POLLYDEEN’S UNUSUAL CHRISTMAS. 
“ I’m tired of common Christmases,’' said Pollydeen 
fretfully; “ I always have a Christmas tree, and it 
always looks just the same, and I always know just 
what presents I’m going to have, because I’m sure to get 
what I’ve been wishing for. I wish I could have an 
unusual Christmas this time.” 
She wasn’t Pollydeen at all, she was Pauline Elizabeth 
Dean, but. when she first essayed to express herself in 
English instead of grunting, gurgling and cooing, she 
called herself Pollydeen, and such is the force of ex¬ 
ample-even the example of a two-year-old baby—that 
all her friends had called her so too. 
“I guess most little girls would be delighted if they 
could have the very things they had wished for at 
Christmas,” observed Cousin Helen. 
“We shall, doubtless, all have an unusual Christmas 
unless Pollydeen behaves herself better than usual,” 
said Mr. Dean. “It was only last Christmas that we 
had just got the burglar alarm put in, and after we had 
all gone to bod and to sleep it occurred to Pollydeen to 
got up and open her window and see what would hap¬ 
pen—and we all happened out of bed our very liveliest!” 
“Yes,” chimed in Mrs. Dean, “and you broke the 
stained glass over the front door firing your revolver 
down the front stairs at your own hat and overcoat, 
which happened to hang over the umbrella stand instead 
of on the hat rack, where they belonged 1” 
“ And the Christmas before that she got stuck in the 
chimney,” cried Will; “she was missing, and we 
couldn’t find her anywhere till somebody looked into 
the library and bear'd a sort of smothered cry, and 
there she was in the chimney! She had put an ottoman 
in the fireplace to stand on, and had got her head 
wedged into the flue so tight she couldn’t get out again. 
You ought to have seen her after father got her out! 
She didn’t look as if she was worth cleaning up! She 
said she was trying to find out if Santa Claus could 
really come down the chimney.” 
“ Pollydeen is always getting into scrapes,” said Mrs. 
Dean; and it must be confessed that this wholesale 
statement rested on a broad basis of truth. 
“ You won’t get into any more scrapes, now that you 
are seven years old, will you, pet ?” said Cousin Helen. 
“You watch her too closely, Mary,” she added to Mrs. 
Dean; “if you would give her a little more liberty and 
let her do as other children do she would be all right!” 
It was the day before Clmstmas, and Helen had been 
spending a few weeks with her cousins at Boston High¬ 
lands, but was going to her home in Fitchburg on the 
noon train in order that she might spend Christmas 
with her own family and carry them the gifts she had 
prepared for the occasion. Now, in view of Pollydeen’s 
craving for novelty, she proposed that the child be 
allowed to accompany her to the depot; they would 
stop in town, and she would get her some French bon¬ 
bons for a special treat, and she would bribe a police¬ 
man to put her on the right car to return, so that 
nothing could possibly happen to her. This proposition 
did not strike the family at all favorably, but Pollydeen 
declared her heart would break if she were refused. 
Mrs. Dean was too busy with holiday preparations to 
leave, or she would have gone with her; Will had an 
engagement with certain of his schoolmates, and Mr. 
Dean was nursing a slight attack of gout. It is such a 
comfort, if one must suffer, to suffer from such an 
aristocratic disease as the gout! 
“ But how will the child ever learn to take care of 
herself if you never let her go anywhere alone?” de¬ 
manded Helen. “At her age I could go all over the city.” 
At last their point was gained, and at ten o’clock they 
were in a car on their way to the city. Such a time as 
they had ! Never did anybody’s tongue run faster than 
Helen’s except Pollydeen’s, and never did anybody find 
so much to laugh about as Pollydeen, except Helen. 
Helen bought a box of French bon-bons because Polly¬ 
deen liked sweet things, aud a tin trumpet and tambou¬ 
rine because Pollydeen liked things that would make a 
noise; and she promised her a box of fire-crackers and tor¬ 
pedoes for the next Fourth of July. Then they went to 
the Parker House and Helen told Pollydeen she might 
order what she liked for dinner, but it turned out that 
Pollydeen liked so many things, and ordered so many 
that she did’nt like in order to see if she liked them, 
that by the time dinner was over poor Helen was nearly 
bankrupt. Then they took a car to the Fitchburg sta¬ 
tion, and Helen bribed a policeman to put Pollydeen on 
a Highland car so soon as the one o’clock train should 
have left. It was now ten minutes before one, and 
so they got on board the train and found a comfortable 
seat and talked a little more, and laughed a good deal 
more, and then Helen kissed Pollydeen on both cheeks 
and on her forehead, mouth and chin, and Pollydeen 
did the same to Helen, and added a kiss on the tip of 
her nose for good luck, and they both said good-bye at 
least six times a piece, and then Pollydeen ran out to 
find her policeman. But in a few moments she came 
running in again to thank Helen for the bon bons, and 
the tin trumpet, and the tambourine, which she had for¬ 
gotten to do before leaving the car; and Helen begged 
her to run right out again, for the train might start at 
any moment, but Pollydeen had to remind Helen not to 
forget the fire-crackers and torpedoes for the Fourth, 
and then they had to kiss each other over again, and 
bid each other good-bye again, and so neither of them 
heard the conductor call out “all aboard!” and the 
next they knew the train was going—and so were they! 
With an exclamation of dismay Helen hurried Polly¬ 
deen to the door thinking she might put her. off while 
the cars were moving so slowly, but Pollydeen was 
frightened and clung to her, and while they hesitated 
the speed was increased and there was no longer any 
possibility of getting off. 
They went back to the seat and sat down. 
“What will my policeman say?” exclaimed Polly¬ 
deen. 
“What will your mother say?” said Helen. “She 
will never forgive me if you don’t get home safely.” 
“ I shall have to go home with you now of course,’’ 
said Pollydeen with evident satisfaction. 
“ No, indeed ; your mother would not be easy about 
you for a minute,” replied Helen. “ Hasn’t your father 
some friends in Cambridge ? ” 
