"These are going to be Santa Clauses," said Miss Betty. "Jack, if you will cut me some tiny cedar twigs, we will stick them in the right hands--one in each." So Jack whittled down the ends of some little twigs till they were very sharp, and while the men were warm and soft, they put a twig in the right hand of each, and they were as funny as could be. "Now, Jack, I've something lovely for you to make!" said Miss Betty. "I came over on purpose to tell you about it." "Boys don't cook!" said Jack, loftily. "Boys would be perfectly wild to make these," laughed Miss Betty, "if only they knew how; but of course if you don't care to--" "What are they?" "Christmas elves, and the cunningest things you ever saw." She opened a box and showed them a dear, droll little figure, brown and fat. It made the children laugh to look at him. "We will make one for each person at the Christmas dinner, and stand them at the plates with cards in the hands, to show where everybody is to sit. Now, Jack, do you want to try?" Jack instantly was hard at work. CHRISTMAS ELVES Take a square of thin wood and drive two long, slender nails through it; these are the legs of the elf. Turn it upside down and push two large raisins on each nail, and then a fig on both--these are the legs and the body. Take a wire about four inches long, and put two raisins on each end, twisting up the ends to hold them. Lay this across the fig body and press it down to hold it firm. Put a marshmallow on a wooden toothpick, and put that on top for a head, and half of a fig for a cap. Draw eyes, nose, and mouth on the face with pen and ink, and, if you choose, brush a little melted chocolate on the sides of his head, for hair. Put a sprig of Christmas green in his cap. [Illustration: The Christmas elves] Just as the elves were put in a row on the table. Miss Betty exclaimed, "Children, it's stopped snowing! It will be all clear to-morrow, and everybody will get here in time, after all!" They rushed to the window to look, for sure enough, the storm was over, and everybody was going to have _A Merry Christmas_! CHAPTER II SUPPER AT THE HOUSE IN THE WOODS When the Junior Blairs came down to breakfast on New Year's morning, there were three good-sized red-covered books lying on the table, one by each plate, and on the cover of each, in gold letters, was the name of Mildred, or Jack, or Brownie. But when they opened them there was nothing inside--only just white paper leaves. "What are they for?" asked Mildred, puzzled. "For school, for examples and compositions?"