Cole's Funny Picture Book No. 1
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name;
"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall,
Now, dash away, dash away, dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew,
With a sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too;
And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound,
He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack,
His eyes, how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.
He was chubby and plump--a right jolly old elf--
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle;
But I heard him exclaim ere he drove out sight;
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
Clement C. Moore
What Santa Claus Brings
Lovely little girls and boys,
Santa brings all sorts of toys.
Boxes filled with wooden bricks,
Monkeys climbing yellow sticks.
Dollies' houses painted red,
Tiny soldiers made of lead,
Noah's Arks, and Ninepins too,
Jack in boxes, painted blue.
Cups and Saucers, Pots and Pans,
China figures, Chinese fans,
Railway trains, with Tops and Tables,
Fairy Tales and Aesop's Fables,
Clockwork Mice, and Coloured Marbles
Painted Bird that sweetly warbles,
Dolls of every age and size,
With flaxen hair and moving eyes.
Cows and horses, Chickens, Cats,
Rattles, Windmills, Boats and Bats,
Ducks and Geese, and golden Fishes,
Skipping ropes and copper Dishes.
Books and coloured pictures, too,
And a thousand other things for you;
Dainty maidens, merry boys,
Santa brings all sorts of toys.
Little Mary
Dear little Mary,
With eyes so blue,
What has Santa Claus
Brought for you?
He has brought me a cup,
And a curly sheep,
And a cradle where dolly
May go to sleep.
The best of all
Is this funny box
That winds with a key
Just like the clocks.
And when you've wound
The spring up tight,
The monkey dances
With all his might,
And Fido barks
And the puppies play:
We're all very happy
This Christmas day.
Christmas
Dainty little stockings
Hanging in a row,
Blue, and grey, and scarlet,
In the firelight's glow.
Curly-pated sleepers
Safely tucked in bed;
Dreams of wondrous toy-shops
Dancing through each head.
Funny little stockings
Hanging in a row
Stuffed with sweet surprises,
Down from top to toe.
Skates, and balls, and trumpets,
Dishes, tops, and drums,
Books and dolls and candles,
Nuts and sugar-plums.
Little sleepers waking:
Bless me, what a noise!
Wish you merry Christmas,
Happy girls and boys!
The Nursery
[Page 76--Santa Claus Land]
Christmas
When the children have been good,
That is, be it understood,
Good at meal-times, good at play,
Good all night and good all day,--
They shall have the pretty things
Merry Christmas always brings.
A Christmas Eve Adventure
Once on a time, in a queer little town,
On the shore of the Zuyder Zee,
When all the good people were fast asleep,
A strange thing happened to me.
Alone, the night before Christmas,
I sat by the glowing fire,
Watching the flame as it rose and fell,
While the sparks shot high and higher.
Suddenly one of these sparks began
To flicker and glimmer and wink
Like a big bright eye, till I hardly knew
What to do or to say or to think.
Quick as a flash, it changed to a face,
And what in the world did I see
But dear old Santa Claus nodding his head,
And waving his hand to me!
"Oh! follow me, follow me!" soft he cried,--
And up through the chimney with him
I mounted, not daring to utter a word
Till we stood on the chimney's rim.
"Now tell me, I beg you, dear Santa Claus,
Where am I going with you?"
He laughingly answered, "Why, don't you know?
To travel the whole world through!
"From my crystal palace, far in the North,
I have come since dark,--and see
These curious things for the little folk
Who live on the Zuyder Zee."
Then seating himself in his reindeer sledge,
And drawing me down by his side,
He whistled, and off on the wings of the wind
We flew for our midnight ride.
But first, such comical presents he left
For the little Dutch girls and boys,--
Onions and sausages, wooden-faced dolls,
Cheeses and gingerbread toys!
Away we hurried far to the South,
To the beautiful land of France;
And there we showered the loveliest gifts,--
Flaxen-haired dolls that could dance.
Soldiers that marched at the word of command,
Necklaces, bracelets and rings,
Tiny gold watches, all studded with gems,
And hundreds of exquisite things.
Crossing the Channel, we made a short call
In Scotland and Ireland, too;
Left a warm greeting for England and Wales,
Then over the ocean we flew
Straight to America, where by myself,
Perched on a chimney high,
I watched him scramble and bustle about
Between the earth and the sky.
Many a stocking he filled to the brim,
And numberless Christmas trees
Burst into bloom at his magical touch!
Then all of a sudden a breeze
Caught us and bore us away to the South,
And afterwards blew us "out West;"
And never till dawn peeped over the hills
Did we stop for a moment's rest.
"Christmas is coming!" he whispered to me,
"You can see his smile in the sky,--
I wish Merry Christmas to all the world!
My work is over,--good-bye!"
Like a flash he was gone, and I was alone,--
For all of this happened to me
Once on a time, in a queer little town
On the shore of the Zuyder Zee!
M. M.
Little Bennie
I had told him, Christmas morning,
As he sat upon my knee,
Holding fast his little stockings,
Stuffed as full as can be,
And attentive listening to me,
With a face demure and mild,
That old Santa Claus, who filled them,
Did not love a naughty child.
"But we'll be good, won't we, moder?"
And from off my lap he slid,
Digging deep among the goodies
In his crimson stockings hid.
While I turned me to my table,
Where a tempting goblet stood,
Brimming high with a dainty custard,
Sent me by a neighbour good.
But the kitten, there before me,
With his white paw, nothing loth,
Sat, by way of entertainment,
Lapping off the shining froth;
And, in not the gentlest humour
At the loss of such a treat,
I confess I rather rudely
Thrust him out into the street.
Then how Bennie's blue eyes kindled;
Gathering up the precious store
He had busily been pouring
In his tiny pinafore,
With a generous look that shamed me
Sprang he from the carpet bright,
Showing, by his mien indignant,
All a baby's sense of right.
"Come back Harney," called he loudly,
As he held his apron white,
"You shall have my candy wabbit;"
But the door was fastened tight.
So he stood, abashed and silent,
In the centre of the floor,
With defeated look, alternate
Bent on me and on the door.
Then, as by some sudden impulse,
Quickly ran he to the fire,
And while eagerly his bright eyes
Watched the flames grow high and higher,
In a brave, clear key he shouted,
Like some lordly little elf,
"Santa Kaus, come down the chimney,
Make my mother 'have herself."
"I'll be a good girl, Bennie,"
Said I, feeling the reproof;
And straightway recalled poor Harney,
Mewing on the galley roof.
Soon the anger was forgotten,
Laughter chased away the frown,
And they gambolled 'neath the live oaks,
Till the dusky night came down.
In my dim, fire-lighted chamber
Harney purred beneath my chair,
And my play-worn boy beside me
Knelt to say his evening prayer:
"God bess fader, God bess moder,
God bess sister," then a pause,
And the sweet young lips devoutly
Murmured "God bess Santa Kaus."
He is sleeping: brown and silken
Lie the lashes, long and meek,
Like caressing, clinging shadows,
On his plump and peachy cheek;
And I bend above him, weeping,
Thankful tears; O undefiled;
For a woman's crown of glory,
For the blessing of a child.
Annie C. Ketchum
[Page 77--Santa Claus Land]
Old Santa Claus
Old Santa Claus sat alone in his den,
With his leg crossed over his knee;
While a comical look peeped out at his eyes,
For a funny old fellow was he.
His queer little cap was tumbled and torn,
And his wig it was all awry;
But he sat and mused the whole day long,
While the hours went flying by.
He had been busy as busy can be,
In filling his pack with toys;
He had gathered his nuts and baked his pies,
To give to the girls and boys.
There were dolls for the girls, and whips for the boys,
With wheelbarrows, horses and drays,
And bureaus and trunks for Dolly's new clothes;
All these in his pack he displays.
Of candy too, both twisted and striped,
He had furnished a plentiful store,
While raisins and figs, and prunes and grapes,
Hung up on a peg by the door.
"I am almost ready," quoth he, quoth he,
"And Christmas is almost here;
But one thing more--I must write a book,
And give to each one this year."
So he clapped his specs on his little round nose,
And seizing the stump of a pen,
He wrote more lines in one little hour
Than you ever could write in ten.
He told them stories all pretty and new,
And wrote them all out in rhyme;
Then packed them away with his box of toys
To distribute one at a time.
And Christmas Eve, when all were in bed,
Right down the chimney he flew;
And stretching the stocking-leg out at the top,
He clapped in a book for you.
Santa Claus and the Mouse
One Christmas Eve, when Santa Claus
Came to a certain house,
To fill the children's stockings there,
He found a little mouse.
"A merry Christmas, little friend,"
Said Santa, good and kind.
"The same to you, sir!" said the mouse,
"I thought you wouldn't mind
If I should stay awake to night,
And watch you for a while."
"You're very welcome, little mouse,"
Said Santa, with a smile.
And then he filled the stockings up,