North Park union., 1900-12-28
christnas Jack
By Olive Kerrigan.

NSeSs oe
To the poor"
Once there was an old man about
79 years old. He lived in small
house in the woods in the northern
part Of Maine. He lived alone, and
people used to call him Cranky Jack,
because he was so cross. Ifanybody
would come near him he would speak
in such . gruff manner that by and
by every one shunnedhim. Tonight
above all other nights he was cross,
as he sat near tho hearth, shivering
and shaking, and n1uttenng to him
self:
"People say this is Christmas. l
am sure don't care what day it is.
l wonder what they see in Christ
mas"
Just then knock was heard, and
Jack screamed, "Come in"
A pale woman appeared, asking
shelter for the night.
"Away with you, you beggarl I'll
have no beggars in my house. Away
with you'll"
So saying he arose and closed the
door, shutting the poor woman out in
the snow. She had no home to go
to, 20 she resolved to lie down in the
snow and die. It would not be so
hard to die, she thought, if she knew
that her three-year-old son would be
taken care Of. but her little boy was
not taken care Of and it was hard to
die. She took a shawl from her
shoulders and wrapped it about her
little boy and then she told him that
God would take care of him when she
was gone. So saying she lay down to
die, and left her little boy to the mercy
Of the world.
About an hour af er, this was the
way Cranky Jack found her. A lit
tie child appeared at Cranky Jacks
door, saying:
"May come inf Is little Jack.
Is you God? Mamma said God
would take care OF rue.
"Lord! no, child. I'm not God" :"
said Jack.
"But where Is GodF" said the child.
"Lord knows said Jack, Come
here and warm yourself, and tell me
where your folks are?"
mamma is lying in the snow.
She told me to sit near her till God
came and .ook me, but mamma went
to sleep and l have been trying to
wake her and have her kiss title Jack
but she wont; and she is 80 cold, and
l thought God lived in here, so I
came to tell him.
"Come child, put on that shawl
and come and show me where your
mother is, and l will bring her 10 my
house and we will all live together"
said Cranky Jack.
So the child led the way through
the woods to where his mother was.
"Here she ISL cried the child.
"And she is so cold"
Jack took off his coat and wrapped
it around the woman, and carried her
to his house, where be put her in his
bed. The child followed his mother
and Jack into the house, and he shut
the door and sat down by the fire.
When Jack put the woman on the
bed he made some sage tea and gave
it to her. Then he put the child in
beside her, and be took his coat and
made bed for himself: for he had
only one bed, and he put the woman
in that, 80 he had to sleep. on the
floor in the next room.
The next morning he got up early
and had breakfast all ready when they
awoke. Jack saw in the morning the
woman that he had taken in the
night before. She was his daughter,
who had been married against his
will The man she married was harsh
and cross, and so she had to leave
him, or he would have killed her. So
she thought she would come to her
father.
They were very happy, and Cranky
Jack said they were Christmas pres
ents. So he always liked Christmas
after that, and he named his grand
son Christmas Jack because he came
to him on Christmas.