“Hurrah! Hurrah! Here I am again, sang the Christmas Sprite. He shook himself all, for he’d been fast asleep all the year, and he polished up his pretty wings until they shone. Then away into the snowy world he flew, peeping down the chimneys, peering through the windows, and laughing and chattering to himself as he danced along.
The magic dream-man had just brewed a lovely dream. Business was very slack, but the old man was looking with pride around his dusty shop. He had rows of bottles filled with all kinds of wonderful things for making dreams. He had reins for nightmares, who rid over your pillows at night, and gallop so close that they brush your hair until it stands on end with fright.
He had - but...
“Rat-a-tat-tat!” came a knock at the door, and in leapt the Christmas Sprite. “I want the very best dream you can mix, old friend,” he cried, “for a good little Brownie I know of."
“Ho! Ho! Laughed the dream-man, “I’ve the very thing here; a dream, chock full of Christmas cheer; just what a very good Brownie would like. Sprinkle this dust over his sleepy eyes, and he’l be as happy as any Brownie alive. Ho! Ho! Now off you go.”
Brownie was lying snug and warm in his little bed, wide awake with excitement. Mummie Brownie had given him his good-night kiss, and had actually told him to go to sleep! But then, Mummie didn’t seem a bit excited about Santa Claus, and hadn’t even hung up her stocking!
Soft snowflakes are falling against the window, and Brownie tried to count them as they hurried lightly down, but he began to feel very sleepy. “Oh, dear,” he sighed, “if Santa Claus doesn’t come soon, I shall be fast asleep”; and he tucked his little nose well under the blankets, and closed his eyes.
“Hello there! Wake up, Brownie!” cried a voice, and Brownie sat up in surprise. A queer little fellow with wings of shining holly was dancing around his bed, calling, “Wake up, Brownie! There’s no time to waste. We’re off to Christmas Land."
'Brownie in Christmas Land' is a beautiful, timeless Christmas story about a little Brownie and his adventures in Christmas Land.
‘Brownie in Christmas Land’ by Marian Jack was originally published by Frederick Warne & Co. in London exactly 100 years ago (1922).
Frederick Warne & Co. is a British publisher known for children's books, particularly those of Beatrix Potter, and for its Observer's Books.
Frederick Warne & Co. was founded in July 1865 by London bookseller and publisher, Frederick Warne. Toward the end of the century, Frederick Warne had retired and left the firm to his three sons, Harold, Fruing and Norman.
In 1983, Warne was bought by Penguin Books. It began developing classic book-based children's character brands.
