until the sun and frost should form a crust 
 on top there was little hope of their being 
 reached. 
 
 The second morning broke, and Willie hur- 
 ried up to his post of lookout the first thing. 
 No person was in sight, but he found a light 
 crust on the snow, and the first thing he no- 
 ticed was a few half-starved birds trying in
 
 76 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 vain to pick up something to eat. They looked 
 weak and almost exhausted, and a thought 
 struck Willie. 
 
 It was hard to keep up the courage of the 
 little household. Nora had openly lamented 
 that to-night was Christmas eve, and no Christ- 
 mas dinner to be had. Tot had grown very 
 tearful about her " waisins," and Mrs. Barnes, 
 though she tried to keep up heart, had become 
 very pale and silent. 
 
 Willie, though he felt unbounded faith in 
 Papa, and especially in Tim, found it hard to 
 suppress his own complaints when he remem- 
 bered that Christmas would probably be passed 
 in the same dismal way, with fears for Papa 
 added to their own misery. 
 
 The wood too was getting low, and Mamma 
 dared not let the fire go out, as that was the 
 only sign of their existence to anybody ; and 
 though she did not speak of it, Willie knew 
 too that they had not many candles, and in 
 two days at farthest, they would be left in 
 the dark. 
 
 The thought that struck Willie pleased him
 
 CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW 77 
 
 greatly, and he was sure it would cheer up the 
 rest. He made his plans, and went to work 
 to carry them out without saying anything 
 about it. 
 
 He brought out of a corner of the attic an 
 old box-trap he had used in the summer to 
 catch birds and small animals, set it carefully 
 on the snow, and scattered crumbs of corn- 
 bread to attract the birds. 
 
 In half an hour he went up again, and found 
 to his delight that he had caught bigger game 
 a poor rabbit which had come from no one 
 knows where over the crust to find food. 
 
 This gave Willie a new idea : they could 
 have their Christmas dinner after all ; rabbits 
 made very nice pies. Poor Bunny was quietly 
 laid to rest, and the trap set again. This time 
 another rabbit was caught, perhaps the mate 
 of the first. This was the last of the rabbits, 
 but the next catch was a couple of snow-birds. 
 These Willie carefully placed in a corner of 
 the attic, using the trap for a cage, and giving 
 them plenty of food and water. 
 
 When the girls were fast asleep, with tears
 
 78 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 on their cheeks for the dreadful Christmas 
 they were going to have, Willie told Mamma 
 about his plans. Mamma was pale and weak 
 with anxiety, and his news first made her laugh 
 and then cry. But after a few moments given 
 to her long pent-up tears, she felt much better, 
 and entered into his plans heartily. 
 
 The two captives up in the attic were to be 
 Christmas presents to the girls, and the rabbits 
 were to make the long-anticipated pie. As for 
 plum-pudding, of course that couldn't be 
 thought of. 
 
 " But don't you think, Mamma," said Willie 
 eagerly, " that you could make some sort of a 
 cake out of meal, and would n't hickory-nuts 
 be good in it ? You know I have some left 
 up in the attic, and I might crack them softly 
 up there, and don't you think they would be 
 good ? " he concluded anxiously. 
 
 " Well, perhaps so," said Mamma, anxious 
 to please him and help him in his generous 
 plans. " I can try. If I only had some eggs ! 
 but seems to me I have heard that snow 
 beaten into cake would make it light and
 
 CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW 79 
 
 there 's snow enough, I 'm sure," she added 
 with a faint smile, the first Willie had seen for 
 three days. 
 
 The smile alone he felt to be a great achieve- 
 ment, and he crept carefully up the ladder, 
 cracked the nuts to the last one, brought them 
 down, and Mamma picked the meats out while 
 he dressed the two rabbits which had come so 
 opportunely to be their Christmas dinner. 
 
 " Wish you Merry Christmas ! " he called 
 out to Nora and Tot when they waked. " See 
 what Santa Glaus has brought you ! " 
 
 Before they had time to remember what 
 a sorry Christmas it was to be they received 
 their presents, a live bird for each, a bird that 
 was never to be kept in a cage, but fly about 
 the house till summer came, and then to go 
 away if it wished. 
 
 Pets were scarce on the prairie, and the 
 girls were delighted. Nothing Papa could have 
 brought would have given them so much hap- 
 piness. 
 
 They thought no more of the dinner, but 
 hurried to dress themselves and feed the birds,
 
 80 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 which were quite tame from hunger and weak- 
 ness. But after a while they saw preparations 
 for dinner, too. Mamma made a crust and 
 lined a deep dish the chicken-pie dish ; and 
 then she brought a mysterious something out 
 of the cupboard, all cut up so that it looked 
 as if it might be chicken, and put it in the 
 dish with other things, and then she tucked 
 them all under a thick crust, and set it down 
 in a tin oven before the fire to bake. And 
 that was not all. She got out some more 
 corn-meal, and made a batter, and put in some 
 sugar and something else which she slipped 
 in from a bowl, and which looked in the bat- 
 ter something like raisins; and at the last 
 moment Willie brought her a cup of snow, 
 and she hastily beat it into the cake or pud- 
 ding, whichever you might call it, while the 
 children laughed at the idea of making a cake 
 out of snow. This went into the same oven, 
 and pretty soon it rose up light and showed a 
 beautiful brown crust, while the pie was steam- 
 ing through little fork-holes on top, and send- 
 ing out most delicious odors.
 
 CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW 81 
 
 At the last minute, when the table was set 
 and everything ready to come up, Willie ran 
 up to look out of the scuttle, as he had every 
 hour of daylight since they were buried. In a 
 moment came a wild shout down the lad- 
 der. 
 
 " They 're coming ! Hurrah for old Tim ! " 
 
 Mamma rushed up and looked out, and 
 saw to be sure old Tim, slowly coming 
 along over the crust, drawing after him a 
 wood-sled on which were two men. 
 
 " It 's Papa ! " shouted Willie, waving his 
 arms to attract their attention. 
 
 "Willie ! " came back over the snow in tones 
 of agony. " Is that you ? Are all well ? " 
 
 " All well ! " shouted Willie, " and just go- 
 ing to have our Christmas dinner." 
 
 " Dinner ? " echoed Papa, who was now 
 nearer. " Where is the house, then ? " 
 
 " Oh, down here ! " said Willie, " under the 
 snow ; but we 're all right, only we must n't 
 let the plum-pudding spoil." 
 
 Looking into the attic, Willie found that 
 Mamma had fainted away, and this news
 
 82 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 brought to her aid Papa and the other man, 
 who proved to be a good friend who had 
 come to help. 
 
 Tim was tied to the chimney, whose thread 
 of smoke had guided them home, and all went 
 down into the dark room. Mrs. Barnes soon 
 recovered, and while Willie dished up the 
 smoking dinner, stories were told on both 
 sides. 
 
 Mr. Barnes had been trying to get through 
 the snow and to find them all the time, but 
 until the last night had made a stiff crust he 
 had been unable to do so. 
 
 Then Mrs. Barnes told her story, winding 
 up with the account of Willie's Christmas 
 dinner. " And if it had n't been for his keep- 
 ing up our hearts I don't know what would 
 have become of us," she said at last. 
 
 " Well, my son," said Papa, " you did take 
 care of Mamma, and get up a dinner out of 
 nothing, sure enough ; and now we '11 eat the 
 dinner, which I 'm sure is delicious." 
 
 So it proved to be ; even the cake or pud- 
 ding, which Tot christened snow-pudding,
 
 CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SNOW 83 
 
 was voted very nice, and the hickory-nuts as 
 good as raisins. 
 
 When they had finished Mr. Barnes brought 
 in his packages, gave Tot and the rest some 
 " sure-enough waisins," and added his Christ- 
 mas presents to Willie's ; but though all were 
 overjoyed, nothing was quite so nice in their 
 eyes as the two live birds. 
 
 After dinner the two men and Willie dug 
 out passages from the doors, through the 
 snow, which had wasted a good deal, un- 
 covered the windows, and made a slanting 
 way to his shed for old Tim. Then for 
 two or three days Willie made tunnels and 
 little rooms under the snow, and for two 
 weeks, while the snow lasted, Nora and 
 Tot had fine times in the little snow play- 
 houses. 
 
 " Oh ! " said Kristy with a sigh, after the 
 clapping of hands that greeted the adventures 
 of the Barnes family had ended, " how dread- 
 ful to be covered up with snow ! That 's worse 
 than your Christmas snowstorm, Grandma ;
 
 84 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 but I 'm so glad they found them after all ! 
 and what a cute boy that Willie must be ! " 
 
 " He is," said Cousin Harry ; " and I '11 tell 
 you more about him some time. But now let 
 us proceed with the programme." 
 
 " Oh, yes ! it 's your turn, Aunt Lill," said 
 Kristy. 
 
 "I shah 1 tell a story that I heard from a 
 Danish friend of mine," said Aunt Lill. " She 
 was in it herself, but I shall not tell you which 
 of the characters she was ; you may guess."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 
 
 THE story begins on Christmas morning when 
 Carol Cameron flung herself into a chair and 
 impatiently muttered : 
 
 " I wish that thing would n't run in my 
 head, f Peace on earth ; good will to men.' 
 Humph ! Precious little peace there is for me, 
 <with all these young ones to take care of ; and 
 as for good will," hesitating, " as for good 
 will," she went on defiantly, "I suppose my 
 will 's as good as anybody's." 
 
 The words would seem to settle the matter, 
 but it evidently did not stay settled ; the 
 thoughts went on, " Peace on earth ; good 
 will to men," still ringing through her head 
 in the music of the old Christmas chant. 
 
 " I don't see how I can be expected to feel 
 much good will, anyway," she mused, looking 
 out of her window across miles and miles of
 
 86 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 snow-covered prairie. " This year has n't held 
 much good for me. First it took away my 
 dear Mother, and then it brought me to this 
 dreadful, dreadful prairie, with four children 
 to care for. Oh ! how could Father bring us 
 here ! " and her revery ended in a passionate 
 burst of tears. 
 
 It was a dismal picture, looked at from that 
 side alone, and the tears fell fast and hot. 
 But the glorious words went chanting through 
 her brain, with soothing effect, and when the 
 tea hour arrived she was able to take her place 
 opposite her father, looking only a little more 
 sad than usual in those unhappy days. 
 
 The younger children glanced at her anx- 
 iously, for since Carol had been in Mother's 
 place she had been a little exacting, as an elder 
 sister sometimes will. It was plain that there 
 was some great but suppressed excitement 
 among them, and at last the father noticed 
 it, and a question brought out the breathless 
 announcement that " There is going to be a 
 Christmas tree at the schoolhouse; the Sun- 
 day School teachers got it up; it is going
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 87 
 
 to be splendid ; and everybody is invited ; 
 and every scholar will get something; and 
 oh, Papa! mayn't we go?" ended the eager 
 chorus. 
 
 " Why, yes ; I have no objection," an- 
 swered grave Papa, " if Carol will go and take 
 care of you." 
 
 All eyes turned to Carol, sitting, alas ! so 
 hopeless, at the tea-tray. 
 
 " No, indeed, I '11 not ! " came instantly to 
 her lips; but the old chant, still ringing 
 in her head, stopped it there. She hesitated. 
 " Good will to men," went on the silent 
 monitor. 
 
 " Please, Sissy ! " whispered baby Grace, 
 while the others, grown wise by the year's ex- 
 perience of Carol's " Don't tease," dared not 
 open their lips. 
 
 Carol could not help a glance around that 
 circle of eager faces, and with a sudden pang 
 thought how little she had done to make them 
 happy ; how poorly she filled the " mother " 
 place in their lives. But they waited, breath- 
 less, for her reply.
 
 88 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 "I I don't think it will be pleasant," she 
 began. 
 
 " Oh, yes, it will ! " burst out the chorus. 
 " It '11 be lovely ! and everybody 's going to 
 get something." 
 
 " Everybody dit somesing ! " echoed Grace. 
 
 " Good will to men," went on the silent 
 chant, and " Dear me ! how that does bother 
 me ! " in her thoughts was followed on her lips 
 by a reluctant " Well, I suppose I '11 have to 
 go, if you 're all so wild about it." 
 
 The happy chorus of " Goody ! goody ! " 
 and the merry laughs and glad faces, as they 
 hurried about getting ready, were so many 
 separate pangs in Carol's heart ; but she had 
 promised, and Carol was a lady, and never 
 broke her word. 
 
 An hour later saw them on their way, dan- 
 cing and skipping with delight, while sad 
 thoughts of last Christmas filled Carol's mind 
 as she plodded through the snow, holding fast 
 to Gracie's little hand. 
 
 Last year Mother had planned the tree, and 
 though she had lain for weeks on her bed, her
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 89 
 
 own patient fingers had made the pretty de- 
 corations and the lovely presents. Carol's 
 hands had dressed the tree, but Mother, on 
 her lounge, had told her what to do. Mother, 
 too, had taught her and the rest the good old 
 chant, " Peace on earth ; good will to men." 
 
 Just here, in her recollections of the past, 
 they reached the door of the schoolhouse, which 
 in that small, far-western town served for 
 school all the week and for church on Sunday. 
 
 Leaving their wraps in the hall, they quickly 
 joined the lively crowd within. The room had 
 been cleared of desks and benches, brilliantly 
 lighted with many candles around the walls, 
 and in the middle, admired of all, stood the 
 tree. 
 
 You will fancy a pretty evergreen tree, 
 loaded with gifts and ornaments, twinkling 
 with tiny lights, like a bit of fairyland to all 
 children. Far other was the scene that met 
 Carol's wide-open eyes ; very different was this 
 Christmas tree of the prairies. 
 
 It was a dead, leafless tree of the woods, 
 hung with small round scalloped cakes of
 
 90 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 maple sugar, festooned with strings of popped 
 corn, and lighted with a ring of tallow candles 
 set around it in the tub in which it stood. 
 That was all. Such and so bare did it look to 
 Carol, though the lively imagination of the 
 children magnified it into something beautiful 
 and rare, and the grown-ups who had worked 
 hard to prepare it saw no fault in it. 
 
 " You poor things ! " was the thought that 
 rushed into Carol's head. "You think that 
 a Christmas tree ! " And a sudden feeling of 
 pity came over her for people whose lives were 
 so bare and hard that they knew no better 
 Christmas tree than that. 
 
 It was her first kind feeling toward the 
 plain, hard-working villagers, whom she had 
 simply despised. It must have been the magic 
 work of the old chant, for a thought sprang 
 up in her mind on the instant, and grew with 
 gourd-like speed. She had leisure to think 
 her plan out, even there, for the people were 
 somewhat shy of the still, proud girl, who had 
 walked among them as a stranger for several 
 months, showing her unhappy face only at
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 91 
 
 church and in the street. From one motherly 
 old lady, however, she learned that no one in 
 the village had ever seen a Christmas tree, 
 but, reading about them, the teachers had 
 thought one would be pleasant for the chil- 
 dren, and so had imitated it, as they supposed. 
 " And sure enough," thought Carol, in try- 
 ing to account for the leafless object, " I don't 
 know that the stories ever do speak of its 
 being an evergreen tree." 
 
 At an early hour the merry company went 
 home, each child happy with a cake of maple 
 sugar and a string of popped corn, and soon 
 all the Cameron children were dreaming of the 
 delightful festival that we all know " comes 
 but once a year." 
 
 Not so Carol. Having seen the last sleepy 
 head on its pillow, she went to her own room, 
 locked the door, and sat down before her 
 trunk. Article after article she threw out, till 
 she reached a large pasteboard box in the bot- 
 tom, and this she opened. 
 
 What a glitter in that dull little room ! 
 How the dim candle-light flickered and flashed
 
 92 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 back from gilt and silver, from tiny mirrors 
 and colored glass balls ! Carol's heart was full 
 as she pondered over these relics of last Christ- 
 mas, remembering the delightful evening, the 
 beautiful tree, and above all, the dear, pale 
 mother on her lounge, so interested and so 
 happy as she directed the dressing of the tree. 
 
 "I must teach you, Carol," she had said 
 that day, " for when I 'm gone you '11 have to 
 be mother to the little ones." And Carol felt 
 a sharp pang as she remembered once more 
 this evening how far short she had come of 
 filling their mother's place. 
 
 " Little did I think," poor Carol murmured, 
 as one by one she took the treasures from the 
 box, and looked fondly through her tears at 
 each, " little did I think, when I packed them 
 away, where they would next be used, on these 
 terrible prairies, to amuse a pack of savages 
 who never saw a tree ; and I almost think," 
 she went on, after a moment, " I don't believe, 
 after all " 
 
 She hesitated ; for, strong and clear, almost 
 as if sung by human lips, went that trouble-
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 93 
 
 some chant through her head, " Peace on 
 earth ; good will to men." 
 
 Once more she changed her mind. " Yes, I 
 will too," she said bravely. " I 'm ashamed 
 of myself to have such selfish thoughts." 
 
 That night she lay awake and matured her 
 plans, which were, as you have guessed, to 
 show the children a real Christmas tree. 
 
 She had the decorations, to be sure, but she 
 had no presents ; worse, she had no candles j 
 and, worst of all, no tree. 
 
 After much pondering, she remembered that 
 she had a long-unused talent for making paper 
 dolls and their dresses and belongings; also, she 
 knew how to fashion funny little Quaker dolls, 
 with hickory-nuts for heads. Pretty shell cush- 
 ions came within her powers, and she thought, 
 with pleasure that was half pain, of a box of 
 scallop shells she had brought from the sea- 
 shore two years before. This reminded her of 
 a dainty shell picture-frame she once saw ; and 
 instantly came the memory of several photo- 
 graphs laid away in her desk that would be 
 just the things to fill them.
 
 94 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " Lots of little things I can make for girls," 
 she thought. " But what can I do for boys ? " 
 
 Then she remembered the tops she had 
 made for her brothers out of half a spool 
 with a stick run through. 
 
 " They used to spin nicely," she thought ; 
 " and if I paint them they '11 look pretty." 
 
 Then balls occurred to her. She knew well 
 how to make them her mother taught her 
 of woolen yarn wound over a cork, and 
 covered with crochet-work or with bits of 
 colored leather. 
 
 "Then I can make splendid molasses candy," 
 she added triumphantly, " and cunning little 
 cakes that I used to cut out with a thimble 
 for my dolls' parties." 
 
 For the candles, she suddenly remembered 
 that Sarah, the faithful woman they had 
 brought from their old home with them, made 
 their candles by dipping, and the brilliant 
 thought flashed over her that at one period 
 of their growth they were very thin, no thicker 
 than Christmas candles, and why could n't 
 they be cut into short ones ? They could, she
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 95 
 
 was sure and Sarah was good nature itself. 
 " And I 'm sure," thought Carol, " that she '11 
 do it if I ask her." 
 
 Now about the tree. That seemed almost 
 hopeless in this treeless prairie ; but she knew 
 that the northern horizon had a fringe of trees, 
 several miles away, and she resolved to hope, 
 at least, that among them were evergreens. 
 Cautious inquiry, the next day, of a man who 
 came to saw wood, drew out the fact that 
 there were a few evergreens about ten miles 
 off. Carol relied on her father to help her to 
 that, and at once began her preparations. 
 
 She secured the help of her next younger 
 sister, Jessie, by confiding a very little of her 
 plan, and making her promise to keep it secret, 
 and by the same means she interested her 
 brother Harry, aged thirteen. A much greater 
 part of her intentions yet not all she 
 confided to faithful Sarah, who, pleased to 
 see her so bright and interested, readily agreed 
 to make the candles. 
 
 For one week that was a very busy house- 
 hold. Carol's fingers fairly flew, and balls and
 
 96 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 tops and dolls and other little gifts accumu- 
 lated very fast. Meanwhile, Harry whittled 
 spools to a point, and made pegs to fit them, 
 and Jessie made balls and other things, and 
 both were devoured with curiosity to know 
 what sister could possibly want of such queer 
 things. 
 
 For a list of the village children, with 
 names and ages, Carol depended on Sarah, 
 who knew everybody and visited everywhere. 
 There were not many, only twenty-five ; but 
 to get up a tree and a present for even twenty- 
 five is something of an undertaking for one 
 pair of hands, far from the region of shops of 
 any sort. But Carol was resolved to have 
 everything ready for New Year's day, and 
 she worked as never before, hardly able to eat 
 or sleep. 
 
 Two evenings before the day, she hurried 
 the children off to bed, and then went down 
 to her father in his own room. He ab- 
 sorbed as he was in his own thoughts and 
 work had noticed with pleasure the differ- 
 ence in Carol's manner. No longer the un-
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 97 
 
 happy, sad face was seen, but cheerful smiles 
 and even a gay laugh had once or twice rung 
 upon his ear. 
 
 He was very willing to listen as she told 
 him some of her arrangements, and her great 
 desire to have an evergreen tree. He read- 
 ily lent himself to her plan, already worked 
 out, that he should get a certain wood-sled 
 and horse, take Harry, and go and get her a 
 tree, timing his return so as to enter the vil- 
 lage after dark, that no one might see their 
 load, for Carol wanted it to be a complete 
 surprise. 
 
 The next morning, December 31, Mr. 
 Cameron and Harry started off on the wood- 
 sled, greatly to the amazement of the curious 
 villagers, and an hour later Jessie and Sarah 
 went around through the village and invited 
 every child to a " Christmas tree," though 
 it did come on New Year's evening. 
 
 After dark the tree arrived safely, and 
 proved to be a very pretty one. Papa himself 
 set it up in a tub in the parlor, and wedged 
 it firmly with sticks of wood, while Harry
 
 98 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 brought in great annfuls of moss, which he 
 had gathered by Carol's directions. 
 
 The younger children were already asleep, 
 and Harry and Jessie were allowed to help 
 Carol build a sloping mound around the tub, 
 and to cover it nicely with the moss, and then 
 they were sent to bed. 
 
 Sarah had that day made the candles, which 
 were now to be cut into four-inch lengths; 
 and then Carol made her molasses candy. A 
 pretty show it was when at last all was done, 
 and spread out on a table to harden, in sticks 
 and twists and rings and figure 8's and other 
 shapes, all white and delicious. 
 
 Then several journeys were made to her 
 room, and all the little gifts brought down ; 
 and when everything was safely in the parlor, 
 and it was very late at night, the door was 
 locked, and Carol, with the key in her pocket, 
 went to bed. 
 
 Everybody in the house knew now that 
 there was to be a Christmas tree. So no one 
 was surprised that Carol spent nearly the 
 whole day locked into the parlor, while Sarah
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 99 
 
 baked cakes and made ice cream, which Harry 
 froze by shaking it an hour or more in a tin 
 pail. 
 
 Meanwhile Carol had not forgotten the 
 blessed chant which had wrought all these 
 wonders. Several of the larger girls had met 
 at her house and learned the chant, though 
 they did not know what for ; and now they 
 were quite ready to do their part in leading it. 
 
 Seven o'clock was the countrified hour at 
 which the children were invited to appear, and 
 seven o'clock found every youngster of the 
 village within the door. Then, to Carol's dis- 
 may, the parents began to arrive, with the 
 universal apology, " We know we 're not in- 
 vited, but we do want so much to see your 
 tree, and we will only look on." 
 
 Who could refuse them? Not Carol, al- 
 though dismayed to think of entertaining the 
 whole town, and appalled to think how short 
 would fall the cakes and cream. 
 
 However, a happier party never assembled ; 
 and finally, when the last taper was lighted, 
 and the door into the parlor was thrown open,
 
 100 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 the surprise and delight of every one was 
 ample pay for her work. 
 
 The room was prettily decorated with ever- 
 green, and the tree was to them like a glimpse 
 of fairyland. Not only had they never seen, 
 but they had never imagined so lovely a thing. 
 As for the children, they were simply spell- 
 bound, till Carol arranged them in a circle 
 around the tree, bade them join hands, and her- 
 self led them in their dance around, singing 
 the dear old chant her mother had taught her. 
 
 Tears were in many eyes ; and as for Mr. 
 Cameron, Carol found him a half hour later, 
 when he was wanted to distribute the little 
 gifts, shut up in his room, actually weeping 
 with mingled joy and pain. 
 
 " Now, Papa." she began ; but he seized her 
 in his arms. 
 
 "My dear daughter, you look and appear 
 to-night so much like your blessed mother that 
 I that I am thus overcome." 
 
 Ah ! don't you think that moment paid 
 her, and completed the change the chant had 
 begun ?
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 101 
 
 When the marvelous tree had been suffi- 
 ciently admired from every side, and all the 
 candles were burnt out, and everybody had 
 eaten a piece of cake and a small dish of cream, 
 which did go around, though not so gene- 
 rously as Carol had intended for the chil- 
 dren alone, Papa had recovered himself, and 
 gradually dismantled the tree. 
 
 The surprise and wild delight of the children 
 when they found that the pretty toys were for 
 them, that not one was forgotten, and the gra- 
 titude and joy with which they hugged their 
 paper dolls and spool tops, and daubed them- 
 selves with delicious molasses candy, would be 
 a lesson to those who have dozens of presents 
 every year, and then sometimes grumble, and 
 it all made for Carol the very happiest Christ- 
 mas she had ever known, though she received 
 not one present, and had worked for a week 
 harder than ever in her life before. 
 
 " Oh dear ! " said Kristy, " what lovely 
 things people do in the story books." 
 " But this was in real life, as I told you,
 
 102 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Kristy," said Aunt Lill. " It 's all true except 
 the name." 
 
 " Then her name was n't Carol Cameron at 
 all," said Kristy. 
 
 " No ; of course her name was Danish." 
 
 " Ah ! now we Ve caught you ! " cried 
 Kristy. " Your Danish friend was the hero- 
 ine!" 
 
 Everybody laughed, and Aunt Lill said, 
 " You 're getting well, Miss Kristy ; you 're 
 too sharp for me." 
 
 " You 're too sharp for me, too," said Mr. 
 Coles, the new minister, whose seat was next ; 
 " to invite me to a party and entrap me into 
 telling a story." 
 
 " But it 's easy for you," said Kristy. 
 " I Ve heard you tell lots of stories in the 
 pulpit, you know," she added, as he seemed 
 surprised. Then everybody laughed, and Mr. 
 Coles flushed a little, but in a moment he said : 
 
 "Well, I shall punish you for that, Miss 
 Kristy, by telling a story of the most unplea- 
 sant place I ever saw, a rag-man's home in 
 New York City."
 
 CAROL'S GOOD WILL 103 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! " exclaimed Kristy in dismay. 
 " Can't you think of a pleasanter one ? " 
 
 "No," said Mr. Coles firmly, but with a 
 twinkle in his eye, "it 's that or nothing. 
 Shall I tell you about the ash-barrel girl, or 
 will you let me off ? " 
 
 " I can't let you off, you know," hesitated 
 Kristy, "but what is an ash-barrel girl, 
 anyway?"
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL 
 
 IT was ash-barrel day in Barclay Street one 
 pleasant morning in May, and every shop on 
 the street had decorated the walk in front of 
 its door with a barrel or box of rubbish ready 
 for the " ashmen " to empty and carry away. 
 Long before the expected carts came lum- 
 bering around the corner there appeared on 
 the scene a young girl. She was not very at- 
 tractive : barefooted, ragged, and dirty ; a 
 shawl tied over her tangled black hair, and 
 a hard, saucy look in her face. In her hand 
 she carried a long iron, hooked at the end, 
 and over her shoulder a coarse bag ; the for- 
 mer she thrust into each barrel as she came 
 to it, and anything she dragged up that could 
 be sold she stuffed into the bag to carry away. 
 In this way she had already collected half a 
 bushel of old paper, rags, bones, bottles, and
 
 OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL 105 
 
 other stuff you would not consider of the least 
 value. 
 
 She was well known on the street, for many 
 a spruce clerk standing in the door spoke jeer- 
 ingly to her, and none failed to get a sharp 
 reply, with generally an ugly grimace, which 
 always caused a coarse laugh and more talk. 
 Bad-tempered, ready to " talk back," even to 
 scratch and bite if interfered with, Val, the 
 ash-barrel girl, seems a strange character for 
 a story. But this is n't the end, you know, it 's 
 only the beginning. 
 
 The first poke of her hook in a barrel be- 
 fore a large china store uncovered a very un- 
 usual object a doll's head. A look of surprise 
 came into her large black eyes, next a quick 
 glance around to see if any one was looking, 
 and then a sudden disappearance of the trea- 
 sure into her pocket. 
 
 She hurried through the rest of the barrels 
 in the row, and passed down the street toward 
 the river, thinking of a hiding-place she knew. 
 It was a corner formed by a pile of lumber on 
 the end of a pier in the North River, so
 
 106 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 small and so hard to reach that few knew of it, 
 
 where she often spent a quiet half hour, sure 
 of not being ordered away by policeman or 
 workman, looking at the river and the boats, 
 thinking hard thoughts of her hated life, and 
 dreaming of plans to run away. For she could 
 remember when things were very different 
 
 a sweet-faced mother who talked another 
 language, and caUed her Violetta ; clean 
 clothes, enough to eat, and a decent home. 
 That was two or three years ago, before 
 her mother was carried to a hospital and 
 never came back, and she had to poke over 
 ash-barrels to keep from starving. 
 
 This morning, as I said, she finished her 
 task, and hastened to her private nook. Safely 
 she sh'pped through the entrance and past the 
 policeman, quickly ran across the narrow plank 
 over the water, seized the end of a projecting 
 board, swung herself around the corner of the 
 pile, at the great risk of falling into the river, 
 and then sat down in her retreat. 
 
 The moment she was safe she drew from 
 her pocket the treasure she had found, and
 
 OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL 107 
 
 examined it at her leisure. It was a very pretty 
 head of bisque, with a sweet face, blue eyes, 
 and head covered with short real curls of blond 
 color. It was not soiled, being protected by 
 the straw it had been packed in, and was not 
 injured in the least, except it was broken 
 short off at the neck. 
 
 This, of course, unfitted it to be sold ; but 
 this had given it to Val, and she did not con- 
 sider it. She was lost in the beauty of the 
 face, and her feeling of unexpected wealth. 
 This was her very own ! You who have dolls 
 and friends in plenty cannot imagine the joy 
 this poor doll's head gave the lonely little ash- 
 barrel girl. 
 
 No one should ever see this treasure. It 
 should have a body and a dress. Val could n't 
 yet think how, but she was sure she could con- 
 trive it. It should have a name too hers 
 the prettiest she knew. It should be Violetta. 
 " Val 's good enough for me ! " she said, 
 scorning her own shabby clothes and soiled 
 hands. 
 
 Some time passed in dreaming and planning
 
 108 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 before Val remembered that she must go back, 
 or the master for whom she worked would 
 wonder where she had been, and perhaps sus- 
 pect she had found something ; he always did 
 suspect that, and was very severe. Slowly, and 
 after a long, lingering look, she hid her trea- 
 sure away in her pocket, took up her bag, and 
 retraced her steps. 
 
 She passed through several streets, and at 
 last turned into a narrow alley between two 
 tall, tumble-down houses. The alley ended, 
 in the middle of the block, in a small court, 
 paved over, and half filled with rubbish of all 
 sorts. Into this court opened several wretched 
 buildings, and every building had dozens of 
 inhabitants. Even on this fresh May day, so 
 clear and breezy outside, the air was heavy 
 with bad odors, and noisy with voices of chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Val hurried across the court, and entered 
 the door of what she called her home. It was 
 a rather large room, the greater part occupied 
 with the contents of the bags brought in by 
 the dozen or more boys and girls who worked
 
 OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL 109 
 
 for the owner. The bags had to be emp- 
 tied, and the contents sorted into piles, each 
 kind by itself, ready to be taken out and 
 sold. 
 
 This was all that Val had of home and com- 
 fort. Was it any wonder that, as soon as the 
 day's tasks were over and she had devoured 
 her share of the poor food, she should go back 
 into the street to wander about, to steal if she 
 had a chance, to sit on sunny doorsteps, hang 
 around shop windows, and try in every way 
 desperation could suggest to add some pleasure 
 to life ? 
 
 One side of an old pile of rags in a corner 
 of the room Val called hers, and had estab- 
 lished her claim by many fights and hard 
 words. Under this was her only hiding-place, 
 and here was carefully concealed the doll's 
 head. 
 
 As she had chance, when no one was in the 
 room, Val arranged a body by making a hard 
 roll of a tolerably clean piece of muslin she 
 had found, and stuffing one end into the open 
 neck of her treasure. No arms or legs, even
 
 110 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 no shoulders, had this queer doll, yet Val was 
 delighted when she had accomplished so much 
 as that. 
 
 The next thing was a dress. Now Val had 
 one piece of finery, found in an ash-barrel be- 
 fore a grand house up-town. It was a lady's 
 silk apron, soiled and worn, having probably 
 descended from the parlor to the kitchen, and 
 at last to the ash-barrel. It was soiled, to be 
 sure, but it was soft in texture and rich in 
 color, and it was lavishly trimmed with ruffles. 
 Often at night, when all were asleep, and the 
 moon or the street-lamp made a little light in 
 the room, Val had drawn this treasure from 
 its hiding-place, stroked it and admired it, 
 tried it on, and dreamed of the day she longed 
 for, when she should dare to wear anything so 
 elegant. Now, however, that she had her dear 
 Violetta to dress, she remembered the apron, 
 and decided that the doll, and not she, should 
 wear it. 
 
 She waited impatiently for Sunday, when, 
 work being stopped because of the city laws 
 and the police, all went out and spent the day
 
 OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL 111 
 
 where it pleased them on the docks or on 
 the streets, mission schools not having yet 
 penetrated the court. Val had been used to 
 spend much of her Sunday, when the weather 
 was fine, in the nook behind the lumber, but 
 this day she stayed at home and dressed her 
 precious doll. She had no needles or thread, 
 or scissors with which to cut and fashion her 
 dress, even if she had known how to do so, 
 but she had plenty of pins which she had 
 picked up. With these she arranged the little 
 apron into a dress, finishing the whole by tying 
 the ribbon-strings around the waist to form 
 a sash. 
 
 No French doll of the most elegant sort, 
 with dresses and jewels by the trunkful, ever 
 gave so much pleasure, I am sure, as this one 
 poor little head, dressed in an old silk apron. 
 
 Val was in ecstasies. She could not take her 
 eyes off the beautiful creature, and she felt as 
 happy as if she had found a friend. She set 
 her upon a broken chair before her, called her 
 Violetta, and talked to her in the language her 
 mother had talked Italian.
 
 112 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 That hour the poor ash-barrel girl was more 
 happy than any queen, for she forgot her dis- 
 mal surroundings, her hard life, her cruel mas- 
 ter, her always yearning hunger, while her 
 eyes grew soft and her heart warm with real 
 love for her treasure. 
 
 Now, " Old Rags " as her master was 
 called in the court was very well-to-do for 
 a resident in that place ; and though hard in 
 general, he had one soft spot in his heart. 
 That was for his daughter Miua, who was a 
 cripple and a great sufferer : it was said on ac- 
 count of her father's brutal treatment when 
 young. 
 
 However that may be, he was very gentle to 
 her now, and had another room than the one 
 Val lived in, on purpose for her. This room, 
 furnished decently, though very poorly, was to 
 Val a picture of comfort. It had chairs that 
 could be used, a real bed with pillows and 
 cover, a table with whole dishes to eat from. 
 Into this room Val had often looked with envy 
 of the poor girl lying there. She envied her 
 pleasant room, her decent clothes, enough to
 
 OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL 113 
 
 eat, her easy life because she did not have to 
 poke over ash-barrels. 
 
 A day or two after she had completed the 
 dressing of Violetta, and while her heart was 
 still full of happiness, Val had occasion to pass 
 the door of Mina's room. It was a little open, 
 and looking in, as she always did, she caught 
 sight of the child on her bed, her face white and 
 drawn with pain. This was nothing new, but 
 Yal's eyes fell upon a doll which was evidently 
 carefully cherished by the little invalid. It was 
 of rags rolled into a bundle, and dressed in a 
 piece of faded calico simply pinned around it 
 like a shawl. 
 
 In an instant Val thought of Violetta, so 
 much more beautiful, and this thought soft- 
 ening her heart, she was seized with the first 
 feeling of pity she had ever felt for Mina. 
 " How she would love Violetta ! " came like a 
 flash into her mind, instantly followed by the 
 thought, " But I won't give her away." 
 
 She went back to the other room, but some- 
 how she could not get that suffering child out 
 of her mind ; nor could she put away the
 
 114 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 thought of the happiness Violetta would bring 
 to her. For the first time she realized what it 
 must be to be shut up all the time ; suffering, 
 too, with no fresh, sweet air as Val could 
 get when she went down to the water ; no cool 
 sea breeze ; no warm sunshine ; no pretty shop- 
 windows to look into and think what you 
 would have if you could choose ; not one of 
 the pleasant things that even an ash-barrel 
 girl could have. 
 
 " But she does n't have to carry an old bag, 
 and poke in the dirt," Val said to herself, an- 
 gry that she should pity one so much better 
 off than she. " Though I 'd rather do that 
 than never go out," she could n't help think- 
 ing. " And then she has good dresses to 
 wear and enough to eat," came to her from 
 the other side. "But she is in pain all the time, 
 and often can't eat a bit," was the answering 
 thought. 
 
 So the battle went on in Val's heart : the 
 pity she could not drive away, against the hard 
 envy she had always felt. Then, too, when the 
 pity would get the advantage it always sug-
 
 OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL 115 
 
 gested that Val should give her the doll. 
 That was the point to which the struggle al- 
 ways came around. 
 
 Several days passed, and the next Sunday 
 came before Val had fought the battle out for 
 herself ; but at last pity conquered, and she 
 resolved to give her only treasure to one who 
 needed it more than she. On this day, there- 
 fore, after everybody had gone out, Val, tak- 
 ing a passionate leave of Violetta, hid her in a 
 fold of her dress, and went to Mina's door. 
 
 The poor child lay, as usual, on her little 
 bed. Val walked in, and, without a word, held 
 up Violetta. 
 
 " See my doll ! " she said, in a moment, 
 shortly. 
 
 Mina's eyes opened wide with surprise and 
 admiration. "Oh, how sweet! Where did you 
 get her?" she gasped. 
 
 " Found her head ; dressed her myself," 
 said Val briefly. 
 
 " I never saw one so pretty," said Mina. 
 " May I take her a minute ? I '11 be just as 
 careful."
 
 116 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " You may have her to keep ! " shouted out 
 Val, handing her over. 
 
 Mina's amazement almost struck her dumb. 
 That any one should give away such a treasure 
 was beyond her understanding. 
 
 "To keep?" 
 
 " F'rever 'n ever," said Val bravely, though 
 the words seemed to choke her. 
 
 " Oh ! " was all the poor girl could say in 
 her emotion, and Val bolted out of the room, 
 rushed down-stairs, and threw herself on the 
 pile of rags, feeling more desolate than ever. 
 
 Not that she wished to take back the gift, 
 but it was a wrench to her very heart-strings. 
 It was as if you were giving up everything 
 nice and pretty you have in the world. 
 
 " Never mind ! " she said to herself, " I can 
 go out, and she can't. Maybe I '11 find another 
 head and another apron," she added, more 
 slowly ; " though I most know I shan't." 
 
 In spite of her pain at the loss of Violetta, 
 Val was surprised to find a strange new feel- 
 ing about her heart, a sort of warmth unusual 
 to her. She began to feel an interest in Mina,
 
 OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL 117 
 
 a constant wish to do something for her. She 
 began to hang around her door, partly to see 
 the doll, which was cherished to her heart's 
 content, and partly to try to do something for 
 Mina. Now she began to notice Mina's neat- 
 ness, and her own dirty hands. 
 
 "It 's no use," she said desperately, the first 
 time she thought of this; yet, all the same, 
 the next day she joined the throng of girls 
 who went to the free bath-houses a crowd 
 she had often laughed at. Now, however, she 
 heartily enjoyed a good scrubbing, and came 
 out greatly improved in looks as well as feeling. 
 
 I do not mean to go on, step by step, and 
 tell you how, very gradually, Val, the ash- 
 barrel girl, changed from the day she made 
 the great sacrifice. She stayed more with 
 Mina, and grew ashamed of rough talk and 
 rude ways. To her surprise, although her 
 work was as dirty and unpleasant as before, 
 although she had no better food, and no more 
 attractive surroundings, she somehow found 
 the bitterness and hardness taken out of her 
 thoughts. She acquired the habit of saving
 
 118 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 for Mina every nice thing she found, which 
 heretofore she had hastily eaten herself a 
 good half of a discarded banana, a fair cherry 
 or two in a lot thrown away, a sound " bite " 
 in a decayed apple. Everything found its way 
 to the sick girl, and while, strangely enough 
 (as it seemed to her), making Val herself 
 happier, gave new pleasures to the last few 
 months of Mina's life, for before cold weather 
 came again the little sufferer was released from 
 all pain. 
 
 If you have ever visited a spot where the 
 graves of the poor, among foreigners, are 
 made, you have doubtless seen the small glass 
 cases or houses erected over the resting-places 
 of children, containing their playthings and 
 precious possessions a broken doll, a bat- 
 tered cup, a tin horse, etc. In like manner, 
 over the lowly bed of Mina, her father placed 
 a small house of glass, and in it Violetta ! 
 
 No one asked Val to go to the small funeral 
 of the child, but she heard something said 
 about " Calvary Cemetery," and the first Sun- 
 day she could inquire the way there she walked
 
 OUT OF AN ASH-BARREL 119 
 
 out several miles and, to her own sur- 
 prise, found the last resting-place of her only 
 friend, by help of Violetta, who sat like a 
 queen in her house of glass. 
 
 And now the doll from the ash-barrel did 
 her one more good turn the last ; for the 
 hopeless, friendless look of the girl attracted 
 the notice of a lady interested in the charitable 
 schools of the city. 
 
 Inquiring about her, and learning her friend- 
 less condition and her desire to improve, the 
 lady placed her in an industrial school, where 
 she was taught to read and write, decent ways 
 of life, and a work that would take care of 
 her. 
 
 The last time I saw Val she was dressed in 
 a pretty calico dress, with a long white apron, 
 and a tiny cap on her head, wheeling a baby 
 carriage : a most trusty looking nurse-girl, well- 
 fed and happy. 
 
 " That was n't so bad, after all," said Kristy. 
 " I shall not be afraid of you again, Mr. Coles ; 
 but it 's dreadful to think of those poor girls
 
 120 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 in the city. I wish I could give every one a 
 doll." 
 
 " The only story I know about Christmas," 
 said Mrs. Carnes, whose turn came next, " is 
 something that happened in a little village in 
 Maine, near enough to Canada to have caught 
 the fashion of using toboggans." 
 
 " Toboggans are lovely," said Kristy with 
 a sigh. 
 
 " Yes, we all know about these curious sleds 
 now, but at the time of my story they were 
 never seen out of Canada and its borders."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE story begins with a cold Christmas morn- 
 ing when a certain Mr. Clark was starting to 
 go to the village, and turning in the doorway, 
 said : " You children might go out and play 
 with the toboggan a little, while I 'm gone, if 
 you like. It 's a fine sunny morning, and you 
 have n't been out lately." 
 
 " Oh, yes ! let 's," shouted Willy, dancing 
 about. " Will you, Essey ? " 
 
 A pale, thin girl of perhaps ten years 
 looked up from the stocking she was trying 
 to darn. 
 
 " Yes, if you want to," she said quietly, 
 though it was plain she cared nothing for it 
 herself. 
 
 " Have you clothes enough left to wrap up 
 warmly ? " asked their father, looking anx- 
 iously at Esther.
 
 122 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " Yes, Father, I think so; and we can come 
 in if we get cold," she answered. 
 
 Mr. Clark closed the door, and brought 
 from the woodshed the article he had named, 
 set it before the door, and started for town. 
 
 Esther put away her work and brought out 
 a curious pile of wraps to put around them, 
 and they were soon out on the hill. 
 
 Willy was carefully placed in front, and 
 then the old-fashioned little woman took her 
 seat with the ropes in hand for the ride. The 
 snow was just right, the toboggan flew down 
 the hill, and Willy shouted with delight. 
 Esther dragged it up again and again, and 
 again they rode down. 
 
 In her enjoyment of Willy's pleasure Es- 
 ther almost forgot her thin clothes and her 
 worn shoes, but when they started down on 
 the last slide, she was almost numb with cold. 
 No doubt it was that which made her lose 
 control of the toboggan, and let it shoot out 
 one side, as it did. It ran plump against a 
 half -covered log, took a flying leap through 
 the air, burst open a door, and landed them 

 
 A TOBOGGAN BROUGHT FORTUNE 123 
 
 square in the middle of Miss Harper's prim 
 kitchen, terrified half out of their wits, and 
 the toboggan a wreck. 
 
 Now I must tell you about Miss Harper. 
 She was a tall, elderly woman with thin gray 
 hair, and eyes so sharp they seemed to fairly 
 look through one. Her cottage at the foot of 
 the hill was as neat as wax inside and out, and 
 always looked as though it had just been 
 washed. In the summer she had a nice old- 
 fashioned garden, with hollyhocks, larkspur, 
 and sweet, fragrant pinks, where never a weed 
 showed its head, or at least not an instant 
 after Miss Harper's eyes spied it. 
 
 When the Clark children came to live in 
 the tumble-down house at the top of the hill 
 it was summer, and the garden was blooming. 
 They had always lived in the city, and to 
 their eyes it was a bit of fairyland, and they 
 never tired of looking through the fence and 
 admiring, though not for an instant did they 
 dream of touching a flower. 
 
 But, unfortunately, Miss Harper had been 
 much annoyed by her young neighbors, who
 
 124 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 delighted as bad boys will in tormenting 
 her by throwing open the gate, pulling off 
 the flowers they could reach, and doing other 
 equally rude and ill-bred tricks. 
 
 So, as the years went on, she had grown 
 cross and bitter, not only against the boys 
 themselves, but the dreadful disease spread, 
 as it will if one lets it, till she grew cross 
 and bitter against everybody. One after an- 
 other her friends were driven away from her, 
 and now, at last, in her old age, she lived 
 alone, no one loving her, or caring how she 
 fared. The boys called her " Old-witch Har- 
 per," and not a friend entered her door from 
 one year's end to another. 
 
 This was a dreadful lif e, and she might have 
 lived and died so, if it had n't been for the to- 
 boggan and Esther's cold fingers. 
 
 Miss Harper's usual seat was by a window 
 looking into the garden, and the first time 
 Esther and Willy stopped to admire the flow- 
 ers the door suddenly burst open and the old 
 woman hobbled out, shaking a stick and shout- 
 ing harshly, " Go 'way ! go 'way ! No boys
 
 A TOBOGGAN BROUGHT FORTUNE 125 
 
 allowed here ! " Willy screamed, and Esther 
 seized his hand and ran home as fast as her 
 feet could carry her. 
 
 When the father came home the story was 
 repeated, and he told them that poor Miss 
 Harper was a lonely, sad old woman, and 
 would not touch them if they did not med- 
 dle with her. So they learned to only glance 
 at the lovely flowers, and never to linger, 
 and though they often saw her great silver- 
 rimmed spectacles turned towards them, she 
 did not speak to them again. But none the 
 less she was the great bugbear and dread of 
 their lives. 
 
 What, then, was their horror, on the day my 
 story begins, to find themselves, not only in the 
 dreaded woman's own house, but with a terri- 
 ble litter of snow and a wrecked toboggan and 
 a broken door ! Willy lay white and still where 
 he had fallen, but Esther gave a shriek of 
 terror. 
 
 Miss Harper had jumped up full of rage, 
 but the look of deadly fright on Esther's face 
 changed it to something almost like pity.
 
 126 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " Hush up ! " she said bluntly, " I shan't 
 eat ye ! " 
 
 " Oh, please, Miss Harper ! " Esther faltered, 
 " we did n't mean to ! I don't know how it 
 happened ! " 
 
 "I do," interrupted Miss Harper grimly, 
 beginning to gather up the bits of broken 
 wood. "I do you ran into the old log that 
 John Wilson ought to 've carted away years 
 ago, an' left there just to spite me. I '11 have 
 the law on him, too," she muttered, bustling 
 about for a broom to brush out the snow be- 
 fore it began to melt. 
 
 " Here 's a pretty to do ! door broken, house 
 all littered up, an' a child why don't ye 
 pick the boy up ? " she interrupted herself to 
 
 say- 
 Esther stared like one dazed, and, in fact, 
 
 she was so stiff with cold that she could hardly 
 
 move, but now she turned to Willy, who had 
 
 not stirred. 
 
 " Willy ! Willy ! " she whispered, trying to 
 
 lift him up, " get up ! We must go home ! 
 
 Are you hurt ? "
 
 A TOBOGGAN BROUGHT FORTUNE 127 
 
 Willy did not qpen his eyes nor move, and 
 a great fear seized her. 
 
 " Oh, I'm afraid he 'skilled! Willy! Willy!" 
 she cried desperately. 
 
 Miss Harper dropped her broom and came 
 to him. 
 
 " He 's in a faint," she said, a little less 
 harshly. " We must get him on to the lounge, 
 and he '11 get over it in a minute." 
 
 They took hold of him to lift him, but a 
 groan showed that movement hurt him, and 
 they left him on the floor. Even Miss Harper 
 was alarmed now, and as for Esther, she turned 
 as white as Willy himself. 
 
 " Don't ye go to faint, girl ! " said Miss 
 Harper. " I don't want two on my hands. Go 
 up home and call your father." 
 
 " Oh, he 's gone to town ! " wailed Esther. 
 
 " An' left you two babies alone ? " said Miss 
 Harper crossly. 
 
 " Oh, I 'm not a baby I 'm quite a woman, 
 Papa says," sobbed Esther. " I do everything 
 most and he has to go away or we would n't 
 have anything to eat," she went on, letting
 
 128 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 out the sad story of their needs, in her anx- 
 iety to prove that her father was not unkind. 
 
 " Humph ! I thought as much ! " said Miss 
 Harper, relenting a little ; " but we must have 
 some one here. Do you know where the doc- 
 tor lives?" 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Esther eagerly ; " he used 
 to come and see Mamma before we moved up 
 here." 
 
 " Well, then, you run for him, and tell him 
 to come right off." 
 
 "But if Willy should wake up?" Esther 
 hesitated. 
 
 " He won't ; an' I should n't eat him if he 
 did. No words, child ! go on," and Miss Har- 
 per fairly pushed her out of the door. 
 
 " The boy '11 die before they get here, I 'm 
 afraid," she muttered to herself. "It's just 
 my luck to have such a hurly-burly in my 
 house." 
 
 She had hardly got her room into its usual 
 order when the door opened and Esther came 
 in with good Dr. S., whom she had found 
 on the street, just ready to start out. He well
 
 A TOBOGGAN BROUGHT FORTUNE 129 
 
 remembered her mother, who had died while 
 the family were strangers in the country, and 
 he knew of the misfortunes which had brought 
 them to sudden poverty. He hastened to help 
 the child. 
 
 He found that Willy was very badly hurt, 
 and perhaps would never be able to walk again; 
 but at any rate it was not safe to move him 
 now. Yet what could be done ? 
 
 Miss Harper, who was looking at him 
 closely, saw that he was puzzled, and asked in 
 her blunt way, " What is it, Dr. S. ? " 
 
 The doctor glanced around and saw that 
 Esther had run home, hoping to find that her 
 father had returned, before he answered her 
 as plainly, " It will be sure death to move the 
 boy." 
 
 Miss Harper's mouth opened to speak, but 
 he went on boldly, for he had known her 
 when she was a young girl, and he knew there 
 was a heart under the crust : 
 
 " Mary Harper, you are well able to befriend 
 these unfortunate babies, who are fairly thrown 
 into your house, and you dare not refuse the
 
 130 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 trust as you hope for mercy in your sorest 
 need." 
 
 " I 'm not a wild beast," she retorted an- 
 grily ; " of course I expect to have the young 
 one stay here till he 's able to be moved." 
 
 So that was settled. 
 
 "Where shall he be put?" asked Dr. S., 
 who knew her too well to express any thanks. 
 
 She hesitated an instant. Opening out of 
 her kitchen, which was also sitting-room, and 
 next to her own chamber, was a pleasant airy 
 room which she kept in the most exquisite 
 order, and called her guest chamber, though 
 not for many years had a guest slept there. 
 One pang she suffered at thought of a boy 
 within its sacred walls, but a glance at the 
 wide blue eyes of the sufferer decided her. 
 " In here," she answered shortly, throwing 
 open the door. 
 
 The bed was prepared, the blinds thrown 
 open to let in the sunlight, and in half an hour 
 Willy lay in a faint again on the snowy pil- 
 lows, almost as white as they. 
 
 The doctor had given his last directions,
 
 A TOBOGGAN BROUGHT FORTUNE 131 
 
 and turned to go. At the door he met Esther 
 and the father with a face of agony. 
 
 "Mr. Clark," said the doctor kindly, "Willy 
 is badly hurt, but I hope not permanently. 
 Miss Harper is going to nurse him, and I 
 shall take him into my care till he is well 
 again." 
 
 Mr. Clark could not speak, and the doctor 
 went on. 
 
 " Esther, you '11 be a little woman now, I 
 know as you always are. You can be a 
 great help to Miss Harper." 
 
 " doctor ! can't I take care of Willy ?" 
 sobbed Esther. " You know I can be careful." 
 
 " Yes, I know," said the doctor, " but he 
 needs an experienced nurse, and there is none 
 better, or kinder " he added, seeing her 
 fear and dread " than Miss Harper. So you 
 must be brave, and do just what she tells 
 you." 
 
 " Oh, I will ! ". answered Esther, choking 
 back her tears. 
 
 Miss Harper was not cross all the way 
 through. Under the crust she had a kind
 
 132 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 heart, and now she was really almost glad of 
 a change in her lonely life. She did not know 
 it; she thought it was a great trial, and a 
 terrible bother, but she bustled about, mak- 
 ing a bowl of gruel, preparing the medicine, 
 and putting her precious " spare room " into 
 sick-room order, more briskly than she had 
 done anything for months. 
 
 Now a new life began in the cottage. The 
 doctor came every day, and for some time they 
 thought Willy would die. But he slowly grew 
 better, and before spring he was out of danger 
 of that, but still had to lie on the bed or lounge 
 all the time, suffering much, and would prob- 
 ably have to lie a year or more before he could 
 hope to put his once active little feet to the 
 ground. 
 
 From the first moment Esther had made 
 herself the most devoted slave to Miss Harper. 
 Before she asked for anything, almost before 
 she thought of it, it was ready to her hand. 
 The fire was made, the rooms dusted, the table 
 set, almost like magic before her eyes. Esther, 
 in the years that her father had been troubled
 
 A TOBOGGAN BROUGHT FORTUNE 133 
 
 and ill, had been house-mother, and a very 
 deft and nice one she was. 
 
 At first Miss Harper demurred ; she could 
 not bear to have any one touch her particular 
 duster, her special broom, her precious china. 
 But she soon saw that though little and young, 
 Esther was careful and old beyond her years. 
 So gradually she came to sit in the rocking- 
 chair and be waited on. 
 
 For weeks Esther had gone home at every 
 meal-time, prepared her father's food, cleared 
 it away, and then run back ; but before Willy 
 could sit up their father had gone to join the 
 mother in the Happy Land, and they were left 
 a legacy to the world or to Miss Harper. 
 
 The world looked on with interest and 
 doubt, to see what " old Miss Harper " would 
 do with the burden so strangely thrown upon 
 her. But there was no doubt or hesitation in 
 her mind. Long before this she had resolved 
 to adopt Esther, and the patient, sweet temper 
 of Willy had won him the very warmest cor- 
 ner of her lonely heart. Lonely now no more, 
 she thought, with a flush of happiness.
 
 134 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " I have n't a relation in the world, child," 
 she said to Esther, when she began to worry 
 about their future, " and you 've been such a 
 comfort to me that you shall have your home 
 with me as long as I live. Willy, too, he 's 
 a good boy, and, in fact, you shall both be 
 mine now, and take what I have to leave when 
 I 'm gone. That 's settled now, and we '11 say 
 no more about it." 
 
 No more was said, but much was done. 
 Esther was sent to school and Willy supplied 
 with books and help at home, and in a few 
 years the changes were so great that one would 
 not have known the place. 
 
 The house was as neat as ever, but the 
 blinds were opened now in every room. The 
 flower garden was prim and old-fashioned 
 as ever, but there was always a blossom for 
 every passing child. Miss Harper was whiter 
 haired, and older of course, though she looked 
 younger, and had really become quite plump. 
 
 She usually sat in her rocking-chair, at the 
 same old window, while bustling around the 
 house was a smiling, happy-faced young girl
 
 A TOBOGGAN BROUGHT FORTUNE 135 
 
 with a song always on her lips. Bending over 
 a book was often seen Willy, a hard student, 
 somewhat lame, but growing stronger, and 
 preparing for college, where Miss Harper in- 
 sisted on sending him. 
 
 In time fine houses were built above, on the 
 hill, and the road straightened and graded, but 
 the old log that turned the toboggan from its 
 course on its last ride was never allowed to be 
 moved. 
 
 "It shall stand while I live," said Miss 
 Harper firmly. " It brought me the best for- 
 tune of my life." 
 
 " That was a very nice story indeed ! " 
 said Kristy. " What a lovely plan this was, 
 Mamma ! I never had such a delightful Christ- 
 mas ! " 
 
 " Unfortunately," said Aunt Lu, " my story 
 is about another maiden lady, though she was 
 not so terrible as Miss Harper ; in fact, she was 
 very nice."
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE TELLTALE TILE 
 
 IT begins with a bit of gossip of a neighbor 
 who had come in to see Miss Bennett, and 
 was telling her about a family who had lately 
 moved into the place and were in serious 
 trouble. " And they do say she '11 have to go 
 to the poorhouse," she ended. 
 
 " To the poorhouse ! how dreadful! And the 
 children too ? " and Miss Bennett shuddered. 
 
 " Yes ; unless somebody '11 adopt them, and 
 that 's not very likely. Well, I must go," the 
 visitor went on, rising. "I wish I could do 
 something for her, but, with my houseful of 
 children, I 've got use for every penny I can 
 rake and scrape." 
 
 " I 'm sure I have, with only myself," said 
 Miss Bennett, as she closed the door. " I 'm 
 sure I have," she repeated to herself as she 
 resumed her knitting ; " it 's as much as I can
 
 THE TELLTALE TILE 137 
 
 do to make ends meet, scrimping as I do, not 
 to speak of laying up a cent for sickness and 
 old age." 
 
 " But the poorhouse ! " she said again. " I 
 wish I could help her ! " and the needles flew 
 in and out, in and out, faster than ever, as 
 she turned this over in her mind. " I might 
 give up something," she said at last, " though 
 I don't know what, unless unless," she said 
 slowly, thinking of her one luxury, " unless I 
 give up my tea, and it don't seem as if I could 
 do that." 
 
 Some time the thought worked in her mind, 
 and finally she resolved to make the sacrifice 
 of her only indulgence for six months, and 
 send the money to her suffering neighbor, 
 Mrs. Stanley, though she had never seen her, 
 and had only heard she was in want. 
 
 How much of a sacrifice that was you can 
 hardly guess, you, Kristy, who have so many 
 luxuries. 
 
 That evening Mrs. Stanley was surprised 
 by a small gift of money " from a friend," 
 as was said on the envelope containing it.
 
 138 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " Who sent it ? " she asked, from the bed 
 where she was lying. 
 
 "Miss Bennett told me not to tell," said 
 the boy, unconscious that he had already told. 
 
 The next day Miss Bennett sat at the win- 
 dow knitting, as usual, for her constant con- 
 tribution to the poor fund of the church was 
 a certain number of stockings and mittens, 
 when she saw a young girl coming up to the 
 door of the cottage. 
 
 "Who can that be?" she said to herself. 
 " I never saw her before. Come in ! " she 
 called, in answer to a knock. The girl en- 
 tered, and walked up to Miss Bennett. 
 
 " Are you Miss Bennett?" she asked. 
 
 " Yes," said Miss Bennett, with an amused 
 smile. 
 
 " Well, I 'm Hetty Stanley." 
 
 Miss Bennett started, and her color grew a 
 little brighter. 
 
 " I 'm glad to see you, Hetty," she said ; 
 "won't you sit down ? " 
 
 " Yes, if you please," said Hetty, taking a 
 chair near her.
 
 THE TELLTALE TILE 139 
 
 " I came to tell you," she began simply, 
 " how much we love you for " 
 
 " Oh, don't ! don't say any more ! " inter- 
 rupted Miss Bennett ; " never mind that ! 
 Tell me about your mother and your baby 
 brother." 
 
 This was an interesting subject, and Hetty 
 talked earnestly about it. The time passed 
 so quickly that, before she knew it, she had 
 been in the house an hour. When she went 
 away Miss Bennett asked her to come again, 
 a thing she had never been known to do be- 
 fore, for she was not fond of young people in 
 general. 
 
 " But then, Hetty 's different," she said to 
 herself, when wondering at her own interest. 
 
 " Did you thank kind Miss Bennett ? " was 
 her mother's question as Hetty opened the 
 door. 
 
 Hetty stopped as if struck. " Why, no ! I 
 don't believe I did." 
 
 "And stayed so long, too? Whatever did 
 you do ? I 've heard she is n't fond of people 
 generally."
 
 140 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " We talked ; and I think she 's ever so nice. 
 She asked me to come again ; may I ? " 
 
 " Of course you may, if she cares to have 
 you. I should be glad to do something to 
 please her." 
 
 That visit of Hetty's was the first of a long 
 series. Almost every day she found her way 
 to the lonely cottage, where a visitor rarely 
 came, and a strange intimacy grew up between 
 the old and the young. Hetty learned of her 
 friend to knit, and many an hour they spent 
 knitting while Miss Bennett ransacked her 
 memory for stories to tell. And then, one day, 
 she brought down from a big chest in the 
 garret two of the books she used to have 
 when she was young, and let Hetty look at 
 them. 
 
 One was " Thaddeus of Warsaw," and the 
 other " Scottish Chiefs." Poor Hetty had not 
 the dozens of books you have, and these were 
 treasures indeed. She read them to herself, 
 and she read them aloud to Miss Bennett, 
 who, much to her own surprise, found her 
 interest almost as eager as Hetty's.
 
 THE TELLTALE TILE 141 
 
 All this time Christmas was drawing near, 
 and strange, unusual feelings began to stir in 
 Miss Bennett's heart, though generally she did 
 not think much about that happy time. She 
 wanted to make Hetty a happy day. Money 
 she had none, so she went into the garret, 
 where her youthful treasures had long been 
 hidden. From the chest from which she had 
 taken the books she now took a small box of 
 light-colored wood, with a transferred engrav- 
 ing on the cover. With a sigh, for the sight 
 of it brought up old memories, Miss Bennett 
 lifted the cover by its loop of ribbon, took out 
 a package of old letters, and went down-stairs 
 with the box, taking also a few bits of bright 
 silk from a bundle in the chest. 
 
 " I can fit it up for a work-box," she said, 
 " and I 'm sure Hetty will like it." 
 
 For many days after this Miss Bennett had 
 her secret work, which she carefully hid when 
 she saw Hetty coming. Slowly, in this way, 
 she made a pretty needle-book, a tiny pin- 
 cushion, and an emery bag like a big straw- 
 berry. Then from her own scanty stock she
 
 142 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 added needles, pins, thread, and her only pair 
 of small scissors, scoured to the last extreme 
 of brightness. One thing only she had to buy 
 a thimble, and that she bought for a penny, 
 of brass so bright it was quite as handsome as 
 gold. 
 
 Very pretty the little box looked when full ; 
 in the bottom lay a quilted lining, which had 
 always been there, and upon this the fittings 
 she had made. Besides this, Miss Bennett knit 
 a pair of mittens for each of Hetty's brothers 
 and sisters. 
 
 The happiest girl in town on Christmas 
 morning was Hetty Stanley. To begin with, 
 she had the delight of giving the mittens to 
 the children, and when she ran over to tell 
 Miss Bennett how pleased they were, she was 
 surprised by the present of the odd little work- 
 box and its pretty contents. 
 
 Christmas was over all too soon, and New 
 Year's, and it was about the middle of Jan- 
 uary that the time came which, all her life, 
 Miss Bennett had dreaded the time when 
 she should be helpless. She had not money
 
 THE TELLTALE TILE 143 
 
 enough to hire a girl, and so the only thing 
 she could imagine when that day should come 
 was her special horror the poorhouse. 
 
 But that good deed of hers had already 
 borne fruit, and was still bearing. When 
 Hetty came over one day, and found her dear 
 friend lying on the floor as if dead, she was 
 dreadfully frightened, of course, but she ran 
 after the neighbors and the doctor, and 
 bustled about the house as if she belonged 
 to it. 
 
 Miss Bennett was not dead she had a 
 slight stroke of paralysis ; and though she was 
 soon better, and would be able to talk, and 
 probably to knit, and possibly to get about the 
 house, she would never be able to live alone 
 and do everything for herself, as she had 
 done. 
 
 So the doctor told the neighbors who came 
 in to help, and so Hetty heard, as she listened 
 eagerly for news. 
 
 " Of course she can't live here any longer ; 
 she'll have to go to a hospital," said one 
 woman.
 
 144 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " Or to the poorhouse, more likely," said 
 another. 
 
 " She '11 hate that," said the first speaker. 
 " I 've heard her shudder over the poorhouse." 
 
 " She shall never go there ! " declared Hetty, 
 with blazing eyes. 
 
 " Hoity-toity ! who 's to prevent ? " asked the 
 second speaker, turning a look of disdain on 
 Hetty. 
 
 " I am," was the fearless answer. " I know 
 all Miss Bennett's ways, and I can take care 
 of her, and I will," went on Hetty indig- 
 nantly; and turning suddenly, she was sur- 
 prised to see Miss Bennett's eyes fixed on her 
 with an eager, questioning look. 
 
 " There ! she understands ! she 's better ! " 
 cried Hetty. " May n't I stay and take care of 
 you, dear Miss Bennett ? " she asked, running 
 up to the bed. 
 
 " Yes, you may," interrupted the doctor, 
 seeing the look in his patient's face ; " but you 
 must n't agitate her now. And now, my good 
 women," turning to the others, "I think 
 she can get along with her young friend here,
 
 THE TELLTALE TILE 145 
 
 whom I happen to know is a womanly young 
 girl, and will be attentive and careful." 
 
 They took the hint and went away, and the 
 doctor gave directions to Hetty what to do, 
 telling her she must not leave Miss Bennett. 
 So she was now regularly installed as nurse 
 and housekeeper. 
 
 Days and weeks rolled by. Miss Bennett was 
 able to be up in her chair, to talk and knit, and 
 to walk about the house, but was not able to be 
 left alone. Indeed, she had a horror of being 
 left alone ; she could not bear Hetty out of her 
 sight, and Hetty's mother was very willing to 
 spare her, for she had many mouths to fill. 
 
 To provide food for two out of what had 
 been scrimping for one was a problem ; but 
 Miss Bennett ate very little, and she did not 
 resume her tea, so they managed to get along 
 and not really suffer. 
 
 One day Hetty sat by the fire with her pre- 
 cious box on her knee, which she was putting 
 to rights for the twentieth time. The box was 
 empty, and her sharp young eyes noticed a 
 little dust on the silk lining.
 
 146 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 "I think I '11 take this out and dust it," she 
 said to Miss Bennett, " if you don't mind." 
 
 "Do as you like with it," answered Miss 
 Bennett ; " it is yours." 
 
 So she carefully lifted the silk, which stuck 
 a little. 
 
 " Why, here 's something under it," she 
 said, " an old paper, and it has writing on." 
 
 " Bring it to me," said Miss Bennett ; " per- 
 haps it 's a letter I have forgotten." 
 
 Hetty brought it. 
 
 " Why, it 's father's writing ! " said Miss 
 Bennett, looking closely at the faded paper; 
 " and what can it mean ? I never saw it before. 
 It says, ' Look, and ye shall find ' that 's a 
 Bible text. And what is this under it ? 'A 
 word to the wise is sufficient.' I don't under- 
 stand he must have put it there himself, for 
 I never took that lining out I thought it 
 was fastened. What can it mean ? " and she 
 pondered over it long, and all day seemed 
 absent-minded. 
 
 After tea, when they sat before the kitchen 
 fire, as they always did, with only the firelight
 
 THE TELLTALE TILE 147 
 
 flickering and dancing on the walls while they 
 knitted, or told stories, or talked, she told 
 Hetty about her father ; that they had lived 
 comfortably in this house, which he built, and 
 that everybody supposed that he had plenty 
 of money, and would leave enough to take 
 care of his only child, but that when he died 
 suddenly nothing had been found, and nothing 
 ever had been, from that day to this. 
 
 " Part of the place I let to John Thompson, 
 Hetty, and that rent is all I have to live on. 
 I don't know what makes me think of old 
 times so to-night." 
 
 " I know," said Hetty ; " it 's that paper, 
 and I know what it reminds me of," she sud- 
 denly shouted, in a way very unusual with her. 
 " It 's that tile over there," and she jumped 
 up and ran to the side of the fireplace, and 
 put her hand on the tile she meant. 
 
 On each side of the fireplace was a row of 
 tiles. They were Bible subjects, and Miss 
 Bennett had often told Hetty the story of 
 each one, and also the stories she used to make 
 up about them, when she was young. The one
 
 148 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Hetty had her hand on now bore the picture 
 of a woman standing before a closed door, and 
 below her the words of the yellow bit of paper : 
 " Look, and ye shall find." 
 
 " I always felt there was something different 
 about that," said Hetty eagerly, " and you 
 know you told me your father talked to you 
 about it about what to seek in the world 
 when he was gone away, and other things." 
 
 " Yes, so he did," said Miss Bennett thought- 
 fully ; " come to think of it, he said a great 
 deal about it, and in a meaning way. I don't 
 understand it," she said slowly, turning it over 
 in her mind. 
 
 "I do ! " cried Hetty enthusiastically. " I 
 believe you are to seek here ! I believe it 's 
 loose ! " and she tried to shake it. " It is 
 loose ! " she cried excitedly. " Oh, Miss Ben- 
 nett, may I take it out ? " 
 
 Miss Bennett had turned deadly pale. 
 " Yes," she gasped, hardly knowing what she 
 expected, or dared to hope. 
 
 A sudden push from Hetty's strong fingers, 
 and the tile slipped out at one side and fell to
 
 THE TELLTALE TILE 149 
 
 the floor. Behind it was an opening into the 
 brickwork. Hetty thrust in her hand. 
 
 " There 's something in there ! " she said in 
 an awed tone. 
 
 " A light ! " said Miss Bennett hoarsely. 
 
 There was not a candle in the house, but 
 Hetty seized a brand from the fire, and held 
 it up and looked in. 
 
 " It looks like bags tied up," she cried. 
 " Oh, come here yourself ! " 
 
 The old woman hobbled over and thrust 
 her hand into the hole, bringing out what was 
 once a bag, but which crumbled to pieces in 
 her hands, and with it oh, wonder ! a 
 handful of gold pieces, which fell with a jingle 
 on the hearth, and rolled every way. 
 
 " My father's money ! Oh, Hetty ! " was 
 all she could say, and she seized a chair to 
 keep from falling, while Hetty was nearly 
 wild, and talked like a crazy person. 
 
 " Oh, goody ! goody ! now you can have 
 things to eat ! and we can have a candle ! and 
 you won't have to go to the poorhouse ! " 
 
 " No, indeed, you dear child ! " cried Miss
 
 150 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Bennett, who had found her voice. " Thanks 
 to you you blessing ! I shall be comfort- 
 able now the rest of my days. And you ! oh ! 
 I shall never forget you ! Through you has 
 everything good come to me." 
 
 " Oh, but you have been so good to me, 
 dear Miss Bennett ! " 
 
 " I should never have guessed it, you pre- 
 cious child ! If it had not been for your quick- 
 ness I should have died and never found it." 
 
 " And if you had n't given me the box, it 
 might have rusted away in that chest." 
 
 " Thank God for everything, child ! Take 
 money out of my purse and go buy a candle. 
 We need not save it for bread now. Oh, 
 child ! " she interrupted herself, " do you 
 know, we shall have everything we want to- 
 morrow ! Go ! go ! I want to see how much 
 there is." 
 
 The candle bought, the gold was taken out 
 and counted, and proved to be more than 
 enough to give Miss Bennett a comfortable 
 income without touching the principal. It was 
 put back, and the tile replaced, as the safest
 
 THE TELLTALE TILE 151 
 
 place to keep it till morning, when Miss Ben- 
 nett intended to put it into a bank. 
 
 But though they went to bed, there was not 
 a wink of sleep for Miss Bennett, for planning 
 what she would do. There were a thousand 
 things she wanted to do first. To get clothes 
 for Hetty, to brighten up the old house, to 
 hire a girl to relieve Hetty, so that the dear 
 child should go to school, to train her into a 
 noble woman all her old ambitions and 
 wishes for herself sprang into life for Hetty. 
 For not a thought of her future life was sep- 
 arate from Hetty. 
 
 In a very short time everything was changed 
 in Miss Bennett's cottage. She had publicly 
 adopted Hetty, and announced her as her heir. 
 A girl had been installed in the kitchen, and 
 Hetty, in pretty new clothes, had begun school. 
 Fresh paint inside and out, with many new 
 comforts, made the old house charming and 
 bright. But nothing could change the plea- 
 sant and happy relations between the two 
 friends, and a more contented and cheerful 
 household could not be found anywhere.
 
 152 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Happiness is a wonderful doctor, and Miss 
 Bennett grew so much better that she could 
 travel, and when Hetty had finished school 
 days, they saw a little of the world before they 
 settled down to a quiet, useful life. 
 
 " Every comfort on earth I owe to you," 
 said Hetty, one day, when Miss Bennett had 
 proposed some new thing to add to her enjoy- 
 ment. 
 
 " Ah, dear Hetty ! how much more do I owe 
 to you ! But for you I should, no doubt, be 
 at this moment a shivering pauper in that ter- 
 rible poorhouse, while some one else would 
 be living in this dear old house. And it all 
 comes," she added softly, " of that one unself- 
 ish thought, of that one self-denial for others." 
 
 " Now, Mrs. Anthony, please," said Kristy. 
 
 "I 'm not much of a story-teller," said Mrs. 
 Anthony, " but I am willing to do my share, 
 and I do know of a curious Christmas tree out 
 on a lawn. It was at the house of a friend, 
 and it happened this way."
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 
 
 THE younger daughter of the house was very 
 ill, and so the usual Christmas tree was put 
 off, but Santa Claus slipped in quietly and 
 brought presents to the other children, among 
 the rest to Grace, the elder daughter, what 
 she liked best of everything, three or four new 
 books. 
 
 After breakfast she started off, meaning to 
 have a long delightful day, curled up in a big 
 blue chair in the library, reading. This plea- 
 sant picture Mamma spoiled, as Grace started 
 off with her books after breakfast. 
 
 " My dear," she said, " I shall have to de- 
 pend on you to keep the twins quiet to-day." 
 
 "Where's Mary?" said Grace, pausing 
 with her hand on the door-knob, all the sun- 
 shine going out of her face. 
 
 " Mary had to go home to-day," said
 
 154 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Mamma, " and you know, dear, it is the crit- 
 ical day with Bessie. I shall not leave her, and 
 the house must be kept very still." 
 
 " Well ; I suppose they can stay with me," 
 said Grace, rather ungraciously, adding : 
 " Boys, bring your playthings into the library." 
 
 " But, my dear," said Mamma, hesitating, 
 " I hate to spoil your pleasure to-day ; but you 
 know if you open a book, you will forget your 
 charge." 
 
 " Not look at my new books ! " exclaimed 
 Grace. " Oh, I could n't possibly help it ! I 
 won't forget." 
 
 " Grace," said her mother gravely, " I 
 know you too well, and it is my particular re- 
 quest that you do not even open one of your 
 books to-day. I know it 's hard," she went on, 
 seeing the look in Grace's face, " but the life 
 of your sister may be the forfeit." 
 
 " Hard ! " cried Grace hotly, " I think it 's 
 horrid ! " and she rushed out of the room be- 
 fore her mother could say another word. She 
 hurried into the library, flung herself into the 
 blue chair, and burst into angry tears.
 
 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 155 
 
 " I think it 's just horrid ! " she sobbed 
 violently. " It 's bad enough to take care of 
 those two young ones without giving up my 
 books ! " 
 
 " But you know, Grace Houghton," said 
 something within, " you know you 'd forget 
 them." 
 
 " What if I did for a tiny minute," she 
 burst out in reply to her own thoughts ; " they 
 could n't turn the house over in a minute." 
 
 " No ; but they could throw down a table, 
 as they did yesterday," suggested the monitor 
 within ; " and a sudden shock, the doctor says, 
 might kill Bessie." 
 
 " There 's one good thing," said Grace sud- 
 denly, sitting up and looking fondly at the 
 books she still held in her arms, " she did n't 
 say I should not; she only ' requested' me 
 not to." 
 
 " But you would n't disobey a request of 
 Mamma's," was the next thought, on which 
 Grace turned red and looked very sulky in- 
 deed. 
 
 Just then the door opened, and the two
 
 156 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 boys and a load of playthings were brought 
 in and deposited, with the message : 
 
 " Your mother said I was to bring these to 
 you, Miss Grace." 
 
 Well ; that was not a very promising open- 
 ing for Christmas morning, to be sure, and it 
 stayed dismal for some time. Grace sat in the 
 blue chair, very cross and sulky, and the twins, 
 five years old and very lively, played with 
 their toys on the floor. Every few minutes 
 Grace had to interfere with a sharp " Boys, 
 do be still ! " " Harry, stop dragging that 
 train across the floor ! " " Willie, don't climb 
 on that table ! " and so on ; but in spite of 
 these efforts, a good deal of noise was made 
 in the room. 
 
 The fall of a chair at last fully aroused her ; 
 she sprang up. 
 
 " Grace Houghton," she said warmly, "I 'm 
 ashamed of you ! Do you want never to see 
 your sister again ? Do you care more for a 
 story-book than you do for Bessie ? " Reso- 
 lutely she crossed the room, opened a drawer 
 in a book-case, laid her precious books in,
 
 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 157 
 
 shut it and locked it, put the key in her pocket, 
 and turned to the twins, who had just arranged 
 a street-car with chairs, and were ready for a 
 lively time. 
 
 " Dear ! dear ! what shall I do with them? " 
 she thought, glancing out of the window as she 
 passed it. " I must get up something quiet to 
 amuse them," and vacantly her eyes wandered 
 over the scene outside, the whole world covered 
 with snow, and glittering in the warm sunshine. 
 Something she saw gave her the idea. 
 
 "I know! " she suddenly exclaimed, "that '11 
 do, I 'm sure ! Boys, let 's have a Christmas 
 party." 
 
 " When ? where ? Who '11 we invite ? " came 
 quickly from the pair, who left their own play 
 at once. 
 
 " We '11 have it as soon as we can get 
 ready," said Grace, lively enough now, " and 
 we '11 invite let me see," she hesitated, 
 " all the Grays, and the Browns, the Big Blue, 
 and the two Topknots, and " 
 
 "Oh, I know!" shouted Harry, "the 
 birds ! "
 
 158 KRJSTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " Yes, the birds ! " said Grace. " You see, 
 the snow has covered up everything they have 
 to eat, and I 'm sure they '11 come here on the 
 lawn where we always feed them. There 's one 
 now see him? " 
 
 " I do ! " cried Willie, "a robin ! he 's wait- 
 ing for crumbs." 
 
 " Well, now, Bobby," speaking to the bird 
 perched on a low tree, and evidently looking 
 at them in the window, " we '11 invite you to 
 dinner, and all the rest of the birds out there," 
 waving her hand toward the woods, which 
 came quite near the house, "in about an 
 hour. Please tell everybody to come." 
 
 " Tut ! tut ! " said the robin, with a flirt of 
 his tail. 
 
 " Hear him answer you ! " cried Harry, 
 laughing. 
 
 "Peep! tut! tut! tut!" went on the 
 robin. 
 
 " Yes ; you '11 have to wait till the table 's 
 set," said Grace in reply. " We '11 boys ! " 
 with a sudden thought, " we '11 make them a 
 Christmas tree ! You know John got one for
 
 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 159 
 
 us, that we could n't use because of Bessie. 
 I '11 get him to cut it off, and we '11 fix it up 
 for the birds." 
 
 " Oh, what a funny tree ! " cried the boys; 
 " what '11 we put on ? " 
 
 " You '11 see," said Grace. " I don't know 
 myself yet, but something they '11 like ! Now 
 will you sit still as two mice while I go and 
 see if we can have the tree ? " 
 
 They both promised, but she took care to 
 give them a new picture-book to look at while 
 she was gone. Before they had exhausted their 
 book she came back, and John behind her 
 with the tree, or rather the top of it. He had 
 sawed it off about four feet high, and fitted 
 it into the standard made for it, so that it 
 stood up nicely. 
 
 " Now, what shall we put on ? " began 
 Willie, tossing the book aside. 
 
 " Well, what do we give the birds ? " asked 
 Grace. 
 
 "Seeds," said Willie, "and crumbs and 
 -and " 
 
 " And bones," burst in Harry.
 
 160 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " Yes, and meat," said Grace. 
 
 " Meat ? " cried Harry. 
 
 " Why, yes ! does n't Bobby there eat 
 worms all summer on the lawn, and aren't 
 worms meat, I 'd like to know ? " said Grace ; 
 " and you know there 's lots of little fellows 
 eat meat. You remember little Quanky, who 's 
 always going round and round, knocking at 
 the doors and jerking out the tiny grubs in 
 the trees?" 
 
 " Yes," said Harry, with wide-open eyes, 
 " and ' Boy Blue ' ! Don't you 'member what 
 a long worm he had one day? longer 'n he 
 was." 
 
 " An' ' Foxie,' 't used to jump so after 
 grasshoppers," chimed in Willie. 
 
 These children knew so much about birds, 
 you must know, because their mother was 
 very fond of them, and told the boys their 
 names, what they ate, and many things about 
 them. 
 
 For half an hour there were three very busy 
 pairs of feet in that house, as Grace and the 
 boys collected their Christmas gifts ; but at
 
 THE BIKDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 161 
 
 the end of that time everything was piled 
 on the library table, and the work of decora- 
 tion began. Little boxes made of paper were 
 tightly tied on the branches in many places, 
 to hold the seeds; stems of wheat and oats 
 dried for winter bouquets were bound with 
 thread on the ends of the twigs. Grace even 
 added some heavy, drooping stems of rice in 
 the shell, which Uncle Ben had brought her 
 as a curiosity from Georgia, because she knew 
 a certain fellow in a gay coat who especially 
 delighted in that. Fresh raw beef that the 
 cook good-naturedly cut from a steak was 
 snipped with scissors into tiny strips a half- 
 inch or more long, and not much bigger than 
 a pin. Some of these imitation worms were 
 wedged in among the leaves of the tree, and 
 others tied loosely in a bundle and hung on a 
 branch. Two bones out of the same steak 
 were firmly fastened to the small trunk of the 
 tree. Bunches of bitter-sweet with bright red 
 berries were arranged among the branches. 
 Ah 1 this, though done by eager fingers, took 
 a long time, and then Grace brought out a
 
 162 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 cupful of dried currants that had been soak- 
 ing in hot water all this time. Now they were 
 all plumped out and soft, and she set the 
 happy and busy boys to sticking them onto 
 the sharp, needle-like leaves of the tree. 
 
 This was a slow operation, and very droll 
 that tree looked, I can tell you, all blossomed 
 out with dried currants. The last thing was 
 to fill the little boxes with hemp seed, cracked 
 wheat, coarse oatmeal, canary and millet seed, 
 and then, to their great surprise, it was time 
 for luncheon. 
 
 When that was over John was called in, 
 and the whole thing carefully carried out and 
 placed on the lawn before the window, just 
 where the birds were used to being fed. Then 
 a dishful of water was set under the tree. 
 
 " Will they take a bath ? " asked eager 
 Harry. 
 
 " No, it 's too cold," said Grace, " but 
 they '11 want a drink, you know ; and now 
 we '11 sit in the window and see who comes to 
 our party." 
 
 She placed a chair for each.
 
 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 163 
 
 Hardly were they seated before the fun 
 began. 
 
 " There comes Bobby ! " from Willie, an- 
 nounced the first arrival. Sure enough, a 
 robin, perhaps the one who had been invited, 
 alighted on a shrub beside this strange new 
 Christmas tree. He looked at it; he flirted 
 his tail ; he jerked his body and slapped his 
 wings down on his sides, and at last came 
 down on the snow to see what he could make 
 of it. He ran all around it, in little short 
 runs, stopping and lifting his head every 
 minute to see if anything had happened while 
 he was not looking. He came closer, then 
 something caught his eye a bone ! yes ; 
 he knew a beefsteak bone ; he 'd seen them 
 before ; he boldly pounced on the lowest 
 branch, and attacked that bone as if he had 
 not eaten meat in a month. He shook the 
 tree so that some of the seeds were spilled, 
 but that did n't matter, the birds would like 
 them just as well from the snow. 
 
 The boys were so taken up with Bobby's 
 performances that they had not noticed an-
 
 164 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 other arrival, till Grace called " chick-a-dees ! " 
 and there they were, a little flock, all in black 
 caps and white vests, as trim as dandies. They 
 flew back and forth two or three times, then 
 alighted on the snow around the tree, and 
 devoted themselves to picking up what Master 
 Bobby had scattered. Very busy and sociable 
 they were too, chattering and eating as fast 
 as they could and calling their thanks in 
 lively " chick-a-dee-dee's," when they were 
 ready to go. 
 
 " Oh, who 's that ? " cried the boys, as a 
 stranger appeared on the lawn. He was dressed 
 in a neat suit of bluish brown, and he gravely 
 walked over the snow to see what the excite- 
 ment was. He came on in a droll, little min- 
 cing way, bobbed his head at every step, and 
 when he reached the tree he turned his funny 
 little head up and looked at Bobby still work- 
 ing away at that bone, chuckling to himself 
 as though this was the very oddest thing he 
 had seen yet. 
 
 "That's a turtle-dove," said Grace, when 
 she got a good sight of him ; " is n't he pretty? "
 
 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 165 
 
 " What '11 he eat ? " asked Bobby. 
 
 " I don't know ; we '11 see," said Grace. 
 And they did ; for he began to pick up the 
 seeds from the snow in a doubtful way, as 
 though he suspected they might be poisoned. 
 But he did not stay long, for now came a very 
 noisy party in rusty black, with faded red 
 shoulder-straps. There were only three or four, 
 but they made noise enough for a dozen. The 
 dove walked off with great dignity, and Bobby 
 took flight in a hurry. 
 
 One of the newcomers said " Chack ! chack ! " 
 another uttered a loud scream, and a third said 
 " Whew ! " and they all bustled around as if 
 they had n't a minute to stay, and had a great 
 deal to talk about. After some little study of 
 the tree, they pounced on it in a body, and 
 the way the eatables disappeared in those long, 
 black bills was alarming. 
 
 " They won't leave a thing," said Willie. 
 
 " See how they shake the things out ! " said 
 Harry. 
 
 " And look at them stuffing themselves ! " 
 added Willie. " Let 's scare 'em away ! "
 
 166 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 "Why, what for?" said Grace. "Didn't 
 we invite them all ? These redwings don't seem 
 to have very fine table manners ; but they 're 
 having a good time anyway, and we can fill 
 up the boxes again." 
 
 The redwings ate their fill, sung a song or 
 two, dipped freely into the water, and then 
 left. 
 
 For a few minutes the tree was deserted, 
 and then came a lisping group. They alighted 
 on the Christmas tree without fear, they fell 
 at once to eating of the feast found there, and 
 had a good deal to say about it, but never 
 a word above a soft, hissing whisper, it was 
 droll enough. They were very handsome in 
 olive-colored dress with black spectacles, tall 
 pointed caps, and brilliant red tags on their 
 wing feathers. 
 
 " Cherry birds ! " the boys cried. 
 
 " Cedar birds," said Grace. 
 
 While they were enjoying their silent 
 luncheon, another guest came in, even more 
 silent, for the three hosts in the window did 
 not see him till he flashed around the trunk
 
 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 167 
 
 of the little tree, and gave a long, rattling 
 knock as though he expected a door to open 
 and a grub to walk out. 
 
 " Oh, there 's Downy ! " was announced, and 
 just that minute he caught sight of one of the 
 bits of meat cut to look like tiny worms. He 
 helped himself, and liked it so well that he 
 took another, and another, and then rapped 
 his thanks and disappeared the way he had 
 come. 
 
 Next came down a flock of sparrows, chirp- 
 ing and chattering like a party of school chil- 
 dren off on a frolic, tree sparrows with red- 
 dish caps, song sparrows with big black breast 
 knots, fox sparrows that the boys called Foxie, 
 white-throats with black half-mask and white 
 bow at the throat, and all dressed in brown 
 with streaks everywhere. They whirled around 
 the tree as if to see it on all sides, and then 
 settled on the ground and picked up the seeds. 
 Then one spied the meat, and hopped up on 
 the lowest branch, and another one did so be- 
 cause he did, and in about a minute the tree 
 could hardly be seen for the sparrows all over it.
 
 168 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Oh ! but they had a good time, and they said 
 so, too, in their way, chirping and talking and 
 giving little snatches of song by way of thanks ; 
 and just as the boys began to think there 
 would n't be a thing left, they all suddenly 
 rose in a crowd, whirled once more around the 
 tree, and were off out of sight in a minute. 
 
 The next guest alighted on the tree with a 
 flutter, jerked his tail, which he held cocked 
 up in the air, gave a loud call or two, then 
 scolded all whom it might concern, and fell to 
 eating. 
 
 " I know that 's a wren ; see his tail tipped 
 up. Is n't he funny ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Grace, " and there 's some one 
 who does n't care for his scolding see ? " and 
 she pointed to the lower part of the tree. 
 
 " Quanky ! Quanky ! " called the boys, and 
 " Quank ! quank ! " said the little fellow, as 
 he circled around the tree trunk and branches, 
 till he found that food grew on the outside of 
 this bark instead of inside, where he was used 
 to finding it. He was all in dull blue, and 
 Grace called him a nuthatch.
 
 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 169 
 
 All the afternoon the party of three sat 
 inside the library window and watched the 
 visitors to the Christmas tree. Once or twice 
 the boxes were replenished, and everybody that 
 came seemed to get his fill. There were flocks 
 of snowbirds in black and white, with tails 
 opening and shutting like fans ; a bluebird 
 and his little mate picked away at the bones ; 
 purple finches all in red and brown, and sum- 
 mer yellowbirds in russet winter suits ; a pair 
 of cardinals, fashionably late, ate their fill of 
 the rice, sitting in one place and dropping the 
 shells all over the snow. Last of all, after 
 everybody else had taken his Christmas pre- 
 sent and gone, and the boys were beginning 
 to be tired and wonder if supper was n't ready, 
 there arrived the oddest of all their guests. 
 He was a big feUow all in blue and white and 
 black, and he came around in the most wary 
 fashion. 
 
 " See the blue jay ! " said Grace, and the 
 boys were at once interested. He was a long 
 time making up his mind that the tree was not 
 a new sort of trap. He went around it in long
 
 170 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 hops, turning his wise-looking head this way 
 and that, and giving droll little hops up, if 
 anything moved. But when he was satisfied it 
 was all right he hopped to the lower branches 
 and proceeded to have a good time in his own 
 way. Some things he ate, but more he threw 
 down ; he seemed to regard it as his business 
 to clear the table. Seed boxes were hammered 
 off, currants what few were left that he 
 did n't eat he filled his mouth with, flew 
 down and hid them under one corner of the 
 standard; the empty wheat-stalks he pulled 
 off, likewise the bunches of bitter-sweet, from 
 which the berries were eaten. 
 
 " Oh, he '11 pull everything off ! " cried the 
 boys. 
 
 " Well, what if he does ? " said Grace ; " the 
 birds can eat from the snow, and he 's so busy 
 and funny I like to see him." 
 
 So they watched him a long time, for he had 
 a pretty big job. You see he not only wanted 
 to clear the tree completely, but his ardent 
 wish was to carry off and hide every grain of 
 rice, and every loose seed. He had to give it
 
 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 171 
 
 up though, for night came on quickly, as it 
 does on Christmas day, you know. While they 
 watched him Mamma came in and told them 
 that the crisis was over and Bessie would get 
 well. 
 
 " And what lovely boys you have been ! " 
 she added, as she took one in each arm and 
 went out to supper. " And as for you, Grace," 
 she said warmly, " it has been the most useful 
 day of your life if it was a hard one." 
 
 " It was n't hard," said Grace honestly, 
 " only at first. It 's been a lovely day, 
 Mamma." 
 
 " An' we 've had a Christmas party, an' lots 
 of folks came to it," broke in the boys 
 together. 
 
 " To-morrow you shall tell me all about it," 
 said Mamma. 
 
 " It seems to me," said Mr. Roberts, " that 
 all these stories, good as they are, are about 
 girls. Now I shall tell one about boys. I 
 won't say it will be as fine, in fact the 
 boy was very naughty, but it '11 be a variety,
 
 172 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 and anyway it 's the only one I can think 
 of " 
 
 " Oh ! " interrupted Kristy, " any one who 
 can tell such lovely stories as you, may tell 
 just what he likes."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 HOW THE HORSE TOLD 
 
 IT was the first day of skating in the village 
 
 of B , and nearly the whole town was out 
 
 to enjoy it. Every boy and girl fortunate 
 enough to own a pair of skates, and many 
 who were forced to content themselves with 
 sliding, were there. The lake was gay with 
 bright colors, and the air filled with shouts of 
 laughter. 
 
 Towards evening there arose between the 
 young people a trial of speed, and a race was 
 quickly arranged. Many started together, but 
 soon all fell off, one after another, till only 
 three were left, the acknowledged best skaters 
 in the village : Kittie Manton, a bright girl, 
 and a great favorite among the schoolboys, 
 and two boys who were equally anxious to 
 keep up with her, and to beat each other. 
 They were about evenly matched, but Phil
 
 174 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Bartlett happened to wear a pair of bright 
 new skates, and in spite of his opponent's 
 strongest efforts, he went ahead, and kept 
 there. 
 
 The sport was put an end to by a snow- 
 storm, and the lake was quickly deserted. The 
 skating contest was all in fun, of course, and 
 no one thought of having any feeling about 
 it, except the boy who was beaten. Harry 
 Carter was rather an important personage, in 
 his own estimation, and he went away in a 
 furious rage. 
 
 " The mean sneak ! " he muttered to him- 
 self, as he stalked off towards home, his skates 
 dangling over his shoulder, " just because he 
 had on new skates! He can't beat me in a 
 fair trial, and he knows it ! I wonder where 
 he got those Clubs, anyway his father 's as 
 poor as Job's turkey. I '11 pay him off, any- 
 way. I 'd like to put a few nicks in those 
 new skates, and then see him try to beat me 
 again ! " So he went on this foolish youth 
 his mind filled with thoughts of revenge. 
 
 Evil designs ripen quickly, and before bed-
 
 HOW THE HORSE TOLD 175 
 
 time Harry had thought of a plan which he 
 meant to carry out that very night. 
 
 Phil Bartlett was the son of a farmer, and 
 lived about two miles from the village. After 
 he thought every one was in bed in the quiet 
 town, Harry Carter stole out of his window 
 onto the top of a piazza, climbed down the 
 trellis, to the injury of some vines which grew 
 over it, and took his way to the stable. He 
 dared not touch one of the carriage horses, 
 for his father was very particular about them, 
 and very observing, but neither did he intend 
 walking two miles into the country, even to 
 be revenged. His father had a superannuated 
 horse called Ned, kept solely for the purpose 
 of dragging barrels of water from the spring 
 at the back of the lot which supplied the 
 house. 
 
 No one would notice whether Ned was used 
 or not so reasoned Harry and Ned should 
 carry him out to the Bartlett farm. The old 
 horse was soon saddled and brought out, 
 though not without some difficulty ; for the 
 intelligent animal knew as well as Harry did
 
 176 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 that night was his time to rest. However, out 
 he was finally driven, and Harry mounted 
 and rode out of the yard. 
 
 On ordinary occasions he would not have 
 enjoyed a midnight ride through the lonely 
 woods, but now he was too angry to care 
 for anything, however unpleasant. When he 
 reached Bartlett's, he found the gate open 
 into the yard, and he rode directly in, turning 
 one side away from the house, and off from 
 the road, and tied Ned to a tree near. 
 
 Harry's long ride had somewhat cooled his 
 rage, and as he opened the side-door of the 
 farmhouse, which was never locked, the thought 
 struck him that his proceeding was very much 
 like that of a burglar. The notion of Squire 
 Carter's son being a burglar tickled his fancy 
 so much that he had to smother a laugh. 
 
 " Now where shall I look for the confounded 
 skates ? " he thought, as he fumbled around 
 the walls of the passageway. " I wonder 
 where Phil sleeps ? Would n't it be a joke to 
 take them right out from under his very nose ! 
 No doubt he sleeps with them beside him,
 
 HOW THE HORSE TOLD 177 
 
 they 're so precious ! " he added sneeringly, 
 his anger of the afternoon rising in his heart 
 again. 
 
 Just at the moment his groping hand fell 
 on the skates, hanging from a peg among 
 coats and hats. 
 
 " Jolly ! that 's lucky ! " he thought, running 
 his hand over them, to be sure that they were 
 the new ones. " He must have known I was 
 coming, and hung 'em here handy ! I '11 soon 
 fix you ! " he went on, " and I 've a good 
 mind to carry off the beggar's coat and hat 
 too, just to keep him at home awhile ; the skat- 
 ing won't last long, and it '11 be good for his 
 precious health." With this, not stopping to 
 give it a second thought, he snatched a coat 
 and a fur cap which he well knew was Phil's, 
 stole softly out, and closed the door. The 
 garments he thought he would hide for a 
 day or two, and then write a note, anony- 
 mously, to tell where they might be found j 
 but the skates he must injure seriously. A 
 few sharp blows across a stone that he had 
 noticed where he tied his horse, made them
 
 178 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 for the* time, at least, if not forever, quite use- 
 less. He then gave them a fling towards the 
 house, not wishing to take the trouble to re- 
 store them to their peg. 
 
 The coat and hat he carried off a half mile 
 on his way home, to a deserted barn he knew 
 of, and threw them into a window. He knew 
 no one would be likely to go to the building, 
 and when he had had enough sport out of it, 
 he could easily let Phil know where they were 
 to be found. 
 
 Having thus completed his mischief, he 
 hurried home, urging old Ned into a pace that 
 he seldom indulged in, in his old age. He 
 put the tired horse into the stable, and at last, 
 towards morning, climbed the trellis again, and 
 crept into bed. 
 
 As the school bell rang the next morning, 
 and Harry went in with the other scholars, he 
 chuckled at the idea that Master Phil would 
 stay at home to-day, and he smiled as he 
 pictured his rage. What then was his amaze- 
 ment to see Phil in his usual seat, hard at 
 work with his books. He did not look up, and
 
 HOW THE HORSE TOLD 179 
 
 Harry began to fear that he had not yet dis- 
 covered the accident to his skates, and that he 
 himself must have dreamed about the coat and 
 cap. When out at recess, he saw that Phil 
 wore a different cap, but no other sign could 
 he discover that his revenge had been taken. 
 But although Phil looked calm, there was a 
 tempest under his quiet face. He was only 
 waiting for the proper time, to speak out. On 
 getting up that morning early, as he always 
 did, he had been unable to resist one glance 
 at the beloved skates. A new pair of skates to 
 Harry Carter meant simply going to a store 
 and buying them, but to Phil Bartlett they 
 meant months of saving money, and hours of 
 extra work. This pair was the result of a 
 whole summer's self-denial and saving, and he 
 valued them accordingly. He did not find 
 them in their usual place, and a quick search 
 revealed the fact that his cap was also gone. 
 To get more light, he opened the door. The 
 light snow on the ground, which had ceased be- 
 fore Harry came out, showed footprints and 
 suggested to Phil that a thief had been around.
 
 180 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Careful not to step on the tracks, he went 
 out, and near the door came upon the ruined 
 skates. A cry of horror escaped him as he 
 gathered them up, and now with greatest care 
 for it was his only clue to the perpetrator 
 he followed the trail. The footprints led di- 
 rectly to a tree, where he found the tracks of 
 a horse, and the dents in the stone where the 
 skates had been injured. 
 
 Following the horse's tracks, which were 
 perfectly clear and distinct, he came to the 
 road, and there they turned towards the vil- 
 lage, and were lost. A groan fell from his lips 
 at this point. " I shall never find him ! " he 
 thought. Yet in looking closer he noticed 
 something unusual in the footprints of the 
 horse. He stooped to examine, and made the 
 curious discovery that no two of the horse's 
 feet were in the same condition. Of the forefeet 
 one shoe was loose and the other was smooth, 
 as he could easily see from the track ; and of 
 the hind feet one had a shoe that was broken 
 and the other had no shoe at all. 
 
 Getting these facts carefully in his mind,
 
 HOW THE HORSE TOLD 181 
 
 Phil went back to the house and called his 
 father, who also examined the trail, and then, 
 finding his coat gone from its usual peg, put 
 on another, and started for the village to see 
 lawyer James, telling Phil to go to school as 
 usual, while he worked the thing up. 
 
 Near the village he found a cast horseshoe, 
 with which he at once went to the village 
 blacksmith, who made all the horseshoes for 
 the neighborhood. A little questioning brought 
 out the fact that the stray shoe belonged to 
 Squire Carter's Ned, and an examination of 
 the horse's feet confirmed his statement, and 
 also proved that Ned was the horse who had 
 left his tracks in Mr. Bartlett's yard. The 
 broken vines, and the disordered state of the 
 snow on the roof, were scarcely needed to point 
 out the culprit. 
 
 The working out of all this, and consulting 
 with the lawyer, took time, and school was 
 about being dismissed before it was brought 
 to a conclusion. Perhaps no one was ever more 
 confounded than Harry Carter, when, on leav- 
 ing the schoolroom that morning, he found
 
 182 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 himself face to face with the village constable, 
 who arrested him on the charge of theft, in 
 sight of the whole school. 
 
 " It 's false ! " shouted Harry, white with 
 rage. " Who says so ? Prove it ! " 
 
 " It is easily proved," said the officer. " You 
 were tracked to the door of the house from 
 your own window." 
 
 "I admit," said Harry haughtily, noticing 
 Phil's eager face in the crowd which gathered 
 around them, " that I went out to be revenged, 
 and to spoil a pair of skates, but I 'm not a 
 burglar I did n't break into a house." 
 
 "Not strictly," said the man, "for the 
 house was not locked, but you are arrested for 
 stealing." 
 
 " I never did ! " shouted Harry again, furi- 
 ous at this charge. 
 
 " There 's a coat and hat gone," said the 
 officer quietly. 
 
 Harry had forgotten them ; a scornful smile 
 crept over his face. 
 
 " That was a joke ; they 're in Johnson's 
 barn; I was going to write a note, telling
 
 HOW THE HORSE TOLD 183 
 
 where they could be found, to-morrow or next 
 day." 
 
 " The law recognizes no jokes," said the 
 constable. " You entered the house at night, 
 and carried away property, whatever your mo- 
 tive. You '11 have to prove it a joke if you 
 can before the Justice, and anyway I can't 
 stay here talking. You '11 have to go, and you 
 had better go quietly, or " and he made a 
 significant gesture, which convinced Harry 
 that he meant what he said. It did begin to 
 look like stealing now, and Harry's face fell. 
 
 He was followed by all the boys in school, 
 as he marched to the room where the Justice 
 was found, and in shame and mortification 
 heard the whole story of his night's exploit 
 related by Phil. It was corroborated by Mr. 
 Bartlett, and also by his father's stableman, 
 who had to acknowledge finding the old horse 
 tired out, for he was not used of late even to 
 four-mile journeys, and to recognize the miss- 
 ing shoe. 
 
 The best witness, however, was Ned him- 
 self ; for on being taken out to the farm by
 
 184 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Squire Carter, -who refused to believe in his 
 son's guilt till he had inspected the evidences 
 for himself, the intelligent animal, when the 
 lines were left loose, turned of his own accord 
 into the gate, and leaving the beaten path, 
 turned one side and came to a halt under the 
 tree. The evidence was irresistible, and the 
 horse was the one who told, with his unusual 
 tracks and this conclusive conduct. 
 
 Squire Carter, mortified and angry at the 
 foolish performance of his son, resolved to give 
 him a good lesson, that should cure him of 
 any desire to take the law into his own hands 
 again. He first let him spend one night, which 
 was Christmas eve, in the jail to give him time 
 to think about it ; and then he settled the mat- 
 ter by the payment of quite a large sum of 
 money. 
 
 Even that was not the end, for to make 
 sure that the lesson was well learned, and his 
 somewhat hot-headed son thoroughly cured 
 of malicious mischief, he insisted upon Harry's 
 paying the amount of the costs from his own 
 money.
 
 HOW THE HORSE TOLD 185 
 
 Now this was worse than all. For a year 
 Harry had been saving his money as well as 
 Phil but not for a paltry pair of skates. 
 His aim and the desire of his heart was to own 
 a yacht, in which to navigate the waters of a 
 beautiful lake near the village. He was expert 
 in the management of boats, and delighted in 
 them more than in any other thing, and he had 
 collected nearly the amount necessary to make 
 the purchase. 
 
 More than this : he had selected his boat, 
 and induced the owner to wait a week more, 
 till his next allowance should complete the sum 
 asked for it ; he had talked about it with all 
 the boys, fixed upon a new name for it, and 
 even asked Kittie Manton to confer it as soon 
 as the spring should open and the season 
 begin. He almost felt that the yacht was 
 his own. 
 
 And now it was almost like drawing his 
 heart from his body ; but his father sternly in- 
 sisted that he should give every cent of that 
 precious money to farmer Bartlett, to settle 
 the affair without a trial and imprisonment.
 
 186 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 It was many years before Harry Carter could 
 thank his upright father for this act which 
 seemed so cruel at the time, but he did at last ; 
 and he admitted after he had grown to re- 
 spected manhood that it had put an end to 
 his boyish desire to be revenged. 
 
 " We '11 have to go back to the girls if I 
 tell the only queer story I know of Christmas," 
 said Miss Kate. " This is about one whom we 
 all know, Aunt Jane's pretty niece Bessie. 
 Aunt Jane told it to me herself several years 
 ago. It happened when Bessie first came to 
 her."
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE CAT'S CHARM 
 
 ONE day Aunt Jane and her niece were sit- 
 ting quietly at work, when there came a long, 
 pitiful mew at the kitchen door. 
 
 " There 's that cat again ! " cried Aunt Jane 
 excitedly. " Go drive her out, Elizabeth ! This 
 minute ! Quick ! " 
 
 A pale, thin child, about ten years old, rose 
 slowly from a low seat by the window, where 
 she was sewing, and started for the door. 
 
 " Be lively, now ! I believe you 've got lead 
 in your feet! I never saw a child of your 
 age so slow," went on Aunt Jane. The child 
 hastened and disappeared through the back 
 door, while Aunt Jane resumed her knitting. 
 
 " I certainly don't know what I shall do 
 with that child," she said to herself, as her 
 needles flew in and out of the coarse gray yarn 
 she was fashioning into a sock for the poor
 
 188 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 of next winter. " Such a mope I never saw ! 
 the very sight of her gives me the blues. If 
 she was nice and bright now, she 'd be almost 
 a comfort to me ; but she grows stupid and 
 dumb every day, till now she scarcely opens 
 her lips from morning to night. I 'm sure I 
 don't know why; I've tried hard enough to 
 do my duty by her ; she wants nothing. 
 But I wonder why she does n't come back ? " 
 she went on, after a pause, at the same time 
 stepping towards the door to look after her 
 charge. As she opened the door the child's 
 voice fell on her ear, and its tone made her 
 pause. It was very different from the dull 
 voice she knew, and then the words amazed her. 
 
 " Dear pussy," she heard, in a tender, low 
 tone, " I 'm so sorry, but you must go home ! 
 Aunt Jane ' hates cats,' and I dare n't have 
 you come here. I 'm afraid she '11 throw some- 
 thing at you ! " 
 
 The listener stepped a little nearer to look 
 through a window, when she saw the child 
 seated on the step, with an ugly yellow cat in 
 her arms, and actually hugged to her heart.
 
 THE CAT'S CHARM 189 
 
 " Oh, dear kitty ! " the little voice went on 
 with a sob, " you remind me so much of my 
 own darling kitty, that I had to leave at home 
 when Papa died, and I want her so ! She loved 
 me dearly. I wonder if she 's forgotten me! " 
 The little face went down in the yellow fur, 
 and the affectionate cat purred and rubbed 
 against her cheek, trying its best to console 
 her. In a moment the child raised her head. 
 
 " I dare n't stay any longer, dearest kitty. 
 I have n't got my ' stint ' done, and Aunt Jane 
 ' hates idlers.' Good-by, darling " and she 
 kissed the cat, carefully lifted her over the 
 low fence, and dropped her lightly onto her 
 own steps, while Aunt Jane hastily slipped 
 back to her seat, and began to knit furiously. 
 When, a moment later, the child came in with 
 the old weary step, she saw nothing unusual 
 about her aunt, and she sat down on her stool 
 again and took up her work. 
 
 But there was something unusual in Aunt 
 Jane, though it did not show outside ; there 
 was commotion in her mind ; she had received 
 a new idea, and it was working. Her lips
 
 190 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 were pursed up as usual, and her needles flew 
 faster than ever, but something like this was 
 passing in her thoughts : 
 
 " Really, the child is unhappy ! I wonder 
 why ! I thought I had done everything for 
 her ! We two are the last of the family, and 
 ought to be a comfort to each other." Here 
 she moved her chair a little, and glanced at 
 the child. Bessie was bending over her work, 
 but her hands moved slowly, and her eyes 
 were heavy and dull. 
 
 " I suppose she 's lonely," was Aunt Jane's 
 next thought, "and perhaps she misses her 
 old friends," she went on more slowly. " How 
 she did talk to that cat ! As if she loved it ! 
 Well, I suppose a child needs to love some- 
 thing, if it is only a cat. I wonder if I 've been 
 too hard with her ? I 've lived alone so long, 
 maybe I expect too much. Elizabeth!" this 
 last aloud. 
 
 The child started, and looked up quickly. 
 
 "What makes you start so when I speak? " 
 said Aunt Jane sharply. " I don't bite." 
 
 "I I never was called Elizabeth,"
 
 THE CAT'S CHARM 191 
 
 stammered the child, " except when I was 
 naughty." 
 
 " What were you called, then ? Elizabeth 
 is your name, I believe." 
 
 "Yes, but I was always Bessie at home," 
 said she timidly. 
 
 " Humph ! " said Aunt Jane, " I don't ap- 
 prove of nicknames." 
 
 " Papa always called me so," said Bessie, 
 with a little tremble in her voice. 
 
 Aunt Jane rubbed her nose. Bessie's father 
 had been her favorite brother, and his doing 
 anything used to be the best of reasons for 
 her doing it. But she went on. 
 
 " What did you do at home ? " 
 
 Bessie looked up questioningly. 
 
 " Did you sew ? or play all the tune ? or 
 what did you do ? " 
 
 " Oh ! I went to school most always," said 
 the child, her face brightening as thoughts of 
 " home " grew on her, " and I sewed some 
 I made Papa two beautiful handkerchiefs ! 
 and I picked the berries for tea ; and and 
 I played a good deal in the yard."
 
 192 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 "Did you have a nice yard?" asked Aunt 
 Jane. 
 
 " Oh, beautiful! " cried Bessie enthusiastic- 
 ally, " so large and shady and such green 
 grass and I had a swing under the apple- 
 tree, and and " She stopped short. 
 
 " And what ? " said Aunt Jane. 
 
 " And I wish I was dead, too ! I do 
 I do ! " burst out poor Bessie, with a flood of 
 tears, " and now I know you '11 hate me worse 
 than ever ! " and throwing down her work, 
 she ran hastily out of the room, up-stairs to 
 her own bedroom. 
 
 Aunt Jane sat as if stunned, for a mo- 
 ment. 
 
 " Hate her worse than ever ! " she said at 
 last. " What does the child mean ? Why 
 should she think I * hate her ' ? " 
 
 A long time she sat there thinking. The 
 knitting lay idle on her lap ; the clock rapidly 
 ticked away the minutes into hours ; the fire 
 gradually burned down ; all unnoticed by this 
 most systematic housekeeper. Back to her 
 own childhood traveled her busy thoughts :
 
 THE CAT'S CHARM 193 
 
 old memories, old hopes, stirred in her heart, 
 and her reverie was long and deep. 
 
 " Well, I believe that 's the l charm/ and 
 I '11 try it ! " she said aloud at last, and com- 
 ing out of her brown study, she glanced at 
 the clock. 
 
 " Six o'clock, as I 'm alive ! and not a thing 
 done about tea ! " She sprang from her seat, 
 sending the coarse sock and its big gray ball 
 across the room, and upsetting her footstool 
 with a crash. Things were lively for a few 
 minutes in that pleasant room, while she 
 mended the fire, put on the kettle, drew out a 
 small round table, and began to spread it for 
 tea. In less time than one would think pos- 
 sible, the kettle was boiling and the tea put 
 on ; the table set, and all things ready. She 
 then went to the door and called " Bessie ! " 
 
 The child had cried herself quiet long be- 
 fore, and was now sitting on the edge of her 
 bed, alarmed at the growing darkness, and 
 fearing her aunt would never forgive her 
 naughty words. " She must have had tea long 
 ago," she thought, " and I don't believe she 's
 
 194 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 going to let me have any; and how can I live 
 here any longer ! " 
 
 This thought was interrupted by the call of 
 " Bessie." Her heart leaped within her. She 
 rushed to the door. 
 
 "What, ma'am?" 
 
 " Come to tea, child," said Aunt Jane 
 pleasantly. Bessie could hardly believe her 
 ears, but she crept softly down-stairs. The 
 neat kitchen was light and cheerful, the tea 
 steamed on the table, and beside the usual 
 snowy bread stood a dish of marmalade, her 
 favorite sweetmeat, which she had often looked 
 longingly at, on Aunt Jane's top shelf. 
 
 Now pleasant tones are comforting, and so 
 is marmalade, each in its own way, and a smile 
 stole to her lips as she took her seat opposite 
 her aunt. 
 
 "Really," thought that lady, looking at the 
 brightening face, "the cat's charm works 
 quickly." 
 
 " Bessie, will you have some marmalade ? " 
 
 "Yes, if you please, Aunt Jane," said Bessie. 
 
 When tea was over, Bessie offered to help
 
 THE CAT'S CHARM 195 
 
 wash the dishes, for as you have seen 
 Aunt Jane was a country-bred, old-fashioned 
 Yankee housekeeper, who couldn't endure a 
 " shiftless servant girl " about her. Bessie had 
 never offered to help before, and now she was 
 very careful as she handled the dainty old 
 china, which was an heirloom, and more pre- 
 cious than gold in Aunt Jane's eyes. " You 
 see, Bessie," said she, as she showed her how 
 to delicately rinse each frail cup and gently 
 dry it on the soft old damask, "this china was 
 your grandmother's, and it '11 be yours when 
 I am dead. None but ladies have ever washed 
 a piece of it, and not a piece is broken or lost. 
 It 's worth its weight in gold nearly, now that 
 old things are so fashionable ; but I 'd as 
 soon think of selling my eyes as the dear old 
 china. I hope you '11 learn to love it as I do. 
 I can't bear the thought of having it leave the 
 family." 
 
 " Oh ! I 'm sure, Aunt," said Bessie, hap- 
 pily, " if it is ever mine, I '11 take the best care 
 of it." 
 
 After tea was cleared away, Aunt Jane took
 
 196 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 her knitting, and Bessie her school-books, and 
 not a word was spoken till the clock struck 
 nine, and the child closed her books to go to 
 bed. 
 
 " Bessie," said her aunt, " did n't you ask 
 me, when you first came here, to let you send 
 for your cat ? " 
 
 " Yes 'm," said Bessie, surprised. 
 
 " Well, I 've thought of it, and concluded 
 to let you have it." 
 
 " Why ! I thought you hated cats," burst 
 from the astonished Bessie. 
 
 " Well, my dear, I do in general ; but I see 
 you are lonely, and I 'm going to try having 
 a companion for you. I think a cat will be less 
 trouble than a child." 
 
 " And so much nicer ! " broke in Bessie. 
 " Oh ! I '11 be so glad, Aunt Jane ! and I 
 most know you '11 like her she 's so beauti- 
 ful ! and not a bit of trouble." 
 
 Aunt Jane smiled. " Well, I '11 try it for 
 once." 
 
 That night a letter was written to an old 
 neighbor, who had promised to send the cat
 
 THE CAT'S CHARM 197 
 
 when Bessie wrote for it, and the next morn- 
 ing a bright-faced girl quite different from 
 "Elizabeth" took it to the post office her- 
 self. 
 
 A week rolled by Aunt Jane's " charm " 
 still worked well ; and much to her surprise 
 that good lady found that it not only made 
 Bessie happy, but reacted on herself, and cre- 
 ated a new warmth about her heart. Smiles 
 began to grow common around her mouth, and 
 altogether so wonderful is that " charm " 
 the whole house seemed to grow brighter and 
 warmer. 
 
 One night, Christmas eve it was, something 
 queer happened. They had gone to bed, and 
 Aunt Jane was roused out of her first doze 
 by a strange noise. She lifted her head and 
 listened. It seemed to be coming down the 
 street, and was like nothing she had ever heard. 
 It grew louder ; she sat up in bed to hear bet- 
 ter, and at the same moment a door softly 
 opened, and a white, scared face peered in. 
 
 " Oh, Auntie ! What is that awful noise ? " 
 came trembling from Bessie's lips.
 
 198 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " I don't know, child," said her aunt, " but 
 come in here ; we '11 soon see, for it 's coming 
 nearer." 
 
 Nearer it came. The most hideous wails and 
 cries, like a crowd of people in direst agony. 
 Bessie crept into her aunt's bed in terror, 
 while the sounds came ever nearer, accompa- 
 nied by the noise of a wagon, driven fran- 
 tically down the street. At last, opposite the 
 door, the wagon seemed to stop, and the mys- 
 terious sounds were frightful. Aunt Jane 
 slipped out of bed, and peeped through the 
 blinds. 
 
 " Oh, what is it ? " gasped Bessie. 
 
 " It seems to be a wagon," said Aunt Jane, 
 " with a box ! He is taking it out ! and 
 bringing it into my yard ! What in the world ! 
 I'll stop it! I won't have it!" and 
 she turned hastily to seize her wrapper. At 
 that instant came a dreadful peal of the door- 
 bell, and the wagon drove furiously off, while 
 the sounds came with fearful distinctness. 
 
 " Oh, what '11 you do ? " cried Bessie, half 
 dead with terror.
 
 THE CAT'S CHARM 199 
 
 " Go and see what it is," said Aunt Jane 
 resolutely, hunting about for slippers and 
 matches, and everything that is always out of 
 the way when needed. 
 
 " I 'm afraid to stay alone," sobbed Bessie. 
 
 " Then come along," said Aunt Jane 
 grimly, as she started down the stairs. 
 
 Out of bed sprang the child, and followed 
 close at her heels. On the stairway Aunt Jane 
 lighted the gas, and then proceeded to draw 
 bolt and bar which held the door. 
 
 " Oh, Aunt Jane ! I 'm so frightened ! " 
 whispered Bessie. 
 
 " Well, then stand behind me," said Aunt 
 Jane hurriedly, as she turned the knob. The 
 door unclosed a little. " Who 's there ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 For reply came a louder, nearer, more hor- 
 rible wail nothing else. 
 
 Bessie screamed, but something familiar in 
 the sound seemed to strike Aunt Jane. 
 
 " Why, goodness gracious ! it 's cats ! " 
 she cried. " Some bad boys have done it, 
 knowing that I hate cats."
 
 200 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 . " But why do they cry so ? " asked Bessie, 
 still more than half afraid. 
 
 " Must be starved," said Aunt Jane, " but 
 what can I do ? I can't leave them here yowl- 
 ing all night." 
 
 " Oh, Auntie ! " exclaimed Bessie, a thought 
 striking her, " could it be my cat ? but she 
 never made such a noise." 
 
 " Well well like enough ! " said Aunt 
 Jane, "and she has n't been fed ! But there 
 must be a dozen in that box. Anyway, we '11 
 see ! " and taking hold of a rope handle, 
 she hastily dragged the box into the hall and 
 closed the door. 
 
 The top of the box was slats, and between 
 them could be seen a dark moving mass, with 
 many paws grasping the slats, now and then 
 a lashing tail pressing through, and fiery eyes 
 glaring everywhere. 
 
 Bessie peered anxiously in. 
 
 " They 're the same color as mine mal- 
 tese and there ! I see a white nose ! I do 
 believe it 's Muff ! Muff poor Muff ! poor 
 pussy ! " she went on caressingly. A face
 
 THE CAT'S CHARM 201 
 
 came close to the bars, and a long pitiful 
 " mew " replied. 
 
 " Oh, it is Muff ! You dear old darling ! " 
 she cried. " Oh, let me get her out ! " 
 
 " But wait," said Aunt Jane; " we must 
 get something for them to eat, or they '11 eat 
 us. They 're wild with hunger ; must be. 
 But why so many ! I can't understand ! " 
 
 " Nor I," said Bessie, " only I know Muff. 
 What shall we get to eat ? " 
 
 " There 's nothing in the house," said Aunt 
 Jane reflectively, "except the steak for break- 
 fast ! Oh ! and the milk but that 's only 
 a quart, and won't last a minute ; however, 
 we must get what we have." 
 
 So they hastily rushed to the kitchen, and 
 brought the pan of milk, and the pound of 
 porterhouse steak, cut into bits. Through the 
 bars they fed out the steak, till the first pangs 
 were quieted and the wailing ceased, and then 
 Aunt Jane got a hammer and pulled off one 
 slat. Through the opening leaped in quick 
 succession seven cats ! 
 
 Aunt Jane laughed, but she jumped upon
 
 202 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 a chair, while the poor creatures instantly 
 crowded around the pan of milk. Seeing them 
 quiet, Aunt Jane stepped down. 
 
 " But why seven ! " she continually re- 
 peated. 
 
 " Where can they stay to-night ? " asked 
 Bessie anxiously. " I made a bed for Muff 
 in the shed but seven ! " 
 
 " They must all go into the shed to-night," 
 said Aunt Jane, " and in the morning we '11 
 see." 
 
 In the morning came a letter from the good- 
 natured farmer who had given Muff a home 
 since Bessie left. In it he said : " Since you 
 went, your cat has brought up a family of kit- 
 tens, and remembering how fond you are of 
 kittens, and not knowing what else to do with 
 them, for everybody around here is well 
 supplied with cats, I send them too. I 
 thought maybe you could give them away in 
 the city." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! they 're every one Muffle's own 
 kittens ! " she exclaimed. 
 
 " Kittens ! " said Aunt Jane.
 
 THE CAT'S CHARM 203 
 
 " Well, they are pretty big," said Bessie, 
 " but they belong to Muff," she added timidly, 
 fearing that seven cats were really too many 
 for one who " hated cats." 
 
 "Well," said Aunt Jane at last, " I '11 tell 
 you what I '11 do, Bessie dear. I '11 keep the 
 cats till we find good homes for them, for 
 they are choice, as cats go, but I can't 
 consent to keep, for good, any but Muff." 
 
 Bessie was obliged to be contented, and 
 she and Aunt Jane went vigorously to work 
 to find homes. One by one they were com- 
 fortably settled in life till but two were left, 
 Muff and the prettiest of the kits, a pure mal- 
 tese. She was an affectionate puss, and had 
 specially clung to Aunt Jane, rubbing against 
 her dress when she came near, and jumping 
 up to rub her head against Aunt Jane's hand. 
 She even sprang into her lap, and after gently 
 putting her down once or twice, Aunt Jane 
 actually at last let her stay a little while. 
 
 " Auntie," said Bessie, one evening, " I 've 
 asked every girl in school, and the milkman, 
 and the washerwoman, and the grocery boy,
 
 204 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 and everybody I can think of, and nobody 
 wants another kitten. What can we do ? " 
 
 " Well, Bessie," said Aunt Jane slowly, 
 " I 've been thinking. A cat taught me a charm 
 one day, and it has worked so well that I Ve 
 concluded to let you keep two cats." 
 
 " Oh, you dear old Auntie ! " cried Bessie, 
 throwing her arms around her neck, " and 
 you don't hate cats any more ? " 
 
 " Well, dear," said Aunt Jane, putting her 
 arm around the child, " I 'm not fond of them 
 yet, but they're affectionate little creatures, 
 and I owe the race something." 
 
 " I 'm afraid you 've heard all my stories, 
 Kristy," said Miss Martin, the little school- 
 mistress. " I 'm sure I have told you about 
 a funny Christmas celebration that I know 
 about. It was, in fact, the first I ever heard 
 of, when I was a child out West." 
 
 " Oh, no, you have n't," said Kristy eagerly. 
 " Do tell it ! It 's so much nicer to have a 
 story about people we know."
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 MAY'S HAPPY THOUGHT 
 
 Well then : May Dayton had lost her father 
 and mother and come to live with her cousins, 
 the Stanleys, in the far West. About a week 
 before Christmas, she asked Jeanie Stanley 
 what they usually did on Christmas. 
 
 "Christmas?" said Jeanie. "Why, no- 
 thing ; only just not go to school." 
 
 " Nothing ! " said May, aghast. " Don't you 
 have any Christmas tree ? " 
 
 "Christmas tree! What's that?" asked 
 Jeanie. 
 
 " Nor hang up your stocking ? " 
 
 Jeanie shook her head. 
 
 " Nor have a single bit of a present ? " May 
 went on in utter amazement. 
 
 " What for?" asked Jeanie. 
 
 " Why, don't you know about Santa Claus, 
 who comes down the chimney on Christmas
 
 206 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 eve, and gives everybody a present ? " said 
 May, completely bewildered. 
 
 " Don't know nothing 'bout him," said 
 Jeanie. " Don't b'lieve there 's any such a 
 person in Missouri." 
 
 May drew a long sigh. 
 
 " What is a Christmas tree, anyway ? " 
 asked Jeanie, seeing that May was not going 
 to speak. 
 
 " Oh, it 's a beautiful green tree, covered 
 with lights and presents and beautiful things ! 
 When Mamma was alive we always had one 
 on Christmas eve." 
 
 " Does it grow so ? " asked Jeanie curi- 
 ously. 
 
 " Of course not ! What a question ! " said 
 May. " Do you know what Christmas is, any- 
 how ? " she added, with a quick flush of color. 
 
 " Of course I do," retorted Jeanie ; " but 
 that has n't anything to do with Christmas 
 trees." 
 
 " Yes, it has," said May earnestly, " a great 
 deal to do with them, and with every way that 
 we have for making everything just as sweet
 
 MAY'S HAPPY THOUGHT 207 
 
 and lovely as we can on that day. Mother 
 always said so." 
 
 Jeanie opened her eyes wider, and then 
 asked softly : 
 
 " But what about the Christmas tree, May ? " 
 
 " Well, it 's cut down and brought into the 
 house, and all the things put on before you 
 see it, and when it 's all ready the folding 
 doors are opened, and oh ! it 's beautiful ! " 
 May added in ecstasy. " Last Christmas I had 
 such lovely things : the prettiest blue dress 
 you ever saw I 've got a piece of it in my 
 trunk and new clothes for my doll oh, 
 such nice ones ! a whole suit with overskirt, 
 and all in the fashion ; and a cornucopia of 
 candies and a box of nuts and raisins and 
 Oh, I can't think of half the things," added 
 May brightly, yet half ready to cry. 
 
 " I wish I could see one," said Jeanie, " but 
 we don't have such things here. Ma has n't 
 got time, nor anybody." 
 
 " I '11 tell you what we can do, I guess," 
 said May, who had been revolving an idea in 
 her mind. " We might get up one ourselves,
 
 208 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 of course it would n't be so nice as Mamma's, 
 but it would be better than none." 
 
 "Well, let 's ! " said Jeanie, " and not tell 
 a single one till it 's all done." 
 
 " Where can we have it ? We need a fire 
 and a door that '11 lock," said May. 
 
 " Oh, Pa '11 let me have the out-room, I 
 know, if I coax him," said Jeanie, " and we 
 can put a nail over the latch to fasten the 
 door." 
 
 The out-room, you must know, was a roughly 
 built room, a little apart from the house. It 
 had a big open fireplace and a huge kettle, 
 and when there was any big work, like mak- 
 ing up the year's soap, or putting down the 
 year's supply of salt pork, a great fire was 
 built there and the out-room came into use. 
 
 "Well," said May reflectively, "I guess we 
 can do it ; we can trim it up, you know." 
 
 " How? " asked Jeanie, to whom all Christ- 
 mas ways were unknown mysteries. 
 
 " Oh, I '11 show you. We can get ever- 
 greens in the woods, and oh, some of that 
 lovely bitter-sweet, and I can make paper
 
 MAY'S HAPPY THOUGHT 209 
 
 flowers," May went on enthusiastically, as 
 ideas rushed into fyer mind. " We can have 
 it real pretty ; but don't let 's tell anybody 
 a thing about it." 
 
 The next week was a very busy one for the 
 two plotters. Every moment, when out of 
 school, they were whispering in corners, or 
 engaged in some mysterious work, which they 
 would hide if any one came near. 
 
 Mrs. Stanley was glad to see the first cheer- 
 ful look on the face of the orphan, and did 
 not interfere so long as the girls kept out of 
 her way. The boys of whom there were 
 two younger and one older than Jeanie . 
 were very curious, and Jack the older one 
 rather teasing about it ; but on the whole 
 May and Jeanie succeeded very well in keep- 
 ing their secret. 
 
 Two days before Christmas, Jeanie followed 
 her father as he started off in the morning to 
 the barn to feed the cattle. How she managed 
 her teasing I cannot say, but in a short time 
 she came into the house radiant, gave a mys- 
 terious nod to May, and they at once dis-
 
 210 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 appeared up-stairs. Soon they stole down the 
 back way, armed themselves with brooms, 
 materials for a fire, and a big nail with which 
 to lock the door, and then slipped into the 
 out-room. 
 
 It was not a promising looking place, but 
 they were young and enthusiastic, so Jeanie 
 went to work to build a roaring fire and May 
 began with the broom. 
 
 Well ; they worked all day, harder than 
 ever before in their lives, and all the next day, 
 and when at last the room was ready for com- 
 pany it really looked very pretty. The bare 
 walls were ornamented with wreaths of the gay 
 bitter-sweet and evergreen boughs brightened 
 with an occasional rose or lily neatly made by 
 May of thin white paper. The big kettle was 
 transformed into a table by means of a board 
 or two across the top, and a white sheet 
 spread over all. The two windows were cur- 
 tained with old newspapers concealed by 
 branches of evergreens. In the middle of the 
 room stood a tub, and braced up in it with 
 sticks of wood hidden under sprays of green,
 
 MAY'S HAPPY THOUGHT 211 
 
 stood a very pretty evergreen tree. There were 
 no candles on it, for the united wisdom of 
 the two workers had not been able to ac- 
 complish that. But the bright flickering light 
 of the fire was enough, and in fact made just 
 the right effect, since it did not reveal too 
 much. 
 
 On the tree were hung pretty things out of 
 May's trunk keepsakes from her old play- 
 mates. These were used merely for decora- 
 tion, but besides these were long strings of 
 popped corn, and a present for each one of the 
 family. 
 
 All this time one of the girls had been 
 obliged to stay in the room every minute, to 
 keep the door locked, for the boys were just 
 wild to find out the mystery. Mrs. Stanley had 
 stopped in her dreary round of drudgery 
 for this home was the temple of work to ask 
 what all the fuss was about. But Jeanie told 
 her that father said she might use the out- 
 room, and Mrs. Stanley was too busy and tired 
 to feel much interest, so she said, Well, she 
 did n't care if they did n't do any mischief.
 
 212 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 At night Christmas eve when called 
 to supper, May went in, for Jeanie could not 
 tear herself away from the wonderful tree. To 
 her it was the most beautiful and enchanting 
 thing in the world. With no books but school- 
 books, no pictures, no papers, nothing beauti- 
 ful to be seen in that little grinding prairie 
 home, she had never even imagined anything 
 so lovely. 
 
 When they rose from the table May stopped 
 at the door. " Aunt," she began timidly, for 
 she was rather afraid of the hard-working 
 woman whose sharp gray eyes seemed to look 
 through her and whose lips never opened ex- 
 cept to make some practical remark, " will 
 you come over with uncle and see our Christ- 
 mas tree ? Come, boys ! " and she started off. 
 
 " So that 's what the young ones have been 
 up to, is it ? " said Mr. Stanley, lighting his 
 pipe. " Come, mother, let 's go over and see 
 what they 've got. That May 's the beater for 
 plans if ever I see one." 
 
 " Wall," said Mrs. Stanley, pushing back 
 the table that she had already cleared, " I
 
 MAY'S HAPPY THOUGHT 213 
 
 don't mind if I step over a minute before I 
 get out my dish-water. I never see Jane so took 
 up as she has been this week." 
 
 They went over to the out-room. The boys 
 were already there, staring in a bewilderment 
 of wonder. May leaned against the unique 
 table, very tired, but happy, and Jeanie fairly 
 danced around with delight. 
 
 " Well, well ! " said Mr. Stanley, " this looks 
 something like, now ! Why, this carries me 
 back to when I was a boy, away down in York 
 state. I 'd never 'a' thought you two little 
 gals could fix this old room up so pretty; 
 would you now, mother ? " 
 
 " Mother " did n't say anything. There was 
 a sort of a choke in her throat, and something 
 suspiciously like a tear in her eye, as she looked 
 at the bright, happy faces of her children 
 faces such as she had never seen since they 
 were babies, before they were initiated into 
 the regular family grind. 
 
 After a moment she recovered herself, went 
 up to May, and, to her utter amazement, gave 
 her a warm kiss, and said :
 
 214 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " It 's beautif id, dear, and I thank you for 
 it." And then she looked a few minutes, and 
 said she must go. But Jeanie sprang up. 
 
 " Wait, Ma ; the presents are coming yet." 
 
 " Presents ! " said Mr. Stanley, " are there 
 presents, then?" 
 
 " Oh, of course ! " said May, " else how 
 could it be a Christmas tree? " 
 
 " Sure enough ! " said Mr. Stanley. 
 
 May now went up to the tree and took down 
 first a pretty necktie for Jack, made out of 
 some of her bits of silk. 
 
 " Why, that 's just the very thing I want," 
 said Jack, amazed. " How did you know that, 
 you witch ? and who made it ? " 
 
 " Jeanie and I," said May. 
 
 " No, May made it most every bit," said 
 Jeanie. " I don't know how." 
 
 Next came a pair of warm red mittens for 
 Harry. 
 
 " Jeanie made these," said May. " I can't 
 knit." 
 
 Well, so they went on. Mrs. Stanley had a 
 pretty pin-cushion for her bureau ; Mr. Stan-
 
 MAY'S HAPPY THOUGHT 215 
 
 ley a neat bag for his tobacco ; Johnny a pair 
 of wristlets to keep his wrists warm. Each of 
 the children had a little bag of nicely cracked 
 hickory-nuts, a beautiful red apple, and a few 
 sticks of molasses candy. The girls had no- 
 thing; they had been so busy they never 
 thought of themselves. 
 
 When the presents were all distributed, and 
 the children were busy eating nuts and candy, 
 and having a merry time naming apple seeds, 
 and doing other things that May taught them, 
 Mrs. Stanley stole out, and went back to the 
 kitchen to her dish-washing. But something 
 was the matter, for she moved more slowly 
 than ever before ; she let the water run over, 
 put the soap into the milk-cup, and made vari- 
 ous other blunders. She was thinking. 
 
 And when all the family were in bed that 
 night, and she and Mr. Stanley were sitting 
 alone by the fire, she spoke her thoughts. 
 
 " John, that tree has set me a-thinking. We 
 ain't doing just right by our children. It's 
 all work and no play, and they 're growing 
 old and sober before their time. We 're fore-
 
 216 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 handed enough now to let up on them a 
 little." 
 
 " You 're right, mother," said Mr. Stanley. 
 " I 've been thinking the same thing myself. 
 That little gal, with her pretty, lady-like ways, 
 does make me think so much of her mother, 
 only 't wa'n't natural to her to be so down- 
 hearted as the little one has been. But see her 
 to-night ! I declare I 'd do anything a' most to 
 keep that happy face on her. What shall we 
 do, Sally?" 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Stanley, her face un- 
 wontedly bright with new thoughts, " it is n't 
 eight o'clock yet, and I've been thinking if 
 you 'd go to the village and buy a few things 
 to put by their beds for Christmas it would be 
 good. Children think so much of such things," 
 she added, half apologetically. 
 
 " So it would ! and I '11 do it, wife," said 
 Mr. Stanley, taking his boots out of the corner, 
 and hastening to put them on. " Make out 
 your list, and I '11 go down to Kennedy's. He 
 don't shut up till nine." 
 
 Kennedy's was a country store, where you
 
 MAY'S HAPPY THOUGHT 217 
 
 could buy everything, from a needle to a 
 threshing-machine, and about nine o'clock Mr. 
 Stanley came home with a market-basket full 
 of things. There was a gay merino dress for 
 Jeanie, a pair of skates for May, a new knife 
 for Jack, a sled and a picture-book for each 
 of the boys. 
 
 There was, besides these, a package of real 
 store candy, some raisins, and, down under 
 the whole, where Mrs. Stanley could not see 
 it, a neat dark dress for her, which Mr. Stan- 
 ley had bought to surprise her. 
 
 Well, everybody was surprised the next 
 morning, you may be sure, and after the break- 
 fast of which little was eaten Jack went 
 out and killed a turkey. Jeanie and May put 
 on big aprons and helped ; Jack chopped stuff- 
 ing and suet ; and, for the first time in their 
 lives, the children had a real Christmas din- 
 ner plum pudding and all. 
 
 That was the beginning of a new life in the 
 plain farmhouse. Little by little books found 
 their way to the table, an easy chair or two 
 stole into the rooms, pictures made their ap-
 
 218 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 pearance on the walls, and in time a wing was 
 added to the house. After a while a neat- 
 handed farmer's daughter came to help mother. 
 Shrubbery came up in the yard, vines began 
 to grow over the windows, and the fence had 
 a new coat of paint. Now that she was not 
 always tired out, mother began to go out 
 among her neighbors ; friendly visits followed, 
 then a tea-party. Jack joined the book-club 
 in the village, and mother invited them to 
 meet at her house in turn. In fact, some 
 innocent pleasures came into these hard- 
 worked lives, and all owing as Mr. Stanley 
 would say, holding the bright happy May on 
 his knee "to this little girl's Christmas 
 tree," 
 
 " That 's splendid ! " said Kristy, " and 
 where is Cousin May now, Miss Martin ? " 
 
 " Oh, she has a home of her own out West, 
 and I 've seen many a Christmas tree in it." 
 
 " That was a good deal to be done by one 
 little girl," said Aunt Mary, "but I have 
 known wonders worked in another way by a
 
 MAY'S HAPPY THOUGHT 219 
 
 more helpless object than the weakest girl, by 
 a pair of shoes, even, or a little bisque figure." 
 
 " That must be magic," said grandmother. 
 
 " Tell us a story of magic ; do ! " said Kristy. 
 " I always liked impossible stories." 
 
 " But this is not at all impossible," said 
 Aunt Mary, " though it is a story of magical 
 effects that I propose to tell. But before I 
 begin, lest some of you young ones," look- 
 ing around with a smile at her audience of 
 "grown-ups," " should make a mistake, I will 
 say that the magic is not in the figure, but 
 in the thought back of it." 
 
 " Oh ! Oh ! " cried the audience, " to give 
 us the moral before the story ! " 
 
 " Well, do go on, Aunt Mary," interrupted 
 Kristy. " Don't mind what they say ! the 
 moral 's good for them ! and besides, the 
 story 's for me." 
 
 " So it is, dear, and now I begin with Kate 
 Barlow's talk to her mother."
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE MAGIC FIGURE 
 
 " I DON'T mind giving up an hour or two to 
 go and read to sick folks," exclaimed Kate 
 crossly, " if they '11 only keep their rooms half 
 decent." 
 
 " Why, what 's the matter now, Kate," 
 asked her mother, " is n't it pleasant at 
 Mary's?" 
 
 " Pleasant ! it 's simply horrid ! Such a 
 room I never saw ! Furniture covered with 
 dust, tables loaded with medicine things and 
 dirty dishes, every chair with something on 
 it, and I don't believe the windows were ever 
 washed." 
 
 " But, my dear," said her mother, " you 
 must remember that Mary's mother is poor, 
 and " 
 
 " But she might be clean," interrupted 
 Kate.
 
 THE MAGIC FIGURE 221 
 
 " And she has her hands full to take care 
 of all those children." 
 
 " Some of them are big enough to help," 
 said Kate. " There 's that Bess ! great lazy 
 thing ! with an apron a pig would be ashamed 
 to wear ! " 
 
 "Who is this Mary?" quietly asked Miss 
 Faith, a lady who had come to visit Kate's 
 mother only the day before. 
 
 " One of Kate's schoolmates," said Mrs. 
 Barlow, " who fell on the ice and was hurt 
 last winter. She is obliged to lie perfectly 
 still, but the doctors hope she will be well 
 after some months." 
 
 " Poor, did you say ? " went on Miss 
 Faith. 
 
 " Well, not beggars," said Mrs. Barlow, 
 " but they have close work to get along. Her 
 mother is a widow with four or five children, 
 on a small income." 
 
 " And she does her own work," put in 
 Kate, " what little 's done ; but I don't believe 
 she ever clears up Mary's room. I should 
 think she 'd die ; I should."
 
 222 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " And it would n't do, I suppose, to speak 
 to her about it ? " suggested Miss Faith. 
 
 " Dear me, no ! " said Mrs. Barlow ; "she 's 
 a high-spirited woman ; has been used to bet- 
 ter times. She would be mortally offended." 
 
 " I 've seen such cases," said Miss Faith, 
 with a smile, " and I know what to do for 
 them. Kate, I think I can help you." 
 
 " I don't know what you can do," sighed 
 Kate ; " it seems to me a hopeless case." 
 
 " I '11 use magic ! " said Miss Faith, smil- 
 ing. 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed Kate and her mother 
 in one breath. 
 
 " I '11 send Mary a present," went on Miss 
 Faith, " that shall work magic in the house ; 
 you '11 be surprised at the result." 
 
 " If it clears up that house it '11 be magic, 
 sure enough," said Kate. 
 
 "It will!" said Miss Faith quietly. "I 
 never knew it to fail. It will not take ten days 
 to accomplish all you can ask." 
 
 " I must say I 'd like to see it," said Kate, 
 half unbelieving.
 
 THE MAGIC FIGURE 223 
 
 " Come up to my room and I '11 show you," 
 said Miss Faith, rising. 
 
 Kate followed her eagerly to her room, 
 where she unlocked and opened her trunk. 
 The contents of the trunk were rather unu- 
 sual, but then Miss Faith was rather an un- 
 usual person. For dress she cared very little, 
 yet she always was accompanied on her jour- 
 neys by a big trunk. Kate had often won- 
 dered what was in it, and now she looked on 
 with curiosity as .Miss Faith took out one 
 thing after another : a pile of children's 
 clothes ; three or four pairs of shoes of differ- 
 ent sizes ; several books children's books ; 
 toys of a cheap and durable kind, and other 
 things equally strange for an elderly lady to 
 carry about in her trunk. 
 
 Kate could not help an exclamation of sur- 
 prise, as these various objects came to light. 
 Miss Faith smiled. 
 
 " Queer, is n't it, dear, but these are my 
 magical tools, and here I think I have the par- 
 ticular one you need," and she opened a small 
 wooden box, took out a quantity of soft pack-
 
 224 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 ing paper, and thus uncovered a little bisque 
 figure. It was not more than eight inches 
 high, and, of course, it was not very costly, 
 but it was a lovely, graceful thing, the figure 
 of a beautiful child. 
 
 " Oh ! how pretty ! " cried Kate ; " what a 
 beautiful face ! and such a snowy white ! Do 
 you really mean to send Mary that ? It '11 look 
 fearfully out of place in her dingy room." 
 
 " So I hope," said Miss Faith ; " it would 
 show no magic qualities otherwise." 
 
 " Well, it 's perfectly lovely, and Mary '11 be 
 crazy over it, but how it's to clear up that 
 house I must say / can't see." 
 
 "You will see," said Miss Faith, smiling. 
 " Will you take it over to her with my 
 love?" " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " said Kate warmly ; " I 'd like to 
 see what she says." 
 
 Kate took the pretty gift to Mary, and was 
 gratified to report the delight and happiness 
 it caused. 
 
 " She had me set it on her bureau," said 
 Kate, " where she could lie and look at it, and
 
 THE MAGIC FIGURE 225 
 
 I had to move a dozen things aside to find 
 room for it." 
 
 " Near the window ? " asked Miss Faith. 
 
 "Close by the window," answered Kate, 
 " with horrid dirty muslin curtains, too." 
 
 "H'm!" said Miss Faith, "I shouldn't 
 wonder if that magic began to work to-night." 
 
 In truth it began sooner than Miss Faith 
 thought, for hardly was Kate out of the house 
 when Mary said to her mother, who had come 
 up from the kitchen to see the new treasure, 
 " Mother, I could see it better if there were n't 
 so many things on the bureau. I wish you 'd 
 take some off." 
 
 " I will," said the mother, pleased to see 
 Mary interested, and she went to the bureau 
 and in two minutes had it completely cleared. 
 
 " Thank you," said Mary in a pleased tone ; 
 " that is nice, it looks lovely now." 
 
 The magic worked on. The next morning 
 Mary lay in her room alone, looking with un- 
 tiring interest on the beautiful gift. It was 
 so delicate, so white ; suddenly she noticed 
 that the curtains which hung near it looked
 
 226 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 extremely dingy by contrast. " Mother," she 
 said when she was eating her breakfast a 
 little later, " could n't you have my curtains 
 washed? They 're awful dirty." 
 
 " They do look a little dingy," said her 
 mother with a sigh, " but washings are so big 
 that I kind o' put off things." 
 
 " Could n't Bess help ? " suggested Mary. 
 
 " Could if she had a mind to," said her 
 mother ; " but you know what Bess is, I can't 
 make the least impression on her if I scold 
 from morning to night." 
 
 "I suppose not," said Mary thoughtfully. 
 "I wish I could " 
 
 " But you can't," interrupted her mother, 
 " and you mus' n't fret about it, dearie. 1 11 
 get the curtains washed somehow," for to keep 
 Mary from fretting under her tiresome con- 
 finement was her mother's great anxiety. 
 
 " Don't you do it, Mother," said Mary. 
 " I '11 get Bess to do it if I can," she added 
 doubtfully. 
 
 " Well, you may try her," said Mrs. Ben- 
 ton, " and if she won't do it, I will."
 
 THE MAGIC FIGURE 227 
 
 After studying up a plan, Mary went to 
 work quite skillfully on her easy-going sister. 
 She talked about the figure, drew her on to 
 tell how much she admired it, and then called 
 her attention to the dingy looks of the cur- 
 tains beside it. 
 
 " If I was only able," she ended with a sigh, 
 " I would have them washed and ironed be- 
 fore night," and then in a sudden way she 
 offered Bess a book of hers if she would do it. 
 
 Bess wanted the book, and moreover was 
 sorry in her lazy way for her sister, and, 
 after a moment's thought, she consented. 
 
 The curtains were soon down and in the 
 wash-tub, and then Mary had a chance to 
 notice the windows. 
 
 " Why, how dirty they are ! " she said to 
 herself ; " they ought to be washed while the 
 curtains are down. Mother 's busy and Bess '11 
 be too tired," she reflected. Then her eyes 
 fell on a little sister, eight years old, who was 
 playing on the floor. "Susy," she said, "I 
 wonder if you could n't wash the windows for 
 sister."
 
 228 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " 'Course I can," said Susy, delighted with 
 the idea of unlimited soap and water. 
 
 " Well ; suppose you do it then," went 
 on Mary coaxingly, " and see if you can't 
 get it all done to surprise mother when she 
 comes up." 
 
 Charmed to do grown-up work, Susy went 
 at it eagerly. Under Mary's instructions she 
 brought warm water and other things, and was 
 soon very busy indeed. After a good deal of 
 rubbing, and many directions on Mary's part, 
 Susy managed to get the lower panes pretty 
 clean, but the upper ones Mary dared not let 
 her climb up to try. It was not very satisfac- 
 tory, to be sure, for the clear glasses only 
 made the others look worse than before. 
 
 " Why, Susy ! " exclaimed the mother when 
 she came up and heard who had been washing 
 windows, " how nicely you 've made the panes 
 look ! Mother '11 have to wash the upper ones 
 herself to match them." And she did too, so 
 that before night Mary had clean windows 
 and clean white curtains. 
 
 Kate, who came the next day to read to
 
 THE MAGIC FIGURE 229 
 
 Mary, went home with wide-open eyes. " Why, 
 Miss Faith, I do believe it is magic ! If you '11 
 credit me, they 've begun to clean up ; really, 
 clean windows and spick-and-span white cur- 
 tains. I could hardly believe my eyes." 
 
 " I told you it would work," said Miss 
 Faith quietly. " It is n't done yet." 
 
 Truly it was not, for the next day Mary 
 began to notice the littered appearance of the 
 room, the medicine bottles and cups, and the 
 confusion generally. 
 
 " The windows look so nice," she said to 
 Susy, who was her most constant attendant, 
 "that I wish you would clear up a little 
 more." 
 
 " What shall I do ? " asked good-natured 
 Susy. 
 
 " Well," began Mary, " first take all the 
 dirty dishes out, and set them in the hall 
 where mother or Bess can take them down- 
 stairs." 
 
 Many times back and forth trotted the busy 
 little feet before this was done. 
 
 " Now you can take all the empty bottles,"
 
 230 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 said Mary, "and put them on the shelf in the 
 hall cupboard." So they went on, Mary direct- 
 ing and Susy working, and after an hour's 
 labor the room was much improved. 
 
 "Why, how slick you look up here ! What 's 
 got into you all of a sudden ! " exclaimed Mrs. 
 Benton, when she came up. 
 
 " Why," explained Mary, " the windows 
 looked so clean it made the rest of the room 
 seem very mussy, and Susy 's been clearing up 
 for me ; has n't she done it nicely ? " 
 
 " Very," assented her mother, " and it does 
 seem more attractive." 
 
 " When I don't see anything else," added 
 Mary in a low tone. 
 
 "Sure enough, poor child ! " said her mother. 
 " We won't let the room get so again." 
 
 That day again Kate rushed home with a 
 tale of wonders done by that magic gift. 
 
 Still the charm worked. The next day she 
 found the floor swept and the furniture dusted ; 
 the third day Mary had a clean white counter- 
 pane in place of the old soiled one, and a 
 white towel on her medicine stand ; the fourth
 
 THE MAGIC FIGURE 231 
 
 day a hole in the carpet over which Kate had 
 several times stumbled, was neatly mended; 
 the fifth day the hall was swept and the stairs 
 washed, and the sixth day the whole house 
 had an unwontedly clean air. 
 
 Nor was this all ; the charm worked on 
 the people as well as on the house. First Kate 
 noticed that Susy had clean face and hands, 
 next that her dress had been washed and 
 mended. Then she saw an improvement in 
 Bess's appearance, and later a gradual change 
 in the looks of every one of the household, 
 even to Mrs. Benton herself. Every day she 
 went home with new wonders to tell, and 
 fresh surprise at the simple cause of all the 
 changes. 
 
 " Why, it 's a real pleasure to go there 
 now," she said one day, " and all the girls say 
 so. Mary seems ever so much brighter too ; I 
 do believe she 's better." 
 
 " No doubt she is," said Miss Faith ; " there 's 
 no doctor so good as an interest in things 
 around one. Does she still care for the bisque 
 figure ? "
 
 232 KKISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " Care for it ! why, she about worships it. 
 That Bess sure 's you live has patched 
 up some sort of a bracket out of half a flour- 
 barrel cover and some bits of cloth and bright 
 braid, and you would n't believe it, but it 's 
 real pretty and bright, and she nailed it up 
 between the windows, and on it stands that 
 blessed figure. It really gives the room an 
 air ! " 
 
 " And I want to tell you, Miss Faith," Kate 
 went on eagerly, "the girls in Mary's class, 
 seeing how hard she tries to have her room 
 pretty, have made a plan to fix it up nice for 
 a Christmas surprise for her. We 've talked it 
 over a little, and it 's going to be splendid. 
 Carry Bates her father keeps a paper-hang- 
 ing store says she 's most sure he '11 give 
 paper enough to cover her wall, and perhaps 
 a man to put it on, and Luly Jones is going 
 to get some pretty cretonne out of her father's 
 store, to cover the lounge and a pillow for it ; 
 we've got money enough among us to buy 
 matting for the floor, and Mamma says I may 
 give her my Persian rug ; and then we 're all
 
 THE MAGIC FIGURE 233 
 
 going to give books and little pictures, and 
 everything pretty we can get. We mean to 
 make her room lovely. Is n't it grand ! " 
 
 " Indeed it is, Kate ! " said Miss Faith 
 warmly, "and I '11 help. What shall I do? 
 You may decide." 
 
 A bright expression came into Kate's face, 
 then a look of doubt. 
 
 " What is it, dear ? Tell me just what you 
 wish," said Miss Faith, watching her keenly. 
 
 " Would you spend some money ? " began 
 Kate hesitatingly, " a good deal, I 'm afraid." 
 
 " What for ? " demanded Miss Faith. 
 
 " Oh, for an invalid bed, that can be lifted 
 up at the head, so she can most sit up, or lie 
 down flat. We did want to buy one awfully ! 
 but we knew it would cost too much. The 
 girls had n't much money," Kate pleaded. 
 
 Miss Faith thought a moment. 
 
 " If I do that, Kate, it will take all my 
 Christmas money," she said gravely. "All 
 the young people to whom I usually make pre- 
 sents will have to go without." 
 
 " Oh, I 'm sure, dear Miss Faith," said
 
 234 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Kate warmly, " they would all be glad to, if 
 they could only know how good it would be 
 for Mary ; and she has to lie there always" 
 she added with a shudder. " Think how fear- 
 ful that is ! " 
 
 " Well," said Miss Faith, " I '11 do it, Kate. 
 You girls select the bed and have the bill sent 
 to me. The magic works beyond Mary Ben- 
 ton's chamber, you see." 
 
 " Sure enough," said Kate thoughtfully ; 
 " it was that figure began it," and as she 
 walked hastily down in the village to tell the 
 girls the good news about the invalid bed, 
 she thought the whole thing over, from the 
 first day, less than two weeks ago, when Miss 
 Faith had taken the bisque figure out of her 
 trunk, till now. Wonderful indeed had been 
 the changes, not only in Mary's room, but 
 spreading over the house, and then among 
 the school-girls who visited Mary. And at 
 last, as she ran up the steps of Carry Bates's 
 house, came her conclusion : " Well ; there 
 must have been magic about that little bisque 
 figure."
 
 THE MAGIC FIGURE 235 
 
 It was now getting quite late in the even- 
 ing, and Mamma, who was last in the circle, 
 suggested that Kristy had heard stories enough 
 for one evening, and that her story better he 
 put off till some other time. 
 
 But a chorus of the story-tellers insisted 
 that she should herself follow the rule she 
 had so sternly enforced upon others. Kristy, 
 too, would not hear of postponement. " I can 
 make you tell me another to-morrow," she 
 said, whereupon the audience laughed and 
 applauded, and in the midst of this confusion 
 Mamma knocked on the fire-dogs for silence. 
 
 " If I must tell the story, I wish to begin, 
 for it is quite time my patient went to bed. 
 I shall tell of a poor Irish woman I read about 
 last winter in the papers." 
 
 " And went to see," whispered Kristy to 
 Uncle John, who was arranging the fire. 
 
 Mamma did not hear her, but began at once.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 
 
 t( I DECLARE for 't, to-morrow is Christmas 
 day an' I clean forgot all about it," said old 
 Ann, the washerwoman, pausing in her work 
 and holding the flat-iron suspended in the air. 
 
 " Much good it '11 do us," growled a discon- 
 tented voice from the coarse bed in the corner. 
 
 " We have n't much extra, to be sure," an- 
 swered Ann cheerfully, bringing the iron down 
 onto the shirt-bosom before her, " but at least 
 we've enough to eat, and a good fire, and 
 that 's more 'n some have, not a thousand miles 
 from here either." 
 
 " We might have plenty more," said the 
 fretful voice, " if you did n't think so much 
 more of strangers than you do of your own 
 folks' comfort, keeping a houseful of beggars, 
 as if you was a lady ! " 
 
 "Now, John," replied Ann, taking another
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 237 
 
 iron from the fire, " you 're not half so bad as 
 you pretend. You wouldn't have me turn 
 them poor creatures into the streets to freeze, 
 now would you ? " 
 
 " It 's none of our business to pay rent for 
 them," grumbled John. " Every one for him- 
 self, I say, these hard times. If they can't pay 
 you 'd ought to send 'em off ; there 's plenty 
 as can." 
 
 " They 'd pay quick enough if they could 
 get work," said Ann. " They 're good honest 
 fellows, every one, and paid me regular as long 
 as they had a cent. But when hundreds are 
 out o' work in the city, what can they do ? " 
 
 " That 's none o' your business, you can 
 turn 'em out ! " growled John. 
 
 " And leave the poor children to freeze as 
 well as starve?" said Ann. "Who'd ever 
 take 'em in without money, I 'd like to know ? 
 No, John," bringing her iron down as though 
 she meant it, " I 'm glad I 'm well enough to 
 wash and iron, and pay my rent, and so long 
 as I can do that, and keep the hunger away 
 from you and the child, I '11 never turn the
 
 238 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 poor souls out, leastways not in this freezing 
 winter weather." 
 
 " An' here 's Christmas," the old man went 
 on whiningly, " an' not a penny to spend, an' 
 I needin' another blanket so bad, with my 
 rhumatiz, an' have n't had a drop o' tea for I 
 don't know how long ! " 
 
 " I know it," said Ann, never mentioning 
 that she too had been without tea, and not 
 only that, but with small allowance of food of 
 any kind, " and I 'm desperate sorry I can't 
 get a bit of something for Katey. The child 
 never missed a little something in her stocking 
 before." 
 
 " Yes," John struck in, " much you care 
 for your flesh an' blood. The child ha' n't had 
 a thing this winter." 
 
 " That 's true enough," said Ann, with a 
 sigh, " an' it 's the hardest thing of all that 
 I 've had to keep her out o' school when she 
 was doing so beautiful." 
 
 "An' her feet all on the ground," John 
 growled. 
 
 " I know her shoes is bad," said Ann, hang-
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 239 
 
 ing the shirt up on a line that stretched across 
 the room, and was already nearly full of freshly 
 ironed clothes, " but they 're better than the 
 Parker children's." 
 
 "What's that to us?" almost shouted the 
 weak old man, shaking his fist at her in his 
 rage. 
 
 " Well, keep your temper, old man," said 
 Ann. "I'm sorry it goes so hard with you, 
 but as long as I can stand on my feet, I sha'n't 
 turn anybody out to freeze, that 's certain." 
 
 " How much '11 you get for them ? " said 
 the miserable old man, after a few moments' 
 silence, indicating by his hand the clean clothes 
 on the line. 
 
 " Two dollars," said Ann, " and half of it 
 must go to help make up next month's rent. 
 I 've got a good bit to make up yet, and only 
 a week to do it in, and I sha'n't have another 
 cent till day after to-morrow." 
 
 " Well, I wish you 'd manage to buy me a 
 little tea," whined the old man ; " seems as if 
 that would go right to the spot, an' warm up 
 my old bones a bit."
 
 240 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " I 'II try," said Ann, revolving in her mind 
 how she could save a few pennies from her 
 indispensable purchases, to get tea and sugar, 
 for without sugar he would not touch it. 
 
 Wearied with his unusual exertion, the old 
 man now dropped off to sleep, and Ann went 
 softly about, folding and piling the clothes into 
 a big basket already half full. When they 
 were all packed in, and nicely covered with a 
 piece of clean muslin, she took an old shawl 
 and hood from a nail in the corner, put them 
 on, blew out the candle, for it must not burn 
 one moment unnecessarily, and taking up her 
 basket, went out into the cold winter night, 
 softly closing the door behind her. 
 
 The house was on an alley, but as soon as 
 she turned the corner she was in the bright 
 streets, glittering with lamps and gay people. 
 The shop windows were brilliant with Christ- 
 mas displays, and thousands of warmly dressed 
 buyers were lingering before them, laughing 
 and chatting, and selecting their purchases. 
 Surely it seemed as if there could be no want 
 here.
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 241 
 
 As quickly as her burden would let her, the 
 old washerwoman passed through the crowd 
 into a broad street and rang the basement bell 
 of a large, showy house. 
 
 " Oh, it 's the washerwoman ! " said a flashy- 
 looking servant who answered the bell ; " set 
 the basket right in here. Mrs. Keithe can't 
 look them over to-night, there 's company in 
 the parlor Miss Carry's Christmas party." 
 
 " Ask her to please pay me at least a 
 part," said old Ann hastily. " I don't see how 
 I can do without the money. I counted on it." 
 
 " I '11 ask her," said the pert young woman, 
 turning to go up-stairs ; " but it 's no use." 
 
 Returning in a moment, she delivered the 
 message. " She has no change to-night, you 're 
 to come in the morning." 
 
 " Dear me ! " thought Ann, as she plodded 
 back through the streets, " it '11 be even worse 
 than I expected, for there 's not a morsel to 
 eat in the house, and not a penny to buy one 
 with. Well well the Lord will provide, 
 the Good Book says, but it 's mighty dark 
 days, and it 's hard to believe."
 
 242 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 Entering the house, Ann sat down silently 
 before the expiring fire. She was tired, her 
 bones ached, and she was faint for want of 
 food. 
 
 Wearily she rested her head on her hands, 
 and tried to think of some way to get a few 
 cents. She had nothing she could sell or pawn, 
 everything she could do without had gone 
 before, in similar emergencies. After sitting 
 there some time, and revolving plan after plan, 
 only to find them all impossible, she was forced 
 to conclude that they must go supperless to 
 bed. 
 
 Her husband grumbled and Katey who 
 came in from a neighbor's cried with hun- 
 ger, and after they were asleep old Ann crept 
 into bed to keep warm, more disheartened than 
 she had been all winter. 
 
 If we could only see a little way ahead ! 
 All this time the darkest the house on the 
 alley had seen help was on the way to them. 
 A kind-hearted city missionary, visiting one 
 of the unfortunate families living in the upper 
 rooms of old Ann's house, had learned from
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 243 
 
 them of the noble charity of the humble old 
 washerwoman. It was more than princely 
 charity, for she not only denied herself nearly 
 every comfort, but she endured the reproaches 
 of her husband, and the tears of her child. 
 
 Telling the story to a party of his friends 
 this Christmas eve, their hearts were touched, 
 and they at once emptied their purses into his 
 hands for her. And the gift was at that very 
 moment in the pocket of the missionary, wait- 
 ing for morning to make her Christmas happy. 
 
 Christmas morning broke clear and cold. 
 Ann was up early, as usual, made her fire, with 
 the last of her coal, cleared up her two rooms, 
 and leaving her husband and Katey in bed, 
 was about starting out to try and get her 
 money, to provide a breakfast for them. At 
 the door she met the missionary. 
 
 " Good-morning, Ann," he said. " I wish 
 you a merry Christmas." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," said Ann cheerfully ; 
 " the same to yourself." 
 
 "Have you been to breakfast already?" 
 asked the missionary.
 
 244 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 " No, sir," said Ann. " I was just going out 
 for it." 
 
 " I have n't either," said he, " but I could n't 
 bear to wait till I had eaten breakfast before I 
 brought you your Christmas present I sus- 
 pect you have n't had any yet." 
 
 Ann smiled. " Indeed, sir, I have n't had 
 one since I can remember." 
 
 " Well, I have one for you. Come in, and 
 I '11 tell you about it." 
 
 Too much amazed for words, Ann led him 
 into the room. The missionary opened his 
 purse, and handed her a roll of bills. 
 
 " Why ! what ! - " she gasped, taking it 
 mechanically. 
 
 " Some friends of mine heard of your gen- 
 erous treatment of the poor families up-stairs," 
 he went on, "and they send you this, with 
 their respects and best wishes for Christmas. 
 Do just what you please with it it is wholly 
 yours. No thanks," he went on, as she strug- 
 gled to speak. " It 's not from me. Just 
 enjoy it that 's all. It has done them more 
 good to give than it can you to receive,"
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 245 
 
 and before she could speak a word he was 
 gone. 
 
 What did the old washerwoman do ? 
 
 Well first she fell on her knees and buried 
 her agitated face in the bedclothes. After 
 a while she became aware of a storm of words 
 from her husband, and she got up, subdued 
 as much as possible her agitation, and tried 
 to answer his frantic questions. 
 
 " How much did he give you, old stupid?" 
 he screamed ; " can't you speak, or are you 
 struck dumb ? Wake up ! I just wish I 
 could reach you ! I'd shake you till your 
 teeth rattled ! " 
 
 If his vicious looks were a sign, it was evi- 
 dent that he only lacked the strength to be as 
 good as his word. 
 
 Ann roused herself from her stupor and 
 spoke at last. 
 
 "I don't know. I'll count it." She un- 
 rolled the bills and began. 
 
 " Lord ! " she exclaimed excitedly, " here 's 
 ten-dollar bills ! One, two, three, and a twenty 
 that makes five and five are fifty-five
 
 246 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 sixty seventy eighty eighty-five ninety 
 one hundred and two and five are seven, 
 and two and one are ten, twenty twenty- 
 five one hundred and twenty-five ! Why, 
 I 'm rich ! " she shouted. " Bless the Lord ! 
 Oh, this is the glorious Christmas day ! I 
 knew He 'd provide. Katey ! Katey ! " she 
 screamed at the door of the other room, where 
 the child lay asleep. "Merry Christmas to 
 you, darlin' ! Now you can have some shoes ! 
 and a new dress ! and and breakfast, and 
 a regular Christmas dinner ! Oh ! I believe I 
 shall go crazy! " 
 
 But she did not. Joy seldom hurts people, 
 and she was brought back to every-day 
 affairs by the querulous voice of her hus- 
 band. 
 
 " Now I will have my tea, an' a new blan- 
 ket, an' some tobacco how I have wanted a 
 pipe ! " and he went on enumerating his wants 
 while Ann bustled about, putting away most 
 of her money, and once more getting ready 
 to go out. 
 
 " I '11 run out and get some breakfast," she
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 247 
 
 said, " but don't you tell a soul about the 
 money." 
 
 " No ! they '11 rob us ! " shrieked the old 
 man. 
 
 " Nonsense ! I '11 hide it well, but I want 
 to keep it a secret for another reason. Mind, 
 Katey, don't you tell." 
 
 " No ! " said Katey, with wide eyes. " But 
 can I truly have a new frock, Mammy, and 
 new shoes ? and is it really Christmas ? " 
 
 " It 's really Christmas, darlin'," said Ann, 
 " and you '11 see what Mammy '11 bring home 
 to you, after breakfast." 
 
 The luxurious meal of sausages, potatoes, 
 and hot tea was soon smoking on the table, 
 and was eagerly devoured by Katey and her 
 father. But Ann could not eat much. She 
 was absent-minded, and only drank a cup of 
 tea. As soon as breakfast was over, she left 
 Katey to wash the dishes, and started out 
 again. 
 
 She walked slowly down the street, revolv- 
 ing a great plan in her mind. 
 
 " Let me see," she said to herself. " They
 
 248 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 shall have a happy day for once. I suppose 
 John '11 grumble, but the Lord has sent me 
 this money, and I mean to use part of it to 
 make one good day for them." 
 
 Having settled this in her mind, she walked 
 on more quickly, and visited various shops in 
 the neighborhood. When at last she went 
 home, her big basket was stuffed as full as it 
 could hold, and she carried a bundle besides. 
 
 " Here 's your tea, John," she said cheer- 
 fully, as she unpacked the basket, " a whole 
 pound of it, and sugar, and tobacco, and a new 
 pipe." 
 
 " Give me some now," said the old man 
 eagerly ; " don't wait to take out the rest of 
 the things." 
 
 " And here 's a new frock for you, Katey," 
 old Ann went on, after making John happy 
 with his treasures, " a real bright one, and a 
 pair of shoes and some real woolen stockings ; 
 oh ! how warm you '11 be ! " 
 
 " Oh, how nice, Mammy ! " cried Katey, 
 jumping about. " When will you make my 
 frock?"
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 249 
 
 " To-morrow," answered the mother, " and 
 you can go to school again." 
 
 " Oh, goody !" she began, but her face fell. 
 " If only Molly Parker could go too ! " 
 
 " You wait and see," answered Ann, with 
 a knowing look. " WHo knows what Christ- 
 mas will bring to Molly Parker ? " 
 
 " Now here 's a nice big roast," the happy 
 woman went on, still unpacking, " and pota- 
 toes and turnips and cabbage and bread and 
 butter and coffee and " 
 
 " What in the world ! You goin' to give a 
 party ? " asked the old man between the puffs, 
 staring at her in wonder. 
 
 " I '11 tell you just what I am going to do," 
 said Ann firmly, bracing herself for opposition, 
 " and it 's as good as done, so you need n't say 
 a word about it. I 'm going to have a Christ- 
 mas dinner, and I 'm going to invite every 
 blessed soul in this house to come. They 
 shall be warm and full for once in their lives, 
 please God ! And Katey," she went on breath- 
 lessly, before the old man had sufficiently re- 
 covered from his astonishment to speak, " go
 
 250 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 right up-stairs now, and invite every one of 
 'em, from the fathers down to Mrs. Parker's 
 baby, to come to dinner at three o'clock ; 
 we '11 have to keep fashionable hours, it 's so 
 late now ; and mind, Katey, not a word about 
 the money. And hurry back, child, I want 
 you to help me." 
 
 To her surprise, the opposition from her 
 husband was less than she expected. The 
 genial tobacco seemed to have quieted his 
 nerves, and even opened his heart. Grateful 
 for this, Ann resolved that his pipe should 
 never lack tobacco while she could work. 
 
 But now the cares of dinner absorbed her. 
 The meat and vegetables were prepared, the 
 pudding made, and the long table spread, 
 though she had to borrow every table in the 
 house, and every dish to have enough to go 
 around. 
 
 At three o'clock when the guests came in, it 
 was really a very pleasant sight. The bright 
 warm fire, the long table, covered with a sub- 
 stantial, and to them, luxurious meal, all 
 smoking hot. John, in his neatly brushed suit,
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 251 
 
 in an armchair at the foot of the table, Ann 
 in a bustle of hurry and welcome, and a plate 
 and a seat for every one. 
 
 How the half-starved creatures enjoyed it, 
 how the children stuffed and the parents 
 looked on with a happiness that was very near 
 to tears, how old John actually smiled and 
 urged them to send back their plates again 
 and again, and how Ann, the washerwoman, 
 was the life and soul of it ah", I can't half 
 tell. 
 
 After dinner, when the poor women lodgers 
 insisted on clearing up, and the poor men sat 
 down by the fire to smoke, for old John actu- 
 ally passed around his beloved tobacco, Ann 
 quietly slipped out a few minutes, took four 
 large bundles from a closet under the stairs, 
 and disappeared up-stairs. She was scarcely 
 missed before she was back again. 
 
 Well, of course, it was a great day in the 
 house on the alley, and the guests sat long into 
 the twilight before the warm fire talking of 
 their old homes in the fatherland, the hard 
 winter, and prospects for work in the spring.
 
 252 KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS 
 
 When at last they returned to the chilly dis- 
 comfort of their own rooms, each family found 
 a package containing a new warm dress and 
 pair of shoes for every woman and child in 
 the family. 
 
 " And I have enough left," said Ann, the 
 washerwoman, to herself, when she was reck- 
 oning up the expenses of the day, " to buy 
 my coal and pay my rent till spring, so I can 
 save my old bones a bit. And sure John 
 can't grumble at their staying now, for it 's 
 all along of keeping them that I had such a 
 blessed Christmas day at all." 
 
 "That's the best of all," said Grandma. 
 "I'm glad Kristy didn't let us lose that 
 story." 
 
 " I knew it would be one of the very best," 
 said Kristy warmly. " Mamma does tell beau- 
 tiful stories. And now I '11 go to bed, if you 
 please, and the rest of you may have some- 
 thing to eat after your labors." 
 
 The four-hand throne was made once more 
 by her two uncles and Kristy seated upon it.
 
 CHRISTMAS IN THE ALLEY 253 
 
 At the door she asked them to stop a moment 
 while she said good-night. 
 
 " My dear guests," she began, " I hope 
 you 've enjoyed the evening half as much as I 
 have. As for me, I thank you for the most 
 delightful Christmas I ever had, and I mean 
 to invite you to do it over again next year." 
 
 This announcement was received with groans 
 and cries of " No ! no ! " but Kristy laughed, 
 kissed her hand good-night, and only said : 
 
 "You '11 see!"
 
 (Cbe ffitoersi&e 
 
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