CHAPTER III
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The sun waited just about as long as he could stand it on Christmasmorning, and then he poked his yellow nose above the horizon to see whatwas going on. And everything that he saw was so merry and gay and full ofChristmas spirit, that he pushed the rest of himself up, and beamedaround in a glad smile of welcome and greeting. As he gave a flashingglance in at the Maynard girls' window, his rays struck Marjorie full inthe face and wakened her at once. For a moment she blinked and winked andwondered what day it was. Then she remembered, and with one bound she wasout of bed, and across the room to where Kitty was soundly sleeping.
It was a rule for the Maynard children never to waken one another, forMrs. Maynard believed that people, both young and old, need all the sleepthey can take, but Christmas morning was, of course, an exception, andpatting Kitty rather vigorously on her shoulder, Marjorie called out,"Merry Christmas!"
"Who?" said Kitty, drowsily, rubbing her eyes, as she sat up. "Oh, Mops!you caught me! Merry Christmas, yourself! Let's go and catch King!"
Throwing on their dressing-gowns, and tucking their feet into bedroomslippers, they ran to their brother's room, but King, also huddled into abath-robe, met them in the hall, and the gay greetings and laughter soonwoke any one else in the house who might have been asleep. Nurse Nannie,with Rosy Posy, joined the group, and each clasping a pair of bulging,knobby stockings, flew to the nursery, where this Christmas morningceremonial always took place.
A bright fire was blazing in the big fireplace, and in front of it, on awhite fur rug, the four sat down, while Nannie hovered around, ready toinspect and admire, as she knew she would be called upon to do.
The big, light nursery was a delightful room, and with the morningsunshine, the shining yellow floor, white-painted woodwork, and brightfire-brasses, it seemed full of Christmas glow and warmth.
Grouped on the rug, the children immediately proceeded to the business ofemptying their stockings, and as the various things were pulled out andexhibited, everybody oh'd and ah'd at everybody else, and they all beganto nibble at candies, and at last Christmas had really begun.
The gifts in their stockings were always of a pretty, but triflingnature, as their more worth while presents were received later, from thetree.
But there were always lots of little toys and trinkets, and alwaysoranges and nuts and candies, and always tin whistles and rattles, andother noise-producing contraptions, so that soon the four grew gay andnoisy and Nurse was obliged to pick up Baby Rosamond, lest she should beinadvertently upset.
But perched in Nurse's lap, the little one waved a Christmas flag, andblew on a tiny tin trumpet, and quite made her share of the generalhullaballoo. Marjorie had a new pencil-case, and some prettyhandkerchiefs, and an inkstand, and a silver bangle, and a little diary,and some lovely hair-ribbons.
And King was rejoicing over a fountain pen, a pocket-knife, a silkmuffler, a rubber-stamp outfit, and some new gloves.
Kitty had a little pocket-book, a silver shoe-buttoner, a blank-book, apretty silk pincushion, and a bangle like Marjorie's.
Baby Rosy had dolls and toys, and what with the candies and othergoodies, there was a distracting array of Christmas all about.
"And to think the day has scarcely begun!" said Marjorie, with a sigh ofrapture, as she ate a cream date, at the same time twisting her wrist tocatch the glitter of her new bangle.
"Yes, but it's 'most half-past eight," said King, "and breakfast's atnine. I'm going to skittle!"
He gathered up his new belongings, and with a sort of combinationwar-whoop and "Merry Christmas," he scampered away to his room. The twogirls followed his example, and soon were busily dressing themselves andhelping each other.
Marjorie put on a scarlet cashmere, which, with the big red bows on herhair, made her look very Christmassy, the effect being added to by hollysprigs pinned on here and there. Kitty's frock was a sort of electricblue, that suited her fair hair, and she, too, was holly-decked.
Then, after a hasty inspection of each other, to see that they were allright, the girls skipped downstairs.
So expeditious had they been that not a Maynard was ahead of them, excepttheir father, who had just come down.
"Merry Christmas, girlies!" he cried, and just then everybody came down,almost all at once, and the greetings flew about, as thick as asnowstorm. Grandma Sherwood, in her soft grey breakfast-gown, beamedhappily at her brood of grandchildren, and soon they all gathered roundthe table.
"I wish Christmas was seventy-two hours long, said Marjorie, whosecandies had not taken away her appetite for the specially fine breakfastthat was being served in honor of the day.
"But you'd fall asleep after twelve hours of it," said Uncle Steve; "sowhat good would it do you?"
"I wouldn't!" declared King. "I could spend twelve hours having ourregular Christmas in the house; and then twelve more outdoors, skating orsomething; and then twelve more--"
"Eating," suggested his father, glancing at King's plate. "Well, since wecan't have seventy-two hours of it, we must cram all the fun we can intotwelve. Who's for a run out of doors before we have our Christmas tree?"The three older children agreed to this, and with Mr. Maynard and UncleSteve they went out for a brisk walk.
"Wish we could snowball," said King, as they returned, and stood for afew moments on the verandah. "It's cold enough, but there no sign ofsnow."
"Pooh, you don't have to have snow to play a game of snowballs!" said hisfather. "Why didn't you say what you wanted sooner? You are such adiffident boy! Wait a minute."
Mr. Maynard disappeared into the house, and returned with a large paperbag filled with something, they did not know what.
"Come out on the lawn," he said, and soon they were all out on the brown,dry, winter grass.
"Catch!" and then Mr. Maynard threw to one and another, some swift, whiteballs. They were really white pop-corn balls, but at first they lookedlike snowballs.
The children caught on at once, and soon two or three dozen balls werewhizzing from each to each, and they had the jolliest game! The ballswere too light to hurt if they hit them, yet solid enough to throw well.
To be sure, they broke to bits after many tosses, but the game lasted ahalf hour, and then Mr. Maynard declared that it was tree time.
"Sounds like tea-time," said Kitty, as they trooped in.
"Sounds a whole lot better than that!" said King.
The tree was in the living-room. It had been brought in, and trimmedafter the children went to bed the night before. So they had had noglimpse of it, and were now more than eager to see its glories.
"Are we all here?" asked Mr. Maynard, as he looked over the group in thehall, awaiting the opening of the doors.
"All but Uncle Steve," said Marjorie. "Why doesn't he come?"
"We won't wait for him," said Mr. Maynard, and he gave a loud knock onthe double doors of the living-room.
Like magic the doors flew open, and waiting to receive them was SantaClaus himself!
His jolly, smiling face was very red-cheeked, and his white hair andbeard streamed down over his red coat, which was of that beltedround-about shape that seems to be Santa Claus's favorite fashion.
His red coat and trousers were trimmed with white fur and gold braid, andhis high boots were covered with splashes of white that _looked_ likesnow. He wore a fur trimmed red cap, and big gold-rimmed spectacles. Thelatter, with the very red cheeks and long white beard, so changed UncleSteve's appearance that at first no one seemed to recognize him.
But they knew in a moment, and Marjorie grasped one hand and Kitty theother, as they cried out:
"Hello, Uncle Santa Claus! how did you get so snowy?"
"I came down from the arctic regions, my dears," said the smiling saint,"and up there we have perpetual snow."
"It seems to be perpetual on your boots," observed King; "I'm sure itwon't melt off at all!"
"Yes, it's first-class snow," agreed Santa Claus, looking at his boots,which w
ere really splashed with white-wash. "And here's little Miss RosyPosy," he continued, picking up the baby, who, at first, was a little shyof the strange-looking figure. "This is the very little girl I've come tosee, and she must pick something off the tree!"
Rosy Posy recognized Uncle Steve's voice now, and contentedly nestled inhis arms as he carried her to the tree. And such a tree as it was!
It reached to the ceiling, and its top boughs had been cut off to get itin the room at all.
The blinds had been closed, and the shades drawn, in order that theilluminations of the tree might shine out brightly, and the gorgeoussight quite took the children's breath away.
The big tree was in the end of the room, and not only did sparklingtinsel rope deck the green branches, but its strands also reached out tothe wall on either side, so that the tree seemed to be caught in animmense silver spider-web. Sparkling ornaments decked every limb andtwig, and shining among them were hundreds of tiny electric lights ofdifferent colors.
Many beautiful presents hung on the tree, without wrappings of any sortto hide their pretty effect, and many more gifts, tied in be-ribbonedpapers, lay on the floor beneath.
Altogether, it looked as if the whole end of the room were a sort ofglittering fairyland, and the children promptly agreed it was the mostbeautiful tree they had ever had.
As Santa Claus held Baby Rosamond up to select for herself a gift fromthe tree, he held her so that she faced a big doll, almost as large asherself.
"Oh, that will be my dollie!" she announced, holding out her little arms.
The big doll was detached from its perch and handed to the child, who ranto nurse with her treasure, and would not be parted from it all day long.
Then said Santa Claus: "Marjorie, next, may come and choose anything shewould like to use."
He offered his arm, and, with exaggerated ceremony, led Midget to thetree.
She was a little bewildered by the glitter, and the variety of giftshanging about, but she spied a lovely muff and boa of fluffy white furthat she felt sure must be meant for her.
At any rate they were her choice, and Santa Claus gave them to her withhearty assurance that she had chosen well.
Then he announced: "Next, of course, is little Kitty. Choose, my dear!Take something pretty!"
Kitty advanced slowly. She knew well what she wanted, but she didn't seeit on or under the tree.
Santa Claus watched her roving eyes and then said: "If you don't likewhat you see, look around behind the tree!"
So Kitty peered around, and sure enough, almost hidden by the strands oftinsel, there stood a bookcase.
"I'll choose that!" she cried, in glee, and Mr. Maynard and Santa Clauspulled it out into view. It was the adjustable kind, with glass fronts,and Kitty had long desired just such a one for her room.
"Isn't it beautiful!" she exclaimed, sitting down on the floor to examineit, and to imagine how it would look filled with story books.
"Now, Sir Kingdon, approach," called out Santa Claus; "carefully scan thebranches o'er, and help yourself from its ample store!"
King came toward the tree, eying it carefully in search of something hewanted very much, yet scarcely dared hope for.
But, half hidden by a paper fairy, he spied a gleam of gold, and pouncedupon the dream of his heart, a gold watch!
"This will do me!" he said, beaming with delight, at the fine time-piece,with its neat fob. It was a handsome affair for a boy of fourteen; butKing was careful of his belongings, and Mr. Maynard had decided he couldbe trusted with it.
Then the elder people received gifts from each other and from thechildren, and then everybody began to open bundles, and "thank you's"flew around like snowflakes, and tissue paper and gay ribbons were kneedeep all over the floor.
"I didn't know there were so many presents in the world!" said Marjorie,who sat blissfully on an ottoman, with her lap full of lovely things, andmore on the floor beside her. Grandma had brought her an unset pearl.This was not a surprise, for Grandma had given her a pearl everyChristmas of her life, and when the time came for her to wear them, theywere to be made into a necklace.
Uncle Steve had brought her a bureau set of ivory, with her monogram onthe brushes, and the children gave her various trinkets.
Then Stella and Molly had sent gifts to her, and Gladys and some of theother school girls had also sent Christmas remembrances, with the resultthat Midget was fairly bewildered at her possessions. The others too, hadquantities of things, and Uncle Steve declared that he really had spilledhis whole sack at this house, and he must rescue some of the things totake to other children. But he didn't really do this, and the Maynards,as was their custom, arranged their gifts on separate tables, and spentthe morning admiring and discussing them.
At two o'clock they had the Christmas feast.
Nurse Nannie played a gay march on the piano, and Mr. Maynard, offeringhis arm to Grandma, led the way to the dining-room. King, escorting RosyPosy, walked next, followed by Midget and Kitty. Last of all came Mrs.Maynard and Uncle Steve.
The dining-table was almost as beautiful as the Christmas tree. Indeed,in the centre of it was a small tree, filled with tiny, but exquisitedecorations, and sparkling with electric lights. The windows had beendarkened, and the shining tree blazed brilliantly.
The table was decorated with red ribbons and holly and red candles, andred candle shades and everybody had red favours and red paper bells.
"I feel like a Robin Redbreast," said Marjorie; "isn't it all beautiful!Did you do it, Mother?"
"Yes, with Sarah's help," said Mrs. Maynard, for her faithful and cleverlittle waitress was of great assistance in such matters.
"It's like eating in an enchanted palace," said Kitty. "Everything is sobright and sparkly and gleaming; and, oh! I'm _so_ hungry!"
"Me, too!" chimed in the other young Maynards, and then they proceeded todo ample justice to the good things Ellen sent in in abundance.
But at last even the young appetites were satisfied, and while the elderssipped their coffee in the library, the children were sent off to play bythemselves.
The baby was turned over to Nurse Nannie, and the other three tumbledinto their wraps and ran out of doors to play off some of their exuberantenthusiasm.