Marjories New Friend | Page 8

glance in at the Maynard girls' window, his rays struck
Marjorie full in the face and wakened her at once. For a moment she
blinked and winked and wondered what day it was. Then she
remembered, and with one bound she was out of bed, and across the
room to where Kitty was soundly sleeping.
It was a rule for the Maynard children never to waken one another, for
Mrs. Maynard believed that people, both young and old, need all the
sleep they can take, but Christmas morning was, of course, an
exception, and patting Kitty rather vigorously on her shoulder, Marjorie
called out, "Merry Christmas!"
"Who?" said Kitty, drowsily, rubbing her eyes, as she sat up. "Oh,

Mops! you caught me! Merry Christmas, yourself! Let's go and catch
King!"
Throwing on their dressing-gowns, and tucking their feet into bedroom
slippers, they ran to their brother's room, but King, also huddled into a
bath-robe, met them in the hall, and the gay greetings and laughter soon
woke any one else in the house who might have been asleep. Nurse
Nannie, with Rosy Posy, joined the group, and each clasping a pair of
bulging, knobby stockings, flew to the nursery, where this Christmas
morning ceremonial always took place.
A bright fire was blazing in the big fireplace, and in front of it, on a
white fur rug, the four sat down, while Nannie hovered around, ready to
inspect and admire, as she knew she would be called upon to do.
The big, light nursery was a delightful room, and with the morning
sunshine, the shining yellow floor, white-painted woodwork, and bright
fire-brasses, it seemed full of Christmas glow and warmth.
Grouped on the rug, the children immediately proceeded to the
business of emptying their stockings, and as the various things were
pulled out and exhibited, everybody oh'd and ah'd at everybody else,
and they all began to nibble at candies, and at last Christmas had really
begun.
The gifts in their stockings were always of a pretty, but trifling nature,
as their more worth while presents were received later, from the tree.
But there were always lots of little toys and trinkets, and always
oranges and nuts and candies, and always tin whistles and rattles, and
other noise-producing contraptions, so that soon the four grew gay and
noisy and Nurse was obliged to pick up Baby Rosamond, lest she
should be inadvertently upset.
But perched in Nurse's lap, the little one waved a Christmas flag, and
blew on a tiny tin trumpet, and quite made her share of the general
hullaballoo. Marjorie had a new pencil-case, and some pretty
handkerchiefs, and an inkstand, and a silver bangle, and a little diary,

and some lovely hair-ribbons.
And King was rejoicing over a fountain pen, a pocket-knife, a silk
muffler, a rubber-stamp outfit, and some new gloves.
Kitty had a little pocket-book, a silver shoe-buttoner, a blank-book, a
pretty silk pincushion, and a bangle like Marjorie's.
Baby Rosy had dolls and toys, and what with the candies and other
goodies, there was a distracting array of Christmas all about.
"And to think the day has scarcely begun!" said Marjorie, with a sigh of
rapture, as she ate a cream date, at the same time twisting her wrist to
catch the glitter of her new bangle.
"Yes, but it's 'most half-past eight," said King, "and breakfast's at nine.
I'm going to skittle!"
He gathered up his new belongings, and with a sort of combination
war-whoop and "Merry Christmas," he scampered away to his room.
The two girls followed his example, and soon were busily dressing
themselves and helping each other.
Marjorie put on a scarlet cashmere, which, with the big red bows on her
hair, made her look very Christmassy, the effect being added to by
holly sprigs pinned on here and there. Kitty's frock was a sort of
electric blue, that suited her fair hair, and she, too, was holly-decked.
Then, after a hasty inspection of each other, to see that they were all
right, the girls skipped downstairs.
So expeditious had they been that not a Maynard was ahead of them,
except their father, who had just come down.
"Merry Christmas, girlies!" he cried, and just then everybody came
down, almost all at once, and the greetings flew about, as thick as a
snowstorm. Grandma Sherwood, in her soft grey breakfast-gown,
beamed happily at her brood of grandchildren, and soon they all

gathered round the table.
"I wish Christmas was seventy-two hours long, said Marjorie, whose
candies had not taken away her appetite for the specially fine breakfast
that was being served in honor of the day.
"But you'd fall asleep after twelve hours of it," said Uncle Steve; "so
what good would it do you?"
"I wouldn't!" declared King. "I could spend twelve hours