Aboutthirtyyearsagotherewasatthetopoftheright-handsideofOrangeStreet，inPolchester，alargestonehouse。Isay“was“；
theshellofitisstillthere，andthepeoplewhonowliveinitarequiteunaware，Isuppose，thatanythinghashappenedtotheinsideofit，exceptthattheyarecertainlyassuredthattheirfurnitureisvastlysuperiortothefurnitureoftheirpredecessors。
Theyhaveagramophone，apianola，andalifttobringtheplatesfromthekitchenintothedining-room，andasmallmotorgarageatthebackwheretheoldpumpusedtobe，andaverymodernrockgardenwhereoncewasthepondwiththefountainthatneverworked。
Letthemcherishtheirsatisfaction。Noonegrudgesittothem。TheColeswere，bymodernstandards，old-fashionedpeople，andtheStoneHousewasanold-fashionedhouse。
YoungJeremyColewasbornthereintheyear1884，veryearlyinthemorningofDecember8th。HewasstillthereveryearlyinthemorningofDecember8th，1892。Hewassittingupinbed。Thecuckooclockhadjuststruckfive，andhewasawarethathewas，atthisverymoment，forthefirsttimeinhislife，eightyearsold。Hehadgonetobedateighto’clockontheprecedingeveningwiththechokingconsciousnessthathewouldawakeinthemorningadifferentcreature。Althoughhehadslept，therehadpermeatedthetextureofhisdreamsthatsamechokingexcitement，andnow，wideawake，asthoughhehadaskedthecuckootocallhiminorderthathemightnotbelateforthegreatoccasion，hestaredintotheblackdistanceofhisbedroomandreflected，withabeatingheart，uponthegreatevent。Hewaseightyearsold，andhehadasmuchrightnowtothenurseryarm-chairwithaholeinitasHelenhad。
Thatwashisfirstdefiniterealisationofapproachingtriumph。
ThroughoutthewholeofhisseventhyearhehadfoughtwithHelen，whowasmostunjustlyayearolderthanheandpersistentlyproudofthatinjustice，astohisrighttousethewickerarm-chairwhensoeveritpleasedhim。Sodestructiveofthegeneralpeaceofthehousehadtheseincessantbattlesbeen，sounavailingthesuggestionsofelderlyrelationsthatgentlemenalwaysyieldedtoladies，thatacompromisehadbeenarrivedat。WhenJeremywaseightheshouldhaveequalrightswithHelen。Wellandgood。Jeremyhadyieldedtothat。Itwastheonlydecentchairinthenursery。Intotheplacewherethewicker，yieldingtorudeandimpulsivepressure，hadfallenaway，one’sbodymightbemosthappilyfitted。Itwasofexactlytherightheight；itmadethehandsomestcreakingnoiseswhenonerockedinit——and，inanycase，Helenwasonlyagirl。
Butthesenseofhistriumphhadnotyetfullydescendeduponhim。
Ashesatupinbed，yawning，withatickleinthemiddleofhisbackandhisthroatverydry；hewasdisappointinglyawarethathewasstillthesameJeremyofyesterday。Hedidnotknowwhatitwasexactlythathehadexpected，buthedidnotfeelatpresentthatconfidentproudgloryforwhichhehadbeenprepared。Perhapsitwastooearly。
Heturnedround，curledhisheadintohisarm，andwithahalf-
muttered，half-dreamtstatementaboutthewickerchair，hewasonceagainasleep。
II
Heawoketothecustomarysoundofthebathwaterrunningintothebath。Hisroomwasfloodedwithsunshine，andoldJampot，thenursehernamewasMrs。PrestonandhershapewasJampot，wassayingasusual：“Now，MasterJeremy，eighto’clock；nolyinginbed——out——youget——bath——ready。“
Hestaredather，blinking。
“Youshouldsay’ManyHappyReturnsoftheDay，MasterJeremy，’“heremarked。Thensuddenly，withaleap，hewasoutofbed，hadcrossedthefloor，pushedbackthenurserydoor，andwassittinginthewickerarm-chair，hisnakedfeetkickingatriumphantdance。
“Helen！Helen！“hecalled。“I’minthechair。“
Nosound。
“I’meight，“heshouted，“andI’minthechair。“
Mrs。Preston，breathlessandexclaiming，hurriedacrosstohim。
“Oh，younaughtyboy……deathofcold……inyournightshirt。“
“I’meight，“hesaid，lookingatherscornfully，“andIcansithereaslongasIplease。“
Helen，herpigtailsflappingoneithershoulder，hernosered，asitalwayswasearlyinthemorning，appearedattheoppositeendofthenursery。
“Nurse，hemustn’t，musthe？Tellhimnotto。Idon’tcarehowoldyouare。It’smychair。Mothersaid——“
“No，shedidn’t。Mothersaid——“
“Yes，shedid。Mothersaid——“
“Mothersaidthatwhen——“
“Oh，youstory。YouknowthatMothersaid——“Thensuddenlyanew，stiffening，trustingdignityfilledhim，asthoughhehadwithaturnoftheheaddiscoveredhimselfingoldenarmour。
Hewasabovethisvulgarwranglingnow。Thatwasforgirls。Hewassuperiortothemall。Hegotdownfromthechairandstood，hisheadup，ontheoldTurkeyrugredwithyellowcockatoosinfrontoftheroaringfire。
“Youmayhaveyouroldchair，“hesaidtoHelen。“I’meightnow，andIdon’twantitanymore……althoughifIdowantitIshallhaveit，“headded。
Hewasasmall，squareboywithapug-nosedface。Hishairwaslightbrown，thinandstiff，sothatitwasdifficulttobrush，andalthoughyouwateredit，stoodupinunexpectedplacesandstaredatyou。Hiseyesweregood，darkbrownandlarge，buthewasinnowayhandsome；hisneck，hisnoseridiculous。Hismouthwastoolarge，andhischinstuckoutlikeahammer。
Hewas，plainly，obstinateandpossiblysulky，althoughwhenhesmiledhiswholefacewaslightedwithhumour。HelenwastheonlybeautifulColechild，andshewasabundantlyawareofthatfact。TheColeshadneverbeenagood-lookingfamily。
Hestoodinfrontofthefireplacenowashehadseenhisfatherdo，hisshortlegsapart，hisheadup，andhishandsbehindhisback。
“Now，MasterJeremy，“theJampotcontinued，“youmaybeeightyearsold，butitisn’tareasonfordisobediencetheveryfirstminute，and，ofcourse，yourbathisreadyandyoucatchingyourdeathwithnakedfeet，whichyou’vealwaysbeentoldtoputyourslippersonandnottokeepthebathwaiting，whenthere’sMissHelenandMissMary，asyouverywellknow，andbreakfastcominginfiveminutes，whichthere’ssausagesthismorning，becauseit’syourbirthday，andthemallgettingcold——“
“Sausages！“
Hewasacrossthefloorinamoment，hadthrownoffhisnightshirtandwasinhisbath。Sausages！Hewastranslatedintoaworldofexcitementandsplendour。Theyhadsausagessoseldom，notalwaysevenonbirthdays，andto-day，onacoldmorning，withacracklingfireandmarmalade，perhaps——andthenallthepresents。
Oh，hewashappy。AsherubbedhisbackwiththetowelawonderfulglowingChristiancharityspreadfromhisheadtohistoesandtingledthrougheveryinchofhim。Helenshouldsitinthechairwhenshepleased；Maryshouldbeallowedtodressandundressthelargewoollendog，knownas“Sulks，“hisownespecialandbelovedproperty，sooftenasshewished；Jampotshouldpokethetwistedendofthetowelinhisearsandbrushhishairwiththehardbrushes，andhewouldnotsayaword。AuntMaryshouldkisshimas，ofcourse，shewouldwanttodo，andhewouldnotshiver；hewouldbravestdeedofallallowMarytoread“AliceinWonderland“inhersing-singvoicesolongasevershewanted……Sausages！
Sausages！
Inhisshirtandhisshortbluetrousers，hishaironend，tuggingathisbraces，hestoodinthedoorwayandshouted：
“Helen，therearesausages——becauseit’smybirthday。Aren’tyouglad？？
AndevenwhentheonlyresponsetohisjoyousinvitationwasHelen’svoicecrosslyadmonishingtheJampot：“Oh，youdopullso；you’rehurting！“——hischaritywasnotchecked。
Thenwhenhestoodclothedandofacheerfulmindoncemoreinfrontofthefireashynessstoleoverhim。HeknewthatthemomentforPresentswasapproaching；heknewthatveryshortlyhewouldhavetokissandbekissedbyamultitudeofpersons，thathewouldhavetosayagainandagain，“Oh，thankyou，thankyousomuch！“thathewouldhavehisusualconsciousnessofhisinabilitytothankanybodyatallinthewaythattheyexpectedtobethanked。HelenandMaryneverworriedaboutsuchthings。Theydelightedinkissingandhuggingandmultitudesofwords。Ifonlyhemighthavehadhispresentsbyhimselfandthenstolenoutandsaid“Thankyou“tothelotofthemandhavedonewithit。
Hewatchedthebreakfast-tablewithincreasingsatisfaction——thelargeteapotwiththeredroses，thedarkblueporridgeplates，theglassjarwiththemarmaladearichyellowinsideit，thehugeloafwiththesoftpiecesburstingoutbetweenthecrustypieces，thesolidsquareofbutter，sobeautifulacolourandmarkedwithalargecowandatreeonthetophehadseenonceinthekitchenthewoodenshapewithwhichthecookmadethishandsomething。Therewerealsohisownsilvermug，givenhimathischristeningbyCanonTrenchard，hisgodfather，andhissilverspoon，givenhimonthesameoccasionbyUncleSamuel。
Allthesethingsglitteredandglowedinthefirelight，andakettlewassingingonthehobandMarthathecanarywassinginginhercageinthewindow。Noonereallyknewwhetherthecanarywerealadyoragentleman，butthenamehadbeenMarthaafterabelovedhousemaid，nowmarriedtothegardener，andthesexhadfollowedthename。
Therewerealsoalltheotherfamiliarnurserythings。TheholeintheTurkeycarpetnearthebookcase，therocking-horse，veryshinywhereyousitandveryChristmas-tree-likeastoitstail；thedoll’shouse，nowdeserted，becauseHelenwastoooldandMarytooclever；thepicturesof“ChurchonChristmasMorning“everyonewiththeirmouthsverywideopen，singingaChristmashymn，withholly，“DignityandImpudence，“afterLandseer，“TheShepherdsandtheAngels，“and“TheChargeoftheLightBrigade。“SopackedwasthenurserywithhistoryforJeremythatitwouldhavetakenquiteaweektorelateitall。TherewasthespotwherehehadbittentheJampot’sfingers，forwhichdeedhehadafterwardsbeenslipperedbyhisfather；therethecornerwheretheystoodforpunishmentheknewexactlyhowmanyshipswithsails，howmanyridgesofwaves，andhowmanysettingsunstherewereonthatespecialpieceofcornerwallpaper——threeships，twelveridges，twoandahalfsuns；
therewastheplacewherehehadbrokentheinkbottleoverhisshoesandthecarpet，therebythewindow，whereMaryhadreadtohimoncewhenhehadtoothache，andhehadnotknownwhetherherreadingorthetoothacheagonisedhimthemore；andsoon，anendlesssequenceofsensationalhistory。
HisreminiscenceswerecutshortbytheappearanceofGladyswiththeporridge。Gladys，whowasonlythebetween-maid，butwasneverthelessstout，breathlessfromherclimbandthesentimentoftheoccasion，producedfromadeeppocketadirtyenvelope，whichshelaiduponthetable。
“Many’appyreturns，MasterJeremy。“Giggle……giggle……“LordsaveusifI’aven’tgoneandforgottentheyspunes，“andshevanished。Thepresent-givinghadbegun。
Hehadaninstant’sstruggleastowhetheritwerebettertowaituntilallthepresentshadaccumulated，orwhetherhewouldtakethemseparatelyastheyarrived。Thedirtyenvelopeluredhim。Headvancedtowardsitandseizedit。Hecouldnotreadveryeasilythesprawlingwritingonthecover，butheguessedthatitsaid“FromGladystoMasterJeremy。“Withinwasamarvellouscard，tiedtogetherwithglisteningcordandshiningwithallthecoloursoftherainbow。ItwasapparentlyasurvivalfromlastChristmas，astherewasachurchinsnowandapealofbells；hewas，nevertheless，veryhappytohaveit。