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CHRISTMAS IN LEGEND AND STORY



Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth, is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.

SHAKESPEARE.



CHRISTMAS
IN
LEGEND AND STORY

A BOOK FOR BOYS AND GIRLS


COMPILED BY

ELVA S. SMITH

CARNEGIE LIBRARY
PITTSBURGH

AND

ALICE I. HAZELTINE

PUBLIC LIBRARY
ST. LOUIS


ILLUSTRATED
FROM
FAMOUS PAINTINGS


1915



CHRISTMAS IN LEGEND AND STORY



PREFACE

In our experience in library work with children we have learned that it is
very difficult to find Christmas stories and legends which have literary
merit, are reverent in spirit, and are also suitable for children. This
collection has been made in an endeavor to meet this need, and thus to be
of service to parents, teachers, and librarians.

Most of the stories and poems in this book are of the legendary type. They
have been chosen from a wide variety of sources and represent the work of
many writers. There are other stories also, which, although not strictly
traditional, have the same reverent spirit and illustrate traditional
beliefs and customs. These have been included for their literary value and
their interest for young people.

In the arrangement of the selections we have followed the natural order of
the events in preference to grouping the stories for boys and girls of
different ages.

Although no attempt has been made to adapt the legends for story-telling,
most of them may be used for that purpose. Many of the selections are also
well suited for reading aloud.

Above all it is hoped that this book may bring real joy to the boys and
girls for whom it has been compiled.

ELVA S. SMITH,

CATALOGUER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS,

CARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH.


ALICE I. HAZELTINE,

SUPERVISOR OF CHILDREN'S WORK,

ST. LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY.



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The compilers wish to thank Mrs. Margaret Deland for permission to use
"The Christmas Silence;" Mrs. Etta Austin McDonald for her adaptation of
Coppee's "Sabot of Little Wolff" from "The Child Life Fifth Reader;"
Josephine Preston Peabody for "The Song of a Shepherd-Boy at Bethlehem;"
Mrs. William Sharp for "The Children of Wind and the Clan of Peace," by
Fiona Macleod; Nora Archibald Smith and the editors of the _Outlook_ for
"The Haughty Aspen;" and the editors of _Good Housekeeping Magazine,_
Little, Brown & Company and Mrs. Velma Swanston Howard for her translation
of "The Legend of the Christmas Rose," by Selma Lagerloef, taken from _Good
Housekeeping Magazine_, copyright, 1907. Copyright, 1910, by Little, Brown
& Company.

Thanks are also due to the following publishers for permission to reprint
poems and stories on which they hold copyright: The Century Company for
four selections from _St. Nicholas_, "The Little Gray Lamb" by A.B.
Sullivan, "A Christmas Legend" by Florence Scannell, "Felix" by Evaleen
Stein, "The Child Jesus in the Garden;" The Churchman Company for "The
Blooming of the White Thorn" by Edith M. Thomas; Doubleday, Page & Company
for "Neighbors of the Christ Night" by Nora Archibald Smith; E.P. Dutton &
Company for "The Sin of the Prince Bishop" by William Canton; Ginn &
Company for "Christmas Carol" from "Open Sesame;" Mr. William Heinemann
for "The Flight into Egypt" by Selma Lagerloef; Houghton Mifflin Company
for "The Child Born at Bethlehem" by H.E. Scudder, "The Christmas Song of
Caedmon" by H.E.G. Pardee, "The Little Mud-Sparrows" by Elizabeth Stuart
Phelps.

"St. Christopher of the Gael" and "The Cross of the Dumb" are included
through the courtesy of Messrs. Duffield & Company. From "Poems and
Dramas" by Fiona Macleod, copyright, 1901, 1903, 1907,