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Speaker 1: Welcome, sleep tight stories. New Year's Eve. It was the

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Speaker 1: last night of the year, and a happy little group

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Speaker 1: was sitting around the supper table in the Holly's pleasant

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Speaker 1: dining room. There were mister and Missus Holly and their

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Speaker 1: two children, Leland, who was a wide awake boy of fourteen,

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Speaker 1: and Rachel, who was two years younger. Their cousins, Lawrence

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Speaker 1: and Dorothy, had come to spend several weeks with them,

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Speaker 1: as they were all about the same age. The four

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Speaker 1: children were having a merry time together. The Holly homestead

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Speaker 1: was in a little country town in New England, but

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Speaker 1: Lawrence and Dorothy had always lived in the city of

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Speaker 1: New Orleans, and they knew nothing about winter and winter sports.

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Speaker 1: You can imagine how much they enjoyed everything, especially the snow.

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Speaker 1: They were all laughing and chatting merrily, when suddenly mister

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Speaker 1: Holly rose and went to the window. I hear sleigh bells,

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Speaker 1: he said, A sleigh is driving into our yard. It

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Speaker 1: was a moment more a knock was heard at the door,

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Speaker 1: and a note was handed to Missus Holly, telling her

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Speaker 1: that her sister was very ill. This sister lived several

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Speaker 1: miles away, but Missus Hawley felt that she must go

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Speaker 1: to her at once, so her husband decided to harness

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Speaker 1: his pair of bays and drive her over. I am

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Speaker 1: sorry to leave you, children, missus Holly said, as she

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Speaker 1: tied on her bonnet. Have just as good a time

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Speaker 1: as you can, and I will trust you not to

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Speaker 1: do anything that would displease me. I will take mother

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Speaker 1: over and return as soon as possible, said mister Holly

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Speaker 1: as he tucked his wife into the sleigh. I shall

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Speaker 1: try to be home before ten o'clock, but don't sit

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Speaker 1: up for me. Be good children and take care of everything.

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Speaker 1: Perhaps my sister will be better and I can come

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Speaker 1: home to morrow, added missus Holly cheerfully. Then she kissed

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Speaker 1: the children and bade them good bye, and the horses

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Speaker 1: dashed off down the road with a great jingling of bells.

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Speaker 1: The girls looked a little sober as they went back

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Speaker 1: into the a big empty farmhouse, but Leland tried to

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Speaker 1: cheer them up. We'll have a jolly time keeping house,

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Speaker 1: he said. What's the first thing to be done? The dishes,

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Speaker 1: of course, replied his sister. They are always dishes to do,

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Speaker 1: no matter what happens. The boys cleared the table while

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Speaker 1: Rachel and Dorothy washed and wiped the dishes and set

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Speaker 1: the table for breakfast. Then they brought in some wood

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Speaker 1: and built a big fire in the fireplace. The flames

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Speaker 1: went roaring up the chimney, and the children sat for

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Speaker 1: a long time before the fire, watching the rings of

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Speaker 1: sparks that twisted in and out of the soot covered bricks.

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Speaker 1: Children going home from school, they called them, and the

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Speaker 1: last one to burn out was the one to stay

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Speaker 1: after school for a whipping. Let's roast some chestnuts, Leland suggested,

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Speaker 1: when there was a good bed of hot ashes, and

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Speaker 1: he ran up to the attic to get a bag

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Speaker 1: full that he had been saving for just such an occasion.

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Speaker 1: It was fun to push the chestnuts into the fire

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Speaker 1: with a long poker, and then watched them pop out

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Speaker 1: when they were roasted. Sometimes they flew across the room

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Speaker 1: or under the tables and chairs, and then there was

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Speaker 1: a great hunt for them. We might wish on the chestnuts,

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Speaker 1: Rachel suggested. If they pop out on the hearth, our

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Speaker 1: wish will come true. But if they fly into the fire,

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Speaker 1: it won't. Oh yes, cried Lawrence. That's just the thing

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Speaker 1: to do. Girls. First, you begin, Rachel, no, Dorothy is

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Speaker 1: my guest, replied his cousin. She must have the first turn.

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Speaker 1: Dorothy poked her chestnut into the ashes. I wish I

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Speaker 1: might spend the whole year up here with you, she said,

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Speaker 1: And when the nut popped right into her lap, the

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Speaker 1: other children joined hands and danced around her in a circle.

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Speaker 1: Then it was Rachel's turn, and she wished for higher

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Speaker 1: marks in school than she ever had before. But the

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Speaker 1: chestnut jumped into the fire and blazed up merrily. That's

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Speaker 1: because your marks are good enough already. Her brother told her,

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Speaker 1: what is your wish, Lawrence? I wish I might go

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Speaker 1: to London in an airship, Lawrence replied. And I wish

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Speaker 1: that I might go to the biggest circle in the world,

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Speaker 1: added Leland, poking his chestnut in beside his cousins. One

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Speaker 1: of the nuts popped into the farthest corner of the hearth,

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Speaker 1: and the other burned to a little black cinder. But

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Speaker 1: the boys couldn't decide whose chestnut it was that flew away,

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Speaker 1: so they couldn't tell which one was going to have

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Speaker 1: his wish. I'll tell you something that is just as

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Speaker 1: good as flying, said Leland. Let's go out on our

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Speaker 1: bob sled and go coasting. There's a moon to night

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Speaker 1: and it is almost as light as day. Oh, I

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Speaker 1: don't think we ought to leave the house, objected Rachel.

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Speaker 1: Father and mother are both away, you know when they

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Speaker 1: told us to be careful. Oh, don't be a goose.

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Speaker 1: Her brother replied, the house can take care of itself.

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Speaker 1: We ought to put out all the lamps then, and

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Speaker 1: cover the fire with ashes, said thoughtful Rachel. Nonsense, exclaimed Leland.

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Speaker 1: We won't be gone long. The fire is all right.

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Speaker 1: There is nothing left but the back log, and that

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Speaker 1: will not burn much longer. I'm going to put out

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Speaker 1: the lamps anyways, said his sister. I feel sure that

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Speaker 1: mother never leaves them lighted when there is no one

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Speaker 1: in the house. Well, hurry up, then, urged Leland. You

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Speaker 1: girls bundle up well, and Lawrence and I will get

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Speaker 1: out the sled. In a few minutes, the boys came

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Speaker 1: running up to the door with the sled, and as

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Speaker 1: soon as the girls were well tucked in, they took

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Speaker 1: hold of the rope and pranced off like wild horses.

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Speaker 1: There was a full moon and they could see the

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Speaker 1: road perfectly. The air was chris been clear, and the

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Speaker 1: snow shone and sparkled like diamonds. It seems like a

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Speaker 1: winter fairyland, said Dorothy. Let's keep watch for the fairies.

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Speaker 1: They ought to come trooping across the field, dressed in

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Speaker 1: pretty white furs, and dance under the trees to the

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Speaker 1: music of sleigh bells. The sledge seemed to fairly fly

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Speaker 1: over the snow, and when they came to the top

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Speaker 1: of the long hill, the boys jumped on and they

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Speaker 1: all went coasting down with shouts of laughter. Up and down,

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Speaker 1: Up and down they went, and such fun as they

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Speaker 1: did have. Of course, they stayed out much longer than

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Speaker 1: they meant to. But at last Rachel said it must

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Speaker 1: be getting late. Father was coming home at ten, and

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Speaker 1: he will wonder what has become of us. The boys

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Speaker 1: trotted home again more slowly, and as they came in

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Speaker 1: sight of the house they saw mister Hawley had already

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Speaker 1: arrived before them. The room downstairs wereightly lighted, and when

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Speaker 1: they passed the living room windows they saw him hurrying

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Speaker 1: to and fro as if he were busy about some work.

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Speaker 1: Here we are, father, called Leland. We've been out coasting

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Speaker 1: and we've had such a good time, added Dorothy. Then

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Speaker 1: as she entered the living room, she exclaimed in amazement,

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Speaker 1: what is the matter, Uncle Henry, What have you been

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Speaker 1: doing in here? Her uncle crossed the room and opened

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Speaker 1: the windows. Then he took off his hat and overcoat

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Speaker 1: and wiped great beads of perspiration from his face, while

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Speaker 1: the children stood in the doorway looking around at the

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Speaker 1: disordered room. When I came home, the house was on fire,

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Speaker 1: he answered, And I've had a pretty busy time for

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Speaker 1: the last ten minutes. You children must have left a

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Speaker 1: log burning on the hearth, and a spark flew out

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Speaker 1: and set the rug on fire. Then the table and

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Speaker 1: one of the chairs caught fire from the rug. And

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Speaker 1: if I hadn't come home just when I did, we

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Speaker 1: might not have had any home by this time. It

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Speaker 1: was my fault, father spoke up Leland. Rachel wanted to

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Speaker 1: bury the log in the ashes, but I told her

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Speaker 1: it wouldn't do any harm to leave it burning. I

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Speaker 1: suppose it is partly my fault, too, said mister Holly.

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Speaker 1: I've always intended to buy a wire screen for this fireplace.

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Speaker 1: It is never safe to go out of the room

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Speaker 1: and leave an open fire. When we go to town,

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Speaker 1: tomorrow to buy a new rug. We will buy a

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Speaker 1: screen and a fender too, And the next time we

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Speaker 1: light a fire on the hearth, added Lawrence, we will

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Speaker 1: stay at home and take care of it, even if

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Speaker 1: it is a moonlit night and we want to do

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Speaker 1: some coasting. That sounds like a good idea, said mister Holly.

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Speaker 1: Now off to bed with you all, and happy New Year.

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Speaker 1: I don't even do anything