By W. W. Denslow
Author of Denslow's Scarecrow and Tinman, original illustrator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Father Goose: His Book, Dot and Tot of Merryland, etc.
Originally published in the St. Louis (Missouri) Daily Globe-Democrat, May 4, 1902.
Click image to enlarge.
Originally published in the Philadelphia Public Ledger, December 16, 1917.
Just ’Fore Christmas in Supposyville
With what a stirring, bustling, whirring
Thrill of preparation
Supposyville makes ready for
Its Christmas celebration.
The couriers and messengers
Pound off—and up and down,
And holly wreaths nod jovially
From every house in town,
While the odors from the chimneys
Waft one straight to fairyland—
Oh, Christmas is a season that
Supposies understand!
And always kind and merry,
Now they simply radiate
A happiness that sets one’s heart
Into its Christmas gait;
Oh, yes, they know about good will
And peace in old Supposyville!
The bells are tolling hourly
The message of the times;
So sweet, so sweet the angels
Seem to sing, and not the chimes;
And with what hearty greetings
The good folk go to and fro,
Piled high with ribboned boxes
And with greens and mistletoe.
The castle clock is festive
In a giant wreath of holly,
And seems each minute to grow more
Excited and more jolly;
The chimneys newly cleaned and swept
Smoke sociably together,
And hope for old Kriss Kringle’s sake
For snowy Christmas weather.
Each lad and lassie’s busy
With a song or piece to learn;
The Yule logs in the fireplace
Brag ’bout the way they’ll burn.
I cannot think without a thrill
Of Christmas in Supposyville!
Thrill of preparation
Supposyville makes ready for
Its Christmas celebration.
The couriers and messengers
Pound off—and up and down,
And holly wreaths nod jovially
From every house in town,
While the odors from the chimneys
Waft one straight to fairyland—
Oh, Christmas is a season that
Supposies understand!
And always kind and merry,
Now they simply radiate
A happiness that sets one’s heart
Into its Christmas gait;
Oh, yes, they know about good will
And peace in old Supposyville!
The bells are tolling hourly
The message of the times;
So sweet, so sweet the angels
Seem to sing, and not the chimes;
And with what hearty greetings
The good folk go to and fro,
Piled high with ribboned boxes
And with greens and mistletoe.
The castle clock is festive
In a giant wreath of holly,
And seems each minute to grow more
Excited and more jolly;
The chimneys newly cleaned and swept
Smoke sociably together,
And hope for old Kriss Kringle’s sake
For snowy Christmas weather.
Each lad and lassie’s busy
With a song or piece to learn;
The Yule logs in the fireplace
Brag ’bout the way they’ll burn.
I cannot think without a thrill
Of Christmas in Supposyville!
Copyright © 2022 Eric Shanower and David Maxine. All rights reserved.
