Christmas in Legend and Story A Book for Boys and Girls   By: Elva S. Smith

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 Coppée'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 Lagerlöf, 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, "Félix" 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 Lagerlöf; 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, by Thomas B. Mosher; 1910 by Duffield & Company.