Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-11-29


and on. and it was Christmas on St Valen.
tines day and Washington's birthday just
the same as any day, and it didn't skip
even the first day Of April, though every
thing was counterfeit that day, and that
was some little relief. After a while coal
and potatoes began to be awfully scarce,
so many had been wrapped up in tissue pa
per TO fool papas and mammas with Tur-
keys got TO be about a thousand dollars
apiece
Papa ~
well, what /"
you're beginning TO iib"
"Well, two thousand dollars then"
And they got TO passing off almost any
thing for turkeys-half-grow humming
birds, and even rocs out of the Arabian
Nights, the real turkeys we're so scarce.
And cranherres, we'll they asked dia-
mond apiece for cranberries All the
woods aud orchards were cut down for
Christmas trees, and where the woods and
orchards used to be it looked Just like
stubble field. with the stumps After
while they had TO make Christmas trees
out Of rags and stuff them with bran, like
old fashioned dolls but there were plenty
Of rags because people got so poor buying
presents for one another that they couldn't
get any new clothes, and they Just wore
their old ones to tatters. They got so poor
that everybody had to 20 to the poor house
except the confectioners and the fancy
storekeepers and the picture book sellers
and the expressnen, and they all got so
rich and proud that they would hardly
wait upon person when they came to buy:
it was perfectly shameful
Well after it had gone on about three or
four months, the little girl, whenever
she came into the room in the morning, and
saw those great ugly, lumpy stockings
dangling at the fire place, and the disgust
ing presents around everywhere, used 10
Just sit down and burst out crying. In six
months she was perfectly exhausted-she
I couldn't even cry any more she Just lay
on the lounge and rolled her eyes and pant
ed. About the beginning Of October she
took 10 sitting down on the dolls, wherever
she found them-French dolls or any kind
she hated the sight Of them so and by
| Thanksgiving she was crazy and just slam
med her presents across the room.
By that time people didn't carry presents
around nicely any more. They flung them
over the fence and through the window or
anything and instead Of running their
tongues out and taking great pains to write
For dear papa, or Mamma or Broth
er, or Sister, or Susie, - or "Sammie,
or Billie, or kobby,' or Jimmie, or
Jennie, or whoever it was, and troub-
ling to get the spelling right and then sign.
ing their names, and Xmas lSS-,' they
used to write in the gift books, Take it,
you horrid old thing - and then go and
hang it against the front door. Nearly
everybody had built barns to hold their
presents, but pretty soon the barns over
flowed and then they used to let them lie
out in tee rain or anywhere Sometimes
the police used to come and tell them to
shovel their presents off the sidewalk, or
they would arrest them
"I thought you said everybody had gone
to the poor house, interrupted the little
girl
They did 20, at first. but after while
the poor houses got 50 full that they had to
send the people back to their own houses.
They tried to cry when they got back, but
they couldn't make the least sound.
"Why couldn't they p
Because they had lost their voices say
ing Merry Christmas so much. Did tell
you now it was on the Fourth of July =
mo, how was it p and the little girl
nestled closer, in the expectation of some
thing uncommon.
Well, the night before, the boys staid up
to celebrate, they always do, and fell
asleep before - o'clock, as usual, expect
ing to be awakened by the bells and can
non. But it was nearly O'Clock before
the first boy in the United States woke up,
and then he found out what the trouble
was As soon as he could get his clothes
on, he ran out of the house and smashed
big cannon torpedo down on the pavement ;
but it didn't make any more noise than a
damp wad of paper, and, after he had tried
about twenty or thirty more, he began to
pick them up and look at them. Every
single torpedo was a big rasin Then he
Just streaked 1t upstairs and examined his
fire-crackers and toy pistol and two dollar
collection of fireworks and found that they
were nothing but sugar and candy painted
up to look like fire. works. Before 10 o'clock
every boy in the United States found out
that his Fourth of July things had turned into
Christmas things and then they just sat
down and cried, they were SO mad There
are about twenty million boys in the United
States, and so YOU can imagine what a
noise they made. Some men got together
before night, with little powder that
hadn't turned into purple sugar yet, and
they said that they would fire off one can
non any way. But the cannon burst into
a thousand pieces, for it was nothing but
rock candy, and some of the men nearly
got killed. The Fourth of July orations all
turned into Christmas carols and when
anybody tried to read the Declaration, in
stead of saving, when in the course of
human events 1t becomes necessary, he
was sure to sing, God rest you, merry
gentlemen" 1t was perfectly awful.
The little girl drew a deep sigh Of salts
faction
And how was it at Thanksgiving :" she
asked.
Her papa hesitated "Wen, I'm almost
afraid to tell you. I'm afraid you'll think
it's wicked.
well, tell, any way" said the little girl.
Well, before it came Thanksgiving, it
had leaked out who had caused all these
Christmases The little girl had suffered
so much that she had talked about it in her
sleep and after that hardly anybody would
play with her. People just perfectly de
spised her. because if it hadn't been for
her greediness, it wouldn't have happen
and now when it came Thanksgiving, and
she wanted them to 90 to church, and have
squash pie aud turkey, and show their
gratitude, they said that all the turkeys
had been eaten up for her old Christmas
dinner, and if she would stop the Christ
masses they would see about the gratitude.
Wasn't it dreadful And the very next
day the little girl began to send letters to
, the Christmas fairy, and then kilograms, to
stop it, But it didn't do any good and
then she got 10 calling at the fairy's house
but the girl that came to the door always
, said Not at home, or Engaged, A." OF "At
dinner" or something like that and so il
went on till it came to the old once year
Christmas eve. The little girl fell asleep
and when she woke up in the morning
"She found out that it was all nothing
but dream suggested the little girl.
"No, indeed ~ said her papa 1T was
all every bit true
"Well, what did she find out then y
"Why, that it wasn't Christmas at last
and wasn't ever going to be any more
Now it's time for breakfast
The little girl held her papa fast arounC
the neck.
2 You shan't go if you are going to leave
it so ~
? "How do you want it left =
Christmas once year.
IAN right, said her papa and he went
t ON again.
l Well, there was the greatest rejoicing al
- over the country, and it extended clear uI
; into Canada The people met together ev
5 erywhere and kissed and cried for JOY
The city carts went around and gathered
| up all the candy and raisins and nuts ant
dumped them into the river, and it mad'
the fish perfectly sick and the whole Unit
3 ed States as far out as Alaska, was on'
blaze of bontires, where the children wer,
, burning up gift books and presents Of al
r kinds They had the greatest time.
{ The little girl went to thank the old fairy
% because she had stopped it being Christmas
I aud she said she hoped she would keep hel
: promise aud see that Christmas never, new
1 er came again. Then the fairy frowneC
e aud asked her if she was sure that sh'
! knew what she meant and the little gir
I asked her why not and the old fairy saiC
& she was behaving just as greedily as ever
r and she'd better look out This made tn,