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Show . l MERE bad beet) few changes- lr vSL the house. The house was very J old. but It was beautiful with , the mellow dignity of age. It hud seen so much, it had heard so much that it felt not only old but wise and understanding, perhaps It was not even age that it felt. With so much youth and romance and gayety coming into the house from time to time it felt young and rorr.an tic and gay itself. But this year It was worried. The house believed In tradition, In memory, mem-ory, In sentiment, in anniversary. Pur-ticularly Pur-ticularly the house believed in Christ in as. Every Christmas it had been decorated. deco-rated. Green wreaths had been hung In every window. Great branches of pine had hung over the ancestral portraits por-traits which were heavy enough to bear them. Smaller pictures were given smaller sprays of green. Red candles were lighted in the candlesticks candle-sticks on the niauelpieee every Christ mas eve. Every Christmas eve there had always been some members of the family who had moved away and had come back. The house listened silently, silent-ly, expectantly for the whistle oi the train on Christmas eve. Then for the noise of sleigh bells and the crackle of the sleigh stopping In front of the house to let out its family members who had Journeyed back home for Christmas. Of recent years it had been an automobile au-tomobile that had honked and stopped before the house. The house liked a sleigh better. But still it kept up with the times. It liked having an automobile automo-bile In front of its door during the summer and It liked the arrival of the automobile at Christmas time. It was not this modern invention that had bothered the house this year. It was something else. For years and years and years there had been a little piece of mistletoe mistle-toe bung under the old lamp In the front hall. It was a funny old lump. It had pictures on Its four glass sides and It was really the lamp holder, for every evening just at dusk one of the members of the family would come out and pull the lump bolder down on Its workable chain and tip the lighted lump just enough and most carefully so It would III inside. Then back up the lump was pulled again, i-'rotu this hud always hung the mistletoe. Mistletoe was sometimes hard to gel. bin a little piece hail always been obtained. One year there had been only two white berries on the mistletoe, mistle-toe, bin this year In spile of a greu predominance of green (here were Ave white berries. So It was not this thai worried the house. It was because there was no longer a lamp The lamp holder was there, hanging In the front hall, bul II hud been fastened i so thai II stayed up all the time now. It didn't have to be pulled down There wus an electric globe In It anr It wus turned on by a button on the side of the wall. It was this electric light thut both ered the house. Somehow II seemed Particularly the House Believed in Christmas as though the nilslleloe hung from the electric light would not be so roniiin tic. It was such a change. And ro manie, the house fell, was not sotne thing lo he changed In a twinkling. In Hie turning of the hiitton. However, the mistletoe hung there, hung there us best It coulel wllh lis red ribbon attachment, lis large amount of pale-green leaves, lis line while berries. The train wus n minute nhciul i.l I time. Trains were nol apl to he iihenil of (line. P. ut Ihls lime II was, for ihc clock had said 7:1-1 and (lie train was nol due lo arrive until 7:ir. And he clock could not make a mistake. Not now aflei II hud Jusl been up the street so ruefully lo vlsll the very best and oldesl clock mender In town Down came Hie niitonicilille In cntui' the people. Oayely. Iiniglilei, mcrrl ineni rang otil through iho old house, echoed up and hack fi'oin the greal high celling, resounded through the man;, rooms. "I low wonderfully the house Is dee oraled. It never looke.l lovelier Ihiin II duos Ihls year." Every year the honfe hud heard ihose words. Every year (he house wus morn anil more pleased wllh 'be compliment. Every yeai Ihose airlv Ing from away felt that they had never seen the house look so lovely. Every year those who had decoruled It felt they had never done so fine a Job. The presents were opened in front of the fire. Then the candles were put out for they must be lighted again on Christmas night. They must not all burn out In one evening. That was the custom. There wus a slight lull after the excitement ex-citement of the opening of the presents. pres-ents. And then came a ring at the old door bell. Sometimes the old door bell stayed out when it was pulled out, but on the whole It was a very good door bell In spite of its great age. Besides, didn't the members of the family always look after the door bell? Didn't they always push it In if they found It out when they were coming home, and didn't thev an nounce -as they got inside "That was only my pushing the bell In. I found It out." Oh, most of the time the door bell worked beautifully. This time It fairly fair-ly burst Itself with the laughing ring that It gave. "A caller," said the house to Itself. "A caller," said the family to one another "It's pretty lute. Who can It be? Bui let us see. Our lights are ull lighted. Whoever It was couldn't help but see that we are up, and people peo-ple know how late we sit up Christmas Christ-mas eve." The door was opened. One of the youngest members of the family opened the door. Not one of the chll- gg. W Joan's Heart Sang a Quiet, Happy Little Song. dren they were in bed. But one of the youngest members just the same-It same-It was Joan who had opened the door. Joan with her bright color and blond hair and blue eyes and jolly, skipping little laugh. You thought of water skipping over pebbles In a brook when you heard Joan laugh. "Oh," Joan said. "Oh," she said again. The family Inside were wondering why Joan didn't bring the caller Inside. In-side. Or was It Just a message perhaps. per-haps. Or was It a lute puckage7 Or was It a mistake? Or what? "Oh," Joan said, still holding opeo the door. "Oh." said Joan again. "Joun, Merry Christians. Do let's make up. I can't see a future without with-out you. I love you so much." Oh, how Joan's heart sung a quiet, happy little song ull to Itself. It was wonderful to think he would never be happy wilhout her. The thought of his unhnppiness without her made her rejoice 1 It hud been a stupid quarrel It had been hard saying such mean things when both of them knew they didn't menu iu "Joun!" He cuught sight ot the mistletoe. And the house fnlrl creaked aloud with excitement. The electric globe In the old lump ho'der made no difference. Nothing made any difference. Here was youth and romance ro-mance and gayety. Here was the mistletoe mis-tletoe Inspiring what every true mistletoe mis-tletoe should Inspire. "Joan," called the family from within. with-in. "Who Is there?" "Barry," she answered. "He's taking tak-ing off his coat." Barry took off his coat then and went inside. They were clasping hands. The mistletoe looked quite elated. "I did u good job," the mistletoe said "patched up a quarrel and renewed re-newed a romance." "Good work," said the bouse. "I approve of you." "Merry Christmas." the mistletoe ended. (cX ly-8. Western Newspaper Union.) |