CHAPTER X
WHAT SANTA CLAUS BROUGHT TO AILIE McNABB
‘Granny,’ said Ailie, ‘do you think Santa Claus will come here to-night?’
‘Aye,’ answered Granny, ‘he might.’
‘Will you see him?’ asked Ailie.
‘Not I,’ answered Granny, ‘not a peep.’
‘Will I see him if I stay awake?’ asked Ailie after a moment’s thought.
‘Not if you are canny,’ was Granny’s reply. ‘Santa Claus leaves nothing for bairns who lie awake on Christmas Eve.’
‘Oh,’ said Ailie, ‘oh, doesn’t he?—Shall I hang up my stocking?’ was Ailie’s next question.
‘You might,’ was Granny’s reply.
So Ailie hung her stocking, a well-mended stocking, too, from a convenient nail by the mantel-shelf, and with her head on one side watched it for a moment as it dangled empty there.