Georgene Faulkner

“ Then the Brahmin, feeling sorry for the Tiger, unlocked the cage door. But the moment he opened the door, the Tiger sprang out upon him, growling, “Gurr! gurr! gurr-r-r! Now I will eat you first and drink the water afterwards.”
“Why, Brother Tiger!” said the Brahmin, “do not kill me so hastily. You promised not to eat me, and now, when I set you free, you break your word. Is that fair, or just? Is that according to the law?”
“Gurr! gurr! gurr-r-r!” growled the Tiger. “I care not whether it is fair or just. I learned no law in the jungle. Man is the food for the beast.” ”

“ We all know that on Christmas Eve Saint Nicholas will come in the night, for he never likes to be seen; and we know that he will always live,—for is he not the spirit of love? and love can never die.
So, every Christmas, let us give our gifts as he did those silken purses so long ago—without anyone knowing about it—and let our gifts be a surprise. ”

“ The mountain dwarfs had made for him some new, metal sleigh-bells which jingled out the merriest Christmas music.
Suddenly they heard the old bells tinkling on Santa’s old sleigh and they all rushed back to the house to welcome him home. “What are you doing out here, Mother?” asked Santa Claus, “and all the brownies, elves, fairies, nymphs and mountain dwarfs out here with you? Why, don’t you know this is the time for rest, before we all go to work for another year?”
“No, not to-night, Father Santa Claus. We are so happy we will dance until morning. ”

“ Run! Brother Camel! The earth is falling in! The earth is falling in!” So the Camel ran with them.
On and on, they ran, faster and faster, until presently they met a big Elephant. He snorted at them through his long trumpet. “Why do you all run so fast, and where are you going?”
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“Run! Run! Brother Elephant! The earth is falling in! The earth is falling in!” called the Camel.
So the Elephant joined them and went madly rushing along through the jungle, blowing a blast through his trumpet and shouting, “Run! Run! The earth is falling in! The earth is falling in!” ”

“ Santa Claus bundled his big pack of toys into his sleigh and put in all his Christmas trees. He kissed Mrs. Santa on{32} both cheeks, and with a big smack on the lips called out, “Good-by, Mother,” and, picking up Annie and Willie as if they were live dolls, tucked one under each arm and dashed out to the magic sleigh. They seemed fairly to fly through the air, and the moon and the stars seemed to dance in the sky as they went on faster and faster. Then they came down nearer and nearer to earth where the lights in the great city gleamed like fireflies far below. ”

“ One day he went to sleep under a big palm-tree and, when he awoke, he shivered and shook with fright, and said, “What if the earth should fall in? What would become of me, then?”
Just at that very moment, some monkeys up in the tree dropped a big cocoanut. It fell down with a bang upon the ground.
“Oh, dear me! oh, dear me! what a terrible noise!” gasped the little Rabbit. “Oh, dear me! the earth is falling in. Where shall I run and hide?” and the little Rabbit ran bouncing away through the jungle. ”

“ The Brahmin then told how he had opened the cage door for the Tiger and how the Tiger had broken his word. “Do you call that just, or right, Brother Camel?” asked the Brahmin.
“As just and right as I am treated by man,” snorted the Camel, gnashing his teeth in rage. “When I was young and strong and could carry a heavy load for my master, he took care of me and gave me food and shelter. Now I am old and have lost my strength in the service, and so he overloads me, starves me and beats me. Men are an unjust and cruel race. So I say let the Tiger eat the Brahmin.” ”

“ Now, you must know, children, that all the brownies, elves, fairies and nymphs always call Santa Claus and Mrs. Santa Claus, “Father” and “Mother” because they seem like a Father and Mother to all these little people, and they always help Santa Claus and his good wife make the Christmas gifts; for how would Santa Claus and Mrs. Santa Claus ever get all their work done in time for Christmas without all these good, little fairies to help them? ”

“ But the Chattee-maker never would ride on a horse. He had his own beautiful coach in which to ride and he was often carried about on a litter so that no one ever knew that he was not a bold and brave rider. Had he not ridden on a tiger and had he not routed an army by rushing at them and pulling up trees to frighten them away? Yes, indeed, the people were all very proud of the valiant Chattee-maker, and he lived very happily, all the rest of his life. ”

“ FOREWORD WE are all children, young and old, at Christmas time. We love to talk and think about Santa Claus and the gifts which he will bring to us, and we like to plan how we may play Santa Claus and make some one else happy. Santa Claus embodies this spirit of self-sacrifice and service and so we will enjoy going in our dreams on “A Visit to Santa Claus Land.” And what fun we will have when we join with the fairies and dear Mrs. Santa Claus and trim “A Christmas Tree for Santa Claus.” ”

“ He rides at full speed over rocks and ditches and tears up the trees in his rage!”
And running to the Rajah, they cried out in fright, “Here comes the whole force of the enemy! Men of gigantic stature, mounted on mighty horses. As they gallop along, they tear up trees in their rage and brandish them about as war-clubs. We can fight men, but we cannot fight monsters!”
Now, the Chattee-maker was coming nearer and nearer and shrieking louder and louder in his terror, as he waved the tree wildly about his head and the horse plunged on. ”

“ Then all the Velvet family came scrambling down from their hole in the wall, their{43} whiskers fairly trembling in their eagerness. They crept through the pantry and tiptoed along the great hall and into the living-room where stood the tall Christmas tree; and when they saw the wonderful tree, they were so happy that they squeaked again and again in their joy. Then each mouse took hold of its tail as though it were a long train and, holding it up very carefully, danced and danced in the moonlight. They ran around and around the tree, examining everything. ”

“ He was a Brahmin, or priest, and he had such a kind heart that he could not bear to see anything suffer. Everyone loved him, because he was so good to all the poor people and so gentle with the beasts.
One day, as the Brahmin was walking along the road, he saw a huge Tiger who had been caught by the villagers and put in an iron cage to punish him for his wickedness.
“Brother Brahmin, Brother Brahmin,” moaned the Tiger, “pray have pity on me and let me out of this cruel cage for one little minute, so that I may get a drink of water for I am dying of thirst.” ”

“ Then the King called to his Prime Minister who was a Fox, named Sandy. “Go, and command that mountain to come to me at once!”
So Sandy, the Prime Minister, went to find the mountain. And the next day he came back, leading the Camel by his nose-string. But, when the Camel saw how very little the King of the Mice was, he began to grunt and to gurgle, to wrinkle up his nose and make scornful faces at the King.
“Hello, is this little thing your King? I thought that your King was a lion at least. I should never have come for such a tiny creature. Bah! you are no more than a speck.” ”

“ As the wind whistled over the hillside, the sheep huddled more closely together.
“Our little lambs will suffer with the cold,” said the shepherd-boy.
“No,” answered his father, “look at the way the mother-sheep lie closely about them,{86} protecting the lambs with their warm bodies. No, the old sheep may feel the chill wind but they will not let their babies suffer.”
“Just look at my little baby lamb,” said the boy. “See it is curled up snugly by its mother. Oh! I do hope that no harm will come to it, for it is the tiniest lamb of the flock and I love it. Do you know, Father. ”

“ Rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub! went the drum.
“Seize that insolent bird,” said the King, “and shut him up in the hen-house. There will be nothing left of him in the morning.”
So the servants took the Blackbird and threw him out into the hen-house.
When all the world was sound asleep, Blackbird said:
“Come out, Pussy, from my ear!
There are many fowls for you here;
Scratch them—make their feathers fly,
Wring their necks until they die!” ”

“ Come, we must go in haste to find Him.”
“What gift of love shall we carry to the King, Grandsire?” whispered the boy.
“The most precious thing we own,” answered the old man, “that which we love the best.”
“But we shepherds have no gold nor silver, nor sparkling gems fit for a king,” said one of the shepherds. “What, then, can we carry to this child?{92}”
“I know,” said the boy, as he looked lovingly down upon the little lamb which he was still holding in his strong young arms, “we can give this lamb—Snow-white; it is the purest and whitest little lamb from our flock. ”

“ Now, a very rich man had his orchard near their home—so close, in fact, that the boughs of a big pear-tree hung right over their yard. The rich man was a generous neighbor, and he agreed to give the poor man and his wife the fruit that fell into their garden. So the old woodman and his wife watched with hungry eyes as the pears ripened in the sunshine. ”

“ And now in many countries, they tell the story of the good Saint Nicholas, and how he goes about the earth at Christmas-time{78} bringing gifts of love to all who deserve them, and because he had put his gifts of gold in the long silken purses, our children to-day hang up their long stockings to hold his gifts; and when the children are very good he fills their stockings with sweetmeats, toys and trinkets, but if they have been naughty, they will find a bunch of switches, showing that they deserve to be punished. ”

“ Millions of Mice were busy all day and all night, carrying out little baskets of earth from under the foundations. They worked and worked and they gnawed and gnawed, until very soon the Woodcutters’ village was standing on a thin shell of earth, while underneath them was a big dark hole.
At last the Mouse King felt that the time had come to strike a blow. He knew that the crust of earth was so thin that the least shock would destroy it. So the Mouse King wrote a letter to the Woodcutter Chief asking once more for his Camel. ”

“ Now the tiny Mice were not able to meet the big Woodcutters out in the field, and fight them, but they had their own way of waging warfare. Night and day, day and night, they burrowed and burrowed under the earth. ”

“ Then they found another candy mouse, a nice pink one, and they were so busy eating it that they forgot to watch and listen, until bang! suddenly the door was thrown open and the electric lights were turned on. With a squeak of warning, the Velvet family, scrambling and tumbling down through the branches of the tree, scampered pell-mell across the hall, through the pantry and back to their home and safety. ”