Part 3

Early next morning he hopped out of bed. He stuck his feet into his overalls in a great hurry, and clapped his cap on his head. He ran eagerly out to the woodpile to hunt for the fattest lightwood stick he could find. He grabbed hold of the stick; fattest he could find. He dragged it on the ground, pulling it, puffing and grunting, panting and blowing to the steps. He called Mamsy to help him get it up the steps. She came to help him. She brought her ax and chopped the big stick into smaller sticks. Jakie gathered them up in his arms and carried them inside, by the fire. He placed his little stool close to the fire-place. Mamsy lent her hatchet to him. He sat on the stool and split the sticks into fine splinters.

[Illustration: HE SPLIT THE STICKS INTO FINE SPLINTERS]

Mamsy tied them in small bundles. Then tied a stout string around the small bundles into one large bundle. Together he and Mamsy caught the fat turkey and bagged it, with its head peeping out, in the same coarse sack they found full of Christmas gifts. Frances had tucked her card into the sack bearing her street, her name, and her number. “My po writin’ might git it lost!” said Mamsy, so she sewed the card on the sack “to make sure,” their Christmas gift would get to the beautiful, loving, kind city girl who had scattered such happy joys, into their hearts.

A kind neighbor hauling chickens and turkeys to town to sell, carried them into the City to leave on the front porch; Christmas gifts of love--the only thing they had to give. Jakie watched the neighbor’s wagon roll away toward town, wondering what his Big Friend would say when she got their Christmas gifts. He was so happy he wanted to make other people happy.

He ran into the house to Mamsy begging her:

“Mamsy Mr. Cripple Jim is so lonesome he cried! Let me go fill his stocking. Dress me up like fat old Santa Claus. You go with me, and I ken sneak into the house and put things in his stocking, and he will think I is sure ’nough old Santa Claus. Fix me so he won’t know me.” Mamsy promised.

CHRISTMAS EVE

The chickens had gone to roost. Billy was in his pen. The cow and calf in their shed for the night. Jakie was wildly excited, he said:

“Mamsy, dress me up now like fat old Santa Claus. Make me stick out jess like him. Put long white hair on me; put long white beard on me too. I want to fool Mr. Cripple Jim.”

Mamsy got her shawl and with a needle and thread tacked the shawl all around him until he looked like “a rolly-polly,” or a brownie. She stirred flour and water together into paste. She smeared the paste on his chin and cheeks and stuck snowy white cotton to it for his beard. She pinned cotton in his cap, for white hair. He was ready to go. He got a switch to stick in Mr. Cripple Jim’s stocking, because Mamsy stuck a switch in his stocking once to make him laugh. He wanted to make Mr. Cripple Jim laugh. He coiled the switch and stuck it into the meal sack Mamsy gave him for a pack on his back. She dropped oranges, apples, candy and raisins in the pack. Also put into it a cake of fresh butter, a can of coffee, and a new pair of woolen socks, she knitted to give to him. Jakie danced up and down, watching her.

Mamsy baked a pan of nice corn bread and buttered it hot; and drew a pot of hot coffee to take Mr. Cripple Jim a hot supper. While he ate it Jakie could slip in and fill his stocking. She put the supper in a split basket. She lifted the sack upon her own shoulder to carry to Mr. Cripple Jim’s door for Jakie; it was too heavy for him. The basket of supper she carried on her arm. Jakie was so bundled up he waddled in the path behind Mamsy like a fat baby. They reached the house. Mamsy lifted Jakie’s pack off of her shoulder, and put it on Jakie’s back. She knocked on the door.

[Illustration: CAUTIOUSLY JAKIE PUSHED OPEN THE DOOR]

“Come in,” the lonely old man called out.

Mamsy went in. Jakie hid in the dark outside listening and peeping through a crack in the door.

Mr. Cripple Jim looked expecting Jakie to come in behind Mamsy. He was disappointed. Jakie heard him ask Mamsy:

“Where’s the boy!”

Jakie’s heart beat faster, breathless he waited for Mamsy’s answer. She always told the truth. He wondered if she would tell on him and spoil all of his fun. But she said evasively:

“He’s about somewheres, up to a boy’s capers.”

Quickly she set the coffee-pot on the hot coals of the fire to heat it. She placed the buttered bread on the table beside him. Jakie eagerly watched her hurry and get a cup and pour the coffee into the cup and set it on the table. Mr. Cripple Jim edged himself around to eat the hot supper--with his back to the door. This was what Mamsy wanted, so he would not see Jakie when he sneaked in. Jakie started inside and jumped back. Mr. Cripple Jim turned his face around toward the bed, pointing his finger toward his stocking: “See I hung up my stocking to please the boy.”

He turned back to eat. He insisted upon Mamsy’s sitting down in a chair. She refused. She stood exactly between him and the door. He was busy eating. Mamsy stuck her hand behind her and beckoned Jakie to sneak in. She talked loud and fast to the aged man so he could not hear Jakie slip in.

Very slowly and cautiously Jakie pushed open the door, and slipped inside, closing the door behind him. He tiptoed to the head of the bed as softly as a little mouse. He nearly burst into a laugh, aloud, when he saw Mr. Cripple Jim’s socks astride the head-board. He set his pack down on the floor. He rummaged in his pack and got an apple and squeezed it into the sock; he squeezed an orange into the other sock. He put candy, and raisins into the socks; he stuck the switch straight up in a sock, and giggled over how it would make Mr. Cripple Jim laugh.

He set a toy dump-wagon on top of the socks. He hung his pack on the bed post. He crept noiselessly back to the door, slipped through, and jumped off the step into the dark. Mamsy glanced sideways. She saw the switch. Jakie had slipped out. She must hurry away. He was outside waiting in the dark, in the cold. She wished the lonely man a happy Christmas. He looked up at her, his face very happy. He had not been forgotten Christmas eve. Jakie had told him Jesus would not forget him. He gazed into the fire-light until it went out. He hobbled to his bed by the dim glow of the coals. He forgot about his stocking wondering where Jakie was, and dropped to sleep.

Silently Jakie and Mamsy stole away from the house. Jakie trudged close behind Mamsy in the foot-path homeward, the stars over-head lighting their steps. Jakie gazed upward at the vast number of twinkling stars in the sky. He asked Mamsy: “Is de stars little holes up yonder what heaven shines through and my papa and my mama can peep through down at me?”

“No,” answered Mamsy, “stars is to tell us about God. You know about the Star which showed the wise men where Jesus was. The stars is to show us every night where He is now. The wise men came a long way from the east to bring gifts to the po baby what come out of Heaven to teach us love,--teach us the sort of love that pretty girl in town showed you and me. She spent her own money to make us happy Christmas. She said He sent her to find you. He whispers to our hearts, inside, to ‘be ye kind one to another.’”

“Did He tell me to send my Big Friend a Christmas gift? an’ tell you to send de turkey?”

“Yes,” answered Mamsy, “so we won’t be gettin’ everything from folks--and give nuthin’.”

They reached their home steps. Jakie blustered up the steps ahead of Mamsy. He shoved open the door. He ran to the fire-place to warm. Mamsy had piled hot ashes over the wood to smother the blaze. Jakie snatched the cotton beard from his chin, while Mamsy stirred up the fire. Jakie snapped the threads tacking the shawl and it fell to the floor. He jumped up and down clapping his hands, saying:

“I got head of fat old Santa Claus! I filled up Mr. Cripple Jim’s stocking my own self--and he didn’t know it.”

Mamsy gave him one of her new stockings to hang up. He chose the nail by the fire-place closest to his side of the bed, so he could see it the very first thing in the morning. He said his prayers and jumped into bed. He tucked his head under the cover,--and fell asleep Christmas eve as all happy children do, wishing to wake up soon Christmas morning; with stockings full, or Christmas trees!

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Church bells ring out their glad-tidings over the world that Jesus came as a little child with His love-gift of Himself to all the earth. To teach us how to love and how to live; how to love and how to give! Wise men of the east followed the Star of Bethlehem to find Him. They brought rich gifts unto Him.

Christmas bells ring out their chimes glory to God in the Highest, peace on earth good will to men. Christmas trees glitter in twinkling lights, hanging full of love-gifts to rich and to poor. Children jump out of bed to dive their hands into Christmas stockings. Fire-works shoot upward. Love-gifts are exchanged all over the world for He teaches us the greatest thing in all the world is love! His love makes us sweet and makes us glad; makes us happy and makes us kind.

The dawn of the day shed its gloaming in the east. Jakie’s eyes opened. The room was dark. He pulled himself slowly from under the cover--not to awaken Mamsy. He edged himself from the bed until his feet touched the bare floor. He stretched his hands out before him and felt his way to his stocking. His hands touched his stocking. He eagerly felt it up and down, it stuck out stuffed full as a sausage. The stocking-toe touched something big and curious. He felt it with both hands. It had wheels. His heart beat faster. It had a tongue. It was a boy’s express wagon. He was astonished. He had wanted one all of his life. He felt inside of it. Something mysterious was inside. He lifted it up. A dim light came through the window, he examined the something; it was a new harness for his billy goat. His heart leaped for joy. He stepped to the other side of the hearth to see what Santa Claus brought to Mamsy. No stocking was hanging up. There was nothing! “Not a thing for Mamsy!” he said to himself, “That old Santa Claus is fooled Mamsy same as he fooled me!” A happy idea came to him. He would play Santa Claus to Mamsy too. He crept to the bed on his all-fours and stole one of Mamsy’s stockings out of her shoe. He crept back to the fire-place. He hung the stocking up on a nail across the hearth from his own. Cautiously he lifted his stocking down from the nail, and went back to Mamsy’s stocking. He pulled things out of his own stocking. He dropped them into Mamsy’s stocking until it had as much in it as he had left in his stocking. He carried his stocking back and hung it on the nail. He was cold and shivering. He crept back to bed. He crawled into bed, and snuggled up to Mamsy to get warm. But he could not wait! He put his mouth close to Mamsy’s ear. He whispered:

“Mamsy! Mamsy! Santa Claus is come--sure ’nouf.”

Mamsy opened her eyes.

“Christmas gift!” he blurted out. Mamsy thrust her hand down from the edge of the bed to feel for her shoes and stockings. She always stuffed each stocking into each shoe by her bedside ready to wear next morning.

Jakie lay watching her. She said, “I sure am getting old and forgitful. I was sure I stuffed my stocking in my shoe; now I can’t find it.”

Jakie stuck his head under the cover, to giggle. She got out of bed. She felt along the floor. The stocking was not there. She hopped on the cold floor, one shoe on and one foot bare, to the fire-place, to stir up the fire. She saw her missing stocking hanging on a nail, half-full.

She saw Jakie’s stocking half empty. Jakie was peeping at her from under the cover.

He saw Mamsy take it down and press it against her cheek. He ducked his head back under the cover-lid, grinning, saying: “Mamsy don’t know I is her Santa Claus too.”

Over at Mr. Cripple Jim’s house he was laughing aloud. He awoke and saw the long switch sticking up over his head. “Hah,” he said, “Old Santa has brought me a switch to warn me to be good! How did he come right over my head without my knowing it!” He raised up in bed. He pulled the socks down beside him. He reached for the pack hanging on his bed post. He poured out all the contents on his bed. He looked at the pile of good things. He wagged his head. His face was radiantly happy. He said: “A happy child made me, an old cripple man, hang up my stocking. He said Jesus won’t forgit me--he told the truth. Jesus didn’t forgit me!”

He heard such noisy, jolting, bumping, in his yard. He seized his crutches leaning against the foot of his bed. He hobbled to the door. He opened the door. He peeped out. It was Jakie sitting in his Christmas wagon driving billy harnessed up in the new harness. He yelled out to Jakie “Christmas gift.”

Jakie waved his cap. “I come to cetch you first--and you is cetched me first.” The happy little boy tied billy to the hitching post. He ran into the house to see the happy old man.

Frances had emptied her purse of all of her Christmas money,--but she had wafted Christmas joys to the dear country folk in the backwoods. And a beautiful note came through the mail from her to Jakie and to Mamsy for their love-gifts to her “of lightwood and a turkey.”

_The End_

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Perceived typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.

Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.