Title:  The Thin Santa Claus The Chicken Yard That Was a Christmas Stocking

Author:  Ellis Parker Butler

Illustrator:  May Wilson Preston

Release Date:  March 6, 2006 [EBook #17937]

Language:  English

Character set encoding:  ASCII

*** Start of this project gutenberg EBOOK the thin Santa Claus ***

Produced by Jason Isbell, Emma Morgan Isbell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

[Illustration:  “Mrs. Gratz watched the thin man search the
chicken yard for toober-chlosis bugs”]

Thethin
Santa Claus

The Chicken Yard That Was
a Christmas Stocking

By

EllisParker Butler

Illustrated by May Wilson Preston

NewYork
Doubleday, page & company
MCMIX

Copyright, 1909, by
Doubleday, page & company
Published, November, 1909.

Copyright, 1908, by The Curtis Publishing Company

TO

HARRY S. MOORE

ILLUSTRATIONS

“Mrs. Gratz watched the thin man search the chicken yard for toober-chlosis bugs” Frontispiece

“He looked like a man who had lost nine hundred dollars, but he did not look like Santa Claus”

THE THIN SANTA CLAUS

Mrs. Gratz opened her eyes and looked out at the drizzle that made the Christmas morning gray.  Her bed stood against the window, and it was easy for her to look out; all she had to do was to roll over and pull the shade aside.  Having looked at the weather she rolled again on to the broad flat of her back and made herself comfortable for awhile, for there was no reason why she should get up until she felt like it.

“Such a Christmas!” she said good-naturedly to herself.  “I guess such weathers is bad for Santy Claus.  Mebby it is because of such weathers he don’t come by my house.  I don’t blame him.  So muddy!”

She let her eyes close indolently.  Not yet was she hungry enough to imagine the tempting odour of fried bacon and eggs, and she idly slipped into sleep again.  She was in no hurry.  She was never in a hurry.  What is the use of being in a hurry when you own a good little house and have money in the bank and are a widow?  What is the use of being in a hurry, anyway?  Mrs. Gratz was always placid and fat, and she always had been.  What is the use of having money in the bank and a good little house if you are not placid and fat?  Mrs. Gratz lay on her back and slept, placidly and fatly, with her mouth open, as if she expected Santa Claus to pass by and drop a present into it.  Her dreams were pleasant.