Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa Claus' Reading List

by A. A. Milne

  "Wait until Grandpa has had a cup of tea," said Mrs. Bunker, who had opened the front door that had been locked so long. "And then you can tell us, Father," she went on, "why you had to come away from Great Hedge. Is it something important?"

  "Well, it's something queer," said Grandpa Ford. "But I'll tell you about it after a while."

  And while the Bunker home is being opened, after having been closed for a long vacation, I will explain to my new readers who the children are, and something about the other books in this series.

  First, however, I'll tell you why Daddy Bunker called Grandpa Ford "Father." You see Daddy Bunker's real father had died many years before, and this was his stepfather. Mr. Bunker's mother had married a gentleman named Munroe Ford.

  So, of course, after that her name was Mrs. Ford, though Daddy Bunker kept his own name and called his step-parent "Father."

  Grandpa Ford was as kind as any real father could be; and he also loved the six little Bunkers as much as if he had been their real grandfather, which they really thought him to be.

  Now to go back to the beginning. There were six little Bunkers, as I have told you, Russ, Rose, Laddie, Vi, Margy, and Mun Bun. I have told you their ages and how they looked.

  They lived in the town of Pineville on Rainbow River, and Daddy Bunker's real estate office was about a mile from his home. Besides the family of the six little Bunkers and their father and mother, there was Norah O'Grady, the cook, and there was also Jerry Simms, the man who cut the grass, cleaned the automobile, and sprinkled the lawn in summer and took ashes out of the furnace in winter.

  The first book of this series is called "Six Little Bunkers at Grandma Bell's." In that I told of the visit of the children to Lake Sagatook, in Maine, where Mrs. Bunker's mother, Grandma Bell, lived. There the whole family had fine times, and they also solved a real mystery.

  After that the children were taken to visit another relative, and in the second book, "Six Little Bunkers at Aunt Jo's," you may find out all that happened when they reached Boston—how Rose found a pocketbook, and how, after many weeks, it was learned to whom it belonged.

  Next comes the book just ahead of this one, "Six Little Bunkers at Cousin Tom's." The children came from there to find Grandpa Ford on their porch.

  Cousin Tom Bunker was Daddy Bunker's nephew, being the son of a dead brother, Ralph. Cousin Tom had not been married very long, and soon after he and his wife, Ruth, started housekeeping in a bungalow at Seaview, on the New Jersey coast, he invited the Bunkers to visit him.

  They went there from Aunt Jo's, and many wonderful things happened at the seashore. Rose lost her gold locket and chain, a queer box was washed up on the beach, Mun Bun and Margy were marooned on an island, and there were many more adventures.

  "Did you know Grandpa Ford was coming to visit us when we got home?" asked Rose of her mother, as she helped set the table.

  "Yes, that was what he told us in the letter that came the day Mun Bun fell off the pier. It was Grandpa Ford's letter that made us hurry home, for he said he would meet us here. But he came on sooner than we expected, and got here ahead of us," said Mrs. Bunker.

  By this time the house had been opened and aired, Norah had come from where she had been staying all summer, and so had Jerry Simms, so the Bunkers were really at home again. Grandpa Ford had been shown to his room, and was getting washed and brushed up ready for tea. The six little Bunkers, having changed into their old clothes, were running about the yard, getting acquainted with the premises all over again.

  "Now I guess we're all ready to sit down," said Mother Bunker, for, with the help of Rose and Norah, the table had been set, tea made and a meal gotten ready in quick time. Norah and Jerry had been told, by telegraph, to come back to help get the house in order.

  "I'm terrible glad you came, Grandpa Ford," said Mun Bun, as he sat opposite the old gentleman at the table.

  "So'm I," said Margy. "Are you going to live with us always?"

  "Oh, no, little Toddlekins," laughed Grandpa Ford. "I wish I were. But I shall soon have to go back to Great Hedge. Though I may not go back alone."

  "Is that a riddle?" asked Laddie eagerly.

  "No, not exactly," said Grandpa Ford with a laugh.

  "I know another riddle," went on Laddie. "It's about how do the tickets feel when the conductor punches them. But I never could find an answer."

  "I don't believe there is any," said Grandpa Ford.

  "Don't you know any riddles?" asked Laddie.

  "Well, I might think of one, if I tried real hard," said the old gentleman. "Let me think, now. Here is one we used to ask one another when I was a boy. See if you can guess it. 'A house full and a hole full, but you can't catch a bowlful.' What is that, Laddie?"

  "'A house full and a hole full, but you can't catch a bowlful,'" repeated Laddie.

  "Is it crabs?" asked Mun Bun. "I helped catch a basketful of crabs, once."

  "No, it isn't crabs," laughed Grandpa Ford.

  "I give up. What is it?" asked Laddie, anxious to hear the answer.

  "It's smoke!" said Grandpa Ford with a laugh. "A house full and a hole full of smoke, but, no matter how hard you try, you can't catch a bowlful. For, if you try to catch smoke it just rolls away from you."

  "A house full and a hole full—but you can't catch a bowlful," repeated Laddie slowly. "That's a good riddle!" he announced, after thinking it over, and I guess he ought to know, as he asked a great many of them.

  They had a jolly time at the meal, even if it was gotten up in a hurry, and then, just as the children were going out to play again, Daddy Bunker remarked:

  "You haven't yet told us, Father, what brought you away from Great Hedge."

  "No, I haven't, but I will," said Grandpa Ford.

  Great Hedge, I might say, was the name of a large estate Grandpa Ford had bought to live on not a great while before. It was just outside the city of Tarrington, in New York State, and was a fine, big country estate.

  Grandpa Ford looked around the room. He saw Russ and Rose over by the sideboard, each taking a cookie to eat out in the yard. The other little Bunkers had already run out, for it was not yet dark.

  "As soon as they go I'll tell you why I came away from Great Hedge," said Grandpa Ford in a low voice to Mr. and Mrs. Bunker. "It's something of a mystery, and I don't want the children to become frightened, especially as they may go up there," he went on. "I'll tell you when they go out."

  Something Queer

  Russ Bunker took a cookie from the dish on the sideboard, handed one to Rose, and then the two children went out on the porch. Rose was just going to run along to find Vi, who had taken her Japanese doll to play with, when Russ caught his sister by her dress.

  "Wait a minute, Rose."

  "What for?" she asked.

  "Hush!" went on Russ. "Not so loud. Didn't you hear what Grandpa Ford said?"

  "I didn't listen," admitted Rose. "I wanted to see if there were any molasses cookies, but they're all sugar. What was it?" and Rose, too, talked very low.

  They were now out on the side porch, under the dining-room windows, which were open, for, as I have said, it was warm October weather.

  "He said there was something queer about Great Hedge, where he lives with Grandma," went on Russ. "He didn't want us to hear, 'cause I heard him tell Daddy and Mother so. But we can hear out here if we listen. Let's keep still, and maybe we can tell what it is."

  "But that won't be nice," protested Rose. "Mother said we shouldn't peep through keyholes, or listen behind doors."

  "There isn't any keyhole here," said Russ. "And we're not behind a door, either."

  "Well, but——" But Rose could think of nothing else to say. Besides, just then, she heard her grandfather's voice. He was speaking to Mr. and Mrs. Bunker, and saying:

  "Yes, it certainly is very strange. It's quite a puzzle to me—a riddle, I suppose Laddie would call it. But I don't want the children to know anything about it."

  "There, you see!" exclaimed Rus
s in a whisper. "It's only a riddle he is going to tell. We can listen to it, and have some fun. We won't tell what the answer is when he asks us. We'll make believe we don't know."

  "Well, if it's only a riddle, I guess it's all right to listen to it," agreed Rose.

  So the two eldest Bunker children crouched down on the side porch, under the dining-room windows, and listened to the talk that was going on inside. Of course this was not right, but they did not know any better, especially after Grandpa Ford spoke about a "riddle."

  And so it came about that Rose and Russ heard what it was not intended they should hear.

  "You know," went on Grandpa Ford, as Russ and Rose listened outside, "that I bought Great Hedge Estate from a Mr. James Ripley, who lives near here."

  "Yes, I know that," said Daddy Bunker. "Well, you like it, don't you, Father?"

  "Quite well. Your mother likes it, too. It is a large farm, as you know, and there is a big stretch of woods, as well as land where I can raise fruits and vegetables. There are meadows for grazing, and fields for corn, hay and oats. Great Hedge is a fine place, and your mother and I like it there very much.

  "We were a bit lonesome, at first, as it is large, but we hope to get over that part in a little while.

  "What brought me down here is to see Mr. Ripley, and find out something about the place he sold me. I must find out something about Great Hedge."

  "Here is where the riddle comes in," said Russ in a whisper to his sister. "We must listen hard now."

  "What do you want to find out about Great Hedge, Father?" asked Daddy Bunker. "Do you think you paid too much for it?"

  "No, I got it very cheap. But there is something queer about it, and I want to find out if Mr. Ripley can tell me what it is."

  "Something queer?" repeated Mrs. Bunker.

  "Yes, a sort of mystery," went on Grandpa Ford. "It's a puzzle to me. A riddle I should call it if I were Laddie. By the way, I hope the children don't hear me tell this, or they might be frightened."

  "No, they have all gone out to play," said Mrs. Bunker. "They can not hear you."

  "So there is something wrong about Great Hedge, is there?" asked Daddy Bunker. "By the way," he went on, "I have never been there, but I suppose it is called that because it has a big hedge around it."

  "That is it," said Grandpa Ford. "All around the house, enclosing it like a fence, is a big, thick hedge. It is green and pretty in summer, but bare and brown in the winter. However, it keeps off the north wind, so I rather like it. In the summer it shades the house and makes it cool. Yes, the hedge gives the name to the place.

  "But now I must tell you what is queer about it—the mystery or the puzzle. And I don't want you or the children to be alarmed."

  "Why should we?" asked Mrs. Bunker.

  "Well, most persons are frightened by ghosts," said Grandpa Ford with a laugh.

  "Father, you don't mean to tell me you believe in ghosts!" cried Daddy Bunker.

  "Of course not!" answered his stepfather. "There aren't any such things as ghosts, and, naturally, I don't believe in them. But I know that some people do, and children might be frightened if they heard the name."

  "Do you hear what he says?" whispered Rose to her brother.

  "Yes. But I'm not frightened. Are you?"

  "Nope. What's a ghost, anyhow, Russ?"

  "Oh, it's something white that comes in the dark and scares you."

  "Well, it isn't dark now," went on the little girl, "so we're all right. And at night, when it is dark, we go to bed, so I don't guess we'll see any ghost."

  "No, I guess not. But listen!"

  Grandpa Ford was speaking again.

  "Of course I don't believe in ghosts," he said, "and I only use that name, speaking about the queer things at Great Hedge, because I don't know what else to call them. Your mother," he went on to Daddy Bunker, "calls it the same thing. We say the 'ghost' did this or that. In fact we laugh over it and make fun of it. But, all the same, it is very strange and queer, and I should like to have it stopped, or explained."

  "Do you think Mr. Ripley can stop it or explain it?" asked Daddy Bunker.

  "I should think he could," said Grandpa Ford. "Mr. Ripley owned Great Hedge a long while before he sold it to me. He ought to know all about the queer, big old house, and why there are so many strange noises in it."

  "Is the noise the ghost?" asked Mrs. Bunker.

  "That's part of it."

  "What's the other part?" Daddy Bunker queried.

  "Well, it mostly is queer noises," said his stepfather. "I'll tell you how it happened from the very beginning—the first night your mother and I stayed at Great Hedge. It has been going on for some time, and at last I thought I would come on here, see you, have a talk with Mr. Ripley, and then see if we could not clear up the mystery. In fact, I hope you'll go back with me and help me solve the riddle.

  "You and your wife and the six little Bunkers. I want you all to come up to Grandpa Ford's. But now I'll finish telling you about the ghost."

  "Please do," begged Mother Bunker with a laugh. "I have always liked ghost stories. It is very jolly when one finds out what caused the queer noises and sights. Let's hear about the ghost!"

  "All right," went on Grandpa Ford. "I'll tell you about our first night at Great Hedge. It was just about twelve o'clock—midnight—when, all of a sudden——"

  At that instant a crash sounded out on the porch.

  "Mercy!" cried Mother Bunker. "What can that be?"

  She and Daddy Bunker rushed from the room, Grandpa Ford following more slowly.

  Russ Makes A Balloon

  "What is it? What's the matter?" cried Mother Bunker as she opened a door leading on to the porch, where she had heard the crashing noise. Those were the first things the mother of the six little Bunkers always asked whenever anything unusual happened.

  "What is the matter?" she cried.

  Then she saw. Lying on the porch, under the hammock, was Russ. He was huddled in a heap, and he was doing his best not to cry. Mrs. Bunker could tell that by the way his face was wrinkled up. Near him stood Rose, and she looked startled.

  "What's the matter?" repeated Mrs. Bunker. "Are you hurt, Russ?"

  "No'm—that is, not very much. I—I fell out of the hammock."

  "Yes, I see you did. What made you? Did you swing too high? I've told you not to do that."

  "What does it all mean?" asked Daddy Bunker, while Grandpa Ford looked on. "Were you trying to do some circus tricks in the hammock, Russ?"

  "No. I—I was just climbing up, like a sailor when he goes up a rope, you know, and——"

  "I call that a circus trick!" interrupted Mr. Bunker. "I wouldn't try those, if I were you, Russ. You aren't hurt much this time, I guess, but you might be another time. Don't try any tricks until you get older."

  "Well, it wasn't exactly a trick," explained Russ, and then he saw Rose looking at him in a queer way and he stopped.

  "As long as you're all right it's a blessing," said his mother.

  "I thought the house was falling down," remarked Grandpa Ford with a laugh.

  "Oh, you'll get used to all sorts of noises like that, Father, if you're very long around the six little Bunkers," said his stepson. "As soon as we hear a louder noise than common we rush out. But we have been very lucky so far. None of the children has been badly hurt."

  "I hope they'll be as lucky as that when they come to my place at Great Hedge," said Grandpa Ford.

  "Oh, are we going to stay with you, Grandpa Ford?" cried Russ, forgetting all about his pains and bruises, now that there was a prospect of a new place to go to.

  "Oh, what fun!" exclaimed Rose. "I'm going to tell Laddie and Vi!"

  "No, don't, please, Rose," said her mother. "It isn't settled yet. We haven't really decided to go."

  "Oh, but you must come if I have to come down with my big hay wagon and cart you up!" said Grandpa Ford. "But we'll talk about that later. I'm glad neither of you two children was hurt. Now here is five cents eac
h. Run down and buy a lollypop. I imagine they must be five cents apiece now, with the way everything has gone up."

  "No, they're only a penny apiece, but sometimes you used to get two for a cent," explained Russ, as he took one coin and Rose the other. "Thank you," he went on. "We'll get something, and give Mun Bun and Margy a bit."

  "And Violet and Laddie, too," added Rose.

  Russ looked at the five-cent piece in his hand as if wondering if it would stretch that far.

  "Send the other children to me, and I'll give them each five cents," said Grandpa Ford with a laugh.

  "Then we can all go to the store!" said Rose, clapping her hands. "They have lovely five-cent grab-bags down at Henderson's store."

  "Well, don't eat too much trash," said Mrs. Bunker. Then, turning to Grandpa Ford, she said: "Now we can go back in the house and you can finish what you were telling us when Russ fell out of the hammock."

  "I didn't zactly fall out of it," the little boy explained. "I wasn't in it. I was climbing up on one side, and I—I——"

  "Well, you fell, anyhow," said his father. "Please don't do it again. Now we'll go in, Father."

  Russ and Rose were left standing on the porch, each holding a five-cent piece. Russ looked at Rose, and Rose looked at Russ.

  "We didn't hear what the ghost was at Great Hedge," said the little girl.

  "No," agreed Russ. "He was saying that, 'all of a sudden,' just like in a story, you know, when——"

  "When you fell all of a sudden!" interrupted Rose.

  "I couldn't help it," declared Russ. "If you'd had the mat, I wouldn't 'a' made any noise."

  "Oh, well, let's go and spend our five cents," suggested Rose. "And we can tell Laddie and Vi and Margy and Mun Bun to go for theirs. We'll have to wait for them to go to the store with us, anyhow. Mun Bun and Margy can't go alone."

  "All right, you go and tell 'em," returned Russ. "Shall I go and listen some more at the window?"

  "No, I guess not," said Rose. "They might see you."

  For it was in listening at the window that Russ had fallen. As he had partly explained, he had climbed up the hammock, as a sailor climbs a rope.