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pleased with you indeed. Of course I will give Tillie a Christmas present. I am everlastingly grateful to you for telling me about her. And I want to give you the biggest reward I can for it. What do you want the most of anything in the world?

Mirnie (eagerly) Oh, I should like to be one of your helpers, and make merry Christmas for other people.

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I wonder what Old Santa Claus
Will bring to us this year.
It's almost time for him to come,
(Looks up at clock.)

Santa Claus You could not make a wish that would please me more, my dear. You can be a helper to Santa Claus in your home just as well as here. Come, brownies, elves, and fairies, initiate this new helper into our band. She has gone through much suffering and trial to perform Fourth little boy a kind act, and she will be a most worthy member of the Christmas Helpers Band.

Fairies (placing an evergreen crown on her head) We crown her with the evergreen crown of Christmas to signify that the kindly spirit of Christmas keeps alive when all the life of summer is frozen and numb.

Brownies (bringing a wand and placing it in her hand) We give her the magic-working wand of Christmas. It is a changeable tool. Sometimes it takes the shape of a hammer, sometimes of a paint-brush, sometimes of needle or scissors. It will change into every implement that is used in making Christmas gifts; and it is the happiest implement to use in all the world.

Elves (fastening across her shoulder a scarf bearing the letters S. C. H.) We put upon you the badge of your new office, for we feel that you have the right to wear it.

Mirnie (looking down at it) S. C. H. What does that stand for?

All (with a joyful shout) Santa Claus's Helpers!

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Come, let's hang our stockings up
(Beckons and all run to fireplace and pin
stockings up.)

In the firelight dim.

I hope that Santa Claus will come

And fill them to the brim.

Let's wait for him right here.

I think it would be lots of fun
To wait till Santa came;
But just to keep us wide awake,
Let's play a little game.

Fourth little girl

I'm just a little sleepy
(Rubs eyes.)

Let's play a game or two.
I know the one I like the best:
Come on, you'll like it, too.

Teacher strikes chord on piano. Forming with partner, all bow to partners. (Illustration 2.) Then stand erect and four couples take places in a little circle holding partner's hand high, ready for the simple little polka dance below. (Illustration 3.)

(Music

any pretty and simple polka)

Step 1 Hold partner's hand high and start with outside foot. Three steps forward and point with inside foot.

Face partner and step sideward toward back of room and bow deeply. (Girls raise skirts - boys place hand over heart for bow.) (Illustration 4.)

Join hands with partner and beginning with outside foot take 3 steps and point with inside foot. (Going in opposite direction this time toward front of room.)

Step sideward toward front of room, face partner and deep bow.

Step 2. Join both hands with partner by crossing hands and hop skip in a circle toward right eight skips. All join hands in circle and hop skip to center four skipsback four skips.

Repeat all of Step 1 and Step 2.

Do dance four times.

At end of fourth time bells tinkle. Children take listening pose and Christmas fairy runs in and says:

Clear the way, my little children,

Santa Claus now comes this way,
Don't you hear the silvery tinkle
Of the bells upon his sleigh?

(Bells tinkle again and teacher again strikes chord and fairy poses as in Illustration 5.)

(Music for Fairy's dance

any pretty and simple march time.) Step 1 Raise skirt as in Illustration 6 and step right and point toe of left footstep left and point right chang ing arm position to the opposite side. Repeat both. Raise skirt with both arms lateral as in 5 and run around in circle to right with 12 tiny steps and deep bow (4 counts for bow). Repeat the step, starting with left foot and finish with run in circle to left and deep bow. Step 2 Slide forward on right foot and hop on right foot Oh, dearie me! (clasping her hands) I wonder with left raised behind as in Illustration 7. (Skirt raised

Next little girl

I want a pretty new plaid dress

Next little boy

A doll, a book and ring.

what

Dear Santa Claus will bring.

It's getting late, now, boys and girls,
Come on, let's off to bed.

(Jerks head back as if to indicate direction of bed.)

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ISS JEAN, the primary teacher, was in despair. The superintendent had asked each room to give a short program the last Friday before Christmas. "I'm so tired of these cut and dried 'programs,' she called to the second grade teacher, who was busily engaged in clipping poems from old magazines, “and, besides, neither the children nor I have time to work new program."

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"If children told stories as nicely as yours I'd not be looking for new material," said the second grade teacher. Miss Jean looked thoughtful for a while.

"Why not?" she said to herself. "I believe they could do it without taking a bit of extra time for rehearsals, and I am sure they would enjoy it more than learning pieces when their minds are so full of Christmas.

"I am going to plan it," she said, "so it will not take one bit of extra time."

Then she sat down at her desk to write her plan for next day. For drawing she wrote, "Freehand cutting of Pine Tree Color Tree." For her writing lesson she decided to have them write the invitation for the program and for the handwork period she wrote, "Paste tree on first page of invitation."

The next morning she told the children of the proposed program and said:

"I have decided that because you children tell stories and dramatize them so nicely, your friends would enjoy

(Children all clap hands and to tune of chorus of "Jingle seeing you do that more than anything else. Now this is

Bells," sing)

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A Christmas Entertainment

As Christmas time is drawing near, a suggestion for a Christmas entertainment might be helpful.

One entertainment I gave proved so satisfactory that I should like to tell you about it. It was from "The Birds' Christmas Carol." We gave the whole story.

As it was impossible to act the whole story in a schoolroom, it was divided into a number of different parts and the children told these.

The first story told of the birth of the little girl on Christmas morning and of the choir boys in the church next door singing, "Carol, Sweetly Carol." Then the children sang this song.

The stories were then continued until the letter from Uncle Jack arrived and it was read by one of the pupils.

After this the stories continued until Mrs. Ruggles was ready to instruct the children in manners. This part was played by the pupils.

The rest of the story was then told. The last one, telling about the death of Carol, was interrupted by the song, "My Ain Countrie," which the choir boys sang as she was dying.

The story and songs are beautiful, and the play is funny,

and the children love it.

The entertainment can be given in about thirty-five or forty minutes.

KATHERINE KNIESE

my plan: We have had sixteen stories so far this year, one for each week. I shall put the list on the board and you may choose one story from each month to be told and dramatized as our program."

This is the list as she gave it to them:

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dramatized it. They had worked on that story for one week in September and had frequently repeated it, so at the close of the language lesson she felt that part of the program would be a success.

The next day she took the story of Siegfried and instead of dramatizing that, she played Wagner's interpretation of this story on the piano.

Each day she took one story and at the end of the fourth day felt perfectly satisfied with her efforts.

She felt only one thing was lacking and she spoke of this to the children.

"I wish we could serve light refreshments," she said. This was greeted with loud clapping of hands. "Let's do!" "Let's do, Miss Jean!"

"But I don't see how we can," she said; "everyone is so busy just at Christmas time."

"My sister takes domestic science and maybe she'd help us," said a small boy.

"Why, of course," said Miss Jean. "I hadn't thought of the Domestic Science girls."

She stepped to the telephone and after a few minutes' conversation said to the children:

"Miss Lee says her girls will make us some frappe, if I send oranges, lemons, and pineapple."

Miss Jean brought her own lunch cloth and put on the table and the punch bowl and glasses were brought from the Domestic Science room. The kindergarten chairs were arranged in a circle and as she dismissed them at noon

Friday, she felt that everything was as she wished it, even to a small bouquet on the piano.

As the guests arrived two little girls met them at the door and showed them to their seats. The children were seated in the small chairs on the circle; at a nod from Miss Jean, a small boy stood up and said:

George is going to tell us the story of the 'Gingerbread Boy.'

George came and stood beside Miss Jean and told the story remarkably well. After he had finished the same boy rose and said:

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'Now, we shall play the 'Gingerbread Boy." "I'll be the Little Old Woman," said one child. "I'll be the Little Old Man,' ," said another, and so on until all the parts were taken.

Another child announced the next number. "Alice will tell the story of 'Siegfried.' Wagner set this to music. Miss Jean will play it for us.

At the close of the Christmas story two of the children removed the screen and invited the guests to partake of the refreshments.

The superintendent lingered until the last "Goodby" and "Merry Christmas" had been said.

"I am proud of you and your children, Miss Jean," he said. "Your program was different from any I heard this afternoon and your children were so well trained. You must have been rehearsing for some time." "I have," she said, "ever since the first day of school."

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Little Half Chick

LONG, long time ago, there lived in a poultry yard a large, handsome white hen. She had a brood of twelve chickens. Eleven of these were fluffy, fat little fowls, but the twelfth was made all wrong. Where the others had two legs, he had only one. Where the others had two wings, he had only one. He had one eye, one ear and half of a bill and half of a tail.

When his mother heard the egg click and looked down in her nest and saw this queer looking chicken she jumped up in amazement crying: "Why, you're not a chicken at all! You're just a half chick." So ever after he went by the name of Little Half Chick.

Now, strange to say, the mother hen loved Little Half Chick more than she did her other children, but he was a wayward little fowl and was sometimes just a little saucy to his mother. He would often run away and stay until she was half frantic with fear that he was lost and when she called he pretended not to hear, for you see he had only one ear and was not supposed to hear quite so well as the other

chickens.

One day he was playing in the cornfield when his mother called him. He did so love to play in this field, for he could jump from furrow to furrow with his one little leg, and it made him feel so good when he was successful and made a big jump without stumbling. He was having such a good time when his mother called that he did not answer. He said to himself: "She may have a nice fat worm for me, but if I run ever so fast some of the others will get there before I do and seize the prize. So I will stay here and play."

Now Little Half Chick had often heard how great and wonderful were the lives of the chickens who fed in the king's poultry yard and he felt that if he could only go there he would never have another trouble. So he determined that he would go, and he started off, hoppity-skip, hoppityskip. But when he had gone a short distance he remembered his mother at home and thought how she would worry when he did not come to his supper at the usual time. So he turned around, hoppity-skip, hoppity-skip, and went back to the poultry yard and said: "Mother, I'm

sick and tired of this old poultry yard. I'm going off to Madrid to see the king."

"To Madrid to see the king!" said his mother. "Why, you foolish chick! Madrid is many, many miles away from here and a whole chick couldn't get there for many, many days, and you are only a half chick. Stay at home like a good little fowl, and when you get larger and have more feathers, I'll take you to Madrid to see the king."

"No," said Little Half Chick, tossing his head, "I've made up my mind and I'm going to Madrid." So off he went, hoppity-skip, and did not heed his mother's voice as she called and called for him to return.

And of course she couldn't catch him, for she was in the poultry yard and couldn't get out, while he was so small that he could crawl under the fence.

So Little Half Chick went on hoppity-skip, hoppity. skip, down the road, but he soon decided that it would take a life time to get to Madrid if he kept to the road. So he took a path which led through a field. It was a beautiful green field and a little brook ran through it. Little Half Chick heard the gurgle of the water and said to him self: "That must be quite a river. It is making such a noise." But when he came near he found that it wasn't the size of the brook that caused it to make so much noise. It was choked with weeds and could not flow. Long be fore Little Half Chick reached it he could hear its gurgle,

gurgle, gurgle. And when he came near, it cried: "Oh, Little Half Chick, help me! Pull out these weeds and let my water flow on! Please, Little Half Chick, don't leave me like this!"

"Help you, indeed!" cried Little Half Chick, shaking his head and pointing his half bill high in the air. haven't time to help you. I'm off to Madrid to see king."

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Then hoppity-skip, hoppity-skip, went Little Half Chick and left the little brook all alone.

He had not gone very far before he came to a fire in the woods. The fire had started in some dry leaves, but it was going out because it needed some sticks to keep alive. As Little Half Chick came near, the fire called out in a weak little voice: "Oh, Little Half Chick, bring me some sticks! Help me, or I shall die!"

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