Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1878-12-26
kindly disposed toward their father,

kindly disposed toward their father
whom of late they had come to regarc
almost as an alien.
worn out, went to Sunday school, and
! after his return the winter day wa.
soon gone. Then he began to fdget
and was very DESTROYS that his mother
should put the little girls to bed; while
strange to say his father was DESTROYS
that the whole family should go to bed
except himself. In course of time the
little girls were asleep in their little
trundle. bed, with their little red stock.
ings hanging behind the door. Mr..
Boyd sat with his back to the doors SO
Jack slipped in his presents without
his fathers seeing him, and went to his
cold bed up stairs.
"Ain't you going to hang up your
stocking, mother?' asked MIR. Boyd
after Jack had gone.
; Mrs. Boyd looked startled.
"Why, no." she answered, hesitatingly,
not knowing whether the question was
asked in irony or in earnest.
"You BETTER" said Mr.. Boyd, going
to the bag in the corner, and beginning
to unite the strings.
He laid out package after package on
the floor. His wife knelt down by them
in maze of establishment. Then, with
great deal of enjoyment, Mr. Boyd
united them one by one, showing candy,
nuts, oranges, shoes, and all the rest,
except the calico dress, which he kept
out Of sight.
Aladdin telt very fine when he found
the cave full of precious stones, but l
don't blieve he was much happier than
Mrs. Boyd. Her eyes were so full of
tears that there seemed to be about eight
pairs Of shoes, ten bags, and half dozen
Mr.. Boyds; but she managed to lay
hands on the real one, and him she EN-.
braced fervently. Then she brought
out the cookies and sugar balls she had
made, and said to her husband, in very
shame'faced way:
"See nay poor presents; l didn't know
the children would have any thing nice,
and I made these. I guess I won't put
'em in their stockings though, now.'
But Mr.. Boyd insisted on their going
in with the other things, and I think
they were priced by the children little
more dearly, if such a thing could be
possible, than those which they called
their 'boughten" presents.
Now, I can't begin to describe the JOY
full time they had the next morning, and
particularly, the utter establishment of
Jack, who didn't expect Il thing, and
hadn't even hung up stocking. When
that devoted boy recognized one of his
own gray socks crammed full of knobs
and punches, with beautiful plush cap
on top, he was almost out of his wits.
Likewise, Mrs. Boyd's surprise was great
at the discovery of her new dress. The
little girls were too happy that day to
do much else but arrange and re-arrange
their delightful Christmas presents.
Mr.. Boyd killed chicken, and Jack
contributed four quails which he had
caught since market day, and the festi-
val Of Christmas was kept. with much
hilarity by the Boyd family.
The neighbors, one by one, were sur
prised that Mr.. Boyd hadn't dropped in
as usually did on Sundays and holidays.
But Mr.. Boyd was engaged elsewhere.
And this was only the beginning of good
days for that family, for, somehow, the
Christmas feeling seemed to last through
all the year with MIR. Boyd, and through
many other years; and the little ball
set rolling by Jack with his quail-trars,
grew to be a mighty globe Of happiness
for the whole family.