The Washington times., 1915-12-23
Christmas Books Are Here
With Old, Tried Friends;
Adieu To Best Sellers
Here They Are In the Window In Pretty Yuetde Garb!
Alice Robinson Crusoe, Prince Ahmd, Little Wom-
en- and All the Rest of Merry Company.
By WINIFRED BLACK,

with me. too. you and your umbrella
and your parrot and your dog--and the
footprints.
We need YOU in our family. I'm sure
you'll be much better company than the
persons we're always meeting in the
magazines.
The "Arabian Nights" OF Course
Hello. Prince Ahmid Where did you
come from, you and your two brothers,
Arabian Nights" OF course! Tell me
something that has always puzzled me.
Why is It that you younger brethren
were always so successful in the old
stories? You always brought back the
golden apple, and found the golden
fleece. and married the beautiful prin-
cess, and killed the hideous dragon.
Didn't big brother ever do any Of these
things at all?
I think I'll take you along. too. you
and Aladdin and Sindbad and the rest
Of them. You're so rich and so hand
some and so prosperous and SO lucky,
like to have you in the neiShborhood.
Hans Anderson-how shall ever pass
Here's the Snow Queen, and the Little
Mermaid, and Karen with the red shoep,
and Ida, who turned into yellow lily
because she was envious, and here are
| the -Four Winds who came to visit
she roasted an OK whole for supper for
| them.
on. ho, Sir West Wind. that was 4
! fine journey you took tho young prince
| when he rode upon your wings high liz
! the blue sky. Aren't you ashamed of
yourself. Brother Boreas, to 90 drop
ping icicles and snowfakes all over the
place; Poor little kay k, ..lt HOW Trdza miserr ,n
there in the Snow Queens country and
he could no, lonser remember. and be
| lonely cah't leave YOU and the little
! Fir Tree here in the shop window-that
would never do.
Worth Many Modern Heroines.
| Little women!' why. Beth. how
sweet you are! Yet--well Amy. did 1t
turn out so well. YOUR romantic love
| marriage. after all? Hello. 10! as brisk
and sensible as ever. How have done
without you all this while?
Why. you're worth a dozen erratie,
| erotic heroines in a dozen best sellers.
! You never did things that you knew
were wrong. and then called yourself
prosecuted when you rot your Just des-
-serts.
You never fell In love with somebody
else's sweetheart or even dreamed OF
running away with somebody else's hus-
band-and yet YOU managed to be hap
py somehow. I wonder how you did It.
I And you were Door. too. and lived In
a little brown house-you and The Old,
Fashioned Girl" and Rose in Bloom.
and THE Eight Cousins and the
/ Five Little Peppers"-not all OF the
same family exactly. but the same kind
Of wholesome. honest. lovable, real peo-
pie. There wasn't an automobile be-
tween you. and If one of YOU had a new
scarlet ribbon for her hair she felt like
| a queen. And as for Yachts and foot
men and boxes at the opera, you never
seemed to have even heard Of them.
Best-Sellers All To Go.
Como along. 10 and Beth and Amy
Come. Max and Prince Charlie ant
Archie! we want vou. too. to help u'
and the children we love ret hack tt
sanity and sense and love and horne
| again.
I'm going to pitch every best seller
in the house out of the wihdoS thii
very night and real the old-fsshionet
chidren's books through, word 70
word, every one of them. before Civ
! them away at Christmas.
Won't 1t be a relief to get UP read
ing acquaintance with the simple. nat
ural. lovable creatures in those book
again-just for a change?