Chapter IV: The Little Dwarf’s Christmas

Old December’s come again;
Stockings large and small,
Hang by the fireside with care,
For Santa’ll fill them all;
I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies cry,
“Santa will in his sleigh dash by;
We always like to have him call,
For we have stockings large and small!”

It was December and Christmas was coming.

The Ink-Bottle Babies said, “May we hang up our stockings now? May we hang all our stockings in a row?”

The Ink-Bottle Babies all talked at once. They made such a noise that the postman had to rap five times before he could be heard.

Then Molly said, “Hush! Listen! I hear a knock!”

Polly went dancing to the door and came back with a letter in her hand. The letter was addressed to the Ink-Bottle Mamma.

She opened it and said, “The farmer and his wife want us to go and spend Christmas day with them! They say, ‘Tell the Babies to bring their stockings.’”

The Ink-Bottle Babies were glad, you may be sure.

They clapped their hands and shouted, “May we go, Ma? Say yes, Ma. Please let us go!”

The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “We will go with pleasure.”

The days passed very fast after that, and it was almost Christmas time; and all would have gone well, I am sure, but two days before Christmas Molly was taken sick, and Polly said, “I don’t feel well either.”

Then what do you suppose happened? All the Ink-Bottle Babies came down with the measles.

They cried and they howled, “We can’t go away on Christmas Day! Oh dear! Oh dear!”

When they had stopped their noise the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Never mind, Santa Claus will not forget you.”

Then the Ink-Bottle Babies dried their eyes. They began to think about Santa Claus.

Toward evening a package was left at the door. It said, “For the measley Babies from the farmer’s wife.”

When the Ink-Bottle Mamma brought the parcel upstairs the Babies cried, “Untie it quickly; please do, and let us all see what is inside!”

Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma untied the parcel, and took out a big red book! The book was called “Tip-Top Fairy Tales.”

The Ink-Bottle Babies were so happy they forgot all about the measles, and they cried, “Please read us a fairy tale.”

The Ink-Bottle Mamma laughed and sat down and read to them. And here is the story she read:

There was once a little dwarf who lived all alone in the deep woods. He was so cross that no one would live with him. One evening as he sat alone by his fire he heard the tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, of sleigh bells.

“Santa Claus, maybe,” he said, “but what do I know about Santa Claus? I never hung up my stockings in all my life.”

Nearer and nearer came the sound of sleigh bells. Then there was a great shout, and the little dwarf went out to see what had happened.

Now what do you suppose had happened?

Santa Claus had driven into a snowdrift and he could not get out. His sleigh had tipped over and his toys had spilled upon the snow.

Santa Claus was half buried in the snow when the little dwarf ran out and cried, “Hello, old Santa Claus! Can’t you get out?”

The little dwarf pulled and tugged at the reindeer, and he pulled and tugged at Santa Claus. Then he went for a snow-shovel, saying, “You are so big I will have to dig you out!”

He dug Santa Claus out of the snow. Then he and Santa picked up the toys, and put them all safely back into the sleigh.

Then the little dwarf whisked into the house and came back with a tiny broom and brushed Santa Claus all over, and helped him shake off the snow.

Poor old Santa Claus was so wet and cold he began to sneeze, “A-kit-chew! a-kit-chew!”

The little dwarf stamped his foot and said, “This will never do! Come in and get warm! Come in and dry your whiskers!”

Then Santa Claus laughed until he shook all over, but he was very glad to follow the little dwarf into the house, though he had to stoop to get in at the doorway. He said,

“A bowl of soup if you please,
Will help Santa not to freeze!”

The little dwarf stamped his foot again and shouted,

“What do you suppose? What do you suppose?
Shall I stir soup with my ugly nose?”

Old Santa Claus laughed and said,

“Ha! ha! ha! hee! hee! hee!
Make for me a cup of tea!”

The little dwarf stamped his foot again and said,

“What do you think? What do you think?
Can an ugly dwarf make tea to drink?”

Then the little dwarf was gone for a long time and Santa Claus almost fell asleep. He shook himself to keep awake.

He said, “I must not go to sleep to-night of all nights in the year!”

Then he said, “I wish the dwarf would hurry. I wish he would get me some tea.”

Then Santa Claus began to sing a little song:

Jolly, jolly Santa Claus
Rides out across the snow;
Jolly, jolly Santa Claus
Brings nicest toys, you know;
Hang up your stockings large and small,
For Santa Claus will fill them all;
Late at evening he will call,
Jolly Santa Claus!

All the time Santa Claus was singing, the cross little dwarf worked away in the kitchen.

He rapped and he tapped and he mixed and he stirred, and after awhile he came in and said,

“Last call for soup in the dining car!
Hurry, old Santa, wherever you are!”

Santa Claus went into the kitchen and there was the nicest supper you ever saw!

The little dwarf yelled,

“What do you think? My dishes are small,
So I gave you the bucket, the dish-pan, and all!”

Then Santa Claus laughed until he cried, for sure enough, there was the soup in the little dwarf’s dish-pan, and the tea was served in a bucket!

Santa Claus was so very hungry that he ate and drank all the food that was before him.

Then he rolled his eyes and said in a half whisper, “Did you ever hang up your stocking?”

The little dwarf stamped his foot and cried,

“What? ho! ho! I am foolish I know,
But I do not hang up my stocking, no! no!”

“All right,” said Santa Claus, “I must be going. If you change your mind about the stocking, it will be all right.”

Then Santa Claus put on his great fur cap and his great fur coat, and the little dwarf stood before him and he stamped his foot and cried,

“I never hung up my stocking at all,
I never believed old Santa would call.”

The little dwarf ran out into his barn and got a great armful of hay. It was all he could do to carry such an armful. He fed Santa’s reindeer.

And Santa Claus said,

“I thank you kindly, have a care,
You may find a stocking there!”

Then Santa Claus gave a whistle and shout and his reindeer bounded over the snow.

“I will not hang my stocking up!” roared the little dwarf, and he stamped his foot in the snow.

Soon Santa Claus was out of sight. Then the little dwarf went back into his house.

When he got into the house, he winked and he blinked his eyes, and he was so surprised that he forgot to scold, for by the fireplace hung a little red stocking!

“I did not hang that up!” shouted the little dwarf. “I did not hang that up!”

He took a peep into the stocking, and what do you suppose he saw? There in the stocking was a little gold cane, just the right size for a little dwarf.

“Well,” said the dwarf, “that is a pretty nice cane, but mind you, I did not hang that stocking up!”

By and by he went into the kitchen to wash his dishes, and imagine his surprise to see all his dishes dry and hanging in their right places.

“I want my own supper!” he roared.

Then he lifted a plate from the shelf, and under it he saw a new penny. Then he took a spoon from the drawer and out rolled another penny, so it went on, until he got down the dish-pan to wash his dishes, and a whole bag full of pennies rolled down and nearly choked him!

Then the little dwarf looked at his pennies and he laughed until he cried.

“I can never count them all,” he said. He put all the pennies in little piles.

“I shall be quite rich,” he cried. “I wish Santa Claus would call again.”

Then the little dwarf went back and looked at his gold cane. He walked up and down the room with his cane in his hand.

“I wish Santa Claus had left another red stocking,” he said. “I would like to wear fine red stockings!”

Then he tripped on the edge of the rug and he rolled the rug up and saw another red stocking and a red cap and a pair of red mittens!

He was so happy he shouted with delight,

“Old Santa is a merry elf,
And I will have a care,
When Christmas comes again next year,
My stocking will be there!”

Then what do you suppose that comical little dwarf did?

He put on his red cap and his red stockings and his red mittens, and he just curled up on the rug and went to sleep!

The Ink-Bottle Babies fell asleep long before the end of the story was reached, but the Ink-Bottle Mamma liked the story so well that she read it on to the end to herself.

Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma went to bed. It was now Christmas Eve.

Did Santa Claus remember the Ink-Bottle Babies, and did he fill all their stockings full?

Well, I guess he did! and the Ink-Bottle Babies all woke up early and cried, “Oh Ma! please bring us our stockings,” and the Ink-Bottle Mamma brought in twenty-five stockings full of apples and nuts and toys.

But the great joy of the day was still to come. Molly and Polly had their beds near the window and they cried, “Oh Ma, here comes a farmer’s wagon!”

Sure enough the wagon came and stopped right at their door. Out jumped the farmer and his wife!

The twenty-five Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!” and the farmer and his wife called,

“Twenty-five babies, all in a row;
This is Christmas day, you know!”

Then the farmer and his wife made a bow and the Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and shouted, “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!”