UNWELCOME NEWS
"Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas to everybody!"
"Oh, Christmas is here! I wonder what I got?"
"I'm going to get up and see!"
The Bobbsey twins were calling to one another from their rooms, and papa
and mamma Bobbsey were replying to their children's happy greetings. It
was Flossie who had made the exclamation about wondering what Santa
Claus had brought her, and it was Freddie who declared he was going to
get up to see.
Soon the patter of bare feet announced that the two younger twins were
scampering downstairs.
"You must put on your dressing gowns and slippers, my dears!" called
Mrs. Bobbsey. "You'll take cold. Nan, look after them; will you?"
"Yes, mother, in just a minute. As soon as I can find my own things,"
and Nan got out of bed. She and Bert were not in so much of a hurry as
Flossie and Freddie for they were getting older, and though Christmas
was still a source of great joy to them they were not so anxious to see
what gifts they had. Still Nan was eager to know if her camera had come.
From the parlor below came cries, shouts and peals of delighted and
surprised laughter as Flossie and Freddie discovered their different
gifts.
"Look at my book!" cried Flossie. "And a doll--a doll that you can wind
up, and she walks and says 'mamma.' Look, Freddie!" and the little girl
started the doll off across the room.
"Pooh! Look at what I got!" cried Freddie. "It's a fire engine, and it
squirts real water. I'm going to put some in it, and play fire."
He started for the kitchen with his toy, but Nan caught him.
"Not just yet, little fat fireman," she said with a laugh, as she took
him up in her arms. "You can't splash in the cold water until you have
more clothes on. Get dressed and then you may play with your toys."
"All right!" answered Freddie. "Oh, look, I've got a wind-up steamboat,
too. Oh! let me down so I can look at it, Nan! Now please do!"
Nan saw a pile of her own gifts, so she set Freddie down for a moment,
intending to carry him up stairs a little later. She had wrapped a robe
about Flossie, who was contentedly playing with her newest doll, and
looking at her other presents. Santa Claus had been kind to the Bobbsey
twins that Christmas.
Bert, big boy though he thought himself getting to be, could no longer
resist the temptation to come down in his bath robe to see what he had
received, and a little later fat Dinah, roused earlier than usual by the
joyous shouts of the children, came lumbering in.
"Oh, Dinah! Dinah! Look what you got!" cried Flossie. "Your things are
all here on this chair," and the little girl led the fat cook over
toward it.
"Things fo' me? What yo'-all talkin' 'bout chile? Ole Dinah don't git no
Christmas!" protested the jolly colored woman, laughing so that she
shook all over.
"Yes, you do get a Christmas, Dinah. Look here!" and Flossie showed
where there were some useful presents for the cook,--large aprons, warm
shoes, an umbrella, and a bright shawl that Dinah had been wanting for a
long time.
"What? All dem fo' me?" asked the surprised cook. "Good land a' massy! I
guess ole Santa Claus done gone an' made a beef-steak this time, suah!"
"No, there's no mistake! See, they've got your name on!" insisted
Flossie. "See, Dinah!" and she led the cook over to the chair where the
presents were piled. There was no doubt of it, they were for Dinah, and
near them was another chair containing gifts for her husband, Sam. He
would not be in until later, however. But Dinah saw a pair of rubber
boots that would be very useful in the deep snow, and there were other
fine presents for Sam.
Bert and Nan were now looking at their things, and Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey
could be heard moving around upstairs, having decided that it was
useless to lie abed longer now that the children were up.
"Come, come, Flossie and Freddie!" called Mrs. Bobbsey. "You must get
dressed and then you can play as much as you like. I don't want you to
get cold. If you do you can't go to Snow Lodge, remember!"
This was enough to cause the small Bobbseys to scamper upstairs. Flossie
carried her doll with her, and Freddie took along his fire engine, for
that was the gift he had most wanted, and for which he had begged and
pleaded for weeks before Christmas.
Feeling that a little liberty might be allowed on this day, Mrs. Bobbsey
did not insist on the younger children dressing completely until after
breakfast, so in their warm robes and slippers Flossie and Freddie were
soon again examining their toys, discovering new delights every few
minutes.
Nan was busy inspecting her camera, while Bert was looking at a new
postage stamp album he had long wanted, when from the kitchen where
Dinah was getting breakfast came a series of excited cries, mingled with
laughter and shouts of:
"Fire! Fire! Fire!"
"Mercy! What's that?" screamed Mrs. Bobbsey, turning pale.
Mr. Bobbsey made a rush for the kitchen. Nan and Bert, with Flossie,
gathered about their mother. Then they heard Dinah calling:
"Stop it, Freddie! Stop it I done tell you! Does yo'-all want me t' git
soaked? An' yo'-all will suah spoil them pancakes! Oh, now yo' hab done
it! Yo' squirted right in mah mouf! Oh mah goodness sakes alive!"
Mrs. Bobbsey looked relieved.
"Freddie must be up to some prank," she said.
"Freddie, stop it!" commanded Mr. Bobbsey, and then he was heard to
laugh. The others all went out to the kitchen and there they saw a
curious sight.
Freddie, with his new toy fire engine, was pumping water on fat Dinah,
who was laughing so heartily that she could do nothing to stop him. Mr.
Bobbsey, too, was shouting with mirth, for the hose from the toy engine
was rather small, and threw only a thin, fine spray.
"I'm a fireman!" cried Freddie, "and I'm pretending Dinah is on fire.
See her red apron--that's the fire!" and the little fellow turned the
crank of his engine harder than ever, throwing the tiny stream of water
all over the kitchen.
"That's enough, Freddie," said Mr. Bobbsey, when he could stop laughing.
Dinah was still shaking with mirth, and Freddie, looking in the tank of
the engine, said:
"There's only a little more water left. Can't I squirt that?"
Without waiting for permission Freddie made the water spurt from the
nozzle of the hose. At that moment the door of the kitchen opened, to
let in Sam. With him came Snap, the trick dog, and the tiny stream of
water caught Sam full in the face.
"Hello! What am dat?" he demanded in surprise. "Am de house leakin'?"
"It's my new fire engine!" cried Freddie. "I didn't mean to wet you,
Sam, but I was playing Dinah was on fire!"
"Well, yo'-all didn't wet me so very much," replied Sam, with a grin
that showed his white teeth. "Dat suah am a fine fire engine!"
Snap sprang about, barking and wagging his tail, and, there being no
more water in Freddie's engine, he had to stop pumping, for which every
one was glad.
"You must not do that again," said Mrs. Bobbsey, when the excitement was
over, and laughing Dinah had dried her face, and put on another apron.
"You frightened us all, Freddie, and that is not nice, you know."
"I won't, Mamma, but I did want to try my fire engine."
"Then you must do it in the bath room where the water will do no harm.
But come now, children, get your breakfast and then you will have the
whole day to look at your toys."
Breakfast was rather a hurried affair, and every now and then Flossie
and Freddie would leave the table to see some of their gifts. But
finally the meal was over and then came more joyous times. Sam received
his presents, and Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey had time to look at theirs, for
Santa Claus had not forgotten them.
"And there's something for Snap, and for Snoop, too!" exclaimed Freddie.
"Snoop has a new ribbon with a silver bell, and Snap a new collar, with
his name on," and soon the cat and dog, newly adorned, were being put
through some of their tricks.
If I tried to tell you all that went on in the Bobbsey house that
Christmas this book would contain nothing else. So I will only say that
the holiday was one of the most delightful the twins ever remembered.
"And then to think, with all this, that we are to go to Snow Lodge! It's
great!" cried Bert.
"I hope I can get some good pictures up there with my camera," said Nan.
"Will you show me how it works, Bert?"
"Yes, and we'll go out to-day and try it. I want to see how my new
skates go, too. The lake is frozen and we'll have some fun."
The day was cold and clear. There had been a little fall of snow during
the night, but not enough to spoil the skating, and soon Bert and Nan
were on their way to the lake, while Flossie and Freddie, after
inspecting all their presents over again, had gone out to play on their
sleds.
This gave Dinah and Mrs. Bobbsey time to get ready the big Christmas
dinner, with the roast turkey, for Mr. Bobbsey had brought home one of
the largest he could find.
While Flossie and Freddie were playing on the hill, a small one near
their home, they heard a voice calling to them:
"Want a ride, youngsters?"
Looking up they saw Mr. Carford in his big sled. It was filled with
baskets and packages, and the Bobbsey twins guessed rightly that the
generous old man was taking around his Christmas contributions to the
poor families.
"Yes, we'll go!" cried Freddie. "What shall we do with our sleds?" asked
Flossie.
"Oh, Harry Stone will look after them; won't you Harry?" asked Freddie,
"He can use mine, and his sister Jessie can use yours until we come
back, Flossie," and Freddie turned the coasters over to a poor boy and
girl who lived near the Bobbsey home. Harry and his sister were
delighted, and promised to take good care of the sleds.
"I won't take you far--only just around town," said Mr. Carford, as the
twins got in his sled. "When are you going up to my Snow Lodge?"
"We're going soon, I guess," answered Flossie. "I heard mamma and papa
talking about it yesterday."
"And we're ever so much obliged to you for letting us have your place,"
said Flossie. "Will you come up and see us while we're there? I've got a
doll that can talk."
"And I'm going to take my fire engine along, so if the place gets on
fire I can help put it out," exclaimed Freddie. "Will you come up?"
Mr. Carford started. He looked at the children in a strange sort of way,
and then stared at the horses.
"No--no--I guess I won't go to Snow Lodge any more," he said slowly, and
Flossie and Freddie were sorry they had asked him, for they remembered
the story their father had told them about the sorrow that had come to
the aged man.
But the children soon forgot this in the joy of helping in the
distribution of the good things in the sled, and the happiness brought
to many poor families seemed to make up, in a way, for what Mr. Carford
had suffered in the trouble over his nephew.
When all the gifts had been given out from the sled, Mr. Carford drove
the two younger Bobbsey twins back to the hill where they again had fun
coasting.
Meanwhile Nan and Bert were having a good time on the ice. Nan's camera
was used to take a number of pictures, which the children hoped would
turn out well.
While Bert was taking a picture of Nan, Charley Mason came skating up,
and Bert, whose best chum he was, insisted that Charley get in the
picture also.
"My!" exclaimed Charley, as he saw Nan's camera, "that's a fine one!"
"I just got it to-day," said Nan, with a pleased smile. "I'm going to
take a lot of pictures up at Snow Lodge."
"Snow Lodge," repeated Charley. "You mean that place Mr. Carford owns?"
"Yes," replied Bert. "He is going to let us all go up there for three
weeks or so."
"Say, that's funny," spoke Charley. "You'll have some other Lakeport
folks near you."
"Who else is going up to Snow Lodge?" asked Nan.
"Well, they're not exactly going to Snow Lodge," replied Charley, "but I
heard a while ago that Danny Rugg and his folks were going up to a
winter camp near there. Mr. Rugg has bought a lumber tract in the woods,
and he's going to see about having some of the trees cut. Danny is
going, too. So you'll have him for a neighbor."
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Nan, in dismay. "That spoils everything!"
"Well, if Danny tries any of his tricks I'll get after him!" exclaimed
Bert, firmly. But he looked anxious over the unwelcome news Charley had
brought.