Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-12-22
4 PERFECT CHRISTMAS.
DY WILLIAM o. sToDDABD.

There was not iarger house in all the val
lev than Grandfather Nroomans. 1t was old
and comfortable, and seemed to lie sound
asleep, with snow blanket all over it's roof
Nothing short of a real old-fashioned
Christmas could wake up such a house as
that.
Christmas was coming
Unless Santa Claus and the Simpsons and
the Hopkinses should forget the day of the
month, they would all be there at waking-up
time tomorrow morning.
Jane" said Grandmother Vrooman, that
afternoon, to her daughter, Mrs. Hardy, who
lived with r-"Jane, I've got 'em all fixed
now just where they're going to sleep and I've
made up bed on the floor in the store
room"
"why, mother, who's that for p
'You wait and see, after they get here, and
we've counted EN-"
Anyhow there's cookies enough, and
doughnuts."
"And the pies jane"
And I'm glad Liph gathered such piles of
butternuts."
ooh, mother" exclaimed little Sue, II
gathered as many as he did, and beech-nuts,
hickory nuts, and
so you did, Sue; but l wonder if two
turkeys II go round, with only one pair of
| chickens Z"
Mother" said Mrs Hardy, tho plum
puddingf"
yes, but all those children l do hope
they'll get here tonight in time for me to
know where I'm going to put EN-"
At that very minute, away up the north
road, twomiles nearer town, there was q sort of
dot on the white road. II you were far enough
away from it, it looked like black dot, and
did not seem to move. The nearer you came
to it the funnier it looked, and the more it
seemed to be trudging along with an immense
amount of small energy. Very small indeed,
| for anybody close up to it would have seen
| that il was a five. year old boy in queer lit
| tie suit of gray trimmed with red. He had
on a queer gray cap, and right in the middle
| of the front of it were worked pair of let
ters- 80. A."-but there was nobody with
the gray dot to explain that those two letters
| stood for Orphan Asylum No, nor to tell
| how easy it was for boy of five years old,
| with all the head under his gray cap full of
| Christmas ideas, to turn the wrong corner
where the roads crossed south of the great
Orphan Asylum building. That was what he
| had done, and lie had walked on aud on,
wonde ring why the big building did not come
in sight, until his small legs were getting
tired, aud his brave, bright little black eyes
were all but ready for a crying spell.
Just as he got thoroughly discouraged he
came to the edge of the woods where there
stood wood sleigh with two horses in front
| of it, drawn close to the road side, and heap
ed with great green boughs and branches.
The sleigh's pretty nigh full, grandfath.
err sang out a clear boyish voice beyond the
fence, and a very much older one seemed to
go right on talking
Your grandmother, Liph, she always did
make the best minee pies, and she can stuff O
turkey better n any one l know"
Grandfather, do you s'pose they'll all
come =
Guess they will. That there spruce IL dc
for the Christmas tree. Your grandmother
said We must fetch big one"
That's a whopper But will Joe Simpson
and Bob Hopkins be bigger n they were last
summer?'
Guess they've grown little. They'l
grow this time, if they eat all their grand
mother II want EN- to. Hullo, Liph, who's
that out there in the road 2"
Guess it's a boy"
II declare if it isn't one of them little gray
mites from the 'sylum Way out here!
say, bub."
I'm Bijah."
There was a scared look in the black eyes
for they had never seen anything quite iik'
Grandfather VroomRn when he pushed hi
face out between the branches.
Tha tr.., oil lnak,1 M thev had baar1
of sro,, b9t none bod a lonner or yrbiter on,
| - ir,,, ,ro,7t,,hor
NatI sRiiab - 81 ba INA Won L,oev Cbris,
roos ,soS oor'in, ~
VOC - ,,, 81, d,. IN oro,,
60 80 soi,Ir, 80 ta,,l t,,rLot, y
" do,I7t aa9 Irs, Won volt until on
,rda -, HU1 oni I'm oon'o ont and beer abon
:.
=" So ro,r mama S,nto Clons ~
.niS ,n,, baar bat IiDI, Tha l;ttIa chan,
oilas rom home and don't believe b
Lnowsi,
AnoTSM' %Tg ~, non, s,o;oh 81
oYas s Riiah thotss NV sleiob
,.Tbdsa 49, rain5aars and vor,ra bioga
- ro,, nseS a. 70 no
- ;,Hear That Tinb ~
MI had 'l,5,, not dorbt IN tbo world bpt tba
ba hod djscoveroJ Ssnts Clans in the verv ac
80 l,ati;nr, road,, Gov Cbristrnos and his Slacl
VI ses.lre opoS hinnoT evsrv minute mn
III lin baSar ~ clin5S over tie fence The,
ba ~ F o5, nm as fsst % his laos conl
oorrY, hin,
.sf2I,I5 -, ~ sbortad Tinb ts\Va wont bnr
ro, '
S'"i t.I %. hin, c,, - soid carordfatbar Vroomsr
.,tJa1s ON tbo road 70 orr house Ws,n nicl
H. ~ ;,
NJ. UWPPo.o W. oo,,ld ,ro ,,rt hin, ~
,oTooL me- FOR santa CLANS declare
1irL tIiis bora troa'Il met sn;t yopr Grand
Totber
II ,yos a snlandid yorpo snruce trea wit
ia sraadino "np houoSs at ies5 than two fee
49,, r. Gran5father Vrooms,
1.I ~; 10, tlI, It'll ha cold reoc
| NoAhSN hAo wy N"'NAN.'J N-AN'-