Christmas Every Day

鹬
Every Day and Other Stories, by W. D. Howells

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Title: Christmas Every Day and Other Stories
Author: W. D. Howells
Release Date: September 5, 2007 [EBook #22519]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY AND OTHER STORIES
BY W. D. HOWELLS
[Illustration: "HAVING BONFIRES IN THE BACK YARD OF THE PALACE." [Page 130.]
CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY AND OTHER STORIES TOLD FOR CHILDREN
BY W. D. HOWELLS
[Illustration]
NEW YORK AND LONDON HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1892, by W. D. HOWELLS.
All rights reserved.

CONTENTS
CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY 3
TURKEYS TURNING THE TABLES 25
THE PONY ENGINE AND THE PACIFIC EXPRESS 51
THE PUMPKIN-GLORY 71
BUTTERFLYFLUTTERBY AND FLUTTERBYBUTTERFLY 111

ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
"Having Bonfires in the Back Yard of the Palace" Frontispiece
"The Old Gobbler 'First Premium' said They were Going to Turn the Tables Now" 35
Two Little Pumpkin Seeds 75
Took the First Premium at the County Fair 83
"'Here's that little fool pumpkin,' said the farmer" 85
"Caught His Trousers on a Shingle-nail, and Stuck" 93
"'My sakes! it's comin' to life!'" 103
Tail-piece 107
"'Fix dusters! Make ready! Aim! Dust!'" 121
"The General-in-Chief used to go behind the Church and Cry" 125
"The Young Khan and Khant entered the Kingdom with a Magnificent Retinue" 131
"She was Going to Take the Case into Her own Hands" 135
"The Imam put His Head to the Floor" 139
"They began to scream, 'Oh, the cow! the cow!'" 143

CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY.
The little girl came into her papa's study, as she always did Saturday morning before breakfast, and asked for a story. He tried to beg off that morning, for he was very busy, but she would not let him. So he began:
"Well, once there was a little pig--"
She put her hand over his mouth and stopped him at the word. She said she had heard little pig-stories till she was perfectly sick of them.
"Well, what kind of story shall I tell, then?"
"About Christmas. It's getting to be the season. It's past Thanksgiving already."
"It seems to me," her papa argued, "that I've told as often about Christmas as I have about little pigs."
"No difference! Christmas is more interesting."
"Well!" Her papa roused himself from his writing by a great effort. "Well, then, I'll tell you about the little girl that wanted it Christmas every day in the year. How would you like that?"
"First-rate!" said the little girl; and she nestled into comfortable shape in his lap, ready for listening.
"Very well, then, this little pig--Oh, what are you pounding me for?"
"Because you said little pig instead of little girl."
"I should like to know what's the difference between a little pig and a little girl that wanted it Christmas every day!"
"Papa," said the little girl, warningly, "if you don't go on, I'll give it to you!" And at this her papa darted off like lightning, and began to tell the story as fast as he could.
Well, once there was a little girl who liked Christmas so much that she wanted it to be Christmas every day in the year; and as soon as Thanksgiving was over she began to send postal-cards to the old Christmas Fairy to ask if she mightn't have it. But the old fairy never answered any of the postals; and after a while the little girl found out that the Fairy was pretty particular, and wouldn't notice anything but letters--not even correspondence cards in envelopes; but real letters on sheets of paper, and sealed outside with a monogram--or your initial, anyway. So, then, she began to send her letters; and in about three weeks--or just the day before Christmas, it was--she got a letter from the Fairy, saying she might have it Christmas every day for a year, and then they would see about having it longer.
The little girl was a good deal excited already, preparing for the old-fashioned, once-a-year Christmas that was coming the next day, and perhaps the Fairy's promise didn't make such an impression on her as it would have made at some other time. She just resolved to keep it to herself, and surprise everybody with it as it kept coming true; and then it slipped out of her mind altogether.
She had a splendid Christmas. She went to bed early, so as to let Santa Claus have a chance at the stockings, and in the morning she was up the first of anybody and went and felt them, and found hers all lumpy