little Saviour. With trembling joy she gathered the Christmas roses
and stepped lightly into the humble house where the little babe lay
smiling in his mother's arms. In Mary's lap the maiden laid her gift
of flowers, and, with radiant face, she knelt and filled her heart
with the glorious vision.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS
Laura E. Richards
"Mother," said Jack, "may I have some money to buy Christmas presents
with?"
"Dear," said his mother, "I have no money. We are very poor, and I can
hardly buy enough food for us all."
Jack hung his head; if he had not been ten the tears would have come
to his eyes, but he was ten.
"All the other boys give presents!" he said.
"So shall you!" said his mother. "All presents are not bought with
money. The best boy that ever lived was as poor as we are, and yet He
was always giving."
"Who was He," asked Jack; "and what did He give?"
"This is His birthday," said the mother. "He was the good Jesus. He
was born in a stable, and He lived in a poor working-man's house. He
never had a penny of His own, yet he gave twelve good gifts every day.
Would you like to try His way?"
"Yes!" cried Jack.
So his mother told him this and that; and soon after Jack started out,
dressed in his best suit, to give his presents.
First, he went to Aunt Jane's house. She was old and lame, and she did
not like boys.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Merry Christmas!" said Jack. "May I stay for an hour and help you?"
"Humph!" said Aunt Jane. "Want to keep you out of mischief, do they?
Well, you may bring in some wood."
"Shall I split some kindling, too?" asked Jack.
"If you know how," said Aunt Jane. "I can't have you cutting your foot
and messing my clean shed all up."
Jack found some fresh pine wood and a bright hatchet, and he split up
a great pile of kindling and thought it fun. He stacked it neatly, and
then brought in a pail of fresh water and filled the kettle.
"What else can I do?" he asked. "There are twenty minutes more."
"Humph!" said Aunt Jane. "You might feed the pig."
Jack fed the pig, who thanked him in his own way.
"Ten minutes more!" he said. "What shall I do now?"
"Humph!" said Aunt Jane. "You may sit down and tell me why you came."
"It is a Christmas present!" said Jack. "I am giving hours for
presents. I had twelve, but I gave one to mother, and another one was
gone before I knew I had it. This hour was your present."
"Humph!" said Aunt Jane. She hobbled to the cupboard and took out a
small round pie that smelt very good. "Here!" she said. "This is
_your_ present, and I thank you for mine. Come again, will you?"
"Indeed I will," said Jack, "and thank you for the pie!"
Next Jack went and read for an hour to old Mr. Green, who was blind.
He read a book about the sea, and they both liked it very much, so
the hour went quickly. Then it was time to help mother get dinner, and
then time to eat it; that took two hours, and Aunt Jane's pie was
wonderful. Then Jack took the Smith baby for a ride in its carriage,
as Mrs. Smith was ill, and they met its grandfather, who filled Jack's
pockets with candy and popcorn and invited him to a Christmas tree
that night.
Next Jack went to see Willy Brown, who had been ill for a long time
and could not leave his bed. Willy was very glad to see him; they
played a game, and then each told the other a story, and before Jack
knew it the clock struck six.
"Oh!" cried Jack. "You have had two!"
"Two what?" asked Willy.
"Two hours!" said Jack; and he told Willy about the presents he was
giving. "I am glad I gave you two," he said, "and I would give you
three, but I must go and help mother."
"Oh, dear!" said Willy. "I thank you very much, Jack. I have had a
perfectly great time; but I have nothing to give you."
Jack laughed. "Why, don't you see?" he cried; "you have given me just
the same thing. I have had a great time, too."
"Mother," said Jack, as he was going to bed, "I have had a splendid
Christmas, but I wish I had had something to give you besides the
hours."
"My darling," said his mother, "you have given me the best gift of
all--yourself!"
SILVER BELLS
Across the snow the Silver Bells
Come near and yet more near;
Each Day and Night, each Night and Day
They tinkle soft and clear.
'Tis Father Christmas on his way
Across the winter Snows;
While on his sleigh the Silver Bells
Keep chiming as he goes.
I listen for them in the Night,
I listen all the Day,
I think these merry Silver Bells
Are long, long on the way!
Hamish Hendry.
THE ANIMALS' CHRISTMAS TREE
John P. Peters
Once upon a time the animals decided to have a Christmas tree, and
this was how it came about: The swifts and the swallows in the
chimneys in the country houses, awakened from their sleep by joy and
laughter, had stolen down and peeped in upon scenes of happiness, the
center of which was always an evergreen tree covered with wonderful
fruit, bright balls of many colours, and sparkling threads of gold and
silver, lying like beautiful frost-work among the green fir needles. A
sweet, fairy-like figure of a Christ Child or an angel rested high
among the branches, and underneath the tree were dolls and sleds and
skates and drums and toys of every sort, and furs and gloves and
tippets, ribbons and handkerchiefs, and all the things that boys and
girls need and like; and all about this tree were gathered always
little children with faces--oh! so full of wonderment and expectation,
changing to radiant, sparkling merriment as toys and candies were
taken off the tree or from underneath its boughs and distributed among
them.
The swifts and swallows told their feathered friends all about it, and
they told others, both birds and animals, until at last it began to be
rumoured through all the animal world that on one day in the year the
children of men were made wonderfully happy by means of some sort of
festival which they held about a fir tree from the forest. Now, of
course, the tame animals and the house animals, the dogs and the cats
and the mice, knew something more about this festival. But then, they
did not exchange visits with the wild animals, because they felt
themselves above them.
They were always trying to be like men and women, you know, putting on
airs and pretending to know everything; but, after all, they were
animals and could not help making friendships now and then with the
wild creatures, especially when the men and women were not there. And
when they were asked about the Christmas tree, they told still more
wonderful stories than the swifts and the swallows from the chimneys
had told, for some of them had taken part in these festivals, and some
had even received presents from the tree, just like the children.
They said that the tree was called a Christmas tree, because that
strange fruit and that wonderful frosting came on it only in the
Christmas time, and that the Christmas time was the time when men and
women and little children, too, were always kind and good and loving,
and gave things to one another; and they said, moreover, that on the
Christmas tree grew the things which every one wanted, and which would
make them happy, and that it was so, because in the Christmas time
everyone was trying to make everyone else happy and to think of what
other people would like. This they said was what they had seen and
heard told about Christmas trees. They did not quite understand why it
was so, but they knew that the Christmas tree, when rightly made,
brought the Christmas spirit, and they had heard men say that the
Christmas spirit was the great thing, and that that was what made
everyone happy.
Well, the long and the short of it was that the animals talked of it
in their dens and on their roosts, in the fields, and in the forests,
wild beasts and tame alike--the cows and the horses in their stalls,
the sheep in their fold, the doves in their cotes and the poultry in
the poultry-yard, until all agreed that a Christmas tree would be a
grand thing for the wild and tame alike. Like the men, they, too,
would have a tree of their very own. But how to do it?
Then the lion called a meeting of all the creatures, wild and tame;
for you know the lion is king of beasts and when he calls they all
must come. You know, too, that before and during and after these
animal congresses there is a royal peace. The lamb can come to the
meeting and sit down by the wolf, and the wolf dare not touch him; the
dove may perch on the bough between the hawk and the owl and neither
will harm him, when the great king of beasts has summoned them all
together to take counsel. But you know all about the rules of the
animals, for you have read them in books, and you have seen the
pictures: how the lion sits on his throne with a crown on one side of
his head, and all the other creatures gather about--the elephant, and
giraffe, the hippopotamus, the buffalo, wolves and tigers and
leopards, foxes and deer, goats and sheep, monkeys and orang-outangs,
parrots and robins and turkeys and swans and storks and eagles and
frogs and lizards and alligators, and all the rest besides.
Then, when the lion had called the meeting to order, the swifts and
the swallows told what they had seen, and a fat little pug-dog, with a
ribbon and a silver bell about his neck, wheezed out a story of a
Christmas tree that he had seen, and how a silver bell had grown on
that tree for him and a whole box of the best sweets he had ever
dreamed of while he lay comfortably snoozing on his cushion before the
fire. And a Persian cat, with her hair turned the wrong way, mewed out
her story of a Christmas tree that she had attended, and told how
there was a white mouse made of cream cheese for her creeping about
beneath the branches.
Then the monkeys chattered and the elephants trumpeted, the horses
neighed, the hyenas laughed, and each in his own way argued for a
Christmas tree and told what he would do to help make it.
The elephant would go into the forest, and choose the tree and pull it
up. The buffaloes would drag it in. The giraffe would fix the
ornaments on the higher limbs, because its neck was long. The monkeys
would scramble up where the giraffe could not reach. The squirrels
could run out on the slender twigs and help the monkeys. The birds
would fly about and get the golden threads and put them on the tree
with their beaks. The fire-flies would hide themselves among the
branches and sparkle like diamonds, and the glow-worms promised to
help the fire-flies by playing candles, if someone would lift them up
and put them on the branches. The parrots and paroquets and other
birds of gay plumage would give feathers to hang among the branches,
and the humming-birds promised to flutter in and out among the twigs,
and the sheep to give white wool to lie like snow among the boughs.
Then the parrots screeched and the peacocks screamed with delight, and
you and I never could have told whether anybody voted aye or nay; but
the lion knew; and the owl, for he was clerk, set it down in the
minutes, as the lion bade him, that all the birds and beasts would do
their part. So each planned what he could do. Even the little beetle,
who makes great balls of earth, thought that if he could only once see
one of those gay balls that grow on the children's Christmas tree, he
might make some for the animals' tree. Different birds and beasts told
of the oranges and apples and holly-berries and who knows what they
could get and hang upon the tree. You see the animals came from many
places, and then, too, they could send the carrier pigeons to go and
bring fruit and berries, and who knows what besides, from oh, so far
away, because the carrier pigeons can fly through the air no one knows
how fast or how far.
Well, I cannot tell you everything that each one was going to do, but
if you will go and get your Noah's ark and take the animals out one by
one, then you surely will think it out for yourself, for you have all
the animals there.
And so they arranged how they would ornament the tree, and the next
thing was to decide what presents should be hung on the tree or put
beneath its boughs, for each one must have his present. Well, after
much discussion in roars, and bellows, crows and croaks, lows and
screams and bleats, and baas and grunts, and all the other sounds of
birds and beast language, it was voted that each might choose the
present he wished hung on the tree. The clerkly owl should call their
names one by one, and each might declare his choice. So they began.
The parrots and the macaws thought that they would like oranges and
bananas and such things, which would look so pretty on the tree, too;
and so they were arranged for. The robins and the cedar birds chose
cherries; the the partridges, partridge berries, the squirrels, the
red and grey and black, nuts and apples and pears. The monkeys said
the popcorn strings would do for them, and the cats and dogs,
remembering the Christmas gift which the pug-dog and Persian cat had
told about, asked for tiny mice made of cream cheese or chocolate. By
and by it came the pig's turn to tell his choice. "Grunt, grunt!" said
the pig, "I want a nice pail of swill hung on the very lowest bough of
all."
"Ugh!" said the black leopard, so sleek and so clean.
"Faugh!" said the gazelle, with his dainty sense of smell.
"Neigh!" said the horse, so daintily groomed.
"What!" roared the lion, "what's that you want?"
"A pail of swill," grunted the pig. "Each one has chosen what he
wants, and I have a right to choose what I want."
"But," roared the lion, "each one has chosen something beautiful to
make the tree a joy to all."
"Grunt, grunt," said the pig. "The parrots and macaws are going to
have oranges and bananas, and the robins and the cedar birds red
cherries, the partridges, their berries, the squirrels, nuts and
apples and pears, the dog and the cat, their cream and chocolate mice.
They all have what they want to eat. Grunt, grunt," said he; "I will
have what I want to eat, too, and what I want is a pail of swill."
Now, you see it had been voted, as I told you, that each should have
what he wanted hung on the tree for him, and so the lion could not
help himself. If the pig chose swill, swill he must have, and angrily
he had to roar: "If the pig wants swill, a pail of swill he must have,
hung on the lowest bough of the tree!"
Then the wolf's wicked eyes gleamed, for his turn was next, and he
said: "If the pig has swill because he wants swill to eat, I must have
what I want to eat, and I want a tender lamb, six months old." And at
that all the lambs and the sheep bleated and baaed.
"Ha, ha!" barked the fox; "then I want a turkey!" And the turkeys
gobbled in fear.
"And I," said the tiger, "want a yearling calf." And the cows and the
calves lowed in horror.
"And I," said the owl, the clerk, "I want a plump dove."
"And I," said the hawk, "will take a rabbit."
"And I," said the leopard, "want a deer or a gazelle."
Then all was fear and uproar. The hares and rabbits scuttled into the
grass; the gazelles and the deer bounded away; the sheep and the
cattle crowded close together; the small birds rose in the air in
flocks; and the Christmas tree was like to have come to grief and
ended, not in Christmas joy, but in fear and hatred and terror.
Then a little lamb stepped out and bleated: "Ah! king lion, it would
be very sad if all the animals should lose their Christmas tree, for
the very thought of that tree has brought us closer together, and here
we were, wild and tame, fierce and timid, met together as friends; and
oh! king lion, rather than there should not be a tree, they may take
me and hang me on it. Let them not take the turkeys and gazelles and
the calves and the rabbits and all the rest that they have chosen. Let
the tigers and leopards, and wolves and foxes and eagles, and hawks
and owls and all their kind be content that their Christmas present
shall be a lamb; and so we may come together again and have our happy
Christmas tree, and each have what he wishes."
"But," said the lion, "what will you have? If you give yourself, then
you will have no Christmas present."
"Yes," said the lamb, "I, too, shall have what I want, for I shall
have brought them all together again, and made each one happy."
Then a dove fluttered down from a tree and landed on the ground beside
the lamb, and very timidly and softly she cooed: "Take me, too, king
lion, as the present for the owls and the hawks, and the weasels and
minks, because for them a lamb is too big. I am the best present for
them. Take me, king lion!"
Then the lion roared: "See what the lamb and the dove have done! My
food, oh, tigers and leopards and wolves and eagles and all your kind,
is like your food; but I would rather eat nothing from our Christmas
tree than take this lamb or dove for my present."
Then all the beasts kept still, because the lion roared so loud and
angrily, and the birds that were flying away settled on the branches
of the trees, and the gazelles stopped their running and turned their
heads to listen, and the rabbits peeped out through the grass and
brush where they had hid. Then the lion turned to the pig, and roared:
"See this lamb and this dove! Are you not ashamed for what you have
done? You have spoiled all our happiness. Will you take back your
choice, you pig, or do you wish to ruin our Christmas tree?"
"Grunt, grunt," said the pig, "it is my right. I want something good.
I don't care for your lambs and your doves. I want my swill!"
Then the lion roared again: "Have all chosen?" and all answered,
"Yes."
"Then," said the lion, "it is my choice."
And all said: "It is."
"I love fat and tender pigs. I choose a pig for my Christmas gift,"
roared the lion.
Did you ever hear a pig squeal? Oh, how that pig squealed then! And he
got up on his fat little legs and tried to run away, but all the
animals gathered around in a ring and the hyenas laughed, and the
jackals cried, and the dogs and the wolves and the foxes headed him
off and hunted the poor pig back again. Then, when the pig found that
he could not run away, he lay down on his back with his feet in the
air and squealed with all his might: "Oh, I don't want the swill; oh,
I don't want the swill! I take it all back! I don't want anything!"
But at first no one heard him, because all were talking at once in
their own way--barking and growling and roaring and chattering; but by
and by the lion saw that the pig was squealing something, so he roared
for silence, and then they all heard the pig squeal out that he did
not want any swill. And the lion roared aloud: "You have heard. Has
the owl recorded that the pig will have no swill?"
"Yes," said the owl.
"Then," said the lion, "record that the lion wants no pig."
Then the tiger growled: "And I want no calf," and one by one the
leopard and the eagle, the wolf and the fox, the hawk and owl, and
all their kind, took back their votes.
And so it came about that the animals did have a Christmas tree after
all; but instead of hanging lambs and doves upon the tree, they agreed
that they could hang little images of lambs and doves, and other birds
and animals, too, perhaps. And by and by the custom spread until the
humans came to hang the same little images on their trees, too, and
when you see a little figure of a lamb or a dove on the Christmas
tree, you may know that it is all because the lamb and the dove, by
their unselfishness, saved the animals from strife; for neither
thought what he wanted from the tree, but each was ready to give
himself for the others, so that they might not fight and kill one
another at the Christmas time.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
The Shepherds had an Angel,
The Wise Men had a star,
But what have I, a little child,
To guide me home from far,
Where glad stars sing together
And singing angels are?
Those Shepherds through the lonely night
Sat watching by their sheep,
Until they saw the heavenly host
Who neither tire nor sleep,
All singing "Glory, glory,"
In festival they keep.
The Wise Men left their country
To journey morn by morn,
With gold and frankincense and myrrh,
Because the Lord was born:
God sent a star to guide them
And sent a dream to warn.
My life is like their journey,
Their star is like God's book;
I must be like those good Wise Men
With heavenward heart and look:
But shall I give no gifts to God?--
What precious gifts they took!
Christina Rossetti.
HOLLY
Ada M. Marzials
Highty-tighty, Paradighty,
Clothed all in green.
The King could not read it
No more could the Queen.
They sent for a Wise Man out of the East,
Who said it had horns but was not a beast.
(_Old Riddle._)
There was once upon a time a very war-like kingdom where they had
never heard of Christmas. The men spent all their days fighting, and
the women spent _their_ days in urging the warriors to further deeds
of valour.
This had gone on for a very long time, and no one had ever yet said
that he was tired of it. There was but one person in the whole kingdom
who had openly declared that war was hateful, but as she was only the
Youngest Princess nobody paid any heed to her.
Then came a time, just before our Christmas Day, when the King was
preparing a great campaign against a far-off country. He called
together his Council of War--grave old warriors, dressed completely in
armour.
"My friends," said he, "we are about to wage war on the distant
kingdoms of Zowega. Up till this time the people of that country have
been our very good friends, but as we have now conquered all our
enemies, there seems no one but our friends left to fight, and of
these the King of the Zowegians is chief.
"You will remember that his youngest son, Prince Moldo, spent some of
his boyhood at our court in order to gain instruction in feats of
arms, and that the Prince left us to travel over the world. A few
months ago his father sent word to me that the Prince had returned
home, bringing with him the news of a Pearl of Great Price, which
contained the Secret of Happiness. It is this Pearl which I have made
the excuse for war, for I have demanded it in payment for the
services that we rendered to Prince Moldo. In my message I have said
that if the Pearl, and the Secret which it contains, are not brought
and revealed to us here within the next five days, our troops will
descend upon the kingdom of Zowega and wipe it off the face of the
earth."
Loud and long cheered the Council at the speech of their King, as,
indeed, was their duty, though in their hearts of hearts they had no
wish to fight against the King of the Zowegians, who was their very
good friend. The Queen and the Princesses smiled graciously upon them,
all save the Youngest Princess, who had been Prince Moldo's
playfellow. She disgraced herself by bursting into passionate tears,
and was forthwith ordered out of the Council Hall.
At the end of five days the Council once more assembled to await the
arrival of the messenger with the answer from the King of Zowega.
The day was bright and cold, and there was snow on the ground. The
King and Queen were wrapped in thick fur cloaks. The Princesses were
all assembled, too, even the Youngest, who was dressed in ermine and
looked as pale as death.
It was Christmas Eve, but there were no Christmas trees preparing and
no presents. No one was thinking of hanging his stockings up. The Hall
was not decorated, neither were the churches; indeed, there were no
churches to decorate, for, as you remember, the people in this kingdom
knew nothing about Christmas.
The Council sat and waited in the big bare Hall.
At last the great doors were flung open, there was a blast of
trumpets, and the messenger appeared.
He was tall and fair, and held himself proudly. His eyes were bright
and shining and there was a smile upon his face. He was completely
dressed in bright green and the Council noted with astonishment that
he was without armour of any kind. He wore neither breastplate, shield
nor helmet; he had neither sword by his side, nor spurs on his feet.
He was bare-headed, and in his right hand he carried something green,
horny and prickly, with little red dots on it.
Looking neither to the right nor to the left, he walked with firm and
steady step up the long Hall between the rows of armed warriors.
As he passed the Youngest Princess she blushed deeply, but he did not
seem to notice her.
When he reached the throne he bowed low before the King and Queen, and
laid the prickly object on the table before them.
"Your Majesty," said he in a clear, ringing voice. "From the King of
Zowega, greeting! He sends you this token. It is the symbol of the
Secret of Happiness."
The King stared, so did the Queen.
They had expected a Pearl of Great Price, accompanied by a scroll on
which was written the Secret of Happiness, and the King of Zowega had
sent them _this_!
Amid dead silence the King took the token up in his hands in order to
examine it more carefully.
He dropped it hastily, for it pricked him, and little drops of blood
were seen starting from his hand.