cmas was coming.

  ttle log buried in sno drifts took t ao talls.

  t. laura and mary stood on c across ttering sno ttering trees. sno sparkled in to t icicles as large at top as lauras arm. ts.

  pas breat out in clouds and it froze in on ache and beard.

  amping ts, and caug , actle drops of melting frost.

  every nigled til and smooth as silk.

  t tting to little peaks and toar carved on tallest point. little ttle stars, and crescent moons, and circles. all around tiny leaves, and flowers, and birds.

  one of ttle boards s edges ars, and t crescent moons and curlicues.

  around t board iny flowering vine.

  iniest sting very sloty.

  at last ted togetifully carved back for a smoottle ss middle. tar top of it. ted t ifully, too. and ttle vine ran around the shelf.

  pa for a cmas present for ma. carefully against tood tle che shelf.

  ttle c on , and stle gilt ciful, standing on tar at top.

  ma mas. s-rising bread and ryenlnjun bread, and she cake spoon.

  one moing sogetil t in tdoors. laura and mary each had a

  pan, and pa and ma so pour ttle streams on to the snow.

  t once and was saved for cmas day.

  all t eliza and uncle peter and ter and alice and ella, o spend cmas.

  tmas t, and t of to te. aunt eliza and uncle peter and t, all covered up, under blankets and robes and buffalo skins.

  ts and mufflers and veils and s they looked like big, shapeless bundles.

  tle and jack leaped in circles top. noo play h!

  as soon as aunt eliza er and alice and ella and laura and mary began to run and s. at last aunt eliza told to be quiet. t;ill tell you s do. lets make pictures.”

  alice said t go outdoors to do it, and ma t it oo cold for laura to play outdoors. but er all, for a little and mittens and t her go.

  laura doors in ter and mary, making pictures. t his:

  eacump, and t once, umps into t, deep sno on tried to get up spoiling t exactly like four little girls and a boy, arms and legs and all. tures.

  t oo excited to sleep. but t sleep, or santa claus come. so tockings by t to bed-alice and ella and mary and laura all in one big bed on the floor.

  peter rundle bed. aunt eliza and uncle peter o sleep in ttic floor for pa and ma. ts in from uncle peters sled, so there were enough covers for everybody.

  pa and ma and aunt eliza and uncle peter sat by talking. and just as laura ing off to sleep, ser say:

  “eliza lake city. you kno big dog of mine? “

  laura once. so dogs. sill as a mouse, and looked at t flickering on tened to uncle peter.

  “ell,“ uncle peter said, “early in tarted to to get a pail of er, and prince o to t eet and pulled.

  “you kno go, and rong s get aill ore a piece out of .

  “it ,“ aunt eliza said to ma.

  “dear me! “ ma said.

  “ore a big piece rig of t,“ aunt eliza said. “i  me.”

  “prince gro you? “ pa said.

  “yes,“ said aunt eliza.

  “so tarted on again to; uncle peter on. “but prince jumped into t tention to alking and scolding. kept on seetried to get past in front of  scared her.”

  “i s ; ma said.

  “ o bite me, said aunt eliza. “i believe he would have.”

  “i never ; said ma. “ on earth did you do?”

  “i tued rigo t eliza answered.

  “of course prince rangers,“ said uncle peter. “but o eliza and t perfectly safe to leave t understand it at all. “after s into t pacing around it and groime sarted to open t her and snarled.”

  “; said ma.

  “ts ,“ aunt eliza said. “i didnt knoo do. t up in t daring to go out. and er. i couldnt even get any snoo melt. every time i opened ted like ear me to pieces.”

  “; pa asked.

  “all day, till late in teoon,“ aunt eliza said. “peter aken t him.”

  “along late in teoon,“ uncle peter said, “ quiet, and lay do of t o try to slip past to ter.

  “so sly, but of course a tracks of a panther.”

  “tracks eliza.

  “yes, uncle peter said, “racks i ever saracks. big oak over ting for some animal to come ter. undoubtedly he would have dropped down on her.

  “nigracks, and s e any time getting back to ter. prince follohen.”

  “i took o t; aunt eliza said, “and ayed inside, till peter came home.”

  “did you get ; pa asked uncle peter.

  “no,“ uncle peter said. “i took my gun and ed all round t i couldnt find racks. o the big oods.”

  alice and ella and mary o alice, “my! you scared?”

  alice hing.

  “ell, any being ty,“ alice whispered.

  t it till ma said: “c to sleep unless you play for t; so pa got his fiddle.

  till and ers , and pas fiddle sang merrily to itself.

  it sang “money musk,“ and “t; “t; and “arkansas traveler.“ and laura to sleep wly singing:

  “my darling nelly gray, taken you a; in t at t. t tockings, and someta claus goer in s, all ran sing to see red mittens, and t stick of red and-riped peppermint candy, all beautifully notched along each side.

  t first. t looked tmas presents. but laura was of all. laura had a rag doll.

  siful doll. se clotton eyes. a black pencil  and raveled, so t it le red flannel stockings and little black cloters for sty pink and blue calico.

  siful t laura could not say a kno everyone ill aunt eliza said:

  did you ever see such big eyes!”

  t jealous because laura tens, and candy, and a doll, because laura tlest girl, except baby carrie and aunt elizas little baby, dolly varden. too small for dolls. t even kno santa claus. t put tement.

  laura sat dotens and s s of all. ste.

  t eactens, and tried on ter bit a large piece and out of ick of candy, but alice and ella a mary and laura licked to make it last longer.

  “ell, ; uncle peter said. “isnt tocking a sc?”

  my, my, have you all been such good children? “

  but t believe t santa claus could, really, a sc o some c it couldnt o t ime, every day, for a whole year.

  “you mustnt tease ter,“ aunt eliza said.

  ma said, “laura, arent you going to let t; s, “little girls must not be so selfish.”

  so laura let mary take tiful doll, and te, and tty dress and admired tockings and ters, and t laura cte was safe in her arms again.

  pa and uncle peter tens, knit in little squares of red and eliza hem.

  aunt eliza ma a large red apple stuck full of cloves. smelled! and it spoil, for so many cloves sound and s.

  ma gave aunt eliza a little needle-book ss of silk for covers and soft o ick ting.

  tiful bracket, and aunt eliza said t uncle peter carving.

  santa claus given t all. santa claus did not give gros but t because t been good.

  pa and ma  give eacs.

  ts must be laid atle out er to do t eliza make t table, .

  for breakfast tu to bring e, and eacand by tove and cter ma put on t ing to cu ttle man over, quickly and carefully, on a griddle.  smoking on te.

  peter ate t a alice and ella and mary and laura ate ttle bits, first t.

  today t t play outdoors, but ttens to admire, and to lick. and t on toget tures in tures of all kinds of animals and birds in pas big green book. laura kept cte in ime.

  tmas dinner. alice -and ella and peter and mary and laura did not say a table, for t c t need to ask for second eliza kept tes full and let t all they could hold.

  “cmas comes but once a year,“ said aunt eliza. dinner eliza, uncle peter and to go.

  “best ter said, well home before dark.”

  so as soon as ten dinner, uncle peter and pa to put to t eliza he cousins.

  tockings over tockings and t on mittens and coats and atoes into ts to keep t elizas flatirons ove , ready to put at t in ts and ts and too. so t into tucked t robe hem.

  “good-by! good-by! “ t, trotting gaily and the sleigh bells ringing.

  in just a little  had been!