STORY x__I

THE TWISTYTAILS' CHRISTMAS

"'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a
creature was stirring, not even--an automobile," read Curly Tail,
the little piggie boy as he sat by the open fireplace in his house.

"Hold on!" cried his brother Flop Ear, "that isn't right, Curly. It
should be not a mouse stirring--I know that poem."

"You're right, Floppy dear," admitted Curly Tail, "I read it wrong,
but anyhow tomorrow is Christmas, and I was thinking so much about
the toy automobile I want, that I guess I put one in the verse by
mistake."

"All right, then I'll forgive you," said Floppy, who was sitting by
the fireplace, stringing red, white and blue popcorn for Baby
Pinky's rag doll's Christmas tree. "And I'm thinking of the toy
steam engine I want," went on Flop Ear. "Oh! why doesn't Christmas
hurry up and come?"

"That's what I want to know," put in Pinky, as she dressed her doll
in her best dress, all ready for the holiday that was soon to be
there.

Oh such goings on as there were in the Twistytail house! The holly
with its red berries, and its p____ly leaves, had been put in the
windows and on the gas chandeliers had been hung the magical
mystical mistletoe, with its white berries, and whoever stood under
it would have to love everybody else.

And such good smells as there were coming from the kitchen! Pumpkin
pies, and sour milk pudding, and apple cake, to say nothing of
cornmeal lollypops with chocolate in the middle.

Mrs. Twistytail was as busy as anything, and as for Papa Twistytail,
he had stayed home from the office on purpose to help decorate the
house. Flop Ear and Curly Tail and Baby Pinky had written letters to
Santa Claus the night before, and put them near the chimney. And, in
the morning, would you believe it? those letters were gone! Yes,
siree! not a trace of them left!

"Oh, goody!" cried Baby Pinky, "Santa Claus came in his reindeer
sleigh and took them. Now we'll get just what we want."

Busier and busier became everything in the Twistytail house, and for
that matter, there were busy times in the homes of Sammie and Susie
Littletail, and Johnnie and Billy Bushytail, and the Wibblewobble
duck children, and Jackie and Peetie Bow Wow, the puppy dogs. And as
for Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old rabbit gentleman, who was quite
rich since he found his fortune, he was so busy that he wore out two
rheumatism crutches and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had to gnaw him
another from a broom stick, instead of a corn stalk.

Then it began to snow. Oh, how the white flakes did swirl down out
of the sky, blowing here and there like feathers. They piled up in
drifts, and the animal children raced through them, kicking their
feet about, tossing the white flakes up in the air, falling down in
the drifts and making s_____lls. And the wind came down the chimney
like a fairy blowing a blast on a trumpet. Oh, it was the most jolly
time of all the year! Uncle Wiggily said to himself, and he ought to
know, if anybody does.

"You must go to bed early this night, children," said Mrs.
Twistytail after supper. "The sooner you are asleep the sooner will
it be Christmas."

"We will," said Curly Tail and Flop Ear and Baby Pinky, and off they
trotted, after kissing their papa and mamma good-night, their little
kinky tails flopping up and down like a lady's earrings when she
runs after a trolley car.

Darker and darker it grew, and still the snowflakes kept coming down
until all the ground was white and the roofs of houses, too, and the
gate posts and the pump in the yard and everything--all white,
ready for Christmas.

"Santa Claus' reindeer can easily pull the sleigh tonight," said
Baby Pinky, as she looked from the window.

"Come, get back into bed!" called Curly Tail, "or Santa Claus won't
come."

It was close to midnight, and still the snow came down. Outside the
Twistytail house, just as outside of every other house where the
children believe in Santa Claus, there was heard the ringing of
bells. Then some one called:

"Whoa, there, reindeer!"

Then there was a noise in the chimney. Maybe it was the wind, or
maybe it was a little bird crawling in to get warm. I don't know.
Anyway, there was a noise, but the piggie children never woke up.

And then--and then--and then--in a little while it was Christmas
morning. Somewhere a horn blew. Curly Tail heard it first, and,
though it was scarcely daylight, he hopped out of bed.

"Wake up!" he cried, "Wake up everybody! It's Christmas! Merry
Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" cried Flop Ear.

"Merry Christmas!" echoed Baby Pinky, and they all rushed
downstairs.

"Mercy me!" exclaimed Mrs. Twistytail, rubbing her eyes. "Christmas
so soon?"

"Yes, indeed!" shouted the children. "Oh, come and see what we
have!"

Well, if I were to tell you all that happened at the Twistytail
house that day, and about all the presents the children got, I'm
sure I would be so long finishing that you would get hungry. But oh!
everything was lovely!

"I've got my toy steam engine!" cried Flop Ear.

"And I have my toy auto!" said his brother.

"Oh, I see my new doll carriage--and a new doll in it--and look at
her little Christmas tree!" cried Baby Pinky! "Oh, how lovely
everything is!"

"Merry Christmas!" cried a voice at the door, and there stood Uncle
Wiggily Longears, with a lot of bundles under his paws. "Santa Claus
left these at my house by mistake," he said. "They belong here!" and
there was a sled, and skates and a football, and a rocking horse,
and a jumping jack, and I don't know what all.

"Merry Christmas!" cried another voice, and there stood Grandpa
Squealer, the oldest pig of them all, and in his paws he had a lot
of packages, and an extra one tied to his tail.

"Santa Claus left these at my house by mistake," he said, "they
belong here."

And there was a blackboard and some building blocks, and a toy top,
and toy horns, and a printing press and a phonograph, and oh! I
don't know what all else besides.

"Look at my auto!" cried Curly Tail. "It goes like everything!" and
he wound it up, and whizz! it went right at Uncle Wiggily.

"Hold on! Stop it! Don't let it bite me!" cried the old gentleman
rabbit, and he tried to get out of the way, but he slipped on his
broomstick crutch and fell down, and a piece of p____ly holly fell
on him and tickled him so that he sneezed.

"Look at my steam engine!" cried Flop Ear. And he started it going,
and all of a sudden it darted right for Grandpa Squealer.

"Stop it! Hold it! Don't let it get me!" cried the old gentleman
pig. But the engine went right at him and ran over his toe, but it
didn't hurt much, because it was so little--I mean the engine was,
not Grandpa Squealer's toe. But he slipped, too, and fell, and some
mistletoe got tangled in his paws, but that only made everybody the
more happy.

"Merry Christmas!" cried Uncle Wiggily.

"Merry Christmas!" grunted Grandpa Squealer, and Mr. and Mrs.
Twistytail and the children. And from the outside the house all
their animal friends shouted the happy words, and the horns blew,
and the bells rang, and it was Christmas at last.

And so to one and all of you, children and big folks, I wish you a
Merry Christmas, ten thousand million of them, and one more for good
luck, and may you all be happy! And Uncle Wiggily says the same
thing.

So now, as there are as many stories in this book as it can hold,
even with pinching and squeezing, if I tell you any more they will
have to be printed in another book. And the name of that will be:
"Bedtime Stories; Toodle and Noodle Flat-tail."

The stories will be about some funny little beaver boys, and the
queer things they did. Uncle Wiggily will be in that book, too, and
so will many more of your animal friends, not forgetting Grandpa
Whacker, the oldest beaver of them all.

So, until those stories are ready, which will be next season, I'll
bid you all good-bye!

THE END

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