{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_74633/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_74633","id":"gutenberg_74633","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74633","summary":null,"tags":["Christmas stories","Fairy tales","Generosity -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"Transcriber's Note\n  Italic text displayed as: _italic_\n\n\n\n\n_The Poor Count\u2019s Christmas_\n\n\n[Illustration: ALL THE CHILDREN BEGAN TO DANCE GAYLY AROUND THE TREE.]\n\n  THE POOR COUNT\u2019S\n  CHRISTMAS\n\n  BY\n\n  FRANK R. STOCKTON\n\n  WITH SEVEN BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS\n  FROM DRAWINGS BY\n\n  E. B. BENSELL\n\n  [Illustration: Decoration]\n\n  NEW YORK\n\n  FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY\n\n  MCMXXVII\n\n\n\n\n_First published in book form, 1927, by_\n\nFREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY\n\n\n_Printed in the United States of America_\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n  All the children began to dance gayly around the tree (_in\n  colors_)                                                _Frontispiece_\n\n                                                                  FACING\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n  The young giant was talking to a little fairy perched on his\n  forefinger                                                          18\n\n  The young giant Feldar compels the warden to open the sick\n  giant\u2019s castle-gate                                                 30\n\n  Feldar interviews the sick giant                                    36\n\n  The young giant\u2019s way of getting the key                            44\n\n  Quite a procession was approaching the gate                         58\n\n  The Count and his happy guests enjoy the Christmas feast            70\n\n  Count Cormo adopts the young giant                                  76\n\n\n\n\n_The Poor Count\u2019s Christmas_\n\n\n\n\nTHE POOR COUNT\u2019S CHRISTMAS\n\n\nVery many years ago there lived a noble Count, who was one of the\nkindest and best-hearted men in the world. Every day in the year he\ngave to the poor and helped the friendless, but it was at the merry\nChristmas-time that his goodness shone brightest. He had even vowed a\nvow that, as far as he was able to make them so, every child he knew\nshould be happy Christmas-day.\n\nEarly every Christmas morning each boy and girl in the neighborhood who\nwas old enough, and not too old, came to the castle of the Count Cormo,\nand there the Count and Countess welcomed them all, rich or poor, and\nthrough the whole day there were games, and festive merry-making, and\ngood things to eat, and fun of every kind, and besides all this, there\nwas a grand Christmas-tree, with a present on it for each of the eager,\nhappy youngsters who stood around it.\n\nBut although the good Count had a castle and rich lands, he gave away\nso much money that he became poorer and poorer, so that at last he\nand his wife often found it hard to get the clothes and food they\nabsolutely needed.\n\nBut this made no difference with the Christmas festivities. The Count\nwas not now able to be very generous during the year, although he was\nalways willing to divide a meal with a hungry person; but he managed\nso that the children could have their festival and their presents\nat Christmas. Year by year he had sold for this purpose some of the\nbeautiful things which the castle contained, so that now there was\nscarcely enough furniture left for the actual use of himself and the\nCountess.\n\nOne night, about a week before Christmas, the Count and his wife sat in\nthe great hall before a fire smaller and poorer than those which burned\non the hearth of most of the cottagers in the surrounding country, for\nthe cottagers could go into the woods and pick up sticks and twigs,\nwhereas the Count had sold all his forests, so that he could not cut\nwood; and he had only one old man for outdoor work, and he had already\npicked up all the fallen branches within a wide circuit of the castle.\n\n\u201cWell, one thing is certain,\u201d said the Countess Cormo, as she drew her\nchair nearer to the little pile of burning sticks, \u201cand that is that we\ncan not have the children here at Christmas this year.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d asked the Count.\n\n\u201cBecause we have nothing to give them,\u201d replied his wife. \u201cWe have\nnothing for them to eat, nothing to put on the tree, and no money to\nbuy anything. What would be the good of their coming when we have\nnothing at all for them?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut we must have something,\u201d said the Count. \u201cThink of all the years\nthat we have had these Christmas gatherings, and then think how hard it\nwould be, both for us and the little ones, to give them up now we are\ngrowing old; and we may not be with the children another year. There\nare yet several days before Christmas; I can sell something to-morrow,\nand we can have the tree and everything prepared in time. There will\nnot be so much to eat as usual, and the presents will be smaller, but\nit will be our good old Christmas in spite of that.\u201d\n\n\u201cI should like very much to know what you are going to sell,\u201d asked\nthe Countess. \u201cI thought we had already parted with everything that we\ncould possibly spare.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot quite,\u201d said the Count. \u201cThere is our old family bedstead. It is\nvery large; it is made of the most valuable woods, and it is inlaid\nwith gold and silver. It will surely bring a good price.\u201d\n\n\u201cSell the family bedstead!\u201d cried the Countess. \u201cThe bedstead on which\nyour ancestors, for generations, have slept and died! How could you\neven think of such a thing! And what are we going to sleep on, I\u2019d like\nto know?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we can get along very well,\u201d said the Count. \u201cThere is a\nsmall bedstead which you can have, and I will sleep on the floor.\nI would much rather do that than have the children disappointed at\nChristmas-time.\u201d\n\n\u201cOn the floor! at your age!\u201d exclaimed the Countess. \u201cIt will be the\ndeath of you! But if you have made up your mind, I suppose there is no\nuse in my saying anything more about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot the least in the world,\u201d replied her husband, with a smile; and so\nshe said no more.\n\n\n\n\nIt was on the morning of the next day that there came through the\nforest, not very far from the Count Cormo\u2019s castle, a tall young\ngiant. As he strode along, he appeared to be talking to the forefinger\nof his right hand, which he held up before him. He was not, however,\ntalking to his forefinger, but to a little fairy who was sitting on it,\nchatting away in a very lively manner.\n\n\u201cAnd so,\u201d said this little creature, \u201cyou are two hundred miles from\nyour own home! What in the world made you take so long a journey?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t call it very long,\u201d replied the giant; \u201cand I had to take it.\nThere was nothing else to do. You see I have nothing to eat, or almost\nnothing, in my castle, and a person can\u2019t get along that way. He must\ngo and see about things.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what are you going to see about?\u201d asked the fairy.\n\n\u201cI am going to see if my grandfather\u2019s uncle is dead. He is very rich\nand I am one of his heirs. When I get my share of his money, I shall be\nquite comfortable.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE YOUNG GIANT WAS TALKING TO A LITTLE FAIRY PERCHED ON\nHIS FOREFINGER]\n\n\u201cIt seems to me,\u201d said the fairy, \u201cthat it is a very poor way of\nliving, to be waiting for other people\u2019s money.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is so,\u201d replied the giant. \u201cI\u2019m tired of it. I\u2019ve been waiting ever\nsince I was a little boy.\u201d\n\nThe fairy saw that her companion had not exactly understood her remark,\nbut she said no more about it. She merely added, \u201cIt seems strange to\nhear you say that you once were little.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, I was,\u201d said the giant. \u201cAt one time I was no taller than a\nhorse.\u201d\n\n\u201cAstonishing!\u201d said the fairy, making believe to be very much\nsurprized. \u201cNow, when I was a baby, I was about the size of a pea.\u201d\n\nThis made the giant laugh, but he said he supposed it must have been\nso, considering the present size, and then he said: \u201cTalking of peas\nreminds me that I am hungry. We must stop somewhere, and ask for\nsomething to eat.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat will suit me very well, but don\u2019t let us go to the same place,\u201d\nsaid the fairy. \u201cI expect you are dreadfully hungry.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d replied the other. \u201cThere is a great house over in the\nvalley, not more than fifteen miles away. I\u2019ll just step over there,\nand you can go to Count Cormo\u2019s castle. I\u2019ll take you to the edge of\nthe woods. When you\u2019ve had your dinner, come back to this oak, and I\u2019ll\nmeet you; I\u2019ve heard the Count is getting very poor, but he\u2019ll have\nenough for you.\u201d\n\nSo the giant put the fairy down on the ground, and she skipped along to\nthe castle, while he stepped over to the house in the valley.\n\nIn an hour or two they met again at the great oak, and, the giant\ntaking up his little friend on his forefinger, they continued their\njourney.\n\n\u201cYou told me that Count Cormo was poor,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I don\u2019t believe\nyou know how poor he really is. When I went there, he and his wife had\njust finished their dinner, and were sitting before the fire-place. I\ndidn\u2019t notice any fire in it. They were busy talking, and so I did not\ndisturb them, but just climbed up on the table to see what I could find\nto eat. You haven\u2019t any idea what a miserable meal they must have had.\nOf course there was enough left for me, for I need only a few crumbs,\nbut everything was so hard and stale that I could scarcely eat it. I\ndon\u2019t see how they can live in that way. But after the meal, when I\nheard them talking, I found out how poor they really were.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t exactly the proper thing to sit there and listen to them,\nwas it?\u201d asked the giant.\n\n\u201cPerhaps not,\u201d said the fairy, \u201cbut I did want to hear what they\nwere saying. So I sat quite still. They were talking about the\nChristmas-tree, and all the other good things they give the children\nevery year; and although they are so poor, they are going to do just\nthe same this year.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t see how they can,\u201d said the giant.\n\n\u201cThe Count is going to sell his family bedstead,\u201d replied his companion.\n\nThe young giant stopped short in the path.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t mean to say,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cthat the celebrated family\nbedstead of the Cormo family is to be sold to give the children a\nChristmas-tree!\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is exactly what I mean,\u201d replied the fairy.\n\n\u201cWell, well, well!\u201d said the giant, resuming his walk. \u201cI never heard\nof such a thing in all my born days. It\u2019s dreadful; it\u2019s pitiful!\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed it is,\u201d said the fairy.\n\n\u201cIt ought to be stopped,\u201d added the giant. \u201cHe shouldn\u2019t be allowed to\ndo such a thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed he shouldn\u2019t,\u201d the fairy said.\n\nAnd thus they went on lamenting and regretting the poor Count\u2019s\npurpose, for about eleven miles. Then they came to a cross-road through\nthe forest.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll go down here,\u201d said the giant, \u201cand leave you among your friends\nat Fairy Elms, where you want to go.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure that I do want to go there just now,\u201d said the fairy.\n\u201cI think I should like to go with you to your grandfather\u2019s uncle\u2019s\ncastle, and see what your prospects are. If you find he is still alive,\nshall you wait?\u201d\n\n\u201cI guess not,\u201d said the giant, laughing. \u201cBut you can come along with\nme, and we\u2019ll see how things stand.\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nBefore very long, they came to a great castle, and a warder stood\nbefore the gate.\n\n\u201cHo, warder!\u201d cried the giant when he came up. \u201cHow goes it with my\ngrandfather\u2019s uncle, the old giant Omscrag?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe has been dead a month,\u201d said the warder, \u201cand his property is all\ndivided among his heirs.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not so,\u201d roared the giant. \u201cI am one of his heirs, and I\nhaven\u2019t got anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about it,\u201d said the warder. \u201cI was told to give\nthat message to every one who came, and I\u2019ve given it to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho told you to give it?\u201d cried the giant.\n\n\u201cMy master, Katofan, who is the old giant\u2019s principal heir, and who now\nowns the castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cKatofan!\u201d exclaimed the giant. \u201cWhat impudence! He\u2019s a ninth cousin by\nmarriage. Where is he? I want to see him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think he is well enough to see anybody to-day,\u201d said the\nwarder.\n\n[Illustration: THE YOUNG GIANT FELDAR COMPELS THE WARDEN TO OPEN THE\nSICK GIANT\u2019S CASTLE-GATE]\n\n\u201cOpen that gate!\u201d the giant roared, \u201cor I shall plunge your family into\nwoe!\u201d\n\nThe warder turned pale, and opened the gate as wide as it would go,\nwhile the giant, with the fairy on his finger, walked boldly in.\n\nIn a large inner hall, sitting before a great fire, they saw a giant\nso tall and thin that he looked as if he had been made of great\nfishing-poles. He turned uneasily in his chair when he saw his visitor,\nand was going to say something about being too unwell to receive\ncompany, when our young giant, whose name was Feldar, interrupted him\nby calling out, in a tremendous voice:\n\n\u201cWell, now, Katofan, I should like to know what all this means! How did\nyou come to be heir to this castle?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause it descended to me from my good old relative and friend,\u201d said\nthe other.\n\n\u201cI expect there are a hundred heirs, who have a better right to it than\nyou,\u201d said our giant. \u201cThe truth is, no doubt, that you were here when\nmy grandfather\u2019s uncle died, and that you took possession, and have\nsince kept everybody out.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d said the thin giant, \u201cthe other heirs have had a share of the\nfortune.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow many of them?\u201d said Feldar, \u201cand how much did they get?\u201d\n\n\u201cAs many as two or three of them,\u201d said the other, \u201cand they got some\nvery nice things in the way of ornaments and curiosities.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Feldar, stretching himself up high, \u201cI am one of the\nheirs to this property, and I want my share of it. Who attends to the\ndividing business? Do you do it yourself?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no!\u201d said the thin giant. \u201cI am not well enough for that. I\ncannot go about much. But I will send for my dividing-agent. I had to\nemploy one, there was so much to do. He will see that you get your\nshare.\u201d\n\nHe then rang a bell, and a small man appeared. When the fairy saw him,\nshe could not help laughing, but her laugh was such a little one that\nno one noticed it. He had a bushy head of hair, which was as black as\nink on one side and as white as milk on the other. Looking at him from\none side, he seemed quite young, and from the other side, quite old.\n\n[Illustration: FELDAR INTERVIEWS THE SICK GIANT]\n\n\u201cFlipkrak,\u201d said the thin giant, \u201cthis is another heir to this\nproperty; we overlooked him when we made our division. I wish you would\ntake him, as you did the others, and let him choose something that he\nwould like to have.\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d said Flipkrak. \u201cThis way, good sir,\u201d and he went out of a\nside-door, followed closely by Feldar.\n\n\u201cHow would you like a hinge?\u201d cried the thin giant, as they reached\nthe door. \u201cThere are some very handsome and odd hinges, nearly new. If\nyou take one, you might some day get another to match it, and then you\nwould have a nice pair all ready when you put up a new door.\u201d\n\nFeldar stopped a moment in the doorway.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll look at them,\u201d he answered, and then went on.\n\n\u201cHere, good sir,\u201d said Flipkrak, showing the young giant into a large\nroom, \u201cis a collection of most beautiful articles. You can choose any\none of them, or even two if you like. They will be admirable mementos\nof your deceased relative.\u201d\n\nFeldar looked around. There were all sorts of brass and iron ornaments,\nold pieces of furniture and various odds and ends, of little value.\n\n\u201cA nice lot of rubbish,\u201d said the young giant. \u201cIf I ever have any\nholes to fill up, on my ground, I may send for a few wagon-loads of it.\nSuppose we look through the rest of the castle?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, good sir,\u201d said the dividing-agent, \u201cthe things in the rest of the\ncastle belong to my good master!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can come if you choose,\u201d said Feldar, striding away, \u201cor you can\nstay behind,\u201d and the poor man, frightened, ran after him as fast as he\ncould.\n\nThe young giant walked through several of the vast rooms of the castle.\n\u201cI see you have a great deal of very fine furniture here,\u201d he said to\nFlipkrak, \u201cand I need furniture. I will mark some of it with this piece\nof chalk, and you can send it to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, good sir,\u201d cried the dividing-agent, quite pleased at this.\n\u201cWe can send it to you after you go away.\u201d\n\nFeldar took a piece of chalk from his pocket, and marked enough\nfurniture to furnish an ordinary castle.\n\n\u201cThis kind of chalk will not rub off,\u201d he said, \u201cand I\u2019ve marked the\nthings where it won\u2019t show. But don\u2019t overlook any of them. Now, where\nare your money-vaults?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, good sir!\u201d cried the dividing-agent, \u201cyou can\u2019t go there, we don\u2019t\ndivide any of\u2013I mean we haven\u2019t any money-vaults!\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me the key,\u201d said Feldar.\n\n\u201cOh, good sir!\u201d cried Flipkrak, shaking with terror, \u201cI must not let\nthat go out of my keeping\u2013I mean I haven\u2019t got it.\u201d\n\nThe giant made no answer, but taking the dividing-agent by the heels,\nhe held him upside down in the air, and shook him. A big key dropped\nfrom his pockets.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s the key, no doubt,\u201d said the giant, putting the man down, and\npicking up the key. \u201cI can find the vault by myself. I won\u2019t trouble\nyou any more.\u201d\n\nBut as he went down to the lower parts of the castle, the\ndividing-agent ran after him, wailing and tearing his two-colored hair.\n\n[Illustration: THE YOUNG GIANT\u2019S WAY OF GETTING THE KEY]\n\nWhen he reached the money-vault, Feldar easily opened the door and\nwalked in. Great bags of gold and silver, each holding about a bushel,\nwere piled up around the walls. Feldar took out his piece of chalk,\nand marked about a dozen of those bags which held the gold coin.\n\n\u201cOh, that\u2019s right, good sir,\u201d cried Flipkrak, feeling a little better.\n\u201cWe can send them to you after you go away.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is in those small bags, on that shelf?\u201d asked Feldar.\n\n\u201cThose are diamonds, good sir,\u201d said the agent; \u201cyou can mark some of\nthem if you like.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will mark one,\u201d said the giant to the fairy, who was securely\nnestled in the ruffles of his shirtbosom, \u201cand that I will give to\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo me!\u201d exclaimed Flipkrak, who did not see the fairy; \u201cwhat does he\nmean by that?\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d said the little creature, in delight. \u201cDiamonds are so\nlovely! How glad I am that your grandfather\u2019s uncle died!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t say that,\u201d said the giant. \u201cIt isn\u2019t proper.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you feel glad, don\u2019t you?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t talk about it, if I do,\u201d said Feldar. Then turning to the\ndividing-agent, he told him that he thought he had marked all the bags\nhe wanted.\n\n\u201cAll right, good sir,\u201d said Flipkrak, \u201cwe will send them to you, very\nsoon\u2013very soon.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you needn\u2019t trouble yourself about that,\u201d said Feldar; \u201cI will\ntake them along with me.\u201d And so saying, he put the bag of diamonds in\none of his coat-pockets, and began to pile the bags of money on his\nshoulders.\n\nThe dividing-agent yelled and howled with dismay, but it was of no\nuse. Feldar loaded himself with his bags, and walked off, without even\nlooking at Flipkrak, who was almost crazy at seeing so much of his\nmaster\u2019s treasure boldly taken away from him.\n\nFeldar stopped for a moment in the great hall, where the thin giant was\nstill sitting before the fire.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve taken my share of the money,\u201d he said, \u201cand I\u2019ve marked a lot of\nfurniture and things which I want you to send me, inside of a week. Do\nyou understand?\u201d\n\nThe thin giant gave one look at the piles of bags on Feldar\u2019s\nshoulders, and fainted away. He had more money left than he could\npossibly use, but he could not bear to lose the least bit of the wealth\nhe had seized upon.\n\n\u201cWhat in the world are you going to do with all that money?\u201d the fairy\nasked.\n\n\u201cI am going to give one bag of it to Count Cormo, so that he can offer\nthe children a decent Christmas-tree, and the rest I shall carry to my\ncastle on Shattered Crag.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe the Count will take it,\u201d said the fairy. \u201cHe\u2019s awfully\nproud, and he would say that you were giving the Christmas feasts and\nnot he. I wish you would let me manage this affair for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I will,\u201d said the giant.\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d cried the fairy, clapping her hands. \u201cI\u2019ll do the\nthinking and you can do the working. It\u2019s easy for me to think.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd it\u2019s just as easy for me to work,\u201d said Feldar, with hearty\ngood-will.\n\n\n\n\nThe day before Christmas, poor Count Cormo sat, quite disconsolate,\nin his castle-hall, before a hearth where there was no fire. He had\nsold his family bedstead, but he had received very little money for\nit. People said such old bedsteads were not worth much, even if they\nwere inlaid with precious metals. So he had been able only to prepare a\nsmall tree, on which he had hung the cheapest kind of presents, and his\nfeast was very plain and simple. The Countess, indeed, was afraid the\nthings would not go around, for their old servant had told them that he\nhad heard there would be more children at the castle the next day than\nhad ever been there before. She was in favor of giving up the whole\naffair and of sending the children home as soon as they should come.\n\n\u201cWhat is the use,\u201d she said, \u201cof having them here, when we have so\nlittle to give them? They will get more at home; and then if they don\u2019t\ncome we shall have the things for ourselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no, my dear,\u201d said the Count; \u201cthis may be the last time that we\nshall have the children with us, for I do not see how we can live much\nlonger in this sorrowful condition, but the dear girls and boys must\ncome to-morrow. I should not wish to die knowing that we had missed a\nChristmas. We must do the best with what we have, and I am sure we can\nmake them happy if we try. And now let us go to bed, so as to be up\nearly to-morrow.\u201d\n\nThe Countess sighed. There was only one little bedstead, and the poor\nCount had to sleep on the floor.\n\nChristmas-day dawned bright, clear, and sparkling. The Count was in\ngood spirits.\n\n\u201cIt is a fine day,\u201d he said to his wife, \u201cand that is a great thing for\nus.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe need all we can get,\u201d said the Countess, \u201cand it is well for us\nthat fine days do not cost anything.\u201d\n\nVery soon the Count heard the sound of many merry voices, and his eyes\nbegan to sparkle.\n\n\u201cThey are coming!\u201d he cried, and threw open the door of the castle, and\nwent to meet his little guests; but when he saw them he started back.\n\n\u201cWhat do you think?\u201d he exclaimed to the Countess, who stood behind\nhim. \u201cThere is a long procession of them, and they are headed by a\ngiant\u2013the young giant Feldar! Who ever heard of such a thing as a giant\ncoming to a children\u2019s festival! He will eat up everything we have in a\nfew mouthfuls!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou might as well let him do it!\u201d said the Countess. \u201cThere won\u2019t be\nenough for the others, anyway. There seem to be hundreds of them; and\nif there isn\u2019t a band of music striking up!\u201d\n\nSure enough, quite a procession was approaching the castle. First came\nthe giant Feldar, with Tillette, the little fairy, on his finger; then\nfour or five musicians; and after them a long line of children, all\ndressed in their best clothes, and marching two by two.\n\n\u201cMerry Christmas!\u201d shouted the giant, as soon as he saw Count Cormo,\nand then all the children shouted \u201cMerry Christmas!\u201d until the castle\ncourtyard echoed with the cheerful greeting, while the band played\nloudly and merrily.\n\n[Illustration: QUITE A PROCESSION WAS APPROACHING THE CASTLE]\n\n\u201cCome in, my dears,\u201d cried the Count to the children. \u201cI am glad to see\nyou. But as for you, good giant, I fear my door is not quite large\nenough. But perhaps you can stoop and squeeze yourself in.\u201d\n\n\u201cCount Cormo!\u201d cried the fairy, from the giant\u2019s finger. \u201cI have a plan\nto propose.\u201d\n\nThe good Count looked up in surprize.\n\n\u201cIf it isn\u2019t a dear little fairy!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cWhy, certainly, if\nyou have a plan to propose, I shall be happy to hear it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d said Tillette, \u201csuppose we go first into the great hall\nin the old wing of the castle. That is so large that it will hold us\nall, and we can have a grand dance, if we feel like it, after we get\nthere.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am afraid that the great hall would be very uncomfortable,\u201d said the\nCount. \u201cNo one has lived in it, nor even entered it, so far as I know,\nfor many years; and everything must be covered with dust and cobwebs.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut it would be so nice to march around that great hall, with the\nmusic and everything. I don\u2019t believe there\u2019s any dust.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d said the Count, \u201cas you seem to have set your heart on\nit, we\u2019ll go.\u201d\n\nSo the Count and the Countess put on their hats and took their places\nin the procession, at the head of the line of children and just behind\nthe musicians. Then they all marched across the great courtyard to the\nold wing of the castle, and when they reached the doors of the great\nhall, the giant swung them open, and everybody entered.\n\nNever were there two such astonished people as the Count and the\nCountess!\n\nRight in the middle of the hall stood a great Christmas-tree, which\nthe giant had brought in on his shoulders from the woods. On the\nwide-spreading branches of this tall tree were hung hundreds of\npresents and sparkling ornaments.\n\n\u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d gasped the Count. \u201cWhose tree is this?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is yours! It is yours!\u201d cried all the children in a merry chorus\nwhich made the old walls ring. \u201cIt is your Christmas-tree, and we, the\nchildren, who love you, give it to you!\u201d\n\nThe Count looked around from one to another of the children, but did\nnot say a word. His heart was too full for him to speak. Then the\ngiant put the fairy on his shirt-frill, and, stooping down, took up\nthe Count and Countess, one in each hand, holding them gently but very\nfirmly, and carried them around the tree, raising them up and down, so\nthat they could see all the presents, even those at the very top.\n\nEverything was labeled\u2013not with the name of the person they were for,\nfor they were all for the Count and Countess, but with the names of\nthose who gave them.\n\nPresently, the Count began to read every name aloud, and each time a\nchild\u2019s name was called, all the other children would clap and cheer.\nThere were a good many small bags, which looked as if they were\nvery heavy, hanging here and there, and these were all marked \u201cFrom\nFeldar,\u201d while some beautiful clusters of diamonds, which glittered in\nthe sunlight that poured in through the windows, were labeled \u201cFrom\nTillette.\u201d\n\nIt took a long time to look at all the presents, which were rather\ndifferent from the things generally seen on Christmas-trees, for the\ngreat branches and boughs held every kind of useful and ornamental\narticles that the Count and Countess needed. Many of these were old\nfamily treasures which they once had owned, but had been obliged to\nsell, to keep up their Christmas festivals.\n\nThe Count and his wife were more and more delighted as they were\ncarried around the tree, but at last this happy business was over, and\nthe giant put them down upon the floor.\n\n\u201cNow for a dance!\u201d cried the fairy, in her clear little voice, and the\nmusic struck up, while all the children began to dance gayly around the\ntree.\n\nThe Count and Countess, with the giant and the fairy, stood aside\nwhile this happy play was going on, enjoying it almost as much as the\nchildren, but when the dancing began to flag, the Count thought that\nthe time had now come when the party ought to have something to eat,\nand his heart failed him when he thought of the very meager repast he\nhad to offer them.\n\nBut he need not have troubled his mind about that. As soon as the dance\nwas done, the giant stepped to a door which led to another apartment,\nand throwing it open he cried:\n\n\u201cEnter the banqueting-hall! This is the feast the children give to the\ngood Count Cormo and his wife. He has feasted them often and often,\nand made them happy for many a Christmas. It is their turn now.\u201d\n\nEverybody trooped through the door, the children gently pushing the\nCount and Countess before them. The room was truly a banqueting-hall.\nA long table was covered with every kind of thing good to eat, and, on\nsmaller tables in the corners, was ever so much more, in case it should\nbe needed. Here and there, on the long table were enormous cakes, great\nbowls of jelly, and vast pies. Everybody knew these were for the giant.\n\nThe Count and Countess took their places at the head and foot of the\ntable; and all the children gathered around, and everybody had a\nsplendid appetite. Just in the center of the table there was a little\ntable about three inches high, on which there were dear little morsels\nof the dainties the others were eating. At this table, on a little\nchair, the fairy Tillette sat, where she could see everything, and she\nenjoyed herself as much as anybody else did.\n\n[Illustration: THE COUNT AND HIS HAPPY GUESTS ENJOY THE CHRISTMAS FEAST]\n\nWhen the banquet was over, they all went into the great hall, where\nthey had dances and games and singing, and there never was a merrier\ncompany before.\n\nWhen evening approached the Count stood up and made a little speech.\nHe tried to tell the children how good he thought they were, and how\nhappy they had made him. He did not say much, but they all understood\nhim. When he had finished there was a silence over the whole room. The\nchildren looked at one another, some of them smiled, and then, all\ntogether, as if they had planned it out before, they cried:\n\n\u201cThe giant and the fairy did it all. He gave us the money and she told\nus what to buy.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, pshaw!\u201d said the young giant, his face turning very red; \u201cI\nthought nothing was to be said about that,\u201d and he went outside so that\nnobody should make a speech to him.\n\nNow all the children came up, and each in turn bade the Count and\nCountess farewell, and then, headed by the giant\u2019s band of music, and\nsinging merrily, they marched away to their homes.\n\nBut Count Cormo would not let the giant and the fairy go away so soon.\nHe made them come with him to the dwelling part of his castle, and\nthere, after a little squeezing and stooping by the giant, at the door,\nthey all sat down around the hearth, on which a fine blazing fire had\nbeen built.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what to say, my dear Feldar,\u201d said the Count, \u201cand I can\nnever repay you\u2013\u2013\u201d\n\nThe giant was just about to exclaim that the Count need not say\nanything, and that he did not wish to be repaid, when, seeing he felt\nembarrassed, the fairy broke in:\n\n\u201cOh, yes, dear Count, you can repay him. You can adopt him. You have\nno children, you are getting old, and are living alone. He has no\nparents,\u2013even his grandfather\u2019s uncle is now dead,\u2013and he lives all\nby himself in his castle on the Shattered Crag. He is rich, and you\ncan show him how to do good with his great wealth. He could come and\nlive in the old wing of the castle, where the rooms are so large; the\nfurniture he has inherited could be sent here, and you could all be so\nhappy together! Will you take him?\u201d\n\nThe Count\u2019s eyes filled with tears.\n\n\u201cWould you like us to adopt you?\u201d he said to Feldar.\n\n[Illustration: COUNT CORMO ADOPTS THE YOUNG GIANT]\n\n\u201cIndeed I should,\u201d was the reply. Then the young giant kneeled on the\nfloor; and the Count got up on a table, and put his hands on the young\ngiant\u2019s head, and adopted him.\n\n\u201cNow you ought to adopt her,\u201d said Feldar, after he had kissed the\nCount and the Countess, and had sat down again by the fire.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Tillette, \u201cI can not be adopted. But I will often come to\nsee you, and we shall be happy together, and the children will have a\nsplendid Christmas festival every year.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs long as we live,\u201d said the Count and Countess.\n\n\u201cAs long as I live,\u201d said Feldar.\n\nWhen the Count and Countess went up to their room, that night, there\nthey found the family bedstead, all cleaned and polished, with its gold\nand silver ornaments sparkling like new.\n\n\u201cWhat a happy Christmas I have had!\u201d said good Count Cormo.","title":"The poor Count's Christmas","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":5702}