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***The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Birds' Christmas Carol***
#2 in our series by Kate Douglas Wiggin
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The Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
November, 1996 [Etext #721]
***The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Birds' Christmas Carol***
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THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS CAROL
BY KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN
To
The Three Dearest Children in the World,
BERTHA, LUCY, AND HORATIO.
"O little ones, ye cannot know
The power with which ye plead,
Nor why, as on through life we go,
The little child doth lead."
CONTENTS
I. A LITTLE SNOW-BIRD
II. DROOPING WINGS
III. THE BIRD'S NEST
IV. "BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER"
V. SOME OTHER BIRDS ARE TAUGHT TO FLY
VI. "WHEN THE PIE WAS OPENED,
THE BIRDS BEGAN TO SING"
VII. THE BIRDLING FLIES AWAY
The Birds' Christmas Carol.
I.
A LITTLE SNOW BIRD.
It was very early Christmas morning, and in the stillness of the
dawn, with the soft snow falling on the housetops, a little child
was born in the Bird household.
They had intended to name the baby Lucy, if it were a girl; but
they hadn't expected her on Christmas morning, and a real
Christmas baby was not to be lightly named--the whole family
agreed in that.
They were consulting about it in the nursery. Mr. Bird said that
he had assisted in naming the three boys, and that he should
leave this matter entirely to Mrs. Bird; Donald wanted the child
called "Maud," after a pretty little curly-haired girl who sat
next him in school; Paul chose "Luella," for Luella was the nurse
who had been with him during his whole babyhood, up to the time
of his first trousers, and the name suggested all sorts of
comfortable things. Uncle Jack said that the first girl should
always be named for her mother, no matter how hideous the name
happened to be.
Grandma said that she would prefer not to take any part in the
discussion, and everybody suddenly remembered that Mrs. Bird had
thought of naming the baby Lucy, for Grandma herself; and, while
it would be indelicate for her to favor that name, it would be
against human nature for her to suggest any other, under the
circumstances.
Hugh, the "hitherto baby," if that is a possible term, sat in one
corner and said nothing, but felt, in some mysterious way, that
his nose was out of joint; for there was a newer baby now, a
possibility he had never taken into consideration; and the "first
girl," too, a still higher development of treason, which made
him actually green with jealousy.
But it was too profound a subject to be settled then and there,
on the spot; besides, Mama had not been asked, and everybody felt
it rather absurd, after all, to forestall a decree that was
certain to be absolutely wise, just and perfect.
The reason that the subject had been brought up at all so early
in the day lay in the fact that Mrs. Bird never allowed her
babies to go over night unnamed. She was a person of so great
decision of character that she would have blushed at such a
thing; she said that to let blessed babies go dangling and
dawdling about without names, for months and months, was enough
to ruin them for life. She also said that if one could not
make up one's mind in twenty-four hours it was a sign
that--but I will not repeat the rest, as it might prejudice you
against the most charming woman in the world.
So Donald took his new velocipede and went out to ride up and
down the stone pavement and notch the shins of innocent people as
they passed by, while Paul spun his musical top on the front
steps.
But Hugh refused to leave the scene of action. He seated himself
on the top stair in the hall, banged his head against the railing
a few times, just by way of uncorking the vials of his wrath, and
then subsided into gloomy silence, waiting to declare war if more
"first girl babies" were thrust upon a family already surfeited
with that unnecessary article.
Meanwhile dear Mrs. Bird lay in her room, weak, but safe and
happy with her sweet girl baby by her side and the heaven of
motherhood opening before her. Nurse was making gruel in the
kitchen, and the room was dim and quiet. There was a cheerful
open fire in the grate, but though the shutters were closed, the
side windows that looked out on the Church of our Saviour, next
door, were wide open.
Suddenly a sound of music poured out into the bright air and
drifted into the chamber. It was the boy-choir singing Christmas
anthems. Higher and higher rose the clear, fresh voices, full of
hope and cheer, as children's voices always are. Fuller and
fuller grew the burst of melody as one glad strain fell upon
another in joyful harmony:
"Carol, brothers, carol,
Carol joyfully,
Carol the good tidings,
Carol merrily!
And pray a gladsome Christmas
For all your fellow-men;
Carol, brothers, carol,
Christmas Day again."
One verse followed another always with the same
glad refrain:
"And pray a gladsome Christmas
For all your fellow-men:
Carol, brothers, carol,
Christmas Day again."
Mrs. Bird thought, as the music floated in upon her gentle sleep,
that she had slipped into heaven with her new baby, and that the
angels were bidding them welcome. But the tiny bundle by her
side stirred a little, and though it was scarcely more than the
ruffling of a feather, she awoke; for the mother-ear is so close
to the heart that it can hear the faintest whisper of a child.
She opened her eyes and drew the baby closer. It looked like a
rose dipped in milk, she thought, this pink and white blossom of
girlhood, or like a pink cherub, with its halo of pale yellow
hair, finer than floss silk.
"Carol, brothers, carol,
Carol joyfully,
Carol the good tidings,
Carol merrily!"
The voices were brimming over with joy.
"Why, my baby," whispered Mrs. Bird in soft surprise, "I had
forgotten what day it was. You are a little Christmas child, and
we will name you 'Carol'--mother's little Christmas Carol!"
"What!" said Mr. Bird, coming in softly and closing
the door behind him.
"Why, Donald, don't you think 'Carol' is a sweet name for a
Christmas baby? It came to me just a moment ago in the singing
as I was lying here half asleep and half awake."
"I think it is a charming name, dear heart, and that it sounds
just like you, and I hope that, being a girl, this baby has some
chance of being as lovely as her mother," at which speech from
the baby's papa, Mrs. Bird, though she was as weak and tired as
she could be, blushed with happiness.
And so Carol came by her name.
Of course, it was thought foolish by many people, though Uncle
Jack declared laughingly that it was very strange if a whole
family of Birds could not be indulged in a single Carol; and
Grandma, who adored the child, thought the name much more
appropriate than Lucy, but was glad that people would probably
think it short for Caroline.
Perhaps because she was born in holiday time, Carol was a very
happy baby. Of course, she was too tiny to understand the joy of
Christmas-tide, but people say there is everything in a good
beginning, and she may have breathed-in unconsciously the
fragrance of evergreens and holiday dinners; while the peals of
sleigh-bells and the laughter of happy children may have fallen
upon her baby ears and wakened in them a glad surprise at the
merry world she had come to live in.
Her cheeks and lips were as red as holly berries; her hair was
for all the world the color of a Christmas candle-flame; her eyes
were bright as stars; her laugh like a chime of Christmas bells,
and her tiny hands forever outstretched in giving.
Such a generous little creature you never saw! A spoonful of
bread and milk had always to be taken by Mama or nurse before
Carol could enjoy her supper; and whatever bit of cake or
sweetmeat found its way into her pretty fingers, it was
straightway broken in half and shared with Donald, Paul or Hugh;
and, when they made believe nibble the morsel with affected
enjoyment, she would clap her hands and crow with delight. "Why
does she do it?" asked Donald, thoughtfully; "None of us boys
ever did." "I hardly know," said Mama, catching her darling to
her heart, "except that she is a little Christmas child, and so
she has a tiny share of the blessedest birthday the world ever
saw!"
II.
DROOPING WINGS.
It was December, ten years later. Carol had seen nine Christmas
trees lighted on her birthdays, one after another; nine times she
had assisted in the holiday festivities of the household, though
in her babyhood her share of the gayeties was somewhat limited.
For five years, certainly, she had hidden presents for Mama and
Papa in their own bureau drawers, and harbored a number of
secrets sufficiently large to burst a baby's brain, had it not
been for the relief gained by whispering them all to Mama, at
night, when she was in her crib, a proceeding which did not in
the least lessen the value of a secret in her innocent mind.
For five years she had heard "'Twas the night before Christmas,"
and hung up a scarlet stocking many sizes too large for her, and
pinned a sprig of holly on her little white night gown, to show
Santa Claus that she was a "truly" Christmas child, and dreamed
of fur-coated saints and toy-packs and reindeer, and wished
everybody a "Merry Christmas" before it was light in the morning,
and lent every one of her new toys to the neighbors' children
before noon, and eaten turkey and plum pudding, and gone to bed
at night in a trance of happiness at the day's pleasures.
Donald was away at college now. Paul and Hugh were great manly
fellows, taller than their mother. Papa Bird had grey hairs in
his whiskers; and Grandma, God bless her, had been four
Christmases in heaven. But Christmas in the Birds' Nest was
scarcely as merry now as it used to be in the bygone years, for
the little child that once brought such an added blessing to the
day, lay, month after month, a patient, helpless invalid, in the
room where she was born.
She had never been very strong in body, and it was with a pang of
terror her mother and father noticed, soon after she was five
years old, that she began to limp, ever so slightly; to complain
too often of weariness, and to nestle close to her mother, saying
she "would rather not go out to play, please." The illness was
slight at first, and hope was always stirring in Mrs. Bird's
heart. "Carol would feel stronger in the summer-time;" or, "She
would be better when she had spent a year in the country;" or,
"She would outgrow it;" or, "They would try a new physician;" but
by and by it came to be all too sure that no physician save One
could make Carol strong again, and that no "summer-time" nor
"country air," unless it were the everlasting summer-time in a
heavenly country, could bring back the little girl to health.
The cheeks and lips that were once as red as holly-berries faded
to faint pink; the star-like eyes grew softer, for they often
gleamed through tears; and the gay child-laugh, that had been
like a chime of Christmas bells, gave place to a smile so lovely,
so touching, so tender and patient, that it filled every corner
of the house with a gentle radiance that might have come from the
face of the Christ-child himself.
Love could do nothing; and when we have said that we have said
all, for it is stronger than anything else in the whole wide
world. Mr. and Mrs. Bird were talking it over one evening when
all the children were asleep. A famous physician had visited
them that day, and told them that sometime, it might be in one
year, it might be in more, Carol would slip quietly off into
heaven, whence she came.
"Dear heart," said Mr. Bird, pacing up and down the library
floor, "it is no use to shut our eyes to it any longer; Carol
will never be well again. It almost seems as if I could not bear
it when I think of that loveliest child doomed to lie there day
after day, and, what is still more, to suffer pain that we are
helpless to keep away from her. Merry Christmas, indeed; it
gets to be the saddest day in the year to me!" and poor Mr. Bird
sank into a chair by the table, and buried his face in his hands,
to keep his wife from seeing the tears that would come in spite
of all his efforts. "But, Donald, dear," said sweet Mrs. Bird,
with trembling voice, "Christmas day may not be so merry with us
as it used, but it is very happy, and that is better, and very
blessed, and that is better yet. I suffer chiefly for Carol's
sake, but I have almost given up being sorrowful for my own. I
am too happy in the child, and I see too clearly what she has
done for us and for our boys."
"That's true, bless her sweet heart," said Mr. Bird; "she has
been better than a daily sermon in the house ever since she was
born, and especially since she was taken ill."
"Yes, Donald and Paul and Hugh were three strong, willful,
boisterous boys, but you seldom see such tenderness, devotion,
thought for others and self-denial in lads of their years. A
quarrel or a hot word is almost unknown in this house. Why?
Carol would hear it, and it would distress her, she is so full of
love and goodness. The boys study with all their might and main.
Why? Partly, at least, because they like to teach Carol, and
amuse her by telling her what they read. When the seamstress
comes, she likes to sew in Miss Carol's room, because there she
forgets her own troubles, which, Heaven knows, are sore enough!
And as for me, Donald, I am a better woman every day for Carol's
sake; I have to be her eyes, ears, feet, hands--her strength, her
hope; and she, my own little child, is my example!"
"I was wrong, dear heart," said Mr. Bird more cheerfully; "we
will try not to repine, but to rejoice instead, that we have an
'angel of the house' like Carol."
"And as for her future," Mrs. Bird went on, "I think we need not
be over-anxious. I feel as if she did not belong altogether to
us, and when she has done what God sent her for, He will take her
back to Himself--and it may not be very long!" Here it was poor
Mrs. Bird's turn to break down, and Mr. Bird's turn to comfort
her.
III.
THE BIRD'S NEST.
Carol herself knew nothing of motherly tears and fatherly
anxieties; she lived on peacefully in the room where she was
born.
But you never would have known that room; for Mr. Bird had a
great deal of money, and though he felt sometimes as if he wanted
to throw it all in the ocean, since it could not buy a strong
body for his little girl, yet he was glad to make the place she
lived in just as beautiful as it could be made.
The room had been extended by the building of a large addition
that hung out over the garden below, and was so filled with
windows that it might have been a conservatory. The ones on the
side were thus still nearer the little Church of our Saviour than
they used to be; those in front looked out on the beautiful
harbor, and those in the back commanded a view of nothing in
particular but a little alley--nevertheless, they were
pleasantest of all to Carol, for the Ruggles family lived in the
alley, and the nine little, middle-sized and big Ruggles children
were the source of inexhaustible interest.
The shutters could all be opened and Carol could take a real
sun-bath in this lovely glass-house, or they could all be closed
when the dear head ached or the dear eyes were tired. The carpet
was of soft grey, with clusters of green bay and holly leaves.
The furniture was of white wood, on which an artist had painted
snow scenes and Christmas trees and groups of merry children
ringing bells and singing carols.
Donald had made a pretty, polished shelf and screwed it on to the
outside of the footboard, and the boys always kept this full of
blooming plants, which they changed from time to time; the
head-board, too, had a bracket on either side, where there were
pots of maidenhair ferns.
Love-birds and canaries hung in their golden houses in the
windows, and they, poor caged things, could hop as far from their
wooden perches as Carol could venture from her little white bed.
On one side of the room was a bookcase filled with hundreds--yes,
I mean it--with hundreds and hundreds of books; books with
gay-colored pictures, books without; books with black and white
outline-sketches, books with none at all; books with verses,
books with stories, books that made children laugh, and some that
made them cry; books with words of one syllable for tiny boys and
girls, and books with words of fearful length to puzzle wise
ones.
This was Carol's "Circulating Library." Every Saturday she chose
ten books, jotting their names down in a little diary; into these
she slipped cards that said:
"Please keep this book two weeks and read it.
With love, Carol Bird."
Then Mrs. Bird stepped into her carriage, and took the ten books
to the Childrens' Hospital, and brought home ten others that she
had left there the fortnight before.
This was a source of great happiness; for some of the Hospital
children that were old enough to print or write, and were strong
enough to do it, wrote Carol cunning little letters about the
books, and she answered them, and they grew to be friends. (It
is very funny, but you do not always have to see people to love
them. Just think about it, and see if it isn't so.)
There was a high wainscoting of wood about the room, and on top
of this, in a narrow gilt framework, ran a row of illuminated
pictures, illustrating fairy tales, all in dull blue and gold and
scarlet and silver and other lovely colors. From the door to the
closet there was the story of "The Fair One with Golden Locks;"
from closet to bookcase, ran "Puss in Boots;" from bookcase to
fireplace, was "Jack the Giant-killer;" and on the other side of
the room were "Hop o' my Thumb," "The Sleeping Beauty," and
"Cinderella."
Then there was a great closet full of beautiful things to
wear--but they were all dressing-gowns and slippers and shawls;
and there were drawers full of toys and games; but they were such
as you could play with on your lap. There were no ninepins, nor
balls, nor bows and arrows, nor bean bags, nor tennis rackets;
but, after all, other children needed these more than Carol
Bird, for she was always happy and contented whatever she had or
whatever she lacked; and after the room had been made so lovely
for her, on her eighth Christmas, she always called herself, in
fun, a "Bird of Paradise."
On these particular December days she was happier than usual, for
Uncle Jack was coming from Europe to spend the holidays. Dear,
funny, jolly, loving, wise Uncle Jack, who came every two or
three years, and brought so much joy with him that the world
looked as black as a thunder-cloud for a week after he went away
again.
The mail had brought this letter:--
"LONDON, Nov. 28th, 188-.
Wish you merry Christmas, you dearest birdlings in America!
Preen your feathers, and stretch the Birds' nest a little, if you
please, and let Uncle Jack in for the holidays. I am coming with
such a trunk full of treasures that you'll have to borrow the
stockings of Barnum's Giant and Giantess; I am coming to squeeze
a certain little lady-bird until she cries for mercy; I am coming
to see if I can find a boy to take care of a little black pony I
bought lately. It's the strangest thing I ever knew; I've hunted
all over Europe, and can't find a boy to suit me! I'll tell you
why. I've set my heart on finding one with a dimple in his chin,
because this pony particularly likes dimples! ['Hurrah!' cried
Hugh; 'bless my dear dimple; I'll never be ashamed of it again.']
Please drop a note to the clerk of the weather, and have a good,
rousing snow-storm--say on the twenty-second. None of your meek,
gentle, nonsensical, shilly-shallying snow-storms; not the sort
where the flakes float lazily down from the sky as if they didn't
care whether they ever got here or not, and then melt away as
soon as they touch the earth, but a regular business-like
whizzing, whirring, blurring, cutting snow-storm, warranted to
freeze and stay on!
I should like rather a LARGE Christmas tree, if it's convenient--
not one of those 'sprigs,' five or six feet high, that you used
to have three or four years ago, when the birdlings were not
fairly feathered out, but a tree of some size. Set it up in the
garret, if necessary, and then we can cut a hole in the roof if
the tree chances to be too high for the room.
Tell Bridget to begin to fatten a turkey. Tell her by the
twentieth of December that turkey must not be able to stand on
its legs for fat, and then on the next three days she must allow
it to recline easily on its side, and stuff it to bursting. (One
ounce of stuffing beforehand is worth a pound afterwards.)
The pudding must be unusually huge, and darkly, deeply,
lugubriously black in color. It must be stuck so full of plums
that the pudding itself will ooze out into the pan and not be
brought on to the table at all. I expect to be there by the
twentieth, to manage these little things--remembering it is the
early Bird that catches the worm--but give you the instructions
in case I should be delayed.
And Carol must decide on the size of the tree--she knows best,
she was a Christmas child; and she must plead for the
snow-storm--the 'clerk of the weather' may pay some attention to
her; and she must look up the boy with the dimple for me--she's
likelier to find him than I am, this minute. She must advise
about the turkey, and Bridget must bring the pudding to her
bedside and let her drop every separate plum into it and stir it
once for luck, or I'll not eat a single slice--for Carol is the
dearest part of Christmas to Uncle Jack, and he'll have
none of it without her. She is better than all the turkeys and
puddings and apples and spare-ribs and wreaths and garlands and
mistletoe and stockings and chimneys and sleigh-bells in
Christendom. She is the very sweetest Christmas Carol that was
ever written, said, sung or chanted, and I am coming, as fast as
ships and railway trains can carry me, to tell her so."
Carol's joy knew no bounds. Mr. and Mrs. Bird laughed like
children and kissed each other for sheer delight, and when the
boys heard it they simply whooped like wild Indians, until the
Ruggles family, whose back yard joined their garden, gathered at
the door and wondered what was "up" in the big house.
IV.
"BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER."
Uncle Jack did really come on the twentieth. He was not detained
by business, nor did he get left behind nor snowed up, as
frequently happens in stories, and in real life too, I am
afraid. The snow-storm came also; and the turkey nearly died a
natural and premature death from over-eating. Donald came, too;
Donald, with a line of down upon his upper lip, and Greek and
Latin on his tongue, and stores of knowledge in his handsome
head, and stories--bless me, you couldn't turn over a chip
without reminding Donald of something that happened "at College."
One or the other was always at Carol's bedside, for they fancied
her paler than she used to be, and they could not bear her out of
sight. It was Uncle lack, though, who sat beside her in the
winter twilights. The room was quiet, and almost dark, save for
the snow-light outside, and the flickering flame of the fire,
that danced over the "Sleeping Beauty's" face, and touched the
Fair One's golden locks with ruddier glory. Carol's hand (all
too thin and white these latter days) lay close clasped in Uncle
Jack's, and they talked together quietly of many, many things.
"I want to tell you all about my plans for Christmas this year,
Uncle Jack," said Carol, on the first evening of his visit,
"because it will be the loveliest one I ever had. The boys laugh
at me for caring so much about it; but it isn't altogether
because it is Christmas nor because it is my birthday; but long,
long ago, when I first began to be ill, I used to think, the
first thing when I waked on Christmas morning, 'To-day is
Christ's birthday--AND MINE!' I did not put the words close
together, because that made it seem too bold but I first thought,
'Christ's birthday,' and then, in a minute, softly to myself--AND
MINE!' 'Christ's birthday--AND MINE!' And so I do not quite
feel about Christmas as other girls do. Mama says she supposes
that ever so many other children have been born on that day. I
often wonder where they are, Uncle Jack, and whether it is a dear
thought to them, too, or whether I am so much in bed, and so
often alone, that it means more to me. Oh, I do hope that none
of them are poor, or cold, or hungry; and I wish, I wish they
were all as happy as I, because they are my little brothers and
sisters. Now, Uncle Jack, dear, I am going to try and make
somebody happy every single Christmas that I live, and this year
it is to be the 'Ruggleses in the rear.'"
"That large and interesting brood of children in the little house
at the end of the back garden?"
"Yes; isn't it nice to see so many together? We ought to call
them the Ruggles children, of course; but Donald began talking of
them as the 'Ruggleses in the rear,' and Papa and Mama took it
up, and now we cannot seem to help it. The house was built for
Mr. Carter's coachman, but Mr. Carter lives in Europe, and the
gentleman who rents his place doesn't care what happens to it,
and so this poor Irish family came to live there. When they
first moved in, I used to sit in my window and watch them play in
their backyard; they are so strong, and jolly, and good-natured;
and then, one day, I had a terrible headache, and Donald asked
them if they would please not scream quite so loud, and they
explained that they were having a game of circus, but that they
would change and play 'Deaf and Dumb School' all the afternoon."
"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Uncle Jack, "what an obliging family, to be
sure."
"Yes, we all thought it very funny, and I smiled at them from the
window when I was well enough to be up again. Now, Sarah Maud
comes to her door when the children come home from school, and if
Mama nods her head, 'Yes,' that means 'Carol is very well,' and
then you ought to hear the little Ruggleses yell--I believe they
try to see how much noise they can make; but if Mama shakes her
head, 'No,' they always play at quiet games. Then, one day,
'Cary,' my pet canary, flew out of her cage, and Peter Ruggles
caught her and brought her back, and I had him up here in my room
to thank him."
"Is Peter the oldest?"
"No; Sarah Maud is the oldest--she helps do the washing; and
Peter is the next. He is a dressmaker's boy."
"And which is the pretty little red-haired girl?"
"That's Kitty."
"And the fat youngster?"
"Baby Larry."
"And that freckled one?"
"Now, don't laugh--that's Peoria!"
"Carol, you are joking."
"No, really, Uncle dear. She was born in Peoria; that's all."
"And is the next boy Oshkosh?"
"No," laughed Carol, "the others are Susan, and Clement, and
Eily, and Cornelius."
"How did you ever learn all their names?"
"Well, I have what I call a 'window-school.' It is too cold now;
but in warm weather I am wheeled out on my little balcony, and
the Ruggleses climb up and walk along our garden fence, and sit
down on the roof of our carriage-house. That brings them quite
near, and I read to them and tell them stories; On Thanksgiving
Day they came up for a few minutes, it was quite warm at eleven
o'clock, and we told each other what we had to be thankful for;
but they gave such queer answers that Papa had to run away for
fear of laughing; and I couldn't understand them very well.
Susan was thankful for 'TRUNKS,' of all things in the world;
Cornelius, for 'horse cars;' Kitty, for 'pork steak;' while Clem,
who is very quiet, brightened up when I came to him, and said he
was thankful for 'HIS LAME PUPPY.' Wasn't that pretty?"
"It might teach some of us a lesson, mightn't it, little girl?"
"That's what Mama said. Now I'm going to give this whole
Christmas to the Ruggleses; and, Uncle Jack, I earned part of the
money myself."
"You, my bird; how?"
"Well, you see, it could not be my own, own Christmas if Papa
gave me all the money, and I thought to really keep Christ's
birthday I ought to do something of my very own; and so I talked
with Mama. Of course she thought of something lovely; she always
does; Mama's head is just brimming over with lovely thoughts, and
all I have to do is ask, and out pops the very one I want. This
thought was, to let her write down, just as I told her, a
description of how a little girl lived in her own room three
years, and what she did to amuse herself; and we sent it to a
magazine and got twenty-five dollars for it. Just think!"
"Well, well," cried Uncle Jack, "my little girl a real author!
And what are you going to do with this wonderful 'own' money of
yours?"
"I shall give the nine Ruggleses a grand Christmas dinner here in
this very room--that will be Papa's contribution, and afterwards
a beautiful Christmas tree, fairly blooming with presents--that
will be my part; for I have another way of adding to my
twenty-five dollars, so that I can buy everything I like. I
should like it very much if you would sit at the head of the
table, Uncle Jack, for nobody could ever be frightened of you,
you dearest, dearest, dearest thing that ever was! Mama is going
to help us, but Papa and the boys are going to eat together down
stairs for fear of making the little Ruggleses shy; and after
we've had a merry time with the tree we can open my window and
all listen together to the music at the evening church-service,
if it comes before the children go. I have written a letter to
the organist, and asked him if I might have the two songs I like
best. Will you see if it is all right?"
"BIRDS NEST, Dec. 21st, 188-.
DEAR MR. WILKIE,--
I am the little sick girl who lives next door to the church, and,
as I seldom go out, the music on practice days and Sundays is one
of my greatest pleasures.
I want to know if you can let the boys sing 'Carol, brothers,
carol,' on Christmas night, and if the one who sings 'My ain
countree' so beautifully may please sing that too. I think it is
the loveliest song in the world, but it always makes me cry;
doesn't it you?
If it isn't too much trouble, I hope they can sing them both
quite early, as after ten o'clock I may be asleep.
--Yours respectfully,
CAROL BIRD.
P.S.--The reason I like 'Carol, brothers, carol,' is because the
choir-boys sang it eleven years ago, the morning I was born, and
put it into Mama's head to call me Carol. She didn't remember
then that my other name would be Bird, because she was half
asleep, and couldn't think of but one thing at a time. Donald
says if I had been born on the Fourth of July they would have
named me 'Independence,' or if on the twenty-second of February,
'Georgina,' or even 'Cherry,' like Cherry in Martin Chuzzlewit;
but I like my own name and birthday best.
--Yours truly,
CAROL BIRD."
Uncle Jack thought the letter quite right, and did not even smile
at her telling the organist so many family items. The days flew
by, as they always fly in holiday time, and it was Christmas eve
before anybody knew it. The family festival was quiet and very
pleasant, but quite swallowed up in the grander preparations for
next day. Carol and Elfrida, her pretty German nurse, had
ransacked books, and introduced so many plans, and plays, and
customs and merry-makings from Germany, and Holland, and England
anda dozen other places, that you would scarcely have known how
or where you were keeping Christmas. The dog and the cat had
enjoyed their celebration under Carol's direction. Each had a
tiny table with a lighted candle in the center, and a bit of
Bologna sausage placed very near it, and everybody laughed till
the tears stood in their eyes to see Villikins and Dinah struggle
to nibble the sausages, and at the same time evade the candle
flame. Villikins barked, and sniffed, and howled in impatience,
and after many vain attempts succeeded in dragging off the prize,
though he singed his nose in doing it. Dinah, meanwhile, watched
him placidly, her delicate nostrils quivering with expectation,
and, after all excitement had subsided, walked with dignity to
the table, her beautiful gray satin tail sweeping behind her,
and, calmly putting up one velvet paw, drew the sausage gently
down, and walked out of the room without "turning a hair," so to
speak. Elfrida had scattered handfuls of seeds over the snow in
the garden, that the wild birds might have a comfortable
breakfast next morning, and had stuffed bundles of dried grasses
in the fireplaces, so that the reindeer of Santa Claus could
refresh themselves after their long gallops across country. This
was really only done for fun, but it pleased Carol.
And when, after dinner, the whole family had gone to church to
see the Christmas decorations, Carol limped wearily out on her
little crutches, and, with Elfrida's help, placed all the family
boots in a row in the upper hall. That was to keep the dear ones
from quarreling all through the year. There were Papa's stout
top boots; Mama's pretty buttoned shoes next; then Uncle Jack's,
Donald's, Paul's and Hugh's; and at the end of the line her own
little white worsted slippers. Last, and sweetest of all, like
the little children in Austria, she put a lighted candle in her
window to guide the dear Christ-child, lest he should stumble in
the dark night as he passed up the deserted street. This done,
she dropped into bed, a rather tired, but very happy Christmas
fairy.
V.
SOME OTHER BIRDS ARE TAUGHT TO FLY.
Before the earliest Ruggles could wake and toot his five-cent tin
horn, Mrs. Ruggles was up and stirring about the house, for it
was a gala day in the family. Gala day! I should think so!
Were not her nine "childern" invited to a dinner-party at the
great house, and weren't they going to sit down free and equal
with the mightiest in the land? She had been preparing for this
grand occasion ever since the receipt of the invitation, which,
by the way, had been speedily enshrined in an old photograph
frame and hung under the looking-glass in the most prominent
place in the kitchen, where it stared the occasional visitor
directly in the eye, and made him pale with envy:
"BIRDS' NEST, Dec. 17th, 188-.
DEAR MRS. RUGGLES,--
I am going to have a dinner-party on Christmas day, and would
like to have all your children come. I want them every one,
please, from Sarah Maud to Baby Larry. Mama says dinner will be
at half-past five, and the Christmas tree at seven; so you
may expect them home at nine o'clock. Wishing you a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year, I am, yours truly,
CAROL BIRD."
Breakfast was on the table promptly at seven o'clock, and there
was very little of it, too; for it was an excellent day for short
rations, though Mrs. Ruggles heaved a sigh as she reflected that
even the boys, with their India-rubber stomachs, would be just as
hungry the day after the dinner-party as if they had never had
any at all.
As soon as the scanty meal was over, she announced the plan of
the campaign: "Now Susan, you an' Kitty wash up the dishes; an'
Peter, can't you spread up the beds, so't I can git ter cuttin'
out Larry's new suit? I ain't satisfied with his close, an' I
thought in the night of a way to make him a dress out of my old
plaid shawl--kind o' Scotch style, yer know. You other boys
clear out from under foot! Clem, you and Con hop into bed with
Larry while I wash yer underflannins; 'twont take long to dry
'em. Sarah Maud, I think 'twould be perfeckly han'som if you
ripped them brass buttons off yer uncle's policeman's coat an'
sewed 'em in a row up the front o' yer green skirt. Susan, you
must iron out yours an' Kitty's apurns; an' there, I came mighty
near forgettin' Peory's stockin's! I counted the whole lot last
night when I was washin' of 'em, an' there ain't but nineteen
anyhow yer fix 'em, an' no nine pairs mates nohow; an' I ain't
goin' ter have my childern wear odd stockin's to a
dinner-comp'ny, brought up as I was! Eily, can't you run out and
ask Mis' Cullen ter lend me a pair o' stockin's for Peory,
an' tell her if she will, Peory'll give Jim half her candy
when she gets home. Won't yer, Peory?"
Peoria was young and greedy, and thought the remedy so much worse
than the disease that she set up a deafening howl at the
projected bargain--a howl so rebellious and so out of all season
that her mother started in her direction with flashing eye and
uplifted hand; but she let it fall suddenly, saying, "No, I won't
lick ye Christmas day, if yer drive me crazy; but speak up smart,
now, 'n say whether yer'd ruther give Tim Cullen half yer candy
or go bare-legged ter the party?" The matter being put so
plainly, Peoria collected her faculties, dried her tears and
chose the lesser evil, Clem having hastened the decision by an
affectionate wink, that meant he'd go halves with her on his
candy.
"That's a lady;" cried her mother. "Now, you young ones that
ain't doin' nothin', play all yer want ter before noontime, for
after ye git through eatin' at twelve o'clock me 'n Sarah Maud's
goin' ter give yer such a washin' an' combin' an' dressin' as yer
never had before an' never will agin, an' then I'm goin' to set
yer down an' give yer two solid hours trainin' in manners; an'
'twon't be no foolin' neither."
"All we've got ter do 's go eat!" grumbled Peter.
"Well, that's enough," responded his mother; "there's more 'n one
way of eatin', let me tell yer, an' you've got a heap ter learn
about it, Peter Ruggles. Lord sakes, I wish you childern could
see the way I was fetched up to eat--never took a meal o' vittles
in the kitchen before I married Ruggles; but yer can't keep up
that style with nine young ones 'n yer Pa always off ter sea."
The big Ruggleses worked so well, and the little Ruggleses kept
from "under foot" so successfully, that by one o'clock nine
complete toilets were laid out in solemn grandeur on the beds. I
say, "complete;" but I do not know whether they would be called
so in the best society. The law of compensation had been well
applied; he that had necktie had no cuffs; she that had sash had
no handkerchief, and vice versa; but they all had boots and a
certain amount of clothing, such as it was, the outside layer
being in every case quite above criticism.
"Now, Sarah Maud," said Mrs. Ruggles, her face shining with
excitement, "everything is red up an' we can begin. I've got a
boiler 'n a kettle 'n a pot o' hot water. Peter, you go into the
back bedroom, an' I'll take Susan, Kitty, Peory an' Cornelius;
an' Sarah Maud, you take Clem, 'n Eily, 'n Larry, one to a time,
an' git as fur as you can with 'em, an' then I'll finish
'em off while you do yerself."
Sarah Maud couldn't have scrubbed with any more decision and
force if she had been doing floors, and the little Ruggleses bore
it bravely, not from natural heroism, but for the joy that was
set before them. Not being satisfied, however, with the "tone"
of their complexions, she wound up operations by applying a
little Bristol brick from the knife-board, which served as the
proverbial "last straw," from under which the little Ruggleses
issued rather red and raw and out of temper. When the clock
struck three they were all clothed, and most of them in their
right minds, ready for those last touches that always take the
most time. Kitty's red hair was curled in thirty-four ringlets,
Sarah Maud's was braided in one pig-tail, and Susan's and Eily's
in two braids apiece, while Peoria's resisted all advances in the
shape of hair oils and stuck out straight on all sides, like that
of the Circassian girl of the circus--so Clem said; and he was
sent into the bed-room for it too, from whence he was dragged out
forgivingly by Peoria herself, five minutes later. Then--exciting
moment--came linen collars for some and neckties and bows for
others, and Eureka! the Ruggleses were dressed, and Solomon in
all his glory was not arrayed like one of these! A row of seats
was formed directly through the middle of the kitchen. There
were not quite chairs enough for ten, since the family had rarely
all wanted to sit down at once, somebody always being out, or in
bed, but the wood box and the coal-hod finished out the line
nicely. The children took their places according to age, Sarah
Maud at the head and Larry on the coal-hod, and Mrs. Ruggles
seated herself in front, surveying them proudly as she wiped the
sweat of honest toil from her brow.
"Well," she exclaimed, "if I do say so as shouldn't, I never see
a cleaner, more stylish mess o' childern in my life! I do wish
Ruggles could look at ye for a minute! Now, I've of 'en told ye
what kind of a family the McGrills was. I've got some reason to
be proud; your uncle is on the po-lice force o' New York city;
you can take up the newspaper most any day an' see his name
printed right out--James McGrill, and I can't have my childern
fetched up common, like some folks. When they go out they've got
to have close, and learn ter act decent! Now, I want ter see how
yer goin' to behave when yer git there to-night. Let's start in
at the beginnin' 'n act out the whole business. Pile into the
bed-room, there, every last one of ye, an' show me how yer goin'
ter go in't the parlor. This'll be the parlor 'n I'll be Mis'
Bird." The youngsters hustled into the next room in high glee,
and Mrs. Ruggles drew herself up in her chair with an infinitely
haughty and purse-proud expression that much better suited a
descendant of the McGrills than modest Mrs. Bird. The bed-room
was small, and there presently ensued such a clatter that you
would have thought a herd of wild cattle had broken loose; the
door opened, and they straggled in, all the little ones giggling,
with Sarah Maud at the head, looking as if she had been caught in
the act of stealing sheep; while Larry, being last in line,
seemed to think the door a sort of gate of heaven which would be
shut in his face if he didn't get there in time; accordingly he
struggled ahead of his elders and disgraced himself by tumbling
in head foremost.
Mrs. Ruggles looked severe. "There, I knew yer'd do it in some
sech fool-way,--try it agin 'n if Larry can't come in on two legs
he can stay ter home!"
The matter began to assume a graver aspect; the little Ruggleses
stopped giggling and backed into the bed-room, issuing presently
with lock step, Indian file, a scared and hunted expression in
every countenance.
"No, no, no!" cried Mrs. Ruggles, in despair; "Yer look for all
the world like a gang o' pris'ners; there ain't no style ter
that; spread out more, can't yer, an' act kind o' careless
like--nobody's goin' ter kill ye!" The third time brought
deserved success, and the pupils took their seats in the row.
"Now, yer know," said Mrs. Ruggles, "there ain't enough decent
hats to go round, an' if there was I don' know 's I'd let yer
wear 'em, for the boys would never think to take 'em off when
they got inside--but, anyhow, there ain't enough good ones. Now,
look me in the eye. You needn't wear no hats, none of yer, en'
when yer get int' the parlor 'n they ask yer ter lay off yer
hats, Sarah Maud must speak up an' say it was sech a pleasant
evenin' an' sech a short walk that you left yer hats to home to
save trouble. Now, can you remember?"
All the little Ruggleses shouted, "Yes, marm," in chorus.
"What have you got ter do with it," demanded their mother; "did I
tell YOU to say it! Wasn't I talkin' ter Sarah Maud?" The
little Ruggleses hung their diminished heads. "Yes, marm," they
piped, more feebly. "Now git up, all of ye, an' try it. Speak
up, Sarah Maud."
Sarah Maud's tongue clove to the roof of her mouth.
"Quick!"
"Ma thought--it was--sech a pleasant hat that we'd--we'd better
leave our short walk to home," recited Sarah Maud, in an agony of
mental effort.
This was too much for the boys.
"Oh, whatever shall I do with ye?" moaned the unhappy mother; "I
suppose I've got to learn it to yer!" which she did, word for
word, until Sarah Maud thought she could stand on her head and
say it backwards.
"Now, Cornelius, what are YOU goin' ter say ter make yerself good
comp'ny?"
"Dunno!" said Cornelius, turning pale.
"Well, ye ain't goin' to set there like a bump on a log 'thout
sayin' a word ter pay for yer vittles, air ye? Ask Mis' Bird how
she's feelin' this evenin', or if Mr. Bird's havin' a busy
season, or somethin' like that. Now we'll make b'lieve we've got
ter the dinner--that won't be so hard, 'cause yer'll have
somethin' to do--it's awful bothersome ter stan' round an' act
stylish. If they have napkins, Sarah Maud down to Peory may
put 'em in their laps 'n the rest of ye can tuck 'em in yer
necks. Don't eat with yer fingers--don't grab no vittles off one
'nother's plates; don't reach out for nothin', but wait till yer
asked, 'n if yer never GIT asked don't git up and grab it--don't
spill nothin' on the table cloth, or like's not Mis' Bird 'll
send yer away from the table. Now we'll try a few things ter see
how they'll go! Mr. Clement, do you eat cramb'ry sarse?"
"Bet yer life!" cried Clem, who, not having taken in the idea
exactly, had mistaken this for an ordinary family question.
"Clement Ruggles, do you mean to tell me that you'd say that to a
dinner party? I'll give ye one more chance. Mr. Clement, will
you take some of the cramb'ry?"
"Yes marm, thank ye kindly, if you happen ter have any handy."
"Very good, indeed! Mr. Peter, do you speak for white or dark
meat?"
"I ain't particler as ter color--anything that nobody else wants
will suit me," answered Peter with his best air.
"First rate! nobody could speak more genteel than that. Miss
Kitty, will you have hard or soft sarse with your pudden?"
"A little of both if you please, an' I'm much obliged," said
Kitty with decided ease and grace, at which all the other
Ruggleses pointed the finger of shame at her and Peter GRUNTED
expressively, that their meaning might not be mistaken.
"You just stop your gruntin', Peter Ruggles; that was all right.
I wish I could git it inter your heads that it ain't so much what
yer say, as the way yer say it. Eily, you an' Larry's too little
to train, so you just look at the rest, an' do 's they do, an'
the Lord have mercy on ye an' help ye to act decent! Now, is
there anything more ye'd like to practice?"
"If yer tell me one more thing I can't set up an' eat," said
Peter, gloomily; "I'm so cram full o' manners now I'm ready ter
bust 'thout no dinner at all."
"Me too," chimed in Cornelius.
"Well, I'm sorry for yer both," rejoined Mrs. Ruggles,
sarcastically; "if the 'mount o' manners yer've got on hand now,
troubles ye, you're dreadful easy hurt! Now, Sarah Maud, after
dinner, about once in so often, you must say, 'I guess we'd
better be goin';' an' if they say, 'Oh, no, set a while longer,'
yer can stay; but if they don't say nothin' you've got ter get up
an' go. Can you remember?"
"ABOUT ONCE IN SO OFTEN!" Could any words in the language be
fraught with more terrible and wearing uncertainty?
"Well," answered Sarah Maud, mournfully, "seems as if this whole
dinner party set right square on top o' me! Maybe I could manage
my own manners, but ter manage nine mannerses is worse 'n staying
to home!"
"Oh, don't fret," said her mother, good naturedly, "I guess
you'll git along. I wouldn't mind if folks would only say, 'Oh,
childern will be childern;' but they won't. They'll say, 'Land
o' Goodness, who fetched them childern up?' Now it's quarter
past five; you can go, an' whatever yer do, don't forget your
mother was a McGrill!"
VI.
"WHEN THE PIE WAS OPENED,
THE BIRDS BEGAN TO SING!"
The children went out the back door quietly, and were presently
lost to sight, Sarah Maud slipping and stumbling along
absent-mindedly as she recited, under her breath,
"It--was--such--a--pleasant-evenin'--an--sech--a--short
--walk--we--thought--we'd--leave--our--hats--to--home."
Peter rang the door bell, and presently a servant admitted them,
and, whispering something in Sarah's ear, drew her downstairs
into the kitchen. The other Ruggleses stood in horror-stricken
groups as the door closed behind their commanding officer; but
there was no time for reflection, for a voice from above was
heard, saying, "Come right up stairs, please!"
"Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do or die."
Accordingly, they walked upstairs, and Elfrida, the nurse,
ushered them into a room more splendid than anything they had
ever seen. But, oh woe! where was Sarah Maud! and was it Fate
that Mrs. Bird should say, at once, "Did you lay your hats in the
hall?" Peter felt himself elected by circumstance the head of
the family, and, casting one imploring look at tongue-tied Susan,
standing next him, said huskily, "It was so very
pleasant--that--that" "That we hadn't good hats enough to go
round," put in little Susan, bravely, to help him out, and then
froze with horror that the ill-fated words had slipped off her
tongue.
However, Mrs. Bird said, pleasantly, "Of course you wouldn't wear
hats such a short distance--I forgot when I asked. Now, will you
come right in to Miss Carol's room, she is so anxious to see
you?"
Just then Sarah Maud came up the back-stairs, so radiant with joy
from her secret interview with the cook, that Peter could have
pinched her with a clear conscience, and Carol gave them a joyful
welcome. "But where is Baby Larry?" she cried, looking over
the group with searching eye. "Didn't he come?"
"Larry! Larry!" Good Gracious, where was Larry? They were all
sure that he had come in with them, for Susan remembered scolding
him for tripping over the door-mat. Uncle Jack went into
convulsions of laughter. "Are you sure there were nine of you?"
he asked, merrily.
"I think so, sir," said Peoria, timidly; "but, anyhow, there was
Larry;" and she showed signs of weeping.
"Oh, well, cheer up!" cried Uncle Jack. "I guess he's not
lost--only mislaid. I'll go and find him before you can say Jack
Robinson!"
"I'll go, too, if you please, sir," said Sarah Maud, "for it was
my place to mind him, an' if he's lost I can't relish my
vittles!"
The other Ruggleses stood rooted to the floor. Was this a dinner
party, forsooth; and, if so, why were such things ever spoken of
as festive occasions?
Sarah Maud went out through the hall, calling, "Larry! Larry!"
and without any interval of suspense a thin voice piped up from
below, "Here I be!" The truth was that Larry, being deserted by
his natural guardian, dropped behind the rest, and wriggled into
the hat-tree to wait for her, having no notion of walking
unprotected into the jaws of a dinner-party. Finding that she
did not come, he tried to crawl from his refuge and call
somebody, when--dark and dreadful ending to a tragic day--he
found that he was too much intertwined with umbrellas and canes
to move a single step. He was afraid to yell! When I have said
this of Larry Ruggles I have pictured a state of helpless terror
that ought to wring tears from every eye; and the sound of Sarah
Maud's beloved voice, some seconds later, was like a strain of
angel music in his ears. Uncle Jack dried his tears, carried him
upstairs, and soon had him in breathless fits of laughter, while
Carol so made the other Ruggleses forget themselves that they
were soon talking like accomplished diners-out.
Carol's bed had been moved into the farthest corner of the room,
and she was lying on the outside, dressed in a wonderful soft
white wrapper. Her golden hair fell in soft fluffy curls over
her white forehead and neck, her cheeks flushed delicately, her
eyes beamed with joy, and the children told their mother,
afterwards, that she looked as beautiful as the pictures of the
Blessed Virgin. There was great bustle behind a huge screen in
another part of the room, and at half-past five this was taken
away, and the Christmas dinner-table stood revealed. What a
wonderful sight it was to the poor little Ruggles children, who
ate their sometimes scanty meals on the kitchen table! It blazed
with tall colored candles, it gleamed with glass and silver, it
blushed with flowers, it groaned with good things to eat; so it
was not strange that the Ruggleses, forgetting that their mother
was a McGrill, shrieked in admiration of the fairy spectacle.
But Larry's behavior was the most disgraceful, for he stood not
upon the order of his going, but went at once for a high chair
that pointed unmistakably to him, climbed up like a squirrel,
gave a comprehensive look at the turkey, clapped his hands in
ecstacy, rested his fat arms on the table, and cried, with joy,
"I beat the hull lot o' yer!" Carol laughed until she cried,
giving orders, meanwhile, "Uncle Jack, please sit at the head,
Sarah Maud at the foot, and that will leave four on each side;
Mama is going to help Elfrida, so that the children need not look
after each other, but just have a good time."
A sprig of holly lay by each plate, and nothing would do but each
little Ruggles must leave his seat and have it pinned on by
Carol, and as each course was served one of them pleaded to take
something to her. There was hurrying to and fro, I can assure
you, for it is quite a difficult matter to serve a Christmas
dinner on the third floor of a great city house; but if every
dish had had to be carried up a rope ladder the servants would
gladly have done so. There was turkey and chicken, with
delicious gravy and stuffing, and there were half-a-dozen
vegetables, with cranberry jelly, and celery, and pickles; and as
for the way these delicacies were served, the Ruggleses never
forgot it as long as they lived.
Peter nudged Kitty, who sat next him, and said, "Look, will yer,
ev'ry feller's got his own partic'lar butter; I suppose that's to
show yer can eat that much 'n no more. No, it ain't neither, for
that pig of a Peory's just gittin' another helpin'!" "Yes,"
whispered Kitty, "an' the napkins is marked with big red letters.
I wonder if that's so nobody 'll nip 'em; an' oh, Peter, look at
the pictures painted right on ter the dishes. Did yer ever!"
"The plums is all took out o' my cramb'ry sarse, an' it's friz to
a stiff jell!" shouted Peoria, in wild excitement.
"Hi--yah! I got a wish-bone!" sung Larry, regardless of Sarah
Maud's frown; after which she asked to have his seat changed,
giving as excuse that he gen'ally set beside her, an' would "feel
strange;" the true reason being that she desired to kick him
gently, under the table, whenever he passed what might be termed
"the McGrill line."
"I declare to goodness," murmured Susan, on the other side,
"there's so much to look at I can't scarcely eat nothin!"
"Bet yer life I can!" said Peter, who had kept one servant busily
employed ever since he sat down; for, luckily, no one was asked
by Uncle Jack whether he would have a second helping, but the
dishes were quietly passed under their noses, and not a single
Ruggles refused anything that was offered him, even unto the
seventh time. Then, when Carol and Uncle Jack perceived that
more turkey was a physical impossibility, the meats were taken
off and the dessert was brought in--a dessert that would have
frightened a strong man after such a dinner as had preceded it.
Not so the Ruggleses--for a strong man is nothing to a small
boy--and they kindled to the dessert as if the turkey had been a
dream and the six vegetables an optical delusion. There was
plum-pudding, mince-pie, and ice-cream, and there were nuts, and
raisins, and oranges. Kitty chose ice-cream, explaining that
she knew it "by sight," but hadn't never tasted none; but all the
rest took the entire variety, without any regard to consequences.
"My dear child," whispered Uncle Jack, as he took Carol an
orange, "there is no doubt about the necessity of this feast, but
I do advise you after this to have them twice a year, or
quarterly, perhaps, for the way they eat is positively dangerous;
I assure you I tremble for that terrible Peoria. I'm going to
run races with her after dinner."
"Never mind," laughed Carol, "let them eat for once; it does my
heart good to see them, and they shall come oftener next year."
The feast being over, the Ruggleses lay back in their chairs
languidly, and the table was cleared in a trice; then a door was
opened into the next room, and there, in a corner facing Carol's
bed, which had been wheeled as close as possible, stood the
brilliantly lighted Christmas-tree, glittering with gilded
walnuts and tiny silver balloons, and wreathed with snowy chains
of pop-corn. The presents had been bought mostly with Carol's
story money, and were selected after long consultations with Mrs.
Bird. Each girl had a blue knitted hood, and each boy a red
crocheted comforter, all made by Mama, Carol and Elfrida
("because if you buy everything, it doesn't show so much love,"
said Carol). Then every girl had a pretty plaid dress of a
different color, and every boy a warm coat of the right size.
Here the useful presents stopped, and they were quite enough; but
Carol had pleaded to give them something "for fun." "I know they
need the clothes," she had said, when they were talking over the
matter just after Thanksgiving, "but they don't care much
for them, after all. Now, Papa, won't you PLEASE let me go
without part of my presents this year, and give me the money they
would cost, to buy something to amuse them?"
"You can have both," said Mr. Bird, promptly; "is there any need
of my little girl's going without her Christmas, I should like to
know? Spend all the money you like."
"But that isn't the thing," objected Carol, nestling close to her
father; "it wouldn't be mine. What is the use? Haven't I almost
everything already, and am I not the happiest girl in the world
this year, with Uncle Jack and Donald at home? Now, Papa, you
know very well it is more blessed to give than to receive; then
why won't you let me do it? You never look half as happy when
you are getting your presents as when you are giving us ours.
Now, Papa, submit, or I shall have to be very firm and
disagreeable with you!"
"Very well, your Highness, I surrender."
"That's a dear Papa! Now, what were you going to give me?
Confess!"
"A bronze figure of Santa Claus; and in the little round belly,
that shakes, when he laughs, like a bowl full of jelly, is a
wonderful clock. Oh, you would never give it up if you could see
it."
"Nonsense," laughed Carol; "as I never have to get up to
breakfast, nor go to bed, nor catch trains, I think my old clock
will do very well! Now, Mama, what were you going to give me?"
"Oh, I hadn't decided. A few more books, and a gold thimble, and
a smelling-bottle, and a music-box."
"Poor Carol," laughed the child, merrily, "she can afford to give
up these lovely things, for there will still be left Uncle Jack,
and Donald, and Paul, and Hugh, and Uncle Rob, and Aunt Elsie,
and a dozen other people."
So Carol had her way, as she generally did, but it was usually a
good way, which was fortunate, under the circumstances; and Sarah
Maud had a set of Miss Alcott's books, and Peter a modest silver
watch, Cornelius a tool-chest, Clement a dog-house for his "lame
puppy," Larry a magnificent Noah's ark, and each of the little
girls a beautiful doll. You can well believe that everybody was
very merry and very thankful. All the family, from Mr. Bird down
to the cook, said they had never seen so much happiness in the
space of three hours; but it had to end, as all things do. The
candles flickered and went out, the tree was left alone with its
gilded ornaments, and Mrs. Bird sent the children down stairs at
half-past eight, thinking that Carol looked tired.
"Now, my darling, you have done quite enough for one day," said
Mrs. Bird, getting Carol into her little night-dress; "I am
afraid you will feel worse to-morrow, and that would be a sad
ending to such a good time."
"Oh, wasn't it a lovely, lovely time," sighed Carol. "From first
to last, everything was just right. I shall never forget Larry's
face when he looked at the turkey; nor Peter's, when he saw his
watch; nor that sweet, sweet Kitty's smile when she kissed her
dolly; nor the tears in poor, dull Sarah Maud's eyes when she
thanked me for her books; nor--"
"But we mustn't talk any longer about it to-night," said Mrs.
Bird, anxiously; "you are too tired, dear."
"I am not so very tired, Mama. I have felt well all day; not a
bit of pain anywhere. Perhaps this has done me good."
"Perhaps; I hope so. There was no noise or confusion; it was
just a merry time. Now, may I close the door and leave you
alone? I will steal in softly the first thing in the morning,
and see if you are all right; but I think you need to be quiet."
"Oh, I'm willing to stay alone; but I am not sleepy yet, and I am
going to hear the music by and by, you know."
"Yes, I have opened the window a little, and put the screen in
front of it, so that you will not feel the air."
"Can I have the shutters open; and won't you turn my bed a
little, please? This morning I woke ever so early, and one
bright beautiful star shone in that eastern window. I never saw
it before, and I thought of the Star in the East, that guided the
wise men to the place where Jesus was. Good night, Mama. Such a
happy, happy day!"
"Good night, my precious little Christmas Carol--mother's blessed
Christmas child."
"Bend your head a minute, mother dear," whispered Carol, calling
her mother back. "Mama, dear, I do think that we have kept
Christ's birthday this time just as He would like it. Don't
you?"
"I am sure of it," said Mrs. Bird, softly.
VII.
THE BIRDLING FLIES AWAY.
The Ruggleses had finished a last romp in the library with Paul
and Hugh, and Uncle Jack had taken them home, and stayed a
while to chat with Mrs. Ruggles, who opened the door for them,
her face all aglow with excitement and delight. When Kitty and
Clem showed her the oranges and nuts they had kept for her, she
astonished them by saying that at six o'clock Mrs. Bird had sent
her in the finest dinner she had ever seen in her life; and not
only that, but a piece of dress-goods that must havecost a dollar
a yard if it cost a cent. As Uncle Jack went down the little
porch he looked back into the window for a last glimpse of the
family, as the children gathered about their mother, showing
their beautiful presents again and again, and then upward to a
window in the great house yonder. "A little child shall lead
them," he thought; "well, if--if anything ever happens to Carol,
I will take the Ruggleses under my wing."
"Softly, Uncle Jack," whispered the boys, as he walked into the
library a little while later; "We are listening to the music in
the church. They sang 'Carol, brothers, carol,' a while ago, and
now we think the organist is beginning to play 'My ain countree'
for Carol."
"I hope she hears it," said Mrs. Bird; "but they are very late
to-night, and I dare not speak to her lest she should be asleep.
It is after ten o'clock."
The boy-soprano, clad in white surplice, stood in the organ loft.
The lamps shone full upon his crown of fair hair, and his pale
face, with its serious blue eyes, looked paler than usual.
Perhaps it was something in the tender thrill of the voice, or in
the sweet words, but there were tears in many eyes, both in the
church and in the great house next door.
"I am far frae my hame,
I am weary aften whiles
For the langed for hame-bringin
An' my Faether's welcome smiles.
An' I'll ne'er be fu' content,
Until my e'en do see
The gowden gates o' heaven
In my ain countree.
The earth is decked wi' flow'rs,
Mony tinted, fresh an' gay,
An' the birdies warble blythely,
For my Faether made them sae;
But these sights an' these soun's
Will as naething be to me,
When I hear the angels singin'
In my ain countree.
Like a bairn to its mither,
A wee birdie to its nest,
I fain would be gangin' noo
Unto my Faether's breast;
For He gathers in His arms
Helpless, worthless lambs like me,
An' carries them Himsel'
To His ain countree."
There were tears in many eyes, but not in Carol's. The loving
heart had quietly ceased to beat and the "wee birdie" in the
great house had flown to its "home nest." Carol had fallen
asleep! But as to the song, I think perhaps, I cannot say, she
heard it after all!
* * * * * * * * *
So sad an ending to a happy day! Perhaps--to those who were
left--and yet Carol's mother, even in the freshness of her grief,
was glad that her darling had slipped away on the loveliest day
of her life, out of its glad content, into everlasting peace.
She was glad that she had gone, as she had come, on wings of
song, when all the world was brimming over with joy; glad of
every grateful smile, of every joyous burst of laughter, of every
loving thought and word and deed the dear, last day had brought.
Sadness reigned, it is true, in the little house behind the
garden; and one day poor Sarah Maud, with a courage born of
despair, threw on her hood and shawl, walked straight to a
certain house a mile away, dashed up the marble steps and into
good Dr. Bartol's office, falling at his feet as she cried, "Oh,
sir, it was me an' our childern that went to Miss Carol's last
dinner party, an' if we made her worse we can't never be happy
again!" Then the kind old gentleman took her rough hand in his
and told her to dry her tears, for neither she nor any of her
flock had hastened Carol's flight--indeed, he said that had it
not been for the strong hopes and wishes that filled her tired
heart, she could not have stayed long enough to keep that last
merry Christmas with her dear ones.
And so the old years, fraught with memories, die, one after
another, and the new years, bright with hopes, are born to take
their places; but Carol lives again in every chime of Christmas
bells that peal glad tidings and in every Christmas anthem sung
by childish voices.
End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Birds' Christmas Carol
