Just as she was having hard work to see the star, Lucy woke. “Merry Christmas, Dora!” she exclaimed. “Let’s get up and look at our stockings.”
Lucy hustled down the steep stairs, but Dora opened the door of Uncle Dan’s room and looked in. Only his black head showed above the blankets. The window was wide open and the room freezing cold, but Dora ran in, kissed Uncle Dan’s cheek and whispered “Merry Christmas!” in his ear.
Dan woke and looked at her. “Get back to bed,” he said. “You’ll catch your death.” And then he said, “Merry Christmas, Dora!”
When Dora reached the foot of the stairs, Mr. Merrill jumped out from behind the door to his room and gave her a big hug and a Christmas greeting.
Father came into the parlor, he said to make the fire burn better for the children, but Mother came the next moment, and she didn’t give any excuse for coming. Most mothers and fathers like to see the Christmas stockings opened.
The stockings were knobby and puffed and would be most uncomfortable to wear if they should stay that shape. Some packages were too big even to go in. These were on the floor under the stockings.
Lucy and Dora began to open the gifts, and everything they opened they liked very much.
From Mother there was a pretty woolen cap and muffler, a brown set for Lucy and a blue one for Dora. Both were much pleased, because all the girls were wearing them.
Olive gave Lucy a box of pretty handkerchiefs and Dora some writing paper with a blue M at the top. It was like some which Olive had at the beach and which Dora admired. Olive’s paper was marked G.