ed it on all by herself; and Alice, as a special
privilege, was allowed to hang the crystal icicles on every tip.

Nobody put any tinsel on the tree--that was left for the middle of the
night like the story of the old time legend. Whether the spiders and the
Christmas fairies, working together, really covered the tree with silver,
Mary Jane never stopped to figure out. But at any rate the tree was
covered with strings of gold the next morning and Mary Jane thought it the
prettiest Christmas tree she had ever seen!

[Illustration: This year, seeing Mary Jane was such a _very_ old person,
she was allowed to put the gold star on the top of the tree
_Page 195_]

The very last thing before she went to bed, Mary Jane hung up her
stocking. And Alice, looking a bit foolish, hung hers close by.

"I thought you two folks weren't going to have any Christmas," said Mr.
Merrill teasingly.

"Of course we're not," said Mary Jane bravely, "but we want to hang our
stockings just the same as if--you know." And Dadah must have understood
for he nodded his head and didn't tease any more.

Nobody would say how it ever happened. Certainly it was well understood
that there were to be no presents. But, anyway, when Mary Jane and Alice
looked at those stockings Christmas morning they were fat, as fat could
be! Just bulging over with queer shaped parcels!

Mary Jane couldn't even wait to put her slippers on! She bundled a kimono
around her, grabbed up her stocking and ran into her mother's room to open
it. Alice wasn't far behind and certainly for girls who were to have _no_
presents, they fared very well indeed! Santa Claus must have got his
signals mixed some way! There were doll things for Marie Georgiannamore,
and a ring for Mary Jane; hair ribbons, handkerchiefs, skates for Alice
(think of that in a stocking!) and slippers for the little girl who forgot
to put on her old pair and, oh, many lovely little things that could be
tucked into a stocking.

The girls spread the things out on mother's bed and had a happy time till
suddenly Mr. Merrill exclaimed, "Girls! It's eight o'clock and I ordered
that taxi for nine!"

Then there _was_ a scramble! Gifts were hustled away, clothes were put on,
breakfast was eaten and a few last things packed in the baskets, just as
the taxi arrived.

It was fortunate Mr. Merrill had ordered a big car for with three baskets,
a bundle containing the doll bed and another the turkey, to say nothing of
the