Show As Aunt Sus Susan n Saw Christmas D 13 ETHEL COOK WOT ImA T AUNT Niece Optimistic s U USA S A N Noue T Touched oue h- h hj ro j R. R Right Ig h t chuckled h u c k led Spot and and Was She s sa saiU a td Rewarded by Well 1 Im I'm ImA ImAged ln A Aged g ed R Relative e 1 not done for yet b even It If I 1 have been n p tty pretty sick They Compass P as needn't ec take It for Present Drew granted Im I'm a II s spent nt Prize Over old woman Why Boudoir Slippers Ill I'll go l to rr come spring I 1 Iut But ut nobody answered 1 Aunt Su Susan an for tor there was J only Imly the tile canary to hear Not Net being Interrupted by the canary a wise little lithe bird who knew Great Grent Aunt Susans Susan's ways nys she Me went on nil all to herself sitting Kitting bolt upright among her many lacy pillows In tn the the big bed Not much fun going alone how how- ever eer Wonder Vonder how Jessica or roily Polly now DOW would like traveling around with witha a cross old woman Guess Ill I'll think It over pretty well though before I ask either elthEr of ot em tm Then silence fell while Great Aunt Susan thought this question over over r should she ask one of ot her nieces great to see Europe under her care The canary swinging on his perch b t- tan began an to sing Mad had either Jessica Ica or folly Tolly heard what the canary had heard they would have hae begun to sing too For neither one of those these girls had ever eOr been n to Eu Europe rope or ever er traveled at all nil And with both It ft was the fondest dream They were cousins but how different differ ent Jessica lived on nn Elm lm street strett In a fashionable little house with her widowed wid wid- widowed owed td mother mothr and went nt to Miss Flak's Flaks finishing school Polly Tolly 1 lived way down below helow Church hill hili on a n street named Pearl It was nil a decent enough E f street trEl but far from fashionable and anel folly Tolly was n sophomore In high school lIE Her father was n a teacher In that same some high school and the smallness ss of his salary explains the s of their little house and Its location While Great Aunt Susan was sitting up lip In Ind l ft In her dark old mansion away In the tilE city thinking about Pollyand Polly Tolly and Jessica both those thoe girls strange to f say ay were thinking quite concen conen of ot her too For It was only a few days das to Christmas and It was their yearly habit to send this rich haughty old aunt a n Christmas present Jessica cried Oh mother r what a n bore beret I Well Veil Ill I'll go out and get the theold theold theold old thing her present right away awny and have hae It over o with But nut what can I 1 give her she has so much Jessica's mother answered wisely Well Weil dear It Isn't the gift that will wl matter to Aunt Susan Its It's the thought She has hns everything In the world of ot course Its It's only to let her i know you remember her her and so IJO she I nl 4 I ct 1 4 Well Dear It Isn't lant the Gift That Will Matter wont won't forget torget you you OU know All our hopes are on her ber not forgetting us remember re re- member Oh yes ys of ot course J Jessica pouted But nut what shall I 1 get t her Why ihy not I some home beautiful boudoir slippers Shell She'll probably be sick Kick a along along along long time Urne-If Urne If Indeed she ever er gets better an on Idea Idea boudoir boudoir slippers You ou are clever lIe mummy And Jessica ran off cIT to her Christmas shopping for Aunt Great Susan In the little brown hou house e on Pearl Tearl street treet the f same ame question was being asked 1 and rp answered Ioor Toor old thing 1 l roily Polly cried It to her hr If she Is so rich and andall andall all 1111 that I She's not got a I soul to love her and und Its It's almost Christmas Imagine Imagine Imag Imag- ine Christmas without lore lovet 1 Well Rell I cant can't l spend pend over o fifty cents even though I am nm so sorry for her I gave a o whole dollar to the Girl Scouts and after s 1 I wont won't have ha a II cent of ot allowance left Well ell get something cheerful whatever what ever per you oU do de Tolly's folly's mother exclaimed Nothing to remind her that she's nn an Invalid In Id I'd say Its It's the thou thought ht not the gift that counts But nut though this last was what Jessica's Jes Jos- sica's Ilca mother had said the motive was entirely different nt Tolly's folly's mother was not practical minded like She was Just a Ii simple kind hearted woman So Tolly ran away to Christmas shop for Great Aunt e Came Christmas day An And Great Great- Aunt Susan was wa u keeping her ber word She was showing em tm She Nhe had begun bw- bw run gun with her servant They were th he the only ones to observe e the furl fact that she he was up and dres dressed and do down don downstairs downstairs n stairs for Christmas dinner There Ml all In her grim solitude she surveyed her iier presents There were vre dozens and dozens dozE of ot them A table heaped and running over with pa parcels from all alt her hr hopeful relatives She smiled a 8 trifle wryly She came to her great nieces great presents pres pree- If eats the very Iry last lut of all They happened happened hap hap- 1 to be lying together at the bottom bot bot- bottom tom of ot the pile A footman was ons at ather ather ather her hand ready to help with the strings and the unfolding of ot paper But nut now Aunt Susan waved 8 VII him away Ill undo these myself she said In her hardened old heart there had always been a 8 spark of ot affection for tor these two to young nieces s whom she had not seen I since they were tre children She would like to undo their pre presents present tnt with her own hands hands to to get the personal flavor navor Jessica came first tint Off she tore tON the brown paper wrappings with Its po postmarks and ond address Out rolled a white paper parcel tied with everyday every everyday day white string The white paper r was as rather rathE-r wrinkled 1 and certainly slightly soiled Aunt Susan slipped 1 the string Into her lap rolled a 8 pair of ot soft gray gra silken liken boudoir slippers 0 1 mil milr r Then Came a Little White Box and andIn andIn andIn In the Box Dox a Compass hand embroidered with lavender flow now ers era and edged and lined with soft gray ray fur tur Lying in the heel of ot one of ot them was a calling card curd card s 's The surname surname sur sur- name was crossed out of ot course and scrawled In a careless artistic hand at the top was written Merry Christnia Christ Christ- mas nia Well Its It's certainly a 8 generous gift thought Great Aunt Susan For or I know they're not any too well troll off even eVE If It f they do manage e to keep kep up all appear appear- lur ances anes And very appropriate too too too- for an Invalid In She turned d to the other parcel Under the brown wrapping she found a neat square of ot white paper tied with silver Christmas cord Beneath Be He- nth neath that lay Iny tissue This tissue square was tied tlE-d with bright hollday holiday holl holi day dllY ribbon and sealed with Christmas Christ mas seals Then Ihen came a little white box bOL And In the box hox a compass I On the box was written in careful script script easy tasy for sick old eyes ejes to read For your our travels dear Aunt Susan 1 Your affectionate niece niece roily Tolly Humph I 1 said Great Aunt Susan But after a minute her eyes lYlS twinkled and her cheeks grew pinker That girls girl's got sense sense and and Christmas Christinas spirit too she fhe added That night she wrote a long letter to Tolly 1011 a letter all about a Journey she slie wanted her to go on with her old aunt Just as all soon ns liS she he had finished I with high school And the day after atler Christmas Polly folly In the little brown house nn un Tear Pearl arl street was caroling ot as gayly as ns the canary In the fine mansion in the city For her dream of dreams had come true Europe 1 Europe Europe Europe Eu rope she trilled But nut suddenly sud she stopped to ask aRk her mother Wit Why oh why did she choose e eme me But Tolly's mother couldn't answer answer an an- that Old Oid ladles Just take notions no no- notions lions I guess she said g l 1912 tS W nt rn N. N w Nc-w r p r Union I iA A A A A |