Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-12-25
YOU said YOU were afraid YOU would run

you said you were afraid you would run
out of popcorn balls before you got
around. Then you left each of us
book. Elvira got the best one, which
was the Garland of Friendship and
poems in it about bleeding hearts, and
so forth. Father wasn't expecting any
thing, but you lett him a pair of mittens
and mother got new fur boa towear to
meetin'."
"Of COURSE" said Santa Claus, 81 new
er forget father and mother"
"Well, it was as much as could do to
lay STILL continued Joel, "for I'd been
longin' for sled an the sight of that
red sled with Yankee Doodle painted
on it just made me wild. But somehow
or other, | began to get powerful sleepy
all at once and coutI MT keep my eyes
open. The next thing knew Otis was
| nudgin' me in the ribs. Get up, JOEL
says he; it's Chris mas an Santa Claus
has been here
Merry Christmas Merry Chris
| mas y we cried as we tumbled out o.
| bed. Then Eivira and Thankful came
| in, not more'n half dressed, and Susan
came in, too, and we just made Rome
howl with Merry Chris mas to each
other. Eff you children dom t make less
noise in there, cried father 'I'll hev
| to send you all back to bedl' The idea
of askin' boys and girls to keep quiet
on Chris mas mornin' when they've got
| new sleds an 'Garlands Of Frien'-
ship ~
Santa Claus chuckled; his rosy cheeks
| fairly beamed with joy.
FAST" said Joel. "We made up our
minds that stockin'ful of candy an
| popcorn an raisins would stay for us
awhile. / do believe there wasn't
| buckwheat cakes enough in the town
| ship to keep us indoors that morning;
| buckwheat cakes don't size up much
| 'longside red sled with Yankee
Doodle painted onto it and black
sled named Snow Queen We didn't
care how cold it was-so much the bet
| ter for slidin' down hill Ali the boys
had new sleds-Lafe Dawson. Holbrook
Bill, Gum Adams, RUDE Playford, Le-
| ander Merrick, Ezra Purple-all on 'em
| had new sleds excep' Martin Peavey.
and he said he calculated Santa Claus
had skipped him this year cause his
father had broke his leg haulin' logs
from the Pelham woods and been KEEP
indoors six weeks. But Martin had his
OF sled and he didn't hev to ask any
odds of any of us, neither"
II brought Martin a sled the next
Christmas" said Santa Claus.
Likes not; but did you ever slide
down hill, Santa Claus? l don't mean
such hills as they hev out here in this
new country, but one Of those old-fash-
Toned New England hills that was made
specially for boys to slide down-full of
bumpers an thank-ye-marms, and al
mos took our breath away. Merry
Chris mas to ye' little boys p it seemed
to say, and it united our mutfiers an
whirled the snow in our faces, just as if
it was boy, too, an wanted to play
with us. An OF crow came fappin'
over us from the cornfeld beyond the
meadow. He said: Cav, caw,' when
he saw my sled; suppose he'd never
seen red one before. Otis had hard
time with his sled-the black one-and
he wondered why it wouldn't go as fast
as mine would.
'Hev you scraped the paint off n the
runners?" asked Wralsey Goodnow.
'Course | hev.' said Otis; broke my
own knife an Lutte Ingraham's a-doin'
1t, but 1t don't seem TO make no diff
rence-the darned OF thing won't go
Then, what did Simon BuzzeIl say but
that, likes not. it was because OTIS
sled's name was Snow Queen Never
did see a girl sled that was worth cent
anyway seq Simon. Well now, that
jest about broke Otis up in business.
1t amt a girl sled,' SEE he, and its
name amt Snow Queen I'm going to
call it Dan'l Webster, or Oliver Optic,
or Sheriff Robbins, or after some other
big man. An the boys plagued him so
much about that pesky girl sled that he
MEMBER. it did 60 better ter that
about the only thing" continued
Joel, ''that married the harmony of the
of
shire County Phoenix used to say, was
the ashes that Deacon Morris Frisbe
sprinkled out in front of his house. He
said he wasn't going to nave folks
breakln' their necks jest on account of
lot of frivolous boys that was goin' to
the galloWs as fast as they could Oh,
how he hated him and dive snow
balled him, too, if we hadn't been afraid
of the constable who lived next door.
But the ashes didn't bother US much and
every time we slid side saddle, we'd
give the ashes a kick, and that sort O.
scattered 'em.'
The bare thought of this made Santa
Claus laugh
"Goin' on bout O'clock said Joel,
1.-THE girls came along-Sister Elvira an
Thankful, Prudence Tucker, Belle Yo-
cum, Sophrone Holbrook, Sis Hubbard
and Marthy Sawyer. Marthy's brother
Increase wanted her to ride on his sled,
but Marthy allowed that red sled was
her choice every time. I don't see
how I'm going to hold on, said Marthy;
seems as if I would hev my hands full
keepin' my things from BLOWN away
Don't worry about yourself, Martha,
seq [, for if you look alter your things
| kind O. calc'late III manage not to
lose you on the way
Dear Marthy-seemsa as if could see
you now with your tangled hair a.
BLOWN in the wind, your eyes all
bright an sparklin' an your cheeks as
red as apples. Seems, too, as if could
hear you laughin' an callin, list as you
did as [ toiled up the old New England
bill that Chris mas mornin'-'a calm
Joel, Joel, Joel! Amt We ever comm,
Joel? p But the hill is long an steep,
Marthy, an Joel amt the boy he used
to be; he's old an gray an feeble, but
there's love an faith in his heart, an
they kind o. keep him totterin' toward
the voice he hears a-callin' joel, Joel,
Joel p"
81 know-I see it ALL murmured
Santa Claus very SOFTLY