The New York herald., 1922-12-03
Children's Books
Continued from Preceding Page.


keys "half-grown humming birds and
even rocs out of the Arabian Nights. /"
The supply of Christmas trees gave out
and they had to make them out of rags,
and stuff them with bran, like old fash
ioned rag dolls In short the plan of a
daily Christmas proved such a colossal
failure that at the end of the year the
little girl begged the fairy not to have
Christmas oftener than once in a thousand
years; but finally, after some argument,
she agreed that once a year would be all
right since that plan had proved a sue
cess for good many centuries
William Allen Butler, a veteran New
York lawyer of an earlier generation best
remembered as the author of the satiric
poem about Miss Flora McFlimsey of
Madison Square, who really and
truly had nothing to wear" once wrote
diverting Christmas extravaganza entitled
1.-The Animal Book" 1t tells how a certain
old gentleman rejoiced in the possession
of thirteen grandchildren, whose greatest
delight was a big book in the old gentle
mans library. filed with fascinating pic
lures of elephants and camels and polar
bears and every other creature known to
Noah's Arks and menageries But, while
these children loyed all the annals dearly
they never once suspected that the picture
book animals loved the children just as
much. In fact, on Christmas eve, when
the lights had been put out and the library
was all dark and silent, the picture book
elephant nudged the giraffe with his tusk
and said "I wish we could buy those chill
dren some Christmas presents" The ami
mails thought this great idea, so the Big
European Bear, the White Faced Monkey
and the 0ranS- -utan appointed themselves
a committee of three, dressed themselves
in some old clothes from the missionary box
upstairs and quietly slipped out of the
house, planning to dance in the streets and
earn enough pennies to buy the presents
Their first adventure was with postman.
who was just taking the mail from the
corner lamp post, and was so scared when
he saw them that all the mail flew into the
air in a regular snowstorm of Christmas
cards and holiday greetings. A block fur
ther they came upon an Italian with
a hand organ, and he, too. when he saw
d
orang-utan had put the hand organ strap
over his shoulder and turned up his over
coat collar he looked pretty much like an
Italian himself; and as it is nothing
strange for a hand organ man to have
monkey and a dancing bear they had no
further trouble and the pennies simply
rained in. All went smoothly until the
oh box
ing home, when suddenly the animals re-
membered that the only proper way to
give Christmas presents is to take them
down the chimney and this they decided
they could none of them do. Luckily at
this moment along came Santa Claus with
sleigh and reindeer. who at once volun-
teered to take their packages down the
chimney for them.
".
Some of the best Christmas stories ever
written are for grown-ups rather than for
children and consequently do not strictly
come within the scope of this article And
yet no survey of this type of story would be
adequate without some reference to F. Hop
kinson Smiths Colonel Carter's Christ
mas" No one who has once made the
acquaintance of Colonel Carter can ever
forget that fine old exponent of the flower
of Southern chivalry: and doubtless the
author was right when he assured us that
the Colonel had never been in better form
than on this particular Christmas eve. Ito
him the occasion of the revival of the old
Days of Plenty. Presently the faithful
Chad appeared bearing aloft the crowning
glory of the evening and placed it with all