Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1917-01-05
BILLY
BRADFORD
Story of a Boy Who Had
Never Heard of
Christmas
By F. A. mitchell

pcrlence his first Christmas he was
astrlde Il donkey In Mexico, There
was no Christmas for the Bradford
family and no mention Of Christmas
If Bllly's father remembered II was
Christmas day he said nothing about
Il. The wife and mother remembered
II with tears, She had no home, There
was no muntcl on which her little boy
might hang his stocking, and II there
were there was nothing to put In II,
The mother died while the family
were still moving from place to place
Then the father died while passing
through nm unlnhabllcd country, Billy
found himself alone, lie was eight
years Old Considering that he wa,
left In wilderness, with no one to
take care Of him, perhaps his want Of
the refining Influences Of Il home were
IN his favor with little help from
kindly nelghhors, he went about pro
vidlng for himself Hs II Young squirrel
does when left on It's own resources,
At first he slept out under the trees,
then made himself sleeping place
partly under ground For food he
lived mostly on berries. But his IA.
ther had left gun, and Billie knew
how to bring down birds, That is all
he did, the same 0s wild animals.
one day while examining the articles
his father had when he died Billy
found some certificates of shares in a
mining company located near San
Francisco, lie had no idea what they
were, but one day traveller passed
that way, and Billy showed them Ia
him. He told Ellly that they repre-.
scented fortune for whomsocvcr owned
them. When Billy told him that his
| fathers was the name written on them
and that he 0Bllyl was all that was
left Of the Bradford family the stran
ger advised him to go to San Francisco
and look the matterup. Billy explained
that his father had crossed n country
with no trees and plenty Of Indians
and stopped awhile In a city, where.
upon the man inferred that Bradford
had been forty.niner had invested f.
a mining venture and moved on.
The stranger furnished Billy with
funds to go to San Francisco, writing
out note for the amount. and Bill,
made an y at the bottom. Then tn,
lender went on his way, saying that h.
would likely turn up some day in san
Francisco and claim the amount due
him. He never did.
Billy knew nothing of travelling and
walked the whole way to San Fran
cisco, more than 300 miles He rcachcI
the suburbs Of the town on II win @.
evening at dusk. Passing house tina
was lighted up, he looked IN throug!
a window A number Of children wcr,
inside and some older persons were
hanging evergreen festoons from the
ceiling. The scene in the house pleas
ed Billy, and he went to the door and
knocked A little girl opened 1t, and
Billy said to her:
"What you putin up the green things
tori"
what are we putting them up for
Why, for Christmas, OF course
whats Christmas"
ooh, my good gracious"
She ran back into the room where
the Christmas preparations were being
made and cried out;
"There's boy at the door who
doesn't know what Christmas is.
The establishment at this announce
ment among the children was eclipsed
at sight Of Billy, who followed the cir
Into the room and stood staring about
him. half blinded by the lights, a lady
descended from a Stepladder and con
fronted him.
"Are you the boy who doesn't know
what Christmas is?'
mo; don't
"Where were you brought up?"
II wasn't brought up at all, | was q
mover"
"What do you mean by thatT
"That's what mother said we was
We was always goin' somewhere
"Where is your motherT'
Dead"
"And your father?"
Dead"
"And you never heard of Christ
masT
"No, | never did
"ChildTen," said the lady, "how Otter
have | tried to make YOU understan,
how thankful YOU should be that yol
are surrounded with comforts, Here,
boy who has neither father MOI
mother, who has always been a wan
dercr and who doesn't know Wha
Christmas is, Have You anything to b,
thankful for, little boy?"
Eyes, I'm thankful that | WASH
horned "A groWdho- or Somcthin' like
that
The children were not able to com
prehend this assertion. They did no
know that the only thing the boy haC
to be thankful for was that he was ;
human being If they were thankful i
was that the. were far above other hu
man beings who lived in small houses
wore ragged clothes and didn't have