THE EVE OF ST. NICHOLAS

It was the Eve of St. Nicholas. In Germany St. Nicholas’s Day comes on the sixth of December.

The children were in the nursery. On the hearth¹ before the fireplace, were five little sugar shoes.

Thekla was filling her shoe with oats. Max put rye in his shoe. Hans put an apple in his, and Gretchen filled hers with lumps of sugar.

Betty, the poor little girl who sometimes helped in the kitchen, had only a bit of brown bread to put in her shoe.

The children were expecting St. Nicholas, who always comes on a white horse, and the things in the shoes were for the horse to eat.

As the clock struck six there was a loud knock at the door.

Aunt Hilda opened the door, and in came St. Nicholas. He was very tall and had a long white beard. He wore a long black robe and a red and white cap, with a big red tassel².

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“Dear little children,” he said, “it will soon be Christmas. I have come to find the good children. I shall bring gifts to them on Christmas Eve. Has Thekla learned to knit?”
Santa Caus at the door

“Yes, indeed,” said her mother. “See this pair of stockings she has knit for Hans.”

“They are very well made,” said St. Nicholas. “I shall surely bring a gift for Thekla. Has Hans learned to get up early?”

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“We have not had to call him for six weeks,” said his father.

“Good,” said St. Nicholas. “Has Max learned his multiplication³ tables?”

“Max is trying very hard,” said Aunt Hilda. “He knows all but the nines and twelves.”

“And the dear little Gretchen?” said St. Nicholas, patting the baby’s golden curls.

They all smiled, and the mother said, “The dear little Gretchen is always sweet and good.”

“Well, well, I shall certainly bring many beautiful gifts to this house,” said St. Nicholas.

“And don’t forget little Betty,” said Aunt Hilda.

So the good Saint took the oats, the rye and the apple, the lumps of sugar, and the bit of brown bread out of the sugar shoes and went out into the night. I suppose he gave them to his horse.

“St. Nicholas has eyes like Uncle Max,” said Thekla.

“He smiled like Uncle Max, too,” said her brother.

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St. Nicholas kept his word. On Christmas Eve there was a Christmas tree in the parlor⁴. On it there were many beautiful gifts, and little Betty was not forgotten.

The next night the children hung gifts on the same tree for father, mother, Uncle Max, Aunt Hilda, and the dear Grandfather.

Each one of the children had something of his very own for Grandfather.

Thekla had knit a warm scarf for him. Max can carve in wood, so he had made a stout⁵ cane⁶ and had carved it very handsomely.

Hans drew a picture for him, and the dear little Gretchen gave him two of her very best kisses.

Oh, it was a very happy Christmas!

1 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

2 tassel   

n.流苏，穗；v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须

参考例句：

• The corn has begun to tassel.玉米开始长出穗状雄花。
• There are blue tassels on my curtains.我的窗帘上有蓝色的流苏。

3 multiplication   

n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法

参考例句：

• Our teacher used to drum our multiplication tables into us.我们老师过去老是让我们反覆背诵乘法表。
• The multiplication of numbers has made our club building too small.会员的增加使得我们的俱乐部拥挤不堪。

4 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

6 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。