The Christmas Dream of Little Charles

THE
LITTLE CHARLES.
NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY J. S. REDFIELD
CLINTON HALL
THE CHRISTMAS DREAM
OF LITTLE CHARLES.
One Christmas eve, little Charles Estabrook hung his stocking carefully by the chimney corner, and, after saying his prayers, got into bed, and soon fell asleep. Charles was a good little boy; he was fond of horses, and took pleasure in feeding them and attending to their wants. On the day previous, a traveller came along; his horse was thirsty; so little Charles got a pail, filled it with
water, and gave the horse to drink, for which the traveller rewarded him by giving him a shilling.
But, although so fond of horses, little Charles was not unmindful of the claims of his sister Lizzy, as she was familiarly called, and, in pleasant weather, would go out to walk with her. In the engraving opposite, they are on their way to school together, and have stopped that he may tie her shoe, which has become unfastened.
Charles dreamed that he was in bed, peeping at his stocking, over the bed-clothes, when he saw a very pleasant-looking old gentleman come down the chimney, on a nice little pony,
precisely like the one named Lightfoot, that his Uncle Ben had promised to give him. It was funny, indeed, to see the pony slide down feet foremost, and Charles could not help laughing; but he laughed still louder, when he examined Old Nicholas the rider. His hair was made of crackers, and as he came nearer and nearer to the lamp, that stood on the hearth, pop went off one of the crackers, then another, and then another. But St. Nicholas was not a bit frightened; he only rubbed his ears with his coat-sleeve, patted the pony to keep him quiet, and laughed till he showed the concave of his great mouth, full of sugar-plums.