Whether or no the story was true;
"And so one Christmas Eve I staid
Awake till twelve—Oh, I was afraid!
The wind was a-blowing, and no moon shone,
But I went to the stable myself, alone.
"And when I had slid the big doors back
I couldn't go in, it was so black;
But—solemn and true—I do declare
I heard the cows when they knelt down! There!"