The herald., 1894-01-07

that they should come to her the second
that any discomfort WAS expressed with
them.
1t was very early, as early as the fret
Christmas tree was lighted up, when
the white witch laid down her archi-
tectural lace and listened. There was a
strange din out in the road, and it grew
louder and louder.
Presently one could distinguish quite
plainly the tread OF hundreds OF little
kid shod feet and the tiny lamentations
of the dolls with feelings. The pretty
little girl dolls and the boy dolls ran
ahead painting and aobbing; then the
young lady dolls and the queen dolls and
the bride dolls holding up their satin
trains out of the dust and weeping; and
their crying was quite pitiful to hear.
Then there was the rattling OF the
wooden joints of hundreds of jumping
jacks and a stampede of rocking horses
and the Noah's ark animals. The Noah's
ark trundled after them in company
with little express wagons and wheel
bRrrowH. The air overhead was thick
with books and pictures, and bonbons
and periumery bottles and mittens and
skates and all the Christmas presents
that one could think OF.
The witch took them all into her
storehouse, and comforted the dolls
with feelings and packed the other
presents away safely.
The next morning very early, before
dawn, the presents began to come
again. All Chrietmas day until after
midnight there could be no travel and
no traffic on the road past the witch's
house. it was SO blocked with Christ
mas presents.
The day after Christmas not one
child in the city had Chretmas pres
ent. The white witch had them all.
And all through the next year the
children had no playthings and story
books. They had no old ones, for they
had despised them and thrown them
away. Not little girl in the country
had q doll. Moreover there were none
to be bought, for the king, by the
witch's advice, had ordered all toy shops
closed, and the keepers to retire for two
years on pensions.
The witch kept the Christmas presents
safely locked away, and went about the
country with her white teakettle, water
ing gardens with her magic tea. The
whole face OF the country changed. 1t
grew verdant and blooming. Purple
grapes ripened on the walls and rosy
apples and peaches and golden oranges.
Gradually, also, the people got rosy
cheeks and brown, and black and golden
hair, and went about with their eyes
open. Finally the doctors announced
that the national epidemic was extinct.
The king wished to give the white
witch pension, but she refused.
saying she preferred knitting her archi-
tecturaI lace Tor livelihood.
The witch also made magic ointment
with which she anointed all the dolls
in her storehouse, and their cheeks and
lips became rosy, and their hair faxen
and brown, and golden, and she also
made the other presents, the express
wagons, and sleds and Noah's arks and
all, gay with her magic arts. She was
busy day and night.
When the next Christmas drew near
the king and the lord high chamberlain
drove down one afternoon in the white
chaiee to see the witch.
"Do nothing" said the white witch.
"What?" cried the king. 'cut no
Christmas trees. hang no stockings, buy
no presents2"
''Do nothing" said the white witch.
son Christmas do nothingl' echoed
the king.
able to do" replied the witch with dig
nifty and she would say no more.
The king got into the white chaise
and.drove away with the chamberlain.
They resolved to trust her. although
they felt uneasy in their minds. It did
seem as if any country must 20 to
pieces that made no preparation at all
for Christmas.
But nothing whatever was done. The
shutters remained up at the shop win
dows, the doors were barred, and there
were no frs cut for Christmas trees.
On Christmas eve the white witch
went through the storehouee and stood
before all the corners and walls and said
over eight times.
lie, Ban, Liminy Nan,
Duxey, Adney, Achsey, Ann,
Do ye my will Il ye will or will not,
Or-Diminy, Woxy, Vickrey, Hot
Then she opened the doors and sat
down near them and knitted her archi-
tectural lace while she waited. She
knew what would happen.
Very soon there was stir among the
dolls with the feelinge Several of
them came running to the door.
"We are called" they cried joyfully,
and ran outin the road with swish of
golden locks and tintter OF eIken skirts.
All the rest of the dolls followed as fast
as they could, and the jumping jacks
tumbled out the door, and the stampede
ofvarious animals begun, and the rattle
OF the little wagons and sleds.
Long before midnight all the Christ
mas presents were out of the white
witch's, storehouse and safe in their old
homes, where their old owners well
4 L Il I
All the bells in the steeples rang for
Christmas and for joy, because the cpl
demic Of discontent was over. The white
witch shut the storehouse door, and
went into her own house. She sat
down beside her own hearth and knit
ted on the architectural lace, while the
twelve white robins sat on their silver
perch and sang Chrietmas carol,