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How Santa Claus came by William O. Stoddard now don said Rad Burnell dolefully.

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Do you believe any kind of a
snow storm could stop Santa Claus from

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coming? Well, yes, that's
it. I heard father tell mother he

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couldn't get here in time, and
I know he meant something about Christmas by

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the way he looked at Pettish and
Molly was Berry there. She was sound

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asleep in the cradle, And mother
said, Berry won't care, but it'll

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be at this point for the rest
of em It's an awful snow storm,

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Rad, But I guess Santa Claus
will come for all of that. Just

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a little later, mister Burnell said
to his wife, I'm sorry we didn't

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get our things in the village,
Maria, but it's too late. Now.

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Don't say anything to the children.
It'll be bad enough when it comes.

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Nobody else heard him, but Missus
Burnell looked as if she wanted to

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cry. That was one of the
whitest nights anybody in the world ever saw,

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for the snow had thrown the thickest
kind of a white blanket over everything.

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Some of the roads were drifted level
from fence to fence, and the

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railroads were having a tremendous time of
it. Anything so black as a locomotive

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could hardly feel at home pushing its
way along through so white a country,

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or into so white a village as
Middleville was that Christmas Eve. It was

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a dreadfully long night, and Pettish
woke up three times and tried to make

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herself believe it was morning. The
last time she heard the great clock in

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the academy steeple on the village green, pounding away at its task of telling

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what time it was. I'll count, said Pettish, nine twelve seven,

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fourteen fifteen six. I guess it's
most time to get up, must be

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it's Christmas now. Just then she
heard a noise in the next room,

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and she listened with all her ears. First it was a rustle, and

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then the loudest kind of a whisper, loud enough to have been heard in

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daytime. Rad Rad, it's just
struck five. Let's take a scoop downstairs

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and see about it. We can
hurry right back again. They're pulling on

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their stockings, said Pettish. I'll
get up and pull on mine, but

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I won't let them see me.
She tried very hard to get up without

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waking Molly, but it was of
no use, for Molly's sleep had been

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begun at the right time and was
fairly over now, considering that it was

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Christmas morning. Oh, Pettish,
what are you going to do? Sh

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sh, Molly? The boys are
going downstairs to look, and I'm going

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too. Lie still. But Molly
was two years older than Pettish, and

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she wouldn't lie still. She was
out on the floor in a twinkling and

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she made Pettish wrap herself all up
in a blanket, and she pretty nearly

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buried her own chubby shape and are
comfortable. That was about what Rad and

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Don had done already, and they
were now carefully creeping down stairs in the

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dark. The door of the front
parlor was nearest the foot of the stairs,

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and the boys left it open after
them when they went in, but

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Molly and Pettish closed it very softly
and carefully the moment they were safe in

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the dim, gloomy parlor. The
boys were just beyond the folding doors at

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that moment and did not see that
they were followed. Berry was sound asleep

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in her crib, within reach of
her mother, or she would have heard

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her say just then, Oh John, it's a dreadful disappointment. What will

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those poor children do poor Pettish,
said mister Burnell. We can explain it

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to the boys and they can wait, and to Molly, but it'll be

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bad enough for any of em.
But Pettish would break her little heart if

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she finds that Santa Claus hasn't come. It'll be almost as much of a

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disappointment to Aunt Sally and Frank.
I hope they'll bring mid with them when

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they come, of course they will. Now that had been a very long,

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white, beautiful dark night, and
a great many queer things had happened

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in it. They are sure to
in any night before Christmas. But there

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had been a wonderfully deep snow storm
away on toward morning. Just when the

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Academy clock was trying to make sound
asleep, people hear that it was really

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four, a tired out and frosty
looking railway train came, smoking and coughing

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up to the platform at the Village
railway station. It did not stop long,

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but some people got out of one
of the sleeping cars, and some

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baggage was tumbled out of the baggage
car, and a sleepy man with a

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lantern, said yes, sir,
carriage your in a minute, sir,

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all right, we don't want any
carriage, My man, take our checks

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and have our trunks brought over to
mister Burnett's before seven o'clock. We'll walk

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right there. Now, come,
Sallie, Come along Mid Frank, Husband,

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you'll drop some of those things.
No, I won't, Sallie.

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Mid My dear boy, look out
for that box. It's only pasteboard.

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I'll be careful, mother. I
ain't a wait yet. But it takes

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all three of us to Santa Claus
this pile. Hope it isn't far.

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The cold, frosty air was fast
getting Mid wide awake, and they did

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look, all three of them,
as if they were have done better with

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a sleigh and a good team of
reindeer. The distance was short, but

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Aunt Sallie talked pretty nearly all the
way. We must do it, Frank,

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she said, as they drew near
the gate, I'm sure they've given

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us up. We can get in. There never was any bolt on the

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kitchen window over the pump. Middleton
can climb right in and come and open

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the side door for us. Oh, but won't that be fun? Exclaimed

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Mid as he hurried silently forward.
Sh there, Sallie, whispered Uncle Frank.

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As he and his portly, merry
faced wife lugged their bundles. After

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Mid, it was less than half
a minute before they were in the kitchen.

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They promptly shut the door between the
dining room that was the sitting room

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too, and the back parlor.
And then how they did work. Plenty

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of wood and shavings and kindlings were
dying in front of the great Franklin stove

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in the dining room, and there
was quickly a blazing fire there and in

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the kitchen too, and Mid insisted
on lighting every lamp and candle he could

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lay his hands on. Then the
bundles came open, and their contents began

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to shine all around the chimney and
over the mantel, and even on some

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of the chairs. It's too bad
we haven't any of their stockings, began

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Aunt Sally. But she exclaimed the
next instant, Oh, Frank, here's

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Maria's work basket, all full of
stockings. I know. Then those are

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dons. There's a pair of rads, Molly's pettish, Berri's the dear little

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kitten. We've got em, mother, let's set the table. That's it.

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You help him do it? Father, won't we give em a surprise?

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It was wonderful how those three did
work and not make any noise about

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it, and how they did change
the looks of that dining room and kitchen

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before five o'clock. Aunt Sallie even
put on the tea kettle and made some

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coffee. And it was evident that, for once Santa Claus was disposed to

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be very much at home. If
they had not been drinking their coffee,

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perhaps they might have heard a voice
not many minutes after five o'clock whispering anxiously

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to somebody in the back parlor.
I say, there's a light coming through

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the keyhole. There's a rattle too
in there. Burglars pooh, no,

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it's Christmas. Oh boys, is
Santa claud was really in there? Has

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he got here? Is that?
You pettish? And Molly too? Keep

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still. I'm just going to open
the door a little mite of a crack,

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but you can all peek in.
Aunt Sannie's ears must have been good

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ones, for carefully has done opened
that door? And faint, as was

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the squeak it made, she sprang
suddenly toward it, is that you.

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Maria. Hush, don't make a
sound, not a loud noise for anything.

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We won't. Aunt Sallie, hush. Even pettysh did just as she

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was told for once, for she
was a little scared when the great blaze

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of light came shining through the door. As Aunt Sallie pushed it wide open,

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it was shut again the moment they
were all in the room, And

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then it was all Aunt Sallie and
Uncle Frank could do to keep up any

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kind of silence in that merry assembly. They could not have done it at

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all if Aunt Sallie had not told
them all it's a great secret. You

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must help us give Papa and Mamma
a big surprise. Now, let's get

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breakfast for them. Biddy went away
yesterday morning, said Molly, but I

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know where the eggs are. Whatever
She and Pettish could not find, Don

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and Rad could, and Aunt Sallie
was the best kind of a cook.

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It was nearly six o'clock when Missus
Burnell said to her husband, I'm glad

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Berry waked up. She's all dressed
now, and I can wrap her up

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warm. So am I, my
dear. I'll go right down with you.

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Those poor children. I haven't the
heart to look at them. Let's

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hurry down. So they did,
and Berry went down in her mother's arms.

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But they little dreamed what was coming. A great shout welcomed them as

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they opened the door of the dining
room. Wish you merry Christmas, oh,

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Sallie, Frank, I am so
glad. But how did you get

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in? Breakfast's ready? Christmas has
come. Nobody could have described that next

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half hour to have saved his life, and Aunt Sallie said she had never

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been so happy in all hers.
Molly said, Pettish, won't you go

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upstairs and bring down all their clothes? Yes, children said their mother.

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You must get dressed. Yes,
And mother said Pettish. There was only

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two pairs of my stockings in the
basket, and they're both full. If

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molly'll bring the pair I had on, there's more than enough to fill em.

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So there was. For Aunt Sallie
had not only bought and brought everything

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mister and missus Burnell had written to
her about, but she had heaped on

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a huge assortment of presents on her
own account, and Pettish had at least

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her share. While Uncle Frank had
looked out for Molly, and nobody had

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forgotten Berry or any of the boys. It was quite the usual time when

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they got ready to eat at last. But there was nothing of what Rad

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and Pettish called a dispoint in any
face at that reckfas Santa Claus had come.

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End of How Santa Claus Came by
William O. Stoddard