ran to the row of stockings he had hung on the mantelpiece as a decoy.
The stockings were empty.
With a shriek of disappointed rage, Ulie dashed into his parents' room
to protest.
Their bed was empty.
He ran through the house, stumbled down stairs and into the back
parlor. His father was snoring on a mattress of Yuletide parcels. His
mother was curled up on a divan under the smoking piano lamp. Her
hands were clutching strands of gold cord and her hair was pillowed in
pink tissue paper. She was burbling in her sleep.
Little Ulie bent down to hear what she was saying. He made out faintly;
"Mishing you a Werry Muschris and a Nappy Hoosier."
End of Project Gutenberg's Mrs. Budlong's Christmas Presents, by Rupert Hughes