OCR Text |
Show SIP Daddy's i0dEkiii$ Fairy Tale 5y AARY GRAHAM BOWER n vnuiN wwuni union - CHRISTMAS SONG Billy and Betsy and Joe were open-In open-In iboir ctTipl.-in p-s. By them was a tall Christmas tree which reached to the ceiling. On it was popcorn which looked so pretty and white against the dark green of the tree. And there were red berries strung between the strings of popcorn. pop-corn. There were also popcorn balls, gold and silver tinsel, candy bags, Into the House He animals made of Brought Him. colored candy, canes made of candy and candies of all colors. On the very top of the tree was a funny old clown who looked down and grinned at them all. Of course he couldn't do anything else but grin! That. was the way he was made. But he seemed quite happy just the same. And even the candy animals looked quite pleased to be hanging on a Christmas tree. They were made of red and yellow and pink-colored candies and some of them carried baskets. They were made in the shapes of dogs and cats and elephants and many other kinds of animals. Well, Betsy and Billy and Joe had so much to look at that they hardly knew where to begin. How good Santa San-ta Claus had been to them! Outside the wind was howling and the snow was beating against the window panes. "I thought I heard a little cry," said Betsy looking up from the new doll she had just discovered. "What could it have been?" asked Billy. "The snow," suggested Joe, who was very young and round and who had Just learned bow to say 'snow.' Both the children laughed, and again Betsy heard the cry. She put her face to the window pane, and there huddled in a corner of the shutter was a tii y white bird. He was half frozen and his littla wings shook with misery and cold. "Oh. you. poor birdie." sair1 Betsy. "Where?" asked Billy. "Do you see here?" said Betsy. Billy made a little clear space on the window pane so he could look out, and then he saw the little bird, too. "We must get him," he said. So Billy put on his tall boots and a heavy coat, and out he stepped into the deep snow. "Oh," shivered their mother and daddy, as a great blast of the cold wind rushed in. "How that little bird must have suffered." suf-fered." said Betsy. At last Billy had taken him In his hands and into the house he brought him. "We had better not let him get warm too quickly." he said. So by degrees he dried the feathers of the little white bird and warmed him in bis hands. The bird moaned a little at first, but soon he began to chirp. They gave him some warm milk and n little bit of soaked bread crumbs. Soon he was hopping about and seemed as tame as could be. "I think he knows his friends," said Betsy. "Indeed he does," said Billy. "He understands." At that moment he flew from Billy to Joe and stood perched on his shoulder. shoul-der. And what should he seem to notice nil of a sudden but the big Christmas tree. lie gave a little shake of his wings and soon be had flown up to the topmost top-most branch and was looking at the clown. The clown, of course, still grinned, and the little bird cocked his head from one side to the o t h e r, a s though to say: "What Is this tree doing In n house?" Then he decided decid-ed that e v e n though It was a very queer place to have a tree It was a nice place on a cold, snowy day, and he sang the most glorious song the children had evei heard. His little throat lis: tremiue.i as no The Topmost . sang, and his song Branch, sounded so happy and gay while ho trilled the notes. "I know what he's singing to us, said Betsy. "What?" they all asked. "lie's wishing us n Merry Christmas Christ-mas because we saved him und he knows he will be free again Just as soon us he wishes. But that's the name of his Merry Christmas" |