Mrs. Joseph was silent so long that Hannah felt she had convinced her mother of the superiority of the Gentile Christmas over the Jewish Chanuca, and she continued more in detail. "And the children's kinfolks just give Santy Claus money, and tell him what to buy, and he brings the presents, and nobody has to bother about it 'cept him." "Hannah," Mrs. Joseph interrupted coldly, "who told you about the birthday of--of the Saviour?" "Nellie Halloran," answered Hannah, "and Virginia, too. They've--they've got the same one." "The same what?" "The same Saviour," Hannah explained. "Darling, hasn't Mama told you many times, that you must never, never talk about religion to Nellie and Virginia?" "Oh, we don't, Mama, never, never! But 'course we got to talk about Santy Claus, and things." There seemed to be no reasonable objection to that, so Mrs. Joseph dropped the subject. She spent a great deal of time folding the despised and rejected kimono into its tissue-paper wrappings. Presently she brought a narrow parcel from another room. "See what Uncle Aaron has sent you, dear," she cried gaily. "A little man; you wind him up in the back with this key--so--and then he dances and plays the fiddle!" Hannah forced a polite giggle at the little man's antics. He too rested under the ban of having come "through the door," and her attention soon wandered. "Nellie got a jumping-jack in the very top of her stocking last Chris'mus; 'cause she's such a jumping-jack herself, her papa said. You know, Mama, Santy Claus puts nuts and candy, and _little_ things in your stocking and puts your big things all around the room. Sometimes he brings a tree and hangs them all on a tree. Virginia and Nellie want a tree and a new doll. Virginia gets a new doll every Chris'mus, and she's got every doll Santy ever brought her--even her little, baby, rubber doll. She's eight years old and will have eight dolls! But Nellie ain't--hasn't saved a single one, and she's scared she won't get one this Chris'mus--awful scared." "Why, dear?" asked Mrs. Joseph, when Hannah paused for breath. "Because the doll Santy brought Nellie last Chris'mus, you know what? She was playing Indian with her brother one day, and _chopped her head off_! And Nellie's mama says she don't know whether old Santy's going to forget that or _not_! But Nellie, she says she prays hard to the Virgin Mary every night--if she don't go to sleep too quick. Mama, what's a virgin? Mama, what's----" "A virgin is a lady who has never been married," answered Mrs. Joseph, putting the neglected musician back into his box. Hannah wrestled alone for a moment with a mighty ecclesiastical problem, and then gave it up.