“But Susan was a good girl,” remonstrated Santa Claus.  “You know I put cold potatoes only in the stockin’s of boys and girls who are bad and don’t believe in Santa Claus.”

“At any rate,” said Joel, “you filled all the stockin’s with candy and pop-corn and nuts and raisins, and I can remember you said you were afraid you’d run out of pop-corn balls before you got around.  Then you left each of us a book.  Elvira got the best one, which was ’The Garland of Frien’ship,’ and had poems in it about the bleeding of hearts, and so forth.  Father wasn’t expectin’ anything, but you left him a new pair of mittens, and mother got a new fur boa to wear to meetin’.”

“Of course,” said Santa Claus, “I never forgot father and mother.”

“Well, it was as much as I could do to lay still,” continued Joel, “for I’d been longin’ for a sled, an’ the sight of that red sled with ‘Yankee Doodle’ painted on it jest made me wild.  But, somehow or other, I began to get powerful sleepy all at once, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.  The next thing I knew Otis was nudgin’ me in the ribs.  ‘Git up, Joel,’ says he; ‘it’s Chris’mas an’ Santa Claus has been here.’  ‘Merry Chris’mas!  Merry Chris’mas!’ we cried as we tumbled out o’ bed.  Then Elvira an’ Thankful came in, not more ’n half dressed, and Susan came in, too, an’ we just made Rome howl with ’Merry Chris’mas!  Merry Chris’mas!’ to each other.  ’Ef you children don’t make less noise in there,’ cried father, ’I’ll hev to send you all back to bed.’  The idea of askin’ boys an’ girls to keep quiet on Chris’mas mornin’ when they’ve got new sleds an’ ’Garlands of Frien’ship’!”

Santa Claus chuckled; his rosy cheeks fairly beamed joy.

“Otis an’ I didn’t want any breakfast,” said Joel.  “We made up our minds that a stockin’ful of candy and pop-corn and raisins would stay us for a while.  I do believe there wasn’t buckwheat cakes enough in the township to keep us indoors that mornin’; buckwheat cakes don’t size up much ’longside of a red sled with ‘Yankee Doodle’ painted onto it and a black sled named ‘Snow Queen.’ We didn’t care how cold it was—­so much the better for slidin’ downhill!  All the boys had new sleds—­Lafe Dawson, Bill Holbrook, Gum Adams, Rube Playford, Leander Merrick, Ezra Purple—­all on ’em had new sleds excep’ Martin Peavey, and he said he calculated Santa Claus had skipped him this year ’cause his father had broke his leg haulin’ logs from the Pelham woods and had been kep’ indoors six weeks.  But Martin had his ol’ sled, and he didn’t hev to ask any odds of any of us, neither.”

“I brought Martin a sled the next Christmas,” said Santa Claus.