“Oh, goodie!” cried Flop Ear.

“And maybe we can clean out same of the cake and pie dishes after you get through baking,” suggested his brother.

“I think you may,” said their mamma.

“But what can I do?” asked Baby Pinky, the littlest pig of them all.  “Can I go to the store for anything?”

“You will stay home with me,” said Mrs. Twistytail, “and help me bake.  Now, boys, you had better start, so as to get home before dark.  Here are the things I want,” and she gave them a list written out on paper.

Oh! so many lovely victuals as there were!  I can’t write about them, for I haven’t had my supper yet, and I’m so hungry, when I think of the good things, that I might even take a bite out of my typewriter, and then I couldn’t print any more stories for you, and that would be too bad for me.

Anyhow, there were many good things that Mrs. Twistytail wanted, and soon Curly and Flop were on their way to the store with a big basket.

They got them all, and they took sniffs and smells, though not so much as weenyteeny nibble of the Christmas things.  But, oh! how they did wish the time would come when they might really eat them!

“What do you most want for Christmas?” asked Curly as he and his brother tramped on through the snow-covered woods.

“A toy steam engine,” replied Flop Ear.  “And what do you want, Curly Tail?”

“A make-believe automobile.”

“I hope we get them,” went on Flop Ear with a sigh, and pretty soon, off in the woods, they heard a voice calling: 

“Whoa, now!  Stand still there, if you please.  Some of the things are slipping off my sleigh, and I want to fasten them on.  Whoa there, reindeer!”

“Listen to that, would you now!” whispered Curly Tail to his brother, as they hid down behind some bushes.

“Reindeer!” exclaimed Flop Ear.  “There’s only one person who has reindeer and he is—­”

“Santa Claus!” interrupted Curly Tail.  “We’ve found Santa Claus, Floppy, and this is the best chance in the world to tell him what presents we want for Christmas!”

“That’s right,” agreed the other piggie boy.  “We’ll speak to him,” and then they walked on a little farther and they saw the dear old saint himself, with his red coat, all trimmed with white fur, and his white beard, and he was as round and fat and jolly as anything.

“What ho!  Hello!” cried Santa Claus, when he saw the piggie boys.  “What are you doing here?”

“We are on our way home from buying Christmas things,” said Flop Ear.  “But have you really Christmas presents there, Mr. Santa Claus?”

“I have indeed,” replied the jolly old saint, with a twinkle in his eyes.  “But no one is allowed to see them until the right time.  You see I am traveling about, measuring the sizes of different chimneys, so I can tell whether or not I can slide down them.  Just as I got here some of the toys began to slip off the sleigh and I stopped to fasten them on.  But I suppose you have your toys all picked out?”