The Second Christmas Megapack

Book excerpt: Christmas--the very word conjures up memories of the most wondrous childhood holiday of all--filled with the glitter of colorfully-wrapped presents, family visits, carols, photographs, decorating the tree, attendance at church to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, and tummy-stuffing dinners tucked with treats seen at no other time of the year. But the yule holiday has been celebrated for at least two centuries in North America, and our writers have been producing memorable stories about this unique day for almost as long. Here are 29 Christmas stories old and new, tales to delight, to entrance, to beguile, and even to sadden a whole new generation of readers. From C. C. MacApp's view of a Christmas future to Jacob A. Riis's gut-wrenching portraits of the holiday in the 1890s slums of New York to William J. Locke's reenactment of the tale of the Three Wise Men, we experience every possible facet of this most precious day of the year. So sit back and relive your memories once again, as recreated through the eyes of some of the finest writers of their time! Included in this volume: INTRODUCTION, by Robert Reginald THE BLOSSOMING ROD, by Mary Stewart Cutting AND ALL THE EARTH A GRAVE, by C.C. MacApp A REVERSIBLE SANTA CLAUS, by Meredith Nicholson BEASLEY’S CHRISTMAS PARTY, by Booth Tarkington A CHRISTMAS MYSTERY: THE STORY OF THREE WISE MEN, by William John Locke BETTY’S BRIGHT IDEA, by Harriet Beecher Stowe THE FIRST CHRISTMAS OF NEW ENGLAND, by Harriet Beecher Stowe THE LADY ERMETTA; or, The Sleeping Secret MR. KRIS KRINGLE: A CHRISTMAS TALE, by S. Weir Mitchell ROSEMARY: A CHRISTMAS STORY, by C. N. & A. M. Williamson THE CHRISTMAS CHILD, by Hesba Stretton THE LITTLE GRAY LADY, by F. Hopkinson Smith THE ROMANCE OF A CHRISTMAS CARD, by Kate Douglas Wiggin MR. BAMBOO AND THE HONORABLE LITTLE GOD, by Fannie C. MacAulay MRS. BUDLONG’S CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, by Rupert Hughes THE OAK TREE’S CHRISTMAS GIFT, by Julian Hawthorne THE LONG HILLSIDE: A CHRISTMAS HARE-HUNT IN OLD VIRGINIA, by Thomas Nelson Page CANDLE AND CRIB, by K. F. Purdon TOLD AFTER SUPPER, by Jerome K. Jerome NIBSY’S CHRISTMAS, by Jacob A. Riis WHAT THE CHRISTMAS SUN SAW IN THE TENEMENTS, by Jacob A. Riis SKIPPY OF SCRABBLE ALLEY, by Jacob A. Riis UNCLE NOAH’S CHRISTMAS INSPIRATION, by Leona Dalrymple THE TRUCE OF GOD, by Mary Roberts Rinehart THE GIFT OF THE MAGI, by O. Henry THE LITTLE MIXER, by Lillian Nicholson Shearon THE POTATO CHILD, by Mrs. Charles J. Woodbury A STORY THAT NEVER ENDS, by Mrs. Charles J. Woodbury A NAZARETH CHRISTMAS, by Mrs. Charles J. Woodbury And don't forget to search this ebook store for "Megapack" to see other volumes in the series, from science fiction to ghost stories to mysteries...and many more!