was a happy party that gathered in the dining room. “Merry Christmas!” said everybody to everybody else, and then Mr. Bobbsey, who was in the sitting room, blew a horn and opened the folding doors.
There, on a large side stand, rested a beautiful Christmas tree, loaded down with pretty ornaments and apples and candies, and with many prettily colored candles. Around the bottom of the tree were four heaps of presents, one for each of the children.
“Oh, look at the big doll!” screamed Flossie, and caught the present up in her arms and kissed it.
“And look at my fireman’s suit!” roared Freddie, and then, seeing a trumpet, he took it up and bellowed: “Bring up the engine! Play away lively there!” just like a real fireman.
Bert had his books and other things, and under them was hidden a real bank book, showing that there had been deposited to his credit ten dollars in the Lakeport Savings Bank. Nan had a similar bank book, and of these the twins were very, very proud. Bert felt as if he was truly getting to be quite a business man.
“Oh! oh!” cried Nan, as she opened a big box that was at the bottom of her pile of presents, and then the tears of joy stood in her eyes as she brought forth the hoped-for set of furs. They were beautiful, and so soft she could not resist brushing them against her cheek over and over again.
“Oh, mamma, I think they are too lovely for anything!” she said, rushing up and kissing her parent. “I am sure no girl ever had such a nice set of furs before!”
“You must try to keep them nice, Nan,” answered the mother.
“I shall take the very best of care of them,” said Nan, and my readers may be sure that she did.
“And now we have something for you, too,” said Bert, and brought out the various articles. Flossie gave their mamma her present, and Freddie gave papa what was coming to him. Then Nan gave Dinah the fancy apron and Bert took Sam the new gloves.
“Well this is truly a surprise!” cried Mr. Bobbsey, as he inspected the cravat. “It is just what I need.”
“And this flower is beautiful,” said Mrs. Bobbsey as she smelt of the potted plant. “It will bloom a long while, I am sure.”
Dinah was tickled over the apron and Sam with his gloves.
“Yo’ chillun am the sweetest in de world,” said the cook.
“Dem globes am de werry t’ing I needed to keep ma hands warm,” came from Sam.
It was fully an hour before the children felt like sitting down to breakfast. Before they began the repast Mr. Bobbsey brought forth the family Bible and read the wonderful story of Christ’s birth to them, and asked the blessing. All were almost too excited to eat.
After breakfast all must go out and show their presents to their friends and see what the friends had received. It was truly a happy time. Then all went coasting until lunch.
“The expressman is coming!” cried Bert a little later, and sure enough he drove up to the Bobbsey house with two boxes. One was from their Uncle Daniel Bobbsey, who lived at Meadow Brook, and the other from their Uncle William Minturn, who lived at Ocean Cliff.
“More presents!” cried Nan, and she was right. Uncles and aunts had sent each something; and the twins were made happier than ever.
“Oh, but Christmas is just the best day in the whole year,” said Bert that evening, after the eventful day was over.
“Wish Christmas would come ev’ry week,” said Freddie. “Wouldn’t it be beautiful?”
“If it did I’m afraid the presents wouldn’t reach,” said Mrs. Bobbsey, and then took him and Flossie off to bed.
CHAPTER XV
The Children’s Party
The little black kitten that Freddie had brought home from the department store was a great friend to everybody in the Bobbsey house and all loved the little creature very much.
At first Freddie started to call the kitten Blackie, but Flossie said that wasn’t a very “’ristocratic” name at all.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Bert jokingly, “Let’s call him Snoop,” and in spite of all efforts to make the name something else Snoop the cat remained from that time to the day of his death.
He grew very fat and just a trifle lazy, nevertheless he learned to do several tricks. He could sit up in a corner on his hind legs, and shake hands, and when told to do so would jump through one’s arms, even if the arms were quite high up from the floor.
Snoop had one comical trick that always made both Flossie and Freddie laugh. There was running water in the kitchen, and Snoop loved to sit on the edge of the sink and play with the drops as they fell from the bottom of the faucet. He would watch until a drop was just falling, then reach out with his paw and give it a claw just as if he was reaching for a mouse.
Another trick he had, but this Mrs. Bobbsey did not think so nice, was to curl himself on the pillow of one of the beds and go sound asleep. Whenever he heard Mrs. Bobbsey coming up one pair of stairs, he would fly off the bed and sneak down the other pair, so that she caught him but rarely.
Snoop was a very clean cat and was continually washing his face and his ears. Around his neck Flossie placed a blue ribbon, and it was amusing to see Snoop try to wash it off. But after a while, having spoilt several ribbons, he found they would not wash off, and so he let them alone, and in the end appeared very proud of them.
One day, when Snoop had been in the house but a few months, he could not be found anywhere.
“Snoop! Snoop!” called Freddie, upstairs and down, but the kitten did not answer, nor did he show himself. Then Flossie called him and made a search, but was equally unsuccessful.
“Perhaps somebody has stolen him,” said Freddie soberly.
“Nobody been heah to steal dat kitten,” answered Dinah. “He’s jess sneaked off, dat’s all.”
All of the children had been invited to a party that afternoon and Nan was going to wear her new set of furs. After having her hair brushed, and putting on a white dress, Nan went to the closet in which her furs were kept in the big box.
“Well, I never!” she ejaculated. “Oh, Snoop! however could you do it!”
For there, curled up on the set of furs, was the kitten, purring as contentedly as could be. Never before had he found a bed so soft or so to his liking. But Nan made him rouse up in a hurry, and after that when she closed the closet she made quite sure that Snoop was not inside.
The party to be held that afternoon was at the home of Grace Lavine, the little girl who had fainted from so much rope jumping. Grace was over that attack, and was now quite certain that when her mamma told her to do a thing or to leave it alone, it was always for her own good.
“Mamma knows best,” she said to Nan. “I didn’t think so then, but I do now.”
The party was a grand affair and over thirty young people were present, all dressed in their best. They played all sorts of games such as many of my readers must already know, and then some new games which the big boys and girls introduced.
One game was called Hunt the Beans. A handful of dried beans was hidden all over the rooms, in out-of-the-way corners, behind the piano, in vases, and like that, and at the signal to start every girl and boy started to pick up as many as could be found. The search lasted just five minutes, and at the end of that time the one having the most beans won the game.
“Now let us play Three-word Letters,” said Nan. And then she explained the game. “I will call out a letter and you must try to think of a sentence of three words, each word starting with that letter. Now then, are you ready?”
“Yes! yes!” the girls and boys cried.
“B,” said Nan.
There was a