Volume 1 — There Was an Old Woman

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children she didn’t know what to do; She gave them some broth without any bread; She whipped them all soundly, and put them to bed. from a drawing by p. vinton brown

Now it happened that Santa Claus, Passing that way, Peeped into the shoe top And saw how they lay— With their round, rosy faces All shining with tears, And resolved to do something To comfort the dears.

So while they were sleeping In woful array, He bundled those children Right into his sleigh; And cracking his whip As his reindeers sped forth, Away they all flew To his home in the North.

What wonders he showed them, Such beautiful toys! Such dolls for the girls, And such drums for the boys! Such farms and such stables, Such monkeys and bears, Such dishes and tables And tiny dolls’ chairs! And when they had seen All the wonderful things Which each winter, at Christmas, Dear Santa Claus brings, He gave them, to make Their enchantment complete, Just all of the candy And cake they could eat.

When they told of their travels, Their mother, it seems, Only laughed, and declared They were nothing but dreams. I am sure, though, things must Have occurred as they say, Else why were they, all of them, Ill the next day?