The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Christmas snowflake, by Anna J. Granniss

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: A Christmas snowflake

a rhyme for children

Author: Anna J. Granniss

Release Date: January 11, 2023 [eBook #69772]

Language: English

Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHRISTMAS SNOWFLAKE ***

Books by Anna J. Granniss

SKIPPED STITCHES. Verses, cloth, 16mo. 50 cents.

SANDWORT. Verses, cloth, 16mo. 50 cents.

SPEEDWELL. Verses, cloth, 16mo. 50 cents.

(Set complete in box $1.25)

A CHRISTMAS SNOWFLAKE. An illustrated rhyme for children. Cloth, 10mo. 50 cents.

All Bookstores
or ordered of the author
Plainville, Conn.

Looking wistfully up at the gray winter skies

A CHRISTMAS
SNOWFLAKE

A Rhyme for Children

BY
Anna J. Granniss

SECOND THOUSAND

ILLUSTRATED

WITH LIFE PICTURES

HARTFORD, CONN.
C. M. GAINES, 66 STATE ST.
1904

Copyright 1903
by Anna J. Granniss

All rights reserved

To the memory
of
Mary and Willie
The baby sister
And the little brother
Who went away one
Christmas
Many years ago

ILLUSTRATIONS

Frontispiece PAGE
One little fellow crying outright 1
The star and the angels 3
“I’m so glad!” 5
The snowflakes coming down 8-9
Going to find Santa 11
Mother Snowbank 14
Santa Claus scanning the skies 15
The reindeer at home 18
Christmas Bells 20
A dear little one 21
The world asleep 22

[1]

A Christmas Snowflake

A Christmas Snowflake

A little white snowflake that lived in the sky,
Kept looking down here with a tear in its eye;
And wherever it looked, alas, it could see
The ground was as bare, and as brown, as could be;
And out of the windows, the children’s bright eyes
Looked wistfully up, at the gray winter skies,
While one little fellow was crying outright,
Because the white snowflakes were nowhere in sight,
And how could Santa come
In his reindeer sleigh,
And Christmas now only
Just two days away?

[2]

It happened just then, that there came dancing by,
Two lovely large flakes from somewhere in the sky,
And the little flake cried, “Oh, beautiful flakes,
I’ve been here looking down, till my very heart aches;
See how dismal it looks, down there on the earth.
Instead of gay laughter, and shouting, and mirth,
The children are crying, their bright eyes are wet,
For thinking the snowflakes are going to forget.
Will you go down with me sometime before night?
The children would see us, and laugh with delight.”
“Why you dear little flake
Now just dry your eye,”
Said the lovely white flakes,
“We’ll go down by and by.
Just now, we would rather
Whirl ’round in the air,
Than to settle ourselves
Away off down there!”
“And just think,” said one, “of my pretty new gown,
Being stepped on, and spoiled, and all trodden down!”
Then gaily enough they were dancing away,
When the brave little flake found courage to say,

[3]

“There’s a beautiful
Story, so I’ve been told,
Very sweet, and tender,
And true, and old,
About a star,
And the wonderful birth,
Long ago, of a Christ-Child
On the earth;
And now, every year
At a certain time
The bells everywhere
Ring out their chime,
And children gather
From near and from far,
To sing of that wonderful
Child, and the Star.
[4]
And oh, beautiful flakes,
The time now draws near;
But alas, see the earth,
How dark and how drear!
And on Christmas morning,
Why, do you not know,
The earth must be covered
All over with snow?”
Then the little flake said,
With a brave bright air,
“I’m
going
to
get
ready
and
go
down
there!”

[5]

[6]

“I’m so glad!”

[7]

And then looking down
On the dark dreary space,
The lovely flakes said,
“But in such a big place,
Why, whatever could one
Tiny snowflake do?
Such a wee little
Delicate bit like you,
You just wait half a minute
And we’ll go too!”
So they hurried, and skurried,
And flew around,
And told every snowflake
That could be found;
They waltzed ’round in circles,
They danced on tip toe,
They could not hold still
Getting ready to go.

[8]

And at last they came
Flying, fluttering down,
All white in the city,
All white in the town.
They draped every steeple
And tower in sight,
They dressed all the trees
Against Christmas night,
And then covered the ground
All over with white.
[9]
They hung to the shutters,
They clung to the doors,
They went with the customers
Into the stores.
They tapped on the windows
And peeped thro’ the pane,
Then in a twinkling
They vanished again.
And they found everywhere,
With merry delight,
The world getting ready
To keep Christmas night.

[10]

Now good Mother Snowbank
Up there in the sky,
Had dropped into a doze
As the hours slipped by;
She awoke with a start,
And looking around,
Not one of her snowflakes
Was anywhere found.
She tip toed
In here,
And she tip toed
Out there,
She turned the clouds over
With greatest of care,
Not a sign of a snowflake
Was seen anywhere.

[11]

[12]

Going to find Santa

[13]

Then she puffed out her cheeks
And began to blow;
She whistled up high,
And she whistled down low;
And she blew, till the tree tops
Went to and fro.
She whistled and blew
Till the air was clear,
But the snowflakes pretended
They did not hear,
And each nestled down
In its chosen retreat,
To wait for the click
Of the reindeer’s feet.
[14]
So good Mother Snowbank
Up there in the sky,
Just drew in her breath
With a long drawn sigh—
Then, she suddenly tore
A small cloud in two,
And in the queer fashion
That some people do,
She made her a night cap
To put on her head,
Then shook up her pillows
And went off to bed.

[15]

’Way off up in Northland,
His hand to his eyes,
In his door stood Santa Claus
Scanning the skies;
He saw Mother Snowbank
Go off in a huff,
And he knew where the snowflakes
Were well enough;
For he shook his head,
And he laughed “Ho, ho, ho!
Tell me of a Christmas
Without any snow,
It’s time I was getting
Things ready to go!”

[16]

He harnessed his reindeer
So nimble and fleet,
The snow would not feel
The light touch of their feet;
He loaded his sleigh
Full of everything nice,
Then jumped in himself,
And was off in a trice—
When the reindeer snorted,
And stamped their small hoofs,
People thought ’twas the wind,
And the snow on the roofs;
So all unmolested
He worked with his might,
And was ready for home
Long before daylight.

[17]

[18]

The reindeer at home

By permission of the Berlin Photographic Co.

[19]

Then fainter,
and fainter,
And farther away,
Came the
Ting-a-ling-ling,
From the vanishing sleigh.
Back, over the snow
It flew like the wind,
And never once stopping,
Or looking behind,
Old Santa rode on,
Till he reached
His own door,
Just where
He had loaded,
A short time before.

[20]

Then
Over the mountains,
And over the dells,
The world
Set to ringing,
With sweet
Christmas bells;
And gifts
And kind wishes,
Went flying around,
As fast as the flakes
When they fell
To the ground.

[21]

And the good little flake
That up in the sky,
Had looked on the earth
With a tear in its eye,
At sound of the bells
Fairly shown with delight,
For Christmas had come,
And the world was in white,
And Santa had been
At the dead of the night,
In his reindeer sleigh,
And was safe out of sight.

[22]

And the dear little ones
Whose eyes were so wet,
Knew now, the snowflakes
Did not forget;
For over the earth
They were spread far and wide,
In a beautiful robe
For the glad Christmas tide—
While down to the wondering
World from above,
Came the spirit of Peace,
Of Goodwill, and Love.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHRISTMAS SNOWFLAKE ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.