_Before the curtain opens_, MOTHER GOOSE _comes out, and this is
what she says_:
Good evening, dear children. I see you are all expecting me to show you
a Christmas Play. Well, I have one ready, sure enough. And now let me
see, what shall I tell you about it? For one thing it will take place on
Christmas Eve, and then it will be all about Christmas, of course. The
first scene will be in the house, where a little girl and a little boy
live, with their father, who is a doctor, and their mother. It is
evening and the weather is very cold outside. The little girl and boy
are writing letters--can you guess to whom they are writing?--and the
mother is knitting, and the father is reading his newspaper; as you will
see in a moment for yourselves. So be very quiet, for now it is going to
begin.