[Illustration:  A mother with children in winter]

A CHRISTMAS WISH

  I’d like a stocking made for a giant,
    And a meeting house full of toys;
  Then I’d go out on a happy hunt
    For the poor little girls and boys;
  Up the street and down the street,
    And across and over the town,
  I’d search and find them every one,
    Before the sun went down.

  One would want a new jack-knife
    Sharp enough to cut;
  One would long for a doll with hair,
    And eyes that open and shut;
  One would ask for a china set
    With dishes all to her mind;
  One would wish a Noah’s ark
    With beasts of every kind.

  Some would like a doll cook-stove
    And a little toy wash tub;
  Some would prefer a little drum,
    For a noisy rub-a-dub;
  Some would wish for a story book,
    And some for a set of blocks;
  Some would be wild with happiness
    Over a new tool-box.

  And some would rather have little shoes,
    And other things warm to wear,
  For many children are very poor,
    And the winter is hard to bear;
  I’d buy soft flannels for little frocks,
    And a thousand stockings or so,
  And the jolliest little coats and cloaks,
    To keep out the frost and snow.

[Illustration:  Christmas toys]

  I’d load a wagon with caramels
    And candy of every kind,
  And buy all the almond and pecan nuts
    And taffy that I could find;
  And barrels and barrels of oranges
    I’d scatter right in the way,
  So the children would find them the very first thing,
    When they wake on Christmas day.

—­EUGENE FIELD.

[Illustration:  The church tower]

THE CHRISTMAS BELLS

I

Long, long ago, in a far away city, there was a large church.  The tower of this church was so high that it seamed to touch the clouds, and in the high tower there were three wonderful bells.  When they rang, they made sweet music.

There was something strange about these bells.  They were never heard to ring except on Christmas eve, and no one knew who rang them.  Some people thought it was the wind blowing through the tower.  Others thought the angels rang them when a gift pleased the Christ Child.

Although the people did not know what rang the bells, they loved to hear them.  They would come from miles around to listen to the wonderful music.  When they had heard the bells, they would go out of the church, silent but happy.  Then all would go back to their homes feeling that Christmas had come, indeed.

One Christmas eve the people in the church waited and waited, but the bells did not ring.  Silently and sadly they went home.  Christmas after Christmas came and went.  Nearly one hundred years passed by, and in all that time the bells did not ring.