by Oliver Optic
Johnnie Jones was greatly excited. He asked Mother every question hecould think of, and wished it were Christmas Eve that very minute.Mother told him be should be glad they still had several days beforeChristmas in which to make their preparations.
That same afternoon they went shopping. Johnnie Jones was allowed toselect the toys for the children, and he chose enough drums and horses,wagons and cars, dolls and play-houses, dishes and tables, to fill fourvery large boxes. Next, they ordered the candy, pounds and pounds of it,and a big tree with ever so many candles for it. Last of all, theybought warm coats and shoes.
The next three days was a busy time for Johnnie Jones. After he hadfinished his gifts for the family, he went to work on the decorationsfor the tree. He made yards and yards of brightly colored paper chains,and many cornucopias. Every evening before his bed-time Mother andFather helped him.
At last the day before Christmas came. When Johnnie Jones awoke in themorning he was very much pleased to find the ground covered with snow.It was hard to wait until night, but he was busy all day, and the timepasses quickly when one is busy.
After a very early supper Father, Mother and Johnnie Jones dressedthemselves in their warmest clothing and heaviest wraps. By the timethey were ready, there was the sleigh, drawn by two strong horseswearing many bells, standing before the house. It was quite a whilebefore the toys, and candy, and ornaments, were safely packed in thesleigh, but at last all was in readiness, and away they went.
After a long, beautiful ride over the hard snow, with the moon and starsshining up in the sky, they reached the big house.
"Are all the children asleep?" Father asked two men who were waiting forthem at the door.
The men answered yes, and Father whispered to Johnnie Jones: "We must bevery quiet, Santa Claus, that we may not waken anybody."
They tiptoed carefully into the first room where several children wereasleep in their beds.
"I see the stockings," whispered Johnnie Jones eagerly. "Give me mysack."
Father placed the heavy sack on the floor, and the little Santa andMother filled the stockings with candy and nuts, oranges and tiny toys.As soon as Father had set up the tree in an empty room, he came back tohelp. It was the best kind of fun, but they had to be very quiet inorder not to waken the children. Once Johnnie Jones couldn't helplaughing aloud when a ridiculous old Jack popped out of the box in hishand. The laugh awoke a little boy, who sat up in bed and called out,"Hello! Is that you, Santa Claus?" They had to leave the room until hefell asleep again.
When all the stockings had been filled, the tree decorated, and thepresents arranged under it, Father locked the door of that room so thatno one should peep in before it was time. Little Santa Claus was sotired that he went to sleep in Father's arms on the way home, and whenhe was being carried to bed awoke only long enough to hang his ownstocking by the fire-place.
The next morning he opened his eyes very early, as is the custom ofchildren on Christmas Day. He looked for his stocking, first of all,wondering if Santa had filled it. Of course he had, with all the thingsthat little boys like best.
Johnnie Jones was so happy over his presents, that he could scarcelytake time to dress. At last Mother reminded him of those other childrenwaiting so anxiously for their first Christmas tree. Johnnie Joneslaid down his new toys immediately, and dressed himself as quickly aspossible. Directly after breakfast they returned to the big house, thistime on the street car.
Before they turned the corner on their way to the house, they heard thevoices of the children, who were full of joy over the presents found intheir stockings. Father went at once to the room he had locked up thenight before, and lighted the candles on the tree. When all was ready heopened the door, and Johnnie Jones invited the children to enter.
They stood very quietly about the tree, not saying a word at first. Itwas so beautiful, and so different from anything they had ever seen,that it made them feel shy. But when Father called the children in turn,and Johnnie Jones gave to every one a warm coat, a new pair of shoes,and a splendid toy, they found their tongues, and made such a noise asyou never heard.
They had to dress themselves in the coats and shoes, and they had toshow each other their toys. Some of them had to turn somersaults, andall of them had to make a great noise just to express their joy.
But happiest of all those happy children was little Johnnie Jones.
All too soon, Father, Mother and Johnnie Jones had to leave, so thatthey might reach Grandmother's house in time for dinner. When they wereagain on the car, the little boy began to talk of the good time they hadhad.
"I'd like to be a Santa Claus every year," he said.
"Then save your pennies," Mother answered, "until next Christmas comes."
* * * * *
An Original Valentine
Tom and Sarah were the little boy and girl who lived in the small brownhouse near the home of Johnnie Jones. It was the evening before St.Valentine's day and the brother and sister were sitting by the fire,talking together.
"I do wish we had some valentines to send," said Tom. "If we only hadsome gilt or colored paper and some pictures, we could make them, but wehaven't anything at all."
"I am sorry," their mother told them. "The children have been so kind toyou this winter. You remember how they helped you with the coal? I wishwe could send them each a very beautiful valentine to thank them, but Iam afraid I can't spare the money to buy even one."
Sarah had been as quiet as a little mouse while Tom and Mother werespeaking. Then suddenly she said: "I know what we can do!"
"What?" asked Tom.
Sarah began to dance about the room. "It will be such fun!" she said.
"Please tell me," begged Tom.
"Don't you see," Sarah explained; "we can't buy valentines, and we can'tmake valentines, so we shall just have to be valentines!"
"Now how in the world can we be valentines?" Tom asked her.
"We'll dress in our Sunday clothes," she answered. "We'll cut hearts outof paper and pin them all over us. Then we'll ask Mother to pin a paperenvelope on each of us, and address it to one of the children. When weare ready we'll ring the door bell of that child's house, and when heopens the door, we'll speak mottoes, and all sorts of rhymes. Won't thechildren laugh?"
"All right!" said Tom. "Only, I would rather not be a valentine myself.You be one and I will send you. We'll pretend you are the doll valentinewe saw down town the other day, the one that danced when the man woundher up, and spoke the verse."
"Well!" Sarah assented, "and you must wind me up and I'll dance littleSally Waters."
They spent the rest of the evening thinking of rhymes. Their mothertaught them all she could remember, and Sarah repeated them over andover again so that she should not forget.
The next morning they went to school, but as soon as they had reachedhome and eaten their lunch they began their preparations. No one in thewhole world ever saw a sweeter valentine than Sarah, when she was readyin her bright red dress and short snow-white coat, decorated with paperhearts. Then her mother cut and folded some wrapping paper into a bigenvelope, and placed it about Sarah's little body. Of course her feethad to be left free so that she could walk, and her head, so that shecould breathe.
"Let's go to Johnnie Jones's house first," Tom said.
So his mother addressed the envelope to Master Johnnie Jones, and thechildren started off.
Johnnie Jones was at home that afternoon, feeling very sad. He hadfallen into the pond several days before, and the icy bath had given himsuch a cold that he had to stay indoors. He could see the other childrenrunning about from house to house sending their valentines, and hewanted to run about and send some too. To be sure he had received everso many, but he was tired of looking at them and hearing the mottoesread, and he wished very much that some one would come in to play withhim.
Mother had just said: "I am afraid no one will come to-day, dear,because all the children are busy with their valentines,"
when the doorbell rang.
As soon as Maggie had opened the door she called up to Johnnie Jones:"There's a beautiful valentine down here for you. I'll bring it up. Tomsent it. I caught him at the door, so I'll bring him up, too."
Johnnie Jones ran to the head of the staircase as fast as he could run.How he did laugh when Maggie placed Sarah before him, and showed him theaddress on the envelope.
"It's a doll valentine," Tom explained, "and it has a phonograph in it.I'll wind it up."
He knelt down and pretended to turn a crank. Then Sarah, who had notsmiled or spoken a word before, said:
"If you love me as I love you, No knife can cut our love in two."
Tom turned the crank again, and this time she danced.
"Let me wind it," begged Johnnie Jones, who was very much pleased. Hedid, and the valentine said:
"Roses red and violets blue, Sugar is sweet and so are you."
Mother joined the children in the hall, and was delighted with thevalentine, which each one wound up until it had said all the rhymes thatSarah knew, and had danced until she was tired. Then the doll changedinto a little girl for a while, and she had some milk and cookies withthe other children.
"We shall have to go now," Tom said at last, looking out of the window."The other children have gone into their houses and I must send themeach a valentine."
So Mother made a new envelope and addressed it to Miss Elizabeth Elkins.
"Thank you for my valentine," said Johnnie Jones. "It's the loveliestone I have had all day, only I wish I could keep it as I can theothers."
All the children who received the little Valentine in turn, made exactlythe same remark, so Tom and Sarah were very happy over the success oftheir plan.
* * * * *
When Johnnie Jones was a Cry-Baby
All his life Johnnie Jones had been a bright, happy little fellow whoseldom cried even when he was hurt. Therefore, everyone who knew him wassurprised when suddenly, just before he was five years old, he became acry-baby.
The trouble began with some of the older boys in the neighborhood.There were three of them who were several years older than JohnnieJones, and a year older than the other children. Lately these big boyshad commenced to tease the smaller ones, and especially Johnnie Jones.They did not intend to be unkind, but would often make him cry byrolling him off his sled, pelting him with snowballs, or calling himnicknames.
Of course, there was no reason for crying, since, although the boys wererather rough, they never really hurt Johnnie Jones. Indeed, they lovedhim, and were only in fun when they teased him. If Johnnie Jones hadbeen brave enough to laugh at them he would soon have been left inpeace; but as he always cried instead, the boys began to call him"crybaby."
Johnnie Jones soon formed the bad habit of crying about every littlething that did not please him, until at last it was difficult to livewith him. His father and mother were greatly distressed, and tried inevery way to help Johnnie Jones. They told him that they were ashamed tohave a cry-baby for a son, but that only made him cry more than ever.
Finally Mother said that something must be done, for Johnnie Jones hadreached the point where he was almost always crying. He would come homecrying from kindergarten, he would come in from play with tears in hiseyes, and worst of all, every few minutes, he would find some excuse forcrying at home.
"I think he must be ill," Mother said to Father, one day, "and I am soworried that I shall take him to the doctor."
Father agreed, so in the afternoon, Mother and Johnnie Jones paid Dr.Smith a visit in his office.
Dr. Smith was a great friend of Johnnie Jones's and was sorry to hear ofthe crying spells. He examined the little boy very carefully, but couldfind nothing wrong with him. Then he said that he was sure Johnnie Joneswas not ill, and that he cried so often just because he had formed a badhabit.
"It is a very disagreeable habit," he continued, "and I know you want toovercome it, so I'll write you a prescription for some medicine. Doctorsusually do not prescribe for people unless they are ill, but I think ifyou take a spoonful of this medicine every time you cry, you will soonbe cured of the habit. You try it, anyway."
He gave the prescription to Mother, who, after thanking him, left theoffice with Johnnie Jones. On the way home they stopped at thedrug-store and bought the medicine, which mother took into the housewith her, while Johnnie Jones ran out to play.
There wasn't a child in that neighborhood who was not fond of JohnnieJones, but since he had become a cry-baby none of them cared to playwith him, because he would often spoil the best game by stopping to cry.No one enjoys playing with a tearful boy or girl.
All the children were playing in the snow when Johnnie Jones joinedthem. They had built a snow fort, which half of the children were tryingto destroy with snowballs, and which half were defending. They werehaving the merriest sort of a time. Occasionally some one would bestruck by a ball, but he would just laugh and send back another, for itwas all in fun.
Johnnie Jones began to play, too, and was enjoying himself very much,when unfortunately a stray ball struck his cheek. It did hurt, but notnearly enough to cry about, for all the balls were soft. Johnnie Jones,however, began to cry, called the children "unkind," which was foolish,and ran away home.
As soon as he entered the house, Mother gave him some of the medicine.Never was anyone more surprised than Johnnie Jones, when he tasted it!The only other medicine he had ever taken had been sweet, but this wasdreadfully bitter. He had no sooner swallowed it than he began to cryagain. Mother immediately poured more of it from the bottle.
"I won't take any more," Johnnie Jones, said between his sobs, "it isbad medicine."
"Yes, indeed," Mother told him, "you must take it every time you cry,just as the doctor said, because we can't continue to have a cry-baby inthe house. You must take another dose now unless you can stop cryingwithout it."
"I'll stop," said Johnnie Jones, and he did.
Mother poured some of the medicine into another bottle to send to MissPage at kindergarten, and then placed the rest on the mantel whereJohnnie Jones could see it.
It was remarkable how quickly the little boy was cured of his bad habit.After he had taken but three doses of the bitter medicine he learnedto stop and think when anything failed to please him. Then, instead ofallowing himself to cry, he would often manage to laugh, which was muchmore sensible, and much pleasanter for the people near him. Soon hebegan to realize what a foolish little boy he had been, and at last hemade up his mind to be, instead of a cry-baby, a big, brave boy. Andthat is what he was, all the rest of his life, bright and sweet andbrave, so that everyone loved to be with him, grown folks as well asthe children.
* * * * *
Johnnie Jones and the Man Who Cried "Wolf" too Often
Some time passed by before people began to realize that Johnnie Joneswas no longer a cry-baby. On that account he had a very unpleasantexperience one day.
The children were playing horse on the sidewalk, and Johnnie Jones asone of the horses, was being driven by Sammy Smith. All went well untilthey reached a rough place in the pavement. Here Johnnie Jones trippedand fell, scraping his leg against a sharp stone, and straining andbruising his arm quite badly. It happened so quickly that none of thechildren saw that he was hurt, and so did not pity him when he began tocry. They were so accustomed to hear him cry over every little trouble,that they thought nothing of his crying then. If they had known he wasreally hurt, they would have been kind and helped him up. As it was,they merely told him not to be such a cry-baby and ran off and left him.
Just then Father came by on his way home, and when he saw Johnnie Jonesleaning against the fence, crying, he thought, too, that the little boyhad become a cry-baby again. If he had seen Johnnie Jones fall, he wouldhave picked him up and carried him home in his arms; but not knowingthat the little boy was really hurt, he took hold of his hand, andwalked home with him. Johnnie Jones was trying his best not t
o cry, butI think the bravest boy in the world might not have been able to keepback the tears, with such a sore leg and arm.
As they entered the house, Mother said: "Oh little son! crying again?"
When she had heard of the accident, she told Johnnie Jones that shewas sorry, and would try to help him after lunch. But as soon as shesaw that he could eat nothing at all, she asked Father to carry himupstairs, where she examined the injured leg and arm. When she foundthem so badly scraped and bruised, she was greatly distressed.
"You poor little boy!" she exclaimed, "No one realized that you werereally in pain."
After she had bathed and bandaged the leg and arm, and made JohnnieJones comfortable, she brought his lunch up to him, and while he waseating, told him this story:
Once, a long, long time ago, there lived a man whose name has beenforgotten. He lived with other men and their families out in the pasturelands, and there he tended the sheep. Now a great many wolves lived nearby, which often tried to steal into the fold and carry off the sheep.Everyone kept a close watch for these wolves, and when any person sawone he would cry out, "wolf! wolf!" so that all the others might cometo help him destroy it, and save the sheep. But this first man of whomI told you, liked to call "wolf!" when there was no wolf there, justto frighten or disturb the others. Sometimes he would waken the men atnight by his foolish cry, and they would come running out only to findhe had given a false alarm. At last these men grew weary of answeringhis calls. Besides, as there had been no wolves about for some littletime, they were feeling quite safe.