'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Part One · A Quiet House

It was the night before Christmas. Snow lay deep and soft on the little town, and in one small house, everything was still. The fire had burned down to a red glow. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Up by the chimney, the children's stockings hung in a row. They had been hung with care, in the hope that a visitor would come. The children were tucked in their beds, with the blankets up to their chins. They were fast asleep, dreaming of sweet things to eat.

The mother had tied on her kerchief, and the father had pulled on his nightcap. They had just settled down for a long winter's nap. Outside, the moon shone on the new snow, and the whole yard gleamed as bright as day.

Part Two · A Clatter on the Lawn

Then, out on the lawn, there rose such a clatter that the father sat straight up in bed. What could the noise be? He sprang out of bed and ran to the window as fast as he could go, without even stopping to find his slippers.

He pushed the shutters open and threw up the window. The cold air rushed in, and the stars twinkled over the rooftops. And what do you think he saw there, in the bright moonlight? A tiny sleigh, pulled by eight tiny reindeer!

The driver was a little old man, so lively and so quick that the father knew at once who he must be. It was Saint Nicholas himself. He held the reins in one hand and whistled to his team. Then he called to each reindeer by name.

"Up, Dasher! Up, Dancer! Up, Prancer and Vixen!" he cried. "Over the roofs, Comet and Cupid! Away, Donder and Blitzen!" The reindeer sprang into the air like leaves in a gust of wind. The sleigh flew up, up, up, right to the top of the house.

Up on the roof, the father heard a stamping and a scraping. Tiny hooves went tap, tap, tap on the snowy tiles. He pulled his head in from the window and turned around. And down the chimney came Saint Nicholas, with a bound!

Part Three · The Visitor

He wore a coat of fur, and it was dusty with ashes and soot. On his back he carried a great bundle of toys, so many that it looked ready to burst. He looked like a shopkeeper who was just opening up his shop for the day.

How his eyes twinkled, and how merry his dimples were! His cheeks were pink as roses, and his nose was as round and red as a cherry. His little mouth curved up in a smile, and his beard was as white as the snow that lay outside.

He was plump and round, a jolly old fellow. When he laughed, his belly shook like jelly. The father began to laugh too. He could not help it. But he did not say a word, and neither did the visitor.

With a wink of his eye and a nod of his head, the old man let the father know that he had nothing to fear. Then he went straight to work. He filled every stocking up to the top, one after another, without spilling a single toy.

When the last stocking was full, he turned around. He laid one finger beside his nose and gave a nod. Then up the chimney he rose, as lightly as a puff of smoke. He sprang to his sleigh and whistled to his team, and away they all flew, light as thistledown.

The father leaned out of the window and watched them go. Just before the sleigh went out of sight, he heard the old man call. His voice was as clear as a bell. "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

Then the father closed the window and crept back to bed, where the mother was still sound asleep. The stockings were full, and the children slept on. Outside, the snow kept falling, soft and slow. And in the little house, everything was still once more.