A Daughter of the Rich

by Mary E. Waller

By the time order had been restored, Cherry was able to take up the thread of the story;

"'N' we join hands--Chi 'n' all of us--'n' sing as loud as we can sing:

"'Intery, mintery, cutery corn,

Apple seed, apple thorn;

Wire, briar, limber lock,

Five geese in a flock--

Sit and sing by the spring;

You are OUT.'

Then we all give a great shout and grunt like In-di-ans--," said Cherry, emphatically, looking at March; and March nodded approval.

"How's that?" asked Hazel, who was listening with all her ears.

"A hánnah--a hánnah--a hánnah," grunted the children as well as they could, hampered by mouths full of corn. "An' then," went on Budd, "we drop the wishes into the hollow in the tree-trunk, an' Chi locks the door an' keeps it, an'--"

"'N' each of us ties two feathers from a rooster's tail to different colored strings, 'n' fastens them on to a branch of the tree, 'n' that brings us good luck; March calls it 'winging the wishes.' That's the way we get our presents."

"Oh, what fun!" cried Hazel. "May I do it this year?"

"Course," replied Budd, "but how will your father know anything about it?"

"I never thought of that," said Hazel, all her Christmas castles toppling over suddenly.