The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-01-09
From Troy Times, December 2l.
BESSIE,S CHRISTMAS.
A story Told by Auntie Em TO Her
Little Niece In Four By-lows.

A story Told by AuntIe Em to Her
Little Niece In Four By-lows.
Written for the Troy Daily Times.
The foil, wing in relation TO the charming story
printed below explains its origin:
| To the Editor Of the Troy TimSs. | send you
| inclOsed herewith the manuscript Of my Wife's
little story 1t was told to her little niece while
| going by low" or rocking her 10 sleep and was
afterward written out TO read to her connectedly
on Christmas l overh6 ard my wife reading Il to
some ladies', and was so much pleased with IL
that suggested that she should have II pub
| lished She readily gave consent, on condition
that her name should not appear. think you
will be much pleased with it
| And we are sure our readers and the little ones
of their households will also be much pleased
with it.-Edior Troy Times.
BY-LowI.
One afternoon, about two weeks be-
fore Christmas, two little girls were in
vited to tea with Bessie Dale a sweet
child of four and q half years. The
two little girls were sisters and were
great friends of Bessie and they ex-
changed visits very often. Hope and
Ruth Grey were of nearly the same age
as Bessie, Ruth little younger. This
afternoon they had played with their
dolls, thumped the piano, dressed up as
fine ladies in all their 'toggery." as
Bessie called it. They had gone to
mammals wardrobe and ransacked and
at last all three came down stairs in
long dresses and bonnets, with wells
tightly drawn over their faces. Each
carried hugh umbrella and hand
bag.
Mamma was returning from making a
call, and as she came in she met them
marching toward the door. She asked
them where they were going. oh we
are only going to Troy; we shal be
home by next train" Hope said. They
marched up ond down the rooms, and
were the happiest little girls in the
whole town. Then they sat down on
the floor and began talking about Santa
Claus, and wondered what the dear old
fellow would put into their stockings.
II want little soft, white, downy
kitten in my stockings" said Bessie.
'and know Santa Claus will bring it,
because / sent him letter about it the
other day. | wrote him to please put it
into my stocking, and | want il to be
white, with black ears and tall"
"Oh Bessiel" said Hope, "how tweet
that will be! But l dess Tanta
Taus tant bring kittie in the cold
night, taus it ood feeze and cry. And
he tdnt do it any way"
Nov, Hope, said Ruthie don't
you know Santa Claus wears great big
fur coat, and he goes so fast over the
houses that he don get cold; and then
he would put kittie in his pocket, and
then it wouldn't freeze. guess; and
maybe it would go to sleep and sleep
till morning"
And tha thraa Iirt1a or; rIo olonnol IL ,;,
tiny hands in great glee. and said how
lovely it would be if Bessie should really
and truly find a live kitten in her
stocking; and they planned how they
should warm milk for it and trim it a
dear, sweet basket with ribbons, and
sing it to sleep. Hope said she wanted
Santa Claus to bring her long red
silk dress that would train on the floor
and some kid gloves and a pair of ear.
rings that sparkled like mammals.
But sweet, fair haired blue-eyed
Ruthie said she wanted a lovely great
big dolly, with really" hair, and eyes
that open, and shut up to go to sleep
and that can say mama!
So the children chartered on, while
they dressed their dolls and set the little
table for tea. Bessie had five dolls
There was Sarahnade, and Batha Ann
and the Two-headed Woman Bessie
had a particular liking for her, although
she really had no head at all 1t came
about in this way When the doll was
given her it had pretty head and blue
eyes, but the head turned to smile al
one from all sides, so Bessie gave it the
name of the Two-headed Woman
After the head came off entirely shG
continued to call her by that name
hen there was Molly Wad. the big dol
that Santa Claus brought her one Christ
mas Molly was once young and very
beautiful, but the heat from the stove
and the hard thumps she often got haC
wrinkled and bruised her so badly thai
now she was only Poor Old Molly.
Last, but not etst by any means, wa.
lido delicate looking little lady, very
nice and proper, whom Bessie was ex
tremely fond of. She named her aftel
her aunt Ida. Bessie always called hel
auntie lido, so she called her dolly lido
too.
After the children had finished tea ant
put their dolls in bed it was time fol
Hope and Ruthie to go home. Theil
nurse Katy tucked them up snug anC
warm in their sleigh, and after gooC
many kisses and good-byes they starteC
down the street. The bells on tn,
sleigh jingled and jingled and grew
fainter and fainter until Bessie coulC
hear them longer. Then she crawlet
up into her mothers lap and. talkei i
all over; what a nice visit they had haC
that afternoon, and what they wer,
going to write to Santa Claus until tn,
little golden head dropped, the brown
eyes closed, and little Bessie was in tn,
Land of Dreams. where white kittens
blue.eyed dollies and Christmas-tree!
were all dancing polka to tune rum
out by sleigh-bells.