GRANDPA. If you didn't, and if all three of you children can agree on anything else, it shall be yours if money can buy it. TOOTSY. Money can buy everything, can't it, Grandpa? GRANDPA. No, my dear, not quite everything. DUMPLING. But suppose we wish for something that money can't buy? GRANDPA. I'd try to get it for you some other way. TOOTSY. How, Grandpa; how? GRANDPA. Why, I'd tell the Wishing Man. He'd get it for you. GRANDMA. Come along, John; don't put such nonsense in the children's heads. FATHER. We must hurry along to Aunt Clara's, children. But this is Christmas night. You may all stay up tonight just as long as you wish. DUMPLING. Oh, can we? Can we? MOTHER. Yes. Cecelia will look after you. Cecelia? NURSE MAID. Of course I will, mum. MOTHER. Come along, now. We must hurry. (_Kisses the children and goes out R. with_ GRANDMA, GRANDPA _and_ FATHER.) TOOTSY (_dancing around_). Oh, we can stay up just as long as we wish! Goody, goody! Why that is the very best gift of all. NURSE MAID. Now you children be good, and if you want me, call out. I'll be down in the kitchen with the cook. (_Goes out at L._) DUMPLING. Now we're left all alone. TOOTSY. I don't see why Aunt Clara couldn't have invited us to her dinner party, too. SNOOKUMS (_playing with doll_). Snookums likes dinner party. DUMPLING. It's 'cause we ain't big enough. TOOTSY. My, I wisht I was a great, great, great big girl. DUMPLING. There, that's a wish that money can't buy. TOOTSY. Grandpa said he'd get us anything we wished for. DUMPLING. What do you wish, Snookums? SNOOKUMS. Wish Grandpaw would come home. TOOTSY. I know a real good wish. I wish it were Christmas every day. Don't you, Dumpling? DUMPLING. No, I don't. We'd have to have a present and a tree and a turkey and plum pudding every day of our lives. We'd get awfully tired of it after a while. Just think, we'd have to give away about a million presents every year. TOOTSY. I'll tell you what I really do wish. DUMPLING. What? TOOTSY. I wish we could do just like grown up folks do. I wish I was the biggest little girl in all the world. DUMPLING. And I wish so, too. I wish we were just awfully, awfully, awfully big--and then we could go to Aunt Clara's dinner party, and everywhere. SNOOKUMS. Me wish me was great big Snookums. TOOTSY. But money couldn't buy that wish, Dumpling. DUMPLING. No, that's right. But Grandpa said if he couldn't buy our wish he'd get it some other way. TOOTSY. How could he get it? DUMPLING. He said he'd tell the Wishing Man. TOOTSY. My, I wonder if there really is such a person! DUMPLING. I don't know. But I'd like to see him if there is. TOOTSY. I'll make a rhyme. Good Mr. Wishing Man, how do you do? If there is such a person, we'd like to see you! DUMPLING. If you come from afar, if you come from near, Good Mr. Wishing Man, appear, appear! _The_ WISHING MAN _rolls out from under the table, rises, faces the three children, arms akimbo._