Evening star., 1941-12-24
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON w. BURGESS.
Sing . song Of Christmas.
Sing a song of cheer,
Sing a song Of eladness
That Christmastime Is here.

The dear Old Brier Patch was not
the only place where there was a
merry Christmas. MY, my, no. In
deed! 1t was very merry there In
the Old Brier Patch, but If you
had happened along there I doubt
very much If you would have even
suspected it. You see, Peter Rabbit
and Mrs. Peter have no way OF ex-
pressing their happiness except by
hopping about excitedly or jumping
up and kicking their long heels to-
gether and if you hadn't happened
along Just when they were doing
some foolish thing like that you
never, never. would have guessed
how very full their hearts were OF
joy and merriment this Christmas
morning.
But in the Old Orchard it was
very different. Your ears would
have told you that it was a very
merry place before you were near
enough to see what was going on.
It was. You see, up there. there
was a Christmas party. I suspect
that If Peter Rabbit had known
about it nothing could have kept
him away from 1t. But he didn't
know about it until afterward, which
is Just as we'll for home Is the
place of all places in which to spend
Christmas, and if Peter had gone
I'D to the Old orchard the day
would have been quite spoiled for
little Mrs. Peter.
No one had known that there
was going to be party. This had
made it all the merrier. You know,
pleasant things often are great
deal more pleasant when they come
as a surprise. 1t began when Tom
nv Tit the Chickadee came fitting
over to the Old orchard. He was
a trif1e late that morning, and
Farmer Browns Boy was just leav-
ing. whistling as he tramped
through the snow toward his house.
Dee. dee, chickadee" cried Tommy
merrilv. for Tommy is always merry.
Dee, dee, chick" Tommy stopped
short. His sharp little eyes had dis
covered something. 1t was a great
lump of white suet tied fast to one
of the old apple trees. And there
on another tree was more suet. and
on a third tree was q bone with
shreds of meat clinging to 1t! No
wonder Tommy stopped his merry
greeting short in the middle and
caught his breath. But it was only
for q minute. Then he began to call
excitedly. and he couldn't get dee,
dees," out fast enough. They fairly
tripped over each other. Here was a
feast. a Christmas feast. and there
was enough for everybody! He
wanted everybody to share in 1t, so
he called with all his might.
Drummer the Woodpecker heard
him and hurried up. So did Yank-
yank the Nuthatch. Their eyes
sparkled when they saw the feast,
for they, too. love suet. They chat
tered excitedly as they feasted, and
when they discovered a little shelf
fastened to one of the trees. and
on this shelf lot of cracked hickory
nuts. their Joy knew no bounds. OF
course. it wasn't long before Sammie
Jaw came over to find out what was
going on. Sammy likes suet and he
likes nuts when they are cracked for
him. but when he found a great
double handful of yellow corn in a
hollow of one of the trees his JOY
was so great that for once he for
got to be selfish and screamed at
the top of his voice to his cousin
! Blacky the Crow, whom he could
see in the top of tall tree on the
edge of the Green Forest. Blacky
came over at once.
Meanwhile, Chatterer the Red
Squirrel had come racing along the
old stone wall to see what was going
on. When he came to a great fiat
stone half way along the old wall he
stopped so suddenly that he almost
tumbled over. Yellow corn and fat
hickory nuts were spread all over
the snow-covered fiat stone! Then
he added his voice to the happy
excited chatter. Presently Happy
Jack the Gray Squirrel joined the
party. and he found nuts and corr
spread for him. Bob White wa,
very hungry that morning. The
snow had buried the seeds and ht
didn't quite know where he and his
family were going TO get theil
Christmas breakfast. When hi
heard the merry chatter over in the
Old Orchard he flew over just tt
see if by chance he might share ir
the good things Almost the frs
thing he saw when he got there
was a little shelter Of poles ant
brush down in one corner OF th'
Old Orchard and scattered al
around it wheat and rye and sun
flower seeds Bob didn't stop II
pick up SO much as one tiny seed
but hurried back for his family, jo!
singing in his heart With a grea
whirr of stout little wings Mrs. Boil
and all their children followed hin
back to the Old Orchard to join thu
merry Christmas party.
And it was all because Of FarmeI
Browns Boy No wonder that hi
own Christmas was very, yer.
merry.