Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1895-12-12

"Ycu're sound asleep, Billy. 60 to
bed. "
Aud he hurried into his little cot,
hoping he could carry the dream unhro
ken. How they danced before him, those
excellent animals How sravely the
birds addressed him, and how reason
able it seemed that tin soldiers should
Become live dogs and bark aloud, and
how swift it all was, for this was morn
ing, and Dash, the hound, was challeng-
ing some noises he heard in the woods
across the road.
This was Just the same as any Other
morning to Zeph, He got up lazily and
dressed in flood of sunshine, shivering
little and complaining that his wife
had no better fire. He looked out ON the
deep snow and knew the hunting would
be excellent
Just after breakfast sleighlo0d of
people passed, their bells jingling with
tempting melody and jingling still till
the horses stopped in front Of the
squire S farmhouse, when they gave way
to shoutings Of cheer and answering
shouts Of welcome,
"Must be Miller's folks, from Burr
Oaks, said zeph's wife, as she closed
the door and wondered if her other dress
was not better than this one.
The boy stood there at the window,
with his chin on the sill, and tried to
regain his dream estate, from which the
daylight had elected him. Presently he
saw the squire's children coming down
IL l,
and stood on the steps in the sunshine.
The squire's children were taking a tur-
key to old Mrs Stevens, down by the
lake. They stopped at the gate, and he
went down to look at their presents.
They each had pair of skates and were
going to try them Oh the lake if the ice
was good But no ice could add to the
present pleasure Of ownership. They
had new shoes and a silk handkerchief,
with letter in the conner of it, and a
number of candy horses, and one of the
girls had gold finger ring. They had
hung their stockings on a line behind
the stove, and everything was filled III
the morning.
Little Billy added another view to
his Christmas lore. 1t was a time for
making people happy He remembered
party of children that came down here
in light wagon when haZelnuts were
ripe and stopped for a drink Of water
from the spring, and he found himself
wondering what the day had brought to
those children.
OF course it never occurred to him to
take personal view of the matter. He
never imagined himself included i'll
that wondrous embrace, For Of such is
the kingdom of heaven.
His nose was red, and his hands were
thrust deep i'll his pockets, when he re-
turned to the house. But he sat on the
chest there by the fireplace and won
dered silently.
Zeph was greasing his boots and re-
GREETING that he didn't have oil instead
of tallow. He rather resented the fact
that the house was .tidier than usual
that plate of apples was upon the
table, and that his wife was rolling pie
crust and cutting cookies--her hair done
up as she used to wear it when he went
a-wooing. He expressed his disapproval
of all this hoky poky and asked her
what she was going to have for dinner.
She said nothing for time She wished
he had not asked her There was so lit
tie, but she had planned to make it APP
pear as fair as possible.
Across her silence came the bark of
Dash over there in the woods, and the
hunter instinct in Zeph was reused.
Since no one had asked him to go hunt
i-,e bo fo1+ 70, loc1r fry
game. So he glanced out of the win
dow, caught sight of the hound sitting
there in the timber, looking uD for one
moment and then turning his eyes to the
| house, barking occasionally the short,
emphatic statement that he had found
squirrel.
Billy was in great glee His mother
had baked q colander full Of cookies and
had then nodded with her fingers, lit
tie crudely perhaps, number Of ami
mails from The dough. Billy didn rec
ognize all Of them, but when she told
! him he saw the points of resemblance.
And when his father came back he was
quite happy playing with them.
Zeph cut hazel stick as he came
back through the woods, and after the
squirrels he had shot had been dressed
he held them ON the stick and broiled
them before the fire. They were deli
! cious, and there was a dish of mashed
potatoes-quite an unusual thing-and
some baked apples and the wonderful
cookies. Billy couldn't imagine bet
| ter dinner than that. Zeph ate with
great relish, but by no means forgetting
to regard the whole thing as "hoky
poly" And after dinner he went down
to the sawmill and told stories with the
rest of the men, coming home rather be-
fore they had exhausted their jug of ap-
plejack. He had taken one drink him
self, and it may be that made the differ
ence. Anyway he was moved to unusu
al behavior.
The fire was low, and he stirred up
the burning ends of logs till the cabin
was filled with a flood of light, and as
he turned he saw there on the pillow at
the side of his sleeping sons head pitt
full little menagerie of bent, brown
| dough and knew that each animal had
| been perfect in the large blue eyes that
had fought so hard to keep Enclosed the
Dfl