Little Almond Blossoms 4

Little Almond Blossoms 4

They knew they could not find Santa Claus in Chinatown, so the first

thing to do was to get out of the Chinese section, and into one of the

great thoroughfares of the city. On they went, past the joss house,

where they had once been with their mother to burn pretty candles before

the joss, and they looked up with childish admiration at the big round

lanterns which hung on the balcony, and tried to read the Chinese

letters at the door. Sometime, perhaps when the moon festival came, or

the Chinese New Year, it might be that _mo chun_ would take them again,

if she had money enough to buy any more pretty candles. The good joss

liked pretty candles.

 

There were many lovely things to be seen in Chinatown, but to-night they

were going somewhere else. It did not occur to them that they might get

lost, or that their dear mother might be uneasy. They were too much

excited over what the story-teller had told them to worry over anything,

so they toddled on, their hearts full of expectation. They had no idea

what Christmas would be like when they should find it, or whether it

would be alive, but they could wait. How very queer it seemed when they

had left the narrow crooked streets of Chinatown, with its smell of

incense and its balconies and lanterns, and found themselves on a great

wide street full of people, so full of people that the heart of the

motherly little Ah Chee almost failed her, and she clasped her arm

protectingly around the body of her fat baby brother, and whispered

words of encouragement in his little brown ear.

 

Many people, in the hurry of their Christmas shopping, gave a passing

thought of wonder that the two little Chinese children should be in the

dense crowd alone, but thought perhaps their parents were following

them; and so, with a smile at the dimpled tea-rose face and sparkling

eyes of the Chinese maiden they passed on, to the brightness and good

cheer of their own comfortable homes. There were so many street cars,

with bells clanging, carriages dashing past, and so much noise and

confusion that they were both frightened. Even the brave little heart

of Ah Chee beat violently under the padded warmth of her dark blue

blouse, and for a moment she almost feared they would not find Santa

Claus. But just then a voice said something, and a big policeman picked

her up, and smiled at her, saying: “Where are you going, little one?

Where is mamma?”

 

The timid little voice of Ah Chee replied, “_Mo chun_, she at home; can

you tell me,” she eagerly questioned, “where Sanny Claw is?”

 

“Why, yes, to be sure; he is in there.”

 

In there,--could it be possible they were so near the wonderful being

and had not known it?

 

They saw a very large store, with great crowds of people, big and

little, jostling each other in their efforts to

 

[Illustration: “_Where are you going, little one?_”]

 

get in. So all these people were hunting Santa Claus. Ah Chee in her

childish eagerness slipped, and would have fallen, had she not been

caught in some one’s arms. The arms belonged to a richly dressed lady,

who looked down with indifference at the pathetic picture of the two

little children, and was about to draw her skirts aside and pass on,

when the little Christ-child must have put a thought into her worldly

heart, for she turned and looked again into the wistful little faces.

 

They must have seen some sympathy in her face, for Ah Chee said

hesitatingly, “Oh, if you please, we likee see Sanny Claw; could you

show us?”

 

For a moment she hesitated. What would her aristocratic friends think

if they saw her taking two dirty Chinese children into the elegant shop?

 

“Why didn’t your father bring you?” she said.

 

“My fatheh--he die; we no got fatheh.”

 

Something in the pleading little face, and the quiver in the little red

mouths, and the despair in the great oblique eyes must have touched the

woman’s heart beneath all its worldly coating. With sudden decision she

grasped the two little trembling hands, and throwing all her old false

pride to the Christmas winds, stepped boldly into the shop, where all

was elegance and warmth and light and beauty.

 

To her it was an old story. She had long since lost the spirit of

Christmas, and the old legend of Santa Claus brought no ecstasy to her,

for there were no children at her home to hang up their stockings. The

little Chinese children were all eyes now, and forgot their poverty and

the bleak darkness of their home as they looked for the first time at

all this sparkling beauty. At last they found him--the “‘Melican Sanny

Claw!” To the lady it was nothing,--such an old, old story,--but to the

two little Chinese children it was the perfect and blissful realization

of a dream, the one beautiful event in two little barren lives. And

now--they actually stood face to face with Santa Claus. Little Ah Gong

was glad to see that he was not spitting fire, like the Chinese dragon,

and felt quite reassured.

 

Santa was standing by a sparkling tree all covered with pretty candles,

such as they had burned for the joss, and on top of the tree was a great

shining star.

 

“What is that?” said Ah Gong, pointing with his chubby forefinger to the

star.

 

“That? It is the star of Bethlehem,” said the pretty lady, with a queer

catch in her voice, while for the first time in her life she realized a

little of the true meaning of the star.

 

They did not understand, and clung closer to each other as they neared

the wonderful Santa Claus. He must have come from a very cold country,

for he was dressed all in fur, from head to foot, and had rosy cheeks

and long white whiskers.

 

“See,” whispered the little girl to her brother, “it is the heap good

’Melican Santa; do you see him?”

 

“Yes--yes--I see him; I no ’flaid now,” he said, edging closer to him.

 

The beautiful lady was whispering to Santa Claus--actually whispering.

What a brave lady she must be, and they wondered vaguely what she could

have to say to him. And, wonder of wonders! Santa came right up to them,

and putting out his big warm hand, clasped the trembling little cold

hands of the two children, and said: “What do you want me to bring you?”

 

Was there ever anything so wonderful? That he should notice them, and

speak to them? Their eyes almost danced out of their heads at this

unexpected question. It had never occurred to their innocent little

hearts that he would bring them anything, because they were only

Chinese, and the Chinese did not believe in Santa Claus; they only

believed in the Moon Rabbit.

 

As he spoke, visions of wonderful things flitted through their

minds,--things they dared not name. The lady said to Ah Chee: “Tell him,

dear; he would like to give you something.”

 

Before the child thought, she had spoken the words: “Could you--oh,

_could_ you--bling me--a--doll?”

 

“A doll? Why, yes; of course you shall have a doll,” he said, as the

lady looked at him in a meaning way. And then all the boy in little Ah

Gong’s repressed nature broke forth, and he hurriedly gasped: “A

knife--I likee knife.”

 

The lady smiled at Santa again, and he said: “And what else, my little

man?”

 

“I likee led (red) wagon--”

 

“No--no--” whispered the timid sister, “that too muchee--Santa no likee

give so muchee.”

 

Some more mysterious whispering went on, and Santa produced from his fur

pocket a little book and pencil, and wrote down a great many things. Ah

Chee did not know what he could be writing--perhaps a letter to his wife

at the North Pole, but she did not care; she only knew she was going to

get what she had longed for all her little lonely life,--a doll,--and

her motherly heart warmed and thrilled at the happy thought.

 

“And what would your mamma like?” he was saying now.

 

“Oh,--my _mo chun_; let me see,--I think she likee wahm (warm) _shom_

(blouse) and--that’s all light; you must not give too muchee; you so

good--you _so_ good,” she sobbed.

 

Her little starved soul was running over with the joy of Christmas--the

new joy, which she had never before tasted.

 

“You shall not be forgotten, neither shall your mother. Good-by, and

merry Christmas!” he said; and then, after showing the excited children

all the beautiful toys in the shop, the lady went out with them once

more into the crowded streets.

 

The air was full of Christmas cheer, and every one was smiling and

happy, as they hurried along with their arms full of mysterious packages

and called out Christmas greetings to each other.

 

“Do you know where you live, children?” the lady now said.

 

Fortunately Ah Chee remembered the number and place of their home, so

the lady put them into a carriage and seated herself beside them. They

waited in the carriage awhile, till a man came out of the shop and

placed many bundles of various shapes and sizes in with them. It was so

dark they could not see them, but at last, after rattling over the

cobblestones for a time, they saw that they had entered Chinatown, and

once again the odor of the incense greeted them.

 

Soon the carriage stopped right in front of their door, and they could

see the pale face of _mo chun_ peeping from the lattice.

 

The lady told the driver to wait, while she went with the children up

the dark stairway. _Mo chun_ was never so surprised in her life as she

was when the excited children rushed in, pulling the lady after them.

She had begun to be frightened, and was just going down to the shop to

see what was the matter, when they arrived, breathless and happy. She

was very much embarrassed to have the rich and beautiful lady come into

her poor little home, but almost as much excited and pleased over the

gifts as the children, and to see the purse of gold that Santa had

brought her. She had not dreamed there was such kindness in the whole

big world, or such plenty and happiness.

 

It was enough to cure any amount of heartaches to note the rapture in

the eyes of Ah Chee as she hugged the wonderful doll to her motherly

little heart, and to see the boyish delight with which Ah Gong displayed

his knife and red wagon. There were many other gifts, yet they had never

even thought there were such things in the world. _Mo chun_ did not know

how to thank the kind lady, who had, with one gift from her jewelled

hands, lifted her and her children from poverty to comfort. She could

only make her a cup of delicious Chinese tea, and thank her in her

pretty little Chinese way; but in her heart she thanked her, and the

beautiful lady understood, and for the first time in her life realized the true meaning of Christmas.