The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley :: :: University of Virginia Library

My dears, do you know, one short Christmas ago,
There were two little children named Jimpsy and Jo,
Who were stolen away by their Uncle that day,
Who drove round and carted them off in a sleigh?

And the two little chaps, rolled in buffalo wraps,
With their eyes in the furs and their hands in their laps,
He whizzed down the street, through the snow and the sleet
At a gait old Kriss Kringle himself couldn't beat.

And their Uncle yelled “Ho!” all at once, and then “Whoa!
Mr. Horses, this store is where we must go.”
And as the sleigh stopped, up the heads popped,
And out on the sidewalk the old Uncle hopped.

And he took the boys in, with a wink and a grin,
And had 'em dressed clean up from toe-tip to chin,
Then he bundled 'em back in the sleigh, and currack!
Went the whip; and away they all went whizzin' back.

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And Jimpsy and Jo, when they marched in, you know,
There at home, with new suits, both their parents says “Oh,
What dee-lishamous rare little children you air,—
W'y you' got the best Uncle tha' is anywhere!”

But their Uncle just pats the boys' heads and says, “Rats!”
In a whisper to them—“Parents purr same as cats”;
Then he kissed 'em and rose and fished round in his clothes,
And lit his old pipe with the end of his nose.