All the children for miles around knew about this garden, of course,
but they had never seen it. There is a thick hedge of Christmas trees
all around it, and the gate where Santa Claus drives out is always
locked with a golden key the moment he goes through.
So you can imagine what excitement there was among the boys when this
notice was hung out on the hedge of Christmas trees:—
_Wanted_:—By the Christmas Monks, two _good_ boys to
help in garden work. Apply at the garden on April tenth.
The notice was hung out about five o’clock in the evening, one day in
February. By noon the next day all the neighborhood had seen it and
read it.
Oh, what fun it would be to work in the garden of the Christmas Monks!
There would be the dinner of roast goose and plum pudding every day.
There would be the Christmas bells and the Christmas candles every
night. And, of course, one could have all the toys he wanted, and pick
them out himself.
So, from that very minute until the tenth of April, the boys were as
good,—as good as gold.
Then, on the tenth of April, the big Santa Claus gate was opened, and
_such_ a crowd poured into the garden! The ground was plowed, but the
seed had not been planted, so they could walk about everywhere.
Two of the Christmas Monks sat on a throne trimmed so thick with
evergreens that it looked like a bird’s nest. They wore Christmas
wreaths on their heads, and their eyes twinkled merrily.
The little boys stood in a long row before them, and the fathers,
mothers, uncles, aunts, grandmothers, and grandfathers looked on.
It was very sad! One boy had taken eggs from a bird’s nest; and
another had frightened a cat. One boy didn’t help his mother, and
another didn’t take good care of his little brother.
At last there were only two boys left,—Peter and the Prince.
Now Peter was really and truly a good boy, and always had been. And of
course every one said the Prince was a good boy, because a King’s son
must be good. So the Monks chose Peter and the Prince to work in the
garden.
The next morning the two boys were dressed in white robes and green
wreaths like the Monks. Then the Prince was sent to plant Noah’s-Ark
seed and Peter was given picture-book seed.
Up and down they went, scattering the seeds. Peter sang a little song
to himself, but the Prince grumbled because they had not given him
gold-watch seed.
By noon Peter had planted all his picture books and fastened up the
card to mark them, but the Prince had planted only two rows of Noah’s
Arks.
“We are going to have trouble with this boy,” said the Monks to each
other. “We shall have to punish him.”
[Illustration]
So that day the Prince had no Christmas dinner, and the next morning he
finished planting the Noah’s-Ark seed.
But the very next day he was cross because he had to sow harmonicas
instead of toy pianos, and had to be punished again. And so it was
every other day through the whole summer.
So the Prince was very unhappy and wished he could run away, but Peter
had never been so happy in his life. He worked like a bee all day, and
loved to watch the Christmas gifts grow and blossom.
“They grow so slowly,” the Prince would say. “I thought I should have
a bushel of new toys every month and not one have I had yet.” Then he
would cry, and Peter would try to comfort him.
At last one day the Prince found a ladder in the tool house. The Monks
were in the chapel, singing Christmas carols, and Peter was tuning the
penny trumpets. It was a fine chance to run away. The Prince put the
ladder against the Santa Claus gate, climbed up to the top, and slid
down on the outside.