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Show :THE SPIRlfll 5oCHRISTMASi fLOCKVOOD f I UU tie village 1 jj hill tlie snow and -rj ice - covered Wv'fer houses seemed snug- lW ' 1 Kilns up togetlier rfJLffi among (lie fir tri.-s in 6W(J order to keep warm. Wa The fir trees locked ( thelr long arms to- ft-M$ gether and moved rest- y.CLl' lessly to and fro, moan- S ing now and then. Oth- WX er trees, hopelessly "3 hare and cold, shivered in the wind and crackled their Icy branches. The beautiful Lady of the Snow with nil her Snowflake Imps in attendance llitted about the village street, sliding gayly down the shop windows and flirting with the passers-by. passers-by. The Man and the Child made their way through the drifts toward the group of houses. The Child ran and danced about, now In front, now behind be-hind the Man, shouting and laughing. She loved the white old Winter and in return Winter had commanded all his subjects to be kind to her. So the Snow Lady kissed and caressed her and the Snowflakes played about her merrily, touching her cheeks softly and making them rosy. But the Man hated Winter and now he hurried along, giving no heed to the beauties about him, wishing only for the warm fire In his cottage. The ;;now Lady tried all her charms on him, but he only pulled his muffler tighter about his throat and his cap more lirmly upon ids head and went on. Then the Snowflake Imps Hew at him furiously. They stung his face and buried themselves inside his muf-ller. muf-ller. The North Wind tormented him, loo, blowing up his sleeves and twisting twist-ing his great coat about his knees until un-til he sUunhled and muttered under his breath. When the Child laughed at him and would have thrown snow in his face, he reproved her gruiTly. The Man was threshing over in his mind a question he had discussed with the Woman only the week before. They had decided to have no Christmas this year. It was foolish, very foolish to wear one's self out thinking and planning plan-ning presents for all one's relatives and friends for months before, and then perhaps not be ready when Christmas Christ-mas came. They would not allow their child to keep her belief in the foolish Santa Clause myth which they had told her so long ago. This was the hardest part, for both the Man and the Woman dreaded to tell the Child, and they put off the task : ? a The Child Ran and Danced About, Shouting and Laughing. as long as possible. Now It was Christmas Christ-mas Eve and the Man had promised to tell the Child as they visited the shops. Hut she had been so delighted with the nrray of toys heaped In windows and en counters, so happy in thinking S::nta would bring her some of these wonderful playthings, that he could not bring himself to tell her Santa would .never visit her again. And yet be must. She would soon get over the disappointment and be happier than ever, he told himself. Yes, it was the sensible thing to do, but he would wait and let the Woman tell her. As they neared the cottages the Child threw out her arms joyously as though she would embrace the whole world of Snowflakes before she left them. And they, wild with delight, fought for r place upon her little hood :ind shoulders that she might carry them away with her. "Oh, Mother, Mother, the Snowflakes have played with me and have told me the prettiest stories," cried the Child as she drew the Woman's hand across her cold, damp cheek. "And I have seen Santa Claus. He is visiting the shops now but he promised to come here tonight." She stood on her toes and clapped her hands In her excitement, excite-ment, and the words tumbled ovtfr one another as she tried to tell of all the beautiful toys she had seen. The Woman sighed and looked reproachfully re-proachfully at the Man. So he had not told the Child. Why did he alwayi put It off and leave it for her to dol The long discussions on the subject the dread of spoiling the Child's happiness happi-ness and the arguments as to which should tell her, had unsettled the Woman, usually so gentle and ever tempered. She was vexed. She turned to the Child wearily, a little impatiently. impatient-ly. She would tell her now. "Dear, haven't you learned yet thai there Is no Santa Claus? You will not hang up your stockings tonight, for he Isn't coming to till them." Then as the Child stood looking at her with wild, wondering eyes, she exclaimed, ex-claimed, "Why do you stare at rue sol Don't you see we have been playing make-believe with you all these yearsl There Is no Santa Claus, and you are old enough now to forget such foolish stories. It Is expensive and tiresome to keep up this farce and we have decided de-cided never to have Christmas again." To the Child It was all a strange muddle. Something dreadful had happened, hap-pened, but as yet she could not understand under-stand what it was. "No Santa But I have Just seen him, Mother. He talked to me this afternoon af-ternoon at the shops." Wrought up as she was, the Woman's Wom-an's voice sounded cold and unfeeling. "Go to bed now. You will understand better In the morning." The Child obeyed silently. All her Joyousness was gone. The laughter had died out of her eyes and in its place "I Wish We Had Never Heard of Christmas!" there was wonder and hurt. But she could not talk about it now. When the Woman left her in the white bed by the window, she cautiously cautious-ly opened it so the Snowflakes could come in. And then, with a great sob, she told them her troubles. In the big room with the bay window, win-dow, the Man paced restlessly back and forth and the Woman sat by the table with workbasket and mending. But her hands lay listlessly in her lap and she gazed into the fire. Once her face brightened and she murmured aloud, "But Father and Mother never forgot us, and of course they will send something for the Child" The Man wheeled about with a scowl. "We won't receive anything from them. Do you think we would accept presents, when we are not sending send-ing any? I have written them that we are not to have any more Christmas celebrations." "Oh," gasped the Woman. "You do not mean we must send back everything every-thing we get?" The Man hesitated. Then, as though he were sick of the subject, "I don't know. It is all your doing. It is you who has nervous prostration at Christmas Christ-mas after worrying about presents." "I do not," she denied hotly. "And you suggested this anyway. I wish we had never heard of Christmas I" Their Christmas Eve was spent In quarreling, and that night they dreamed of horrible plots that Santa was planning against them. A pale moon with icicles on his whiskers whis-kers watched over the little village. The Snow Lady was asleep and the Snowflake Imps had settled down to rest. One cottage gleamed colder and whiter than the others and seemed to stand apart as though not of them. The Spirit of Christmas tried the door softly. "Why, it is barred against me !" he' murmured sadly. "This will never do." So he walked about looking for a place to get In until he came to the window where the Child slept. Tenderly Ten-derly he sprinkled happiness and joy upon her until her lips parted in a smile. Then he flew past her to when the Man and the Woman slenr. T them he gave of all his essences. The Woman wakened first, and witt strange new feelings, she called the Man. They gazed long at each other. "Merry Christmas," whispered the Woman. And with wonder and joy, peace and good will all mingled together, the Man took her in his arms. "We must have Christmas, after all,' he said. And the Woman nodded, hei eyes beaming with happiness. "I musl go to the shops and bring Santa Claus for the Child before she wakes." "Wait," cried the Woman, and laugh ing, she brought from their hiding place an assortment of beautiful toys "Mother and Father sent them and 1 just couldn't send them back." With shining faces and happy hearts the Man and the Woman hung stockings stock-ings by the fireplace and heaped then with playthings. "We will tell her she had a bad d-reiuu," said the Man. "No," said the Woman softly. "Wl will tell her that Santa is the foo Christmas fairy, who will always Ix welcome here." B, 1924, Wuura Newspaper Unloa.) |