the next morning when kenneth and rose awoke, it was bright and fair. the storm had cleared away, and the whole world was white and wonderful with spangled snow. now the children could play out of doors as much as they liked, and the time went so fast that they almost forgot to wish christmas would hurry up. their cousin charlie came over to play with them, and they built snow forts and snowballed one another; they made big statues of snow in the back yard and shoveled the sidewalks and the front steps nicely. before they knew it it was evening again,—christmas eve, and their mamma was inviting them to come and see her secret in the library.
and what do you think the secret was? when the folding doors were thrown open[11] there was a glare of light and a smell of woodsy green, and kenneth and rose and their cousin charlie cried “oh!” they were so surprised. for there stood a beautiful christmas tree, glittering with spangles and icicles and silver balls and tiny candles.
kenneth and rose and charlie danced around the tree, and they had a beautiful time finding the little bags of candy which were hidden for each of them among the green branches.
“it was a lovely, lovely secret,” whispered rose in her mamma’s ear. “and when i grow up i will make one just like it for my dolls.”
when all the candles had sputtered and gone out, charlie’s papa came to take him home. and after that it was time to go to bed. but first they must hang up their stockings for santa claus to fill. they tied them up over the fireplace in the library,—kenneth’s long black stocking and rose’s shorter brown one. then kenneth said,—
“oh, mamma, we must hang up a stocking[12] for christine. i am sure santa will want to remember the poor little christmas cat.”
“i know!” cried rose. “i will hang up one of my little summer socks. that will be just right for a little kitty-cat’s christmas.”
so she brought one of her short white socks and they hung it up in the chimney-place right between the other two stockings,—between kenneth’s and rose’s. and christine looked pleased. then everybody said good-night, and the children went to bed.
it was very, very early in the morning when kenneth opened his eyes and said out loud, “it is christmas day! oh, at last it is christmas day!” then his eyes opened very wide indeed, and he said nothing at all. the bedposts looked so queer!
kenneth scrambled over and examined them. on each post at the foot of the bed was a big yellow orange. these were the first signs of christmas, and they kept kenneth busy for some minutes. but when he had eaten one of the oranges he could not wait any longer.
[13]he ran to rose’s room and thumped on the door. “merry christmas, rose! wake up!” he cried, poking in his head. but already rose was wide awake, and was sitting up in bed eating one of the oranges which had grown on her bedposts, too, during the night.
“merry christmas yourself,” cried rose, jumping out of bed. “let us run and wake up papa and mamma.”
so they trotted down the hall to mamma’s room and thumped on the door. “merry christmas, mamma! merry christmas, papa!” they cried. “we are going down to look at our stockings and see whether or not santa really did come last night.”
papa and mamma sighed a little, for they were still very sleepy. but mamma said, “well, children, you may go down. but first you must put on your clothes, so that you will not take cold. papa and i will be there in a little while.”
kenneth was dressed first. he ran downstairs to the library, and sure enough! there[14] hung the three stockings, bulgy and knobby and queer. he shouted up the stairs, “oh, rose! hurry, hurry! he really came, santa claus came, and he did not forget even christine.”
in a minute down came rose, with her shoes half buttoned and her curls all tangled. she could not wait this morning to make everything just right.
they seized their stockings and sat down on the floor to pull out the “plums,” like little jack horner. in kenneth’s stocking he found a big red apple, and a bag of lovely marbles. under these was a new game in a box, and a horn of candy. kenneth dived down lower and found a toy cart, and a top, and a baby camera. at last he reached the toe of the stocking, where there was just one thing left. “i think it is a stick of candy,” said kenneth. but when it came out, it was a jack-knife with four blades. you can imagine how pleased kenneth was.
as for rose, what do you suppose she[15] found in her stocking? she had a red apple, too, and a horn of candy. then there was a cunning pocket-book, and a little coral necklace in a velvet box. there was a red rubber ball and a harmonica, and away down in the little brown toe of her stocking hid a tiny doll’s watch and chain. but the best gift of all poked its head out of the top of her stocking and smiled at her the very first thing. it was a lovely little doll, with yellow curls like rose’s own, and blue eyes, and a white dress with blue ribbons.
“oh, you dear doll!” cried rose, hugging her tightly. “i knew that santa would bring you to me! you are ever so much prettier than matilda, and i shall call you alice.”
now papa and mamma came down, and they were eager to see what was in christine’s stocking. “let us take it down to the dining-room where christine is,” said mamma. “katie tells me that there are some queer-looking bundles there for you, which santa could not crowd into your stockings.”
[16]with a whoop of joy kenneth ran down the stairs to the dining-room, and rose followed as fast as she could, carrying the little white sock with the presents for the christmas cat. she went up to the basket beside the fire, where christine lay just as they had left her the night before.
“oh, kitty, see what santa has brought you,” said rose, holding out the little bulgy stocking. then she stared hard into the basket where christine lay. “oh-h-h! kenneth!” she cried. “come here quick! see what santa has brought the christmas cat!”
for there, cuddled close up against christine’s black fur, were two tiny round things mewing with baby voices; one little black kitten, and one as yellow as rose’s curls, both with their eyes shut tight.
“well, well!” said papa. “santa could not get those into kitty’s stocking, so he brought them here. isn’t it a lovely present for a little christmas cat?”
“of course they both belong to christine,”[17] said kenneth, “but may i not call one of them mine, and the other one rose’s?”
“i want the yellow one,” said rose.
“i like the black one best,” said kenneth, “so that is all right.” but christine licked both the kittens with her pink tongue and purred happily.
“i like them both best, and they are both mine,” she seemed to say.
then the children took out the presents from the little white sock. there was a pretty collar and a bow of ribbon,—yellow, which was christine’s most becoming color. and there was a little bunch of catnip instead of candy. santa seemed to know just what a little cat would best like. but nothing seemed to please christine so much as the tiny balls of black and yellow fur in her basket. and the children did not blame her. for indeed, of all their christmas gifts,—except alice, the new doll, and kenneth’s jack-knife,—they each liked best the kitten which they had chosen.
[18]“i shall call my kitten buff,” said rose, touching the little yellow ball gently.
“and mine shall be fluff,” said kenneth, who liked to make rhymes sometimes. “oh, i am so glad that we took christine in out of the snow, rose! for if we hadn’t, perhaps santa would never have thought of leaving us these dear little kittens.”
and i shouldn’t wonder if kenneth was right.
