November 29, 2025 • 24 mins
Unwrap a magical holiday tale with “The Christmas Masquerade” by Mary Wilkins Freeman on Classic Christmas Stories. Join host Jason Hovde as children don mysterious disguises, revealing the heart of Christmas through wonder and kindness. Perfect for family listening, this episode sparkles with holiday joy.
Sponsored by Carrie Turansky, author of A Very English Christmas with Carole Lehr Johnson and Marguerite Gray. Discover three romantic novellas inspired by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Beatrix Potter, celebrating love, faith, and Christmas at https://carrieturansky.com/a-very-english-christmas/.
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...Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason Hovde (00:17):
Welcome to Classic Christmas Stories, where daily
holiday tales bring warmth andjoy through Christmas.
I'm your host, Jason Hovde, andtoday we're enchanted by The
Christmas Masquerade by MaryWilkins Freeman.
This delightful story spins amagical tale of children
transformed by a mysteriousholiday disguise, revealing the
(00:39):
heart of Christmas throughwonder and kindness.
This episode is brought to youby Carrie Turansky, author of A
Very English Christmas, withbest-selling authors Carol Lee
Johnson and Marguerite Gray.
Looking for a heartwarming readthis holiday season?
Discover three romanticnovellas inspired by Jane
Austen, Charles Dickens, andBeatrix Potter.
(01:02):
From candlelit parlors tosnowkissed villages, these
stories celebrate love, faith,and the true meaning of
Christmas.
Discover more and get your copytoday at CarrieTuransky.com.
Link in the show notes.
Thank you, Carrie, forsupporting our holiday tales.
Now gather your loved ones bythe fireside as we dive into
(01:23):
Freeman's whimsical classic,Perfect for Families and Story
Lovers.
Let's unmask the magic of theChristmas masquerade.
On Christmas Eve, the mayor'sstately mansion presented a
(01:47):
beautiful appearance.
There were rows of differentcolored wax candles burning in
every window, and beyond themone could see chandeliers of
gold and crystal blazing withlight.
The fiddles were squeakingmerrily, and lovely little forms
flew past the windows in timeto the music.
There were gorgeous carpetslaid from the door to the
(02:08):
street, and carriages wereconstantly arriving and fresh
guests tripping over them.
They were all children.
The mayor was giving aChristmas masquerade tonight to
all the children in the city,the poor as well as the rich.
The preparation for this ballhad been making an immense
sensation for the last threemonths.
Placards had been up in themost conspicuous points in the
(02:32):
city, and all the dailynewspapers had at least a column
devoted to it, headed with TheMayor's Christmas Masquerade in
very large letters.
The mayor had promised todefray the expenses of all the
poor children whose parents wereunable to do so, and the bills
for their costumes were directedto be sent in to him.
Of course, there was greatexcitement among the regular
(02:53):
costumers of the city, and theyall resolved to vie with one
another in being the mostpopular and the best patronized
on this gala occasion.
But the placards and thenotices had not been out a week
before a new costumer appearedwho cast all the others into the
shade directly.
He set up his shop on thecorner of one of the principal
(03:14):
streets and hung up hisbeautiful costumes in the
windows.
He was a little fellow, notmuch bigger than a boy of ten.
His cheeks were as red asroses, and he had on a long
curling wig as white as snow.
He wore a suit of crimsonvelvet knee breeches, and a
little swallow tailed coat withbeautiful gold buttons.
(03:35):
Deep lace ruffles fell over hisslender white hands, and he
wore elegant knee buckles ofglittering stones.
He sat on a high stool behindhis counter and served his
customers himself.
He kept no clerk.
It did not take the childrenlong to discover what beautiful
things he had, and how superiorhe was to the other customers,
(03:56):
and they began to flock to hisshop immediately, from the
mayor's daughter to the poor ragpickers.
The children were to selecttheir own costumes.
The mayor had stipulated that.
It was to be a children's ballin every sense of the word.
So they decided to be fairiesand shepherdesses and princesses
according to their own fancies,and this new costumer had
(04:17):
charming costumes to suit them.
It was noticeable that for themost part the children of the
rich, who had always hadeverything they desired, would
choose the parts of goose girlsand peasants and such like, and
the poor children jumped eagerlyat the chance of being
princesses or fairies for a fewhours in their miserable lives.
When Christmas Eve came and thechildren flocked into the
(04:40):
mayor's mansion, whether it wasowing to the costumers' art or
their own adaptation of thecharacters they had chosen, it
was wonderful how lifelike theirrepresentations were.
Those little fairies in theirshort skirts of silk and gauze,
in which golden sparklesappeared as they moved with
their funny gossamer wings, likebutterflies, looked like real
(05:01):
fairies.
It did not seem possible, whenthey floated around to the
music, half supported on thetips of their dainty toes, half
by their filmy purple wings,their delicate bodies swaying in
time that they could beanything but fairies.
It seemed absurd to imaginethat they were Johnny Mullins,
the washerwoman's son, and PollyFlinders, the charwoman's
(05:23):
little girl, and so on.
The mayor's daughter, who hadchosen the character of a goose
girl, looked so like a true onethat one could hardly dream she
was ever anything else.
She was ordinarily a slender,dainty little lady, rather tall
for her age.
She now looked very short andstubbed and brown, just as if
(05:43):
she had been accustomed to tendgeese in all sorts of weather.
It was so with all the others,the Red Riding Hoods, the
princesses, the Bo Peeps, andwith every one of the characters
who came to the mayor's ball.
Red Riding Hood looked aroundwith big, frightened eyes,
already to spy the wolf, andcarried her little pad of butter
(06:03):
and pot of honey gingerly inher basket.
Bo Peeps' eyes looked red withweeping for the loss of her
sheep, and the princesses sweptso grandly about in their
splendid brocaded trains andheld their crowned heads up so
high that people half believedthem to be true princesses.
But there was never anythinglike the fun at the mayor's
(06:25):
Christmas ball.
The fiddlers fiddled andfiddled, and the children danced
and danced on the beautifulwaxed floors.
The mayor with his family and afew grand guests sat on a dais,
covered with blue velvet at oneend of the dancing hall, and
watched the sport.
They were all delighted.
The mayor's eldest daughter satin front and clapped her soft
(06:48):
little white hands.
She was a tall, beautiful youngmaiden, and wore a white dress
and a little cap woven of blueviolets on her yellow hair.
Her name was Violeta.
The supper was served atmidnight and such a supper.
The mountains of pink and whiteices, and the cakes with sugar
castles and flower gardens ontops of them, and the charming
(07:10):
shapes of gold and ruby coloredjellies.
There were wonderful bonbonswhich even the mayor's daughter
did not have every day, and allsorts of fruits, fresh and
candied.
They had cowslip wine and greenglasses, and elderberry wine in
red, and they drank eachother's health.
The glasses held a thimblefuleach.
The mayor's wife thought thatwas all the wine they could
(07:33):
have.
Under each child's plate therewas the prettiest present, and
every one had a basket ofbonbons and cake to carry home.
At four o'clock the fiddlersput up their fiddles and the
children went home, fairies andshepherdesses and pages and
princes all jabbering gleefullyabout the splendid time they had
had.
But in a short time, whatconsternation there was
(07:56):
throughout the city.
When the proud and fond parentsattempted to unbutton their
children's dresses in order toprepare them for bed, not a
single costume would come off.
The buttons buttoned again asfast as they were unbuttoned.
Even if they pulled out a pin,in it would slip again in a
twinkling.
And when a string was untied,it tied itself up again with a
(08:17):
bow knot.
The parents were dreadfullyfrightened, but the children
were so tired that they finallylet them go to bed in their
fancy costumes and thoughtperhaps they would come off
better in the morning.
So Red Riding Hood went to bedin her little red coke, holding
fast to her basket full ofdainties for her grandmother,
and Bo Peep slept with her crookin her hand.
(08:39):
The children all went to bedreadily enough.
They were so very tired, eventhough they had to go in this
strange array.
All but the fairies.
They danced and pirouetted andwould not be still.
We want to swing on the bladesof grass, they kept saying, and
play hide and seek in the lilycups and take a nap between the
leaves of the roses.
(09:00):
The poor char woman and coalheavers, whose children the
fairies were for the most part,stared at them in great
distress.
They did not know what to dowith these radiant, frisky
little creatures into whichtheir Johnnies and their pollies
and Betssies were so suddenlytransformed.
But the fairies went to bedquietly enough when daylight
came and were soon fast asleep.
(09:22):
There was no further troubletill twelve o'clock when all the
children woke up.
Then a great wave of alarmspread over the city.
Not one of the costumes wouldcome off then.
The buttons buttoned as fast asthey were unbuttoned, the pins
quilted themselves in as fast asthey were pulled out, and the
strings flew round likelightning and twisted themselves
(09:44):
into bow knots as soon as theywere untied.
That was not the worst of it.
Every one of the childrenseemed to have become, in
reality, the character which heor she had assumed.
The mayor's daughter declaredshe was going to tend her geese
out in the pasture, and theshepherdesses sprang out of
their little beds of down,throwing aside their silken
(10:05):
quilts, and cried that they mustgo out and watch their sheep.
The princesses jumped up fromtheir straw pallets and wanted
to go to court, and all the restof them likewise.
Poor little Riding Hood sobbedand sobbed because she couldn't
go and carry her basket to hergrandmother.
And as she didn't have anygrandmother, she couldn't go, of
(10:25):
course, and her parents werevery much troubled.
It was also mysterious anddreadful.
The news spread very rapidlyover the city, and soon a great
crowd gathered around the newcostumer's shop, for everyone
thought he must be responsiblefor all this mischief.
The shop door was locked, butthey soon battered it down with
(10:46):
stones.
When they rushed in, thecostumer was not there.
He had disappeared with all hiswares.
Then they did not know what todo.
But it was evident that theremust be something done before
long, for the state of affairswas growing worse and worse.
The mayor's little daughterbraced her back up against the
tapestried wall and planted hertwo feet in their thick shoes
(11:08):
firmly.
I will go and tend my geese,she kept crying.
I won't eat my breakfast, Iwon't go out to the park, I
won't go to school.
I'm going to tend my geese.
I will, I will, I will.
And the princesses trailedtheir rich trains over the
rough, unpainted floors in theirparents' poor little huts, and
held their crowned heads veryhigh and demanded to be taken to
(11:31):
court.
The princesses were mostlygeese girls when they were their
proper selves, and their geesewere suffering, and their poor
parents did not know what theywere going to do, and they wrung
their hands and wept as theygazed on their gorgeously
appareled children.
Finally, the mayor called ameeting of the aldermen, and
they all assembled in the cityhall.
(11:53):
Nearly every one of them had ason or a daughter who was a
chimney sweep or a little watchgirl or a shepherdess.
They appointed a chairman, andthey took a great many votes and
contrary votes, but they didnot agree on anything until
everyone proposed that theyconsult the wise woman.
Then they all held up theirhands and voted to unanimously.
(12:14):
So the whole board of aldermenset out, walking by twos, with
the mayor at their head toconsult the wise woman.
The aldermen were all veryflashy, and carried gold headed
canes which they swung very highat every step.
They held their heads well backand their chins stiff, and
whenever they met common people,they sniffed gently.
(12:35):
They were very imposing.
The wise woman lived in alittle hut on the outskirts of
the city.
She kept a black cat, exceptfor her she was all alone.
She was very old and hadbrought up a great many
children, and she was consideredremarkably wise.
But when the alderman reachedher hut and found her seated by
the fire, holding her black cat,a new difficulty presented
(12:58):
itself.
She had always been quite deaf,and people had been obliged to
scream as loud as they could inorder to make her hear.
But lately she had grown muchdeafer, and when the alderman
attempted to lay the case beforeher, she could not hear a word.
In fact, she was so very deafthat she could not distinguish a
(13:19):
tone below G sharp.
The aldermen screamed till theywere quite red in the faces,
but all to no purpose.
None of them could get up to GSharp, of course.
So the aldermen all went backswinging their gold-headed
canes, and they had anothermeeting in the city hall.
Then they decided to send thehighest soprano singer in the
(13:41):
church choir to the wise woman.
She could sing up to G Sharpjust as easy as not.
So the high soprano singer setout for the wise woman's in the
mayor's coach, and the aldermenmarched behind, swinging their
gold-headed canes.
The high soprano singer put herhead down close to the wise
woman's ear and sung all aboutthe Christmas masquerade and the
(14:02):
dreadful dilemma everybody wasin in G sharp.
She even went higher sometimes,and the wise woman heard every
word.
She nodded three times, andevery time she nodded, she
looked wiser.
Go home and give them aspoonful of castor oil all
round, she piped up.
Then she took a pinch of snuffand wouldn't say any more.
(14:23):
So the alderman went home andeveryone took a district and
marched through it with aservant carrying an immense bowl
and spoon, and every childrenhad to take a dose of castor
oil.
But it didn't do a bit of good.
The children cried andstruggled when they were forced
to take the castor oil, but twominutes afterward the chimney
sweeps were crying for theirbrooms, and the princesses
(14:45):
screaming because they couldn'tgo to court, and the mayor's
daughter, who had been given adouble dose, cried louder and
more sturdily, I want to go andtend my geese.
I will go and tend my geese.
So the alderman took the highsoprano singer, and they
consulted the wise woman again.
She was taking a nap this time,and the singer had to sing up
(15:06):
to B flat before she could wakeher.
Then she was very cross, andthe black cat put up his back
and spat at the alderman.
Give 'em a spanking all round,she snapped out, and if that
don't work, put 'em to bedwithout their supper.
Then the alderman marched backto try that, and all the
children in the city werespanked, and when that didn't do
(15:27):
any good, they were put to bedwithout any supper.
But the next morning when theywoke up, they were worse than
ever.
The mayor and the alderman werevery indignant and considered
that they had been imposed uponand insulted.
So they set out for the wisewoman again, and the high
soprano singer.
She sang in G sharp how thealderman and the mayor
(15:48):
considered her an imposter, anddid not think she was wise at
all, and they wished her to takeher black cat and move beyond
the limits of the city.
She sang it beautifully.
It sounded like the very finestItalian opera music.
Deary me, piped the wise woman,when she had finished, how very
grand these gentlemen are.
(16:09):
Her black cat put up his backand spit.
Five times one black cat arefive black cats, said the wise
woman, and directly there werefive black cats spitting and
mauling.
Five times five black cats aretwenty five black cats.
And then there were twenty fiveof the angry little beasts.
Five times twenty five blackcats are one hundred and twenty
(16:31):
five black cats, added the wisewoman with a chuckle.
Then the mayor and the aldermanand the high soprano singer
fled precipitately out the doorand back into the city.
One hundred and twenty fiveblack cats had seemed to fill
the wise woman's hut full, andwhen they all spit and mauled
together it was dreadful.
The visitors could not wait forher to multiply back cats any
(16:55):
longer.
As winter wore on and springcame, the condition of things
grew more intolerable.
Physicians had been consulted,who advised that the children
should be allowed to followtheir own bents for fear of
injury to their constitutions.
So the rich aldermen'sdaughters were actually out in
the fields herding sheep, andtheir sons sweeping chimneys or
(17:16):
carrying newspapers.
And while the poor charwoman'sand coal heavers' children spent
their time like princesses andfairies, such a topsy-turvy
state of society was shocking.
While the mayor's littledaughter was tending geese out
in the meadow like any commongoose girl, her pretty elder
sister, Violetta, felt very sadabout it and used often to cast
(17:38):
about in her mind for some wayof relief.
When cherries were ripe inspring, Violetta thought she
would ask the cherry man aboutit.
She thought the cherry manquite wise.
He was a very pretty youngfellow, and he brought cherries
to sell in graceful little strawbaskets lined with moss.
So she stood in the kitchendoor one morning and told him
(17:58):
all about the great trouble thathad come upon the city.
He listened in greatastonishment.
He had never heard of itbefore.
He lived several miles out inthe country.
How did the costumer look?
he asked respectfully.
He thought Violetta the mostbeautiful lady on earth.
Then Violetta described thecostumer and told him of the
unavailing attempts that hadbeen made to find him.
(18:21):
There were a great manydetectives out constantly at
work.
I know where he is, said thecherry man.
He's up in one of my cherrytrees.
He's been living there eversince cherries were ripe, and he
won't come down.
Then Violetta ran and told herfather in great excitement, and
he at once called a meeting ofthe aldermen, and in a few hours
half the city was on the roadto the cherry man's.
(18:43):
He had a beautiful orchard ofcherry trees, all laden with
fruit, and sure enough, in oneof the largest, way up amongst
the topmost branches, sat thecostumer in his red velvet and
short clothes and his diamondknee buckles.
He looked down between thegreen boughs.
Good morning, friends, heshouted.
The aldermen shook their goldheaded canes at him, and the
(19:06):
people danced round the tree ina rage.
Then they began to climb, butthey soon found that to be
impossible.
As fast as they touched a handor foot to the tree, back it
flew with a jerk, exactly as ifthe tree pushed it.
They tried a ladder, but theladder fell back the moment it
touched the tree and laysprawling upon the ground.
(19:26):
Finally they brought axes andthought they could chop the tree
down, costumer and all, but thewood resisted the axes as if it
were iron, and only dentedthem, receiving no impression
itself.
Meanwhile, the costumer sat upin the tree, eating cherries and
throwing the stones down.
Finally he stood up on a stoutbranch, and, looking down,
(19:49):
addressed the people.
It's of no use your trying toaccomplish anything in this way,
said he.
You'd better parlay.
I'm willing to come to termswith you, to make everything
right on two conditions.
The people grew quiet then, andthe mayor stepped forward as a
spokesman.
Name your two conditions, hesaid rather testily.
(20:09):
You own tacitly that you arethe cause of all this trouble.
Well, said the costumer,reaching out for a handful of
cherries, this Christmasmasquerade of yours was a
beautiful idea, but you wouldn'tdo it every year, and your
successors might not do it atall.
I want those poor children tohave a Christmas every year.
(20:30):
My first condition is thatevery poor child in the city
hangs its stocking for gifts inthe city hall on every Christmas
Eve and gets it filled too.
I want a resolution filed andput away in the city archives.
We agree to the firstcondition, cried the people with
one voice, without waiting forthe mayor and aldermen.
(20:50):
The second condition, said thecostumer, is that this good
young cherry man here has themayor's daughter Violetta for
his wife.
He has been kind to me, lettingme live in his cherry tree and
eat his cherries, and I want toreward him.
We consent, cried all thepeople.
But the mayor, though he was sogenerous, was a proud man.
(21:12):
I will not consent to thesecond condition, he cried
angrily.
Very well, replied thecostumer, picking some more
cherries.
Then your youngest daughtertends geese the rest of her
life, that's all.
The mayor was in greatdistress, but the thought of his
youngest daughter being a goosegirl all her life was too much
for him.
He gave in at last.
(21:33):
Now go home and take thecostumes off your children, said
the costumer, and leave me inpeace to eat cherries.
Then the people hastened backto the city and found to their
great delight that the costumeswould come off.
The pins stayed out, thebuttons stayed unbuttoned, and
the strings stayed untied.
The children were dressed intheir own proper clothes and
(21:55):
were their own proper selvesonce more.
The shepherdesses and thechimney sweeps came home and
were washed and dressed in silksand velvets, and went to
embroidering and playing lawntennis.
And the princesses and thefairies put on their own
suitable dresses and went abouttheir useful employments.
There was great rejoicing inevery home.
(22:16):
Violetta thought she had neverbeen so happy now that her dear
little sister was no longer agoose girl, but her own dainty
little lady self.
The resolution to provide everypoor child in the city with a
stocking full of gifts onChristmas was solemnly filed and
deposited in the city archivesand was never broken.
(22:36):
Violeta was married to thecherry man, and all the children
came to the wedding and strewedbeautiful flowers in her path
till her feet were quite hiddenin them.
The costumer had mysteriouslydisappeared from the cherry tree
the night before, but he leftat the foot some beautiful
wedding presents for the bride,a silver service with patterns
of cherries engraved on it, anda set of china with cherries on
(23:00):
it in hand painting, and a whitesatin robe embroidered with
cherries down the front.
The End.
Thank you for joining us forMary Wilkins Freeman's The
Christmas Masquerade on ClassicChristmas Stories.
I hope this magical tale lit upyour holiday spirit.
If you're loving these dailystories, please hit subscribe on
(23:23):
Apple, Spotify, or yourfavorite podcast platform to
catch every episode throughChristmas Day.
Want more timeless tales?
Explore Chamber of Classicspodcasts for Sherlock Holmes
Mysteries and Cozy Shortsstarting on December 1st.
I'll leave a link in the shownotes for you to follow that
podcast.
Thank you for listening, andwe'll see you tomorrow for
(23:44):
another holiday treasure.
Welcome to Classic Christmas Stories, where daily
holiday tales bring warmth andjoy through Christmas.
I'm your host, Jason Hovde, andtoday we're enchanted by The
Christmas Masquerade by MaryWilkins Freeman.
This delightful story spins amagical tale of children
transformed by a mysteriousholiday disguise, revealing the
(00:39):
heart of Christmas throughwonder and kindness.
This episode is brought to youby Carrie Turansky, author of A
Very English Christmas, withbest-selling authors Carol Lee
Johnson and Marguerite Gray.
Looking for a heartwarming readthis holiday season?
Discover three romanticnovellas inspired by Jane
Austen, Charles Dickens, andBeatrix Potter.
(01:02):
From candlelit parlors tosnowkissed villages, these
stories celebrate love, faith,and the true meaning of
Christmas.
Discover more and get your copytoday at CarrieTuransky.com.
Link in the show notes.
Thank you, Carrie, forsupporting our holiday tales.
Now gather your loved ones bythe fireside as we dive into
(01:23):
Freeman's whimsical classic,Perfect for Families and Story
Lovers.
Let's unmask the magic of theChristmas masquerade.
On Christmas Eve, the mayor'sstately mansion presented a
(01:47):
beautiful appearance.
There were rows of differentcolored wax candles burning in
every window, and beyond themone could see chandeliers of
gold and crystal blazing withlight.
The fiddles were squeakingmerrily, and lovely little forms
flew past the windows in timeto the music.
There were gorgeous carpetslaid from the door to the
(02:08):
street, and carriages wereconstantly arriving and fresh
guests tripping over them.
They were all children.
The mayor was giving aChristmas masquerade tonight to
all the children in the city,the poor as well as the rich.
The preparation for this ballhad been making an immense
sensation for the last threemonths.
Placards had been up in themost conspicuous points in the
(02:32):
city, and all the dailynewspapers had at least a column
devoted to it, headed with TheMayor's Christmas Masquerade in
very large letters.
The mayor had promised todefray the expenses of all the
poor children whose parents wereunable to do so, and the bills
for their costumes were directedto be sent in to him.
Of course, there was greatexcitement among the regular
(02:53):
costumers of the city, and theyall resolved to vie with one
another in being the mostpopular and the best patronized
on this gala occasion.
But the placards and thenotices had not been out a week
before a new costumer appearedwho cast all the others into the
shade directly.
He set up his shop on thecorner of one of the principal
(03:14):
streets and hung up hisbeautiful costumes in the
windows.
He was a little fellow, notmuch bigger than a boy of ten.
His cheeks were as red asroses, and he had on a long
curling wig as white as snow.
He wore a suit of crimsonvelvet knee breeches, and a
little swallow tailed coat withbeautiful gold buttons.
(03:35):
Deep lace ruffles fell over hisslender white hands, and he
wore elegant knee buckles ofglittering stones.
He sat on a high stool behindhis counter and served his
customers himself.
He kept no clerk.
It did not take the childrenlong to discover what beautiful
things he had, and how superiorhe was to the other customers,
(03:56):
and they began to flock to hisshop immediately, from the
mayor's daughter to the poor ragpickers.
The children were to selecttheir own costumes.
The mayor had stipulated that.
It was to be a children's ballin every sense of the word.
So they decided to be fairiesand shepherdesses and princesses
according to their own fancies,and this new costumer had
(04:17):
charming costumes to suit them.
It was noticeable that for themost part the children of the
rich, who had always hadeverything they desired, would
choose the parts of goose girlsand peasants and such like, and
the poor children jumped eagerlyat the chance of being
princesses or fairies for a fewhours in their miserable lives.
When Christmas Eve came and thechildren flocked into the
(04:40):
mayor's mansion, whether it wasowing to the costumers' art or
their own adaptation of thecharacters they had chosen, it
was wonderful how lifelike theirrepresentations were.
Those little fairies in theirshort skirts of silk and gauze,
in which golden sparklesappeared as they moved with
their funny gossamer wings, likebutterflies, looked like real
(05:01):
fairies.
It did not seem possible, whenthey floated around to the
music, half supported on thetips of their dainty toes, half
by their filmy purple wings,their delicate bodies swaying in
time that they could beanything but fairies.
It seemed absurd to imaginethat they were Johnny Mullins,
the washerwoman's son, and PollyFlinders, the charwoman's
(05:23):
little girl, and so on.
The mayor's daughter, who hadchosen the character of a goose
girl, looked so like a true onethat one could hardly dream she
was ever anything else.
She was ordinarily a slender,dainty little lady, rather tall
for her age.
She now looked very short andstubbed and brown, just as if
(05:43):
she had been accustomed to tendgeese in all sorts of weather.
It was so with all the others,the Red Riding Hoods, the
princesses, the Bo Peeps, andwith every one of the characters
who came to the mayor's ball.
Red Riding Hood looked aroundwith big, frightened eyes,
already to spy the wolf, andcarried her little pad of butter
(06:03):
and pot of honey gingerly inher basket.
Bo Peeps' eyes looked red withweeping for the loss of her
sheep, and the princesses sweptso grandly about in their
splendid brocaded trains andheld their crowned heads up so
high that people half believedthem to be true princesses.
But there was never anythinglike the fun at the mayor's
(06:25):
Christmas ball.
The fiddlers fiddled andfiddled, and the children danced
and danced on the beautifulwaxed floors.
The mayor with his family and afew grand guests sat on a dais,
covered with blue velvet at oneend of the dancing hall, and
watched the sport.
They were all delighted.
The mayor's eldest daughter satin front and clapped her soft
(06:48):
little white hands.
She was a tall, beautiful youngmaiden, and wore a white dress
and a little cap woven of blueviolets on her yellow hair.
Her name was Violeta.
The supper was served atmidnight and such a supper.
The mountains of pink and whiteices, and the cakes with sugar
castles and flower gardens ontops of them, and the charming
(07:10):
shapes of gold and ruby coloredjellies.
There were wonderful bonbonswhich even the mayor's daughter
did not have every day, and allsorts of fruits, fresh and
candied.
They had cowslip wine and greenglasses, and elderberry wine in
red, and they drank eachother's health.
The glasses held a thimblefuleach.
The mayor's wife thought thatwas all the wine they could
(07:33):
have.
Under each child's plate therewas the prettiest present, and
every one had a basket ofbonbons and cake to carry home.
At four o'clock the fiddlersput up their fiddles and the
children went home, fairies andshepherdesses and pages and
princes all jabbering gleefullyabout the splendid time they had
had.
But in a short time, whatconsternation there was
(07:56):
throughout the city.
When the proud and fond parentsattempted to unbutton their
children's dresses in order toprepare them for bed, not a
single costume would come off.
The buttons buttoned again asfast as they were unbuttoned.
Even if they pulled out a pin,in it would slip again in a
twinkling.
And when a string was untied,it tied itself up again with a
(08:17):
bow knot.
The parents were dreadfullyfrightened, but the children
were so tired that they finallylet them go to bed in their
fancy costumes and thoughtperhaps they would come off
better in the morning.
So Red Riding Hood went to bedin her little red coke, holding
fast to her basket full ofdainties for her grandmother,
and Bo Peep slept with her crookin her hand.
(08:39):
The children all went to bedreadily enough.
They were so very tired, eventhough they had to go in this
strange array.
All but the fairies.
They danced and pirouetted andwould not be still.
We want to swing on the bladesof grass, they kept saying, and
play hide and seek in the lilycups and take a nap between the
leaves of the roses.
(09:00):
The poor char woman and coalheavers, whose children the
fairies were for the most part,stared at them in great
distress.
They did not know what to dowith these radiant, frisky
little creatures into whichtheir Johnnies and their pollies
and Betssies were so suddenlytransformed.
But the fairies went to bedquietly enough when daylight
came and were soon fast asleep.
(09:22):
There was no further troubletill twelve o'clock when all the
children woke up.
Then a great wave of alarmspread over the city.
Not one of the costumes wouldcome off then.
The buttons buttoned as fast asthey were unbuttoned, the pins
quilted themselves in as fast asthey were pulled out, and the
strings flew round likelightning and twisted themselves
(09:44):
into bow knots as soon as theywere untied.
That was not the worst of it.
Every one of the childrenseemed to have become, in
reality, the character which heor she had assumed.
The mayor's daughter declaredshe was going to tend her geese
out in the pasture, and theshepherdesses sprang out of
their little beds of down,throwing aside their silken
(10:05):
quilts, and cried that they mustgo out and watch their sheep.
The princesses jumped up fromtheir straw pallets and wanted
to go to court, and all the restof them likewise.
Poor little Riding Hood sobbedand sobbed because she couldn't
go and carry her basket to hergrandmother.
And as she didn't have anygrandmother, she couldn't go, of
(10:25):
course, and her parents werevery much troubled.
It was also mysterious anddreadful.
The news spread very rapidlyover the city, and soon a great
crowd gathered around the newcostumer's shop, for everyone
thought he must be responsiblefor all this mischief.
The shop door was locked, butthey soon battered it down with
(10:46):
stones.
When they rushed in, thecostumer was not there.
He had disappeared with all hiswares.
Then they did not know what todo.
But it was evident that theremust be something done before
long, for the state of affairswas growing worse and worse.
The mayor's little daughterbraced her back up against the
tapestried wall and planted hertwo feet in their thick shoes
(11:08):
firmly.
I will go and tend my geese,she kept crying.
I won't eat my breakfast, Iwon't go out to the park, I
won't go to school.
I'm going to tend my geese.
I will, I will, I will.
And the princesses trailedtheir rich trains over the
rough, unpainted floors in theirparents' poor little huts, and
held their crowned heads veryhigh and demanded to be taken to
(11:31):
court.
The princesses were mostlygeese girls when they were their
proper selves, and their geesewere suffering, and their poor
parents did not know what theywere going to do, and they wrung
their hands and wept as theygazed on their gorgeously
appareled children.
Finally, the mayor called ameeting of the aldermen, and
they all assembled in the cityhall.
(11:53):
Nearly every one of them had ason or a daughter who was a
chimney sweep or a little watchgirl or a shepherdess.
They appointed a chairman, andthey took a great many votes and
contrary votes, but they didnot agree on anything until
everyone proposed that theyconsult the wise woman.
Then they all held up theirhands and voted to unanimously.
(12:14):
So the whole board of aldermenset out, walking by twos, with
the mayor at their head toconsult the wise woman.
The aldermen were all veryflashy, and carried gold headed
canes which they swung very highat every step.
They held their heads well backand their chins stiff, and
whenever they met common people,they sniffed gently.
(12:35):
They were very imposing.
The wise woman lived in alittle hut on the outskirts of
the city.
She kept a black cat, exceptfor her she was all alone.
She was very old and hadbrought up a great many
children, and she was consideredremarkably wise.
But when the alderman reachedher hut and found her seated by
the fire, holding her black cat,a new difficulty presented
(12:58):
itself.
She had always been quite deaf,and people had been obliged to
scream as loud as they could inorder to make her hear.
But lately she had grown muchdeafer, and when the alderman
attempted to lay the case beforeher, she could not hear a word.
In fact, she was so very deafthat she could not distinguish a
(13:19):
tone below G sharp.
The aldermen screamed till theywere quite red in the faces,
but all to no purpose.
None of them could get up to GSharp, of course.
So the aldermen all went backswinging their gold-headed
canes, and they had anothermeeting in the city hall.
Then they decided to send thehighest soprano singer in the
(13:41):
church choir to the wise woman.
She could sing up to G Sharpjust as easy as not.
So the high soprano singer setout for the wise woman's in the
mayor's coach, and the aldermenmarched behind, swinging their
gold-headed canes.
The high soprano singer put herhead down close to the wise
woman's ear and sung all aboutthe Christmas masquerade and the
(14:02):
dreadful dilemma everybody wasin in G sharp.
She even went higher sometimes,and the wise woman heard every
word.
She nodded three times, andevery time she nodded, she
looked wiser.
Go home and give them aspoonful of castor oil all
round, she piped up.
Then she took a pinch of snuffand wouldn't say any more.
(14:23):
So the alderman went home andeveryone took a district and
marched through it with aservant carrying an immense bowl
and spoon, and every childrenhad to take a dose of castor
oil.
But it didn't do a bit of good.
The children cried andstruggled when they were forced
to take the castor oil, but twominutes afterward the chimney
sweeps were crying for theirbrooms, and the princesses
(14:45):
screaming because they couldn'tgo to court, and the mayor's
daughter, who had been given adouble dose, cried louder and
more sturdily, I want to go andtend my geese.
I will go and tend my geese.
So the alderman took the highsoprano singer, and they
consulted the wise woman again.
She was taking a nap this time,and the singer had to sing up
(15:06):
to B flat before she could wakeher.
Then she was very cross, andthe black cat put up his back
and spat at the alderman.
Give 'em a spanking all round,she snapped out, and if that
don't work, put 'em to bedwithout their supper.
Then the alderman marched backto try that, and all the
children in the city werespanked, and when that didn't do
(15:27):
any good, they were put to bedwithout any supper.
But the next morning when theywoke up, they were worse than
ever.
The mayor and the alderman werevery indignant and considered
that they had been imposed uponand insulted.
So they set out for the wisewoman again, and the high
soprano singer.
She sang in G sharp how thealderman and the mayor
(15:48):
considered her an imposter, anddid not think she was wise at
all, and they wished her to takeher black cat and move beyond
the limits of the city.
She sang it beautifully.
It sounded like the very finestItalian opera music.
Deary me, piped the wise woman,when she had finished, how very
grand these gentlemen are.
(16:09):
Her black cat put up his backand spit.
Five times one black cat arefive black cats, said the wise
woman, and directly there werefive black cats spitting and
mauling.
Five times five black cats aretwenty five black cats.
And then there were twenty fiveof the angry little beasts.
Five times twenty five blackcats are one hundred and twenty
(16:31):
five black cats, added the wisewoman with a chuckle.
Then the mayor and the aldermanand the high soprano singer
fled precipitately out the doorand back into the city.
One hundred and twenty fiveblack cats had seemed to fill
the wise woman's hut full, andwhen they all spit and mauled
together it was dreadful.
The visitors could not wait forher to multiply back cats any
(16:55):
longer.
As winter wore on and springcame, the condition of things
grew more intolerable.
Physicians had been consulted,who advised that the children
should be allowed to followtheir own bents for fear of
injury to their constitutions.
So the rich aldermen'sdaughters were actually out in
the fields herding sheep, andtheir sons sweeping chimneys or
(17:16):
carrying newspapers.
And while the poor charwoman'sand coal heavers' children spent
their time like princesses andfairies, such a topsy-turvy
state of society was shocking.
While the mayor's littledaughter was tending geese out
in the meadow like any commongoose girl, her pretty elder
sister, Violetta, felt very sadabout it and used often to cast
(17:38):
about in her mind for some wayof relief.
When cherries were ripe inspring, Violetta thought she
would ask the cherry man aboutit.
She thought the cherry manquite wise.
He was a very pretty youngfellow, and he brought cherries
to sell in graceful little strawbaskets lined with moss.
So she stood in the kitchendoor one morning and told him
(17:58):
all about the great trouble thathad come upon the city.
He listened in greatastonishment.
He had never heard of itbefore.
He lived several miles out inthe country.
How did the costumer look?
he asked respectfully.
He thought Violetta the mostbeautiful lady on earth.
Then Violetta described thecostumer and told him of the
unavailing attempts that hadbeen made to find him.
(18:21):
There were a great manydetectives out constantly at
work.
I know where he is, said thecherry man.
He's up in one of my cherrytrees.
He's been living there eversince cherries were ripe, and he
won't come down.
Then Violetta ran and told herfather in great excitement, and
he at once called a meeting ofthe aldermen, and in a few hours
half the city was on the roadto the cherry man's.
(18:43):
He had a beautiful orchard ofcherry trees, all laden with
fruit, and sure enough, in oneof the largest, way up amongst
the topmost branches, sat thecostumer in his red velvet and
short clothes and his diamondknee buckles.
He looked down between thegreen boughs.
Good morning, friends, heshouted.
The aldermen shook their goldheaded canes at him, and the
(19:06):
people danced round the tree ina rage.
Then they began to climb, butthey soon found that to be
impossible.
As fast as they touched a handor foot to the tree, back it
flew with a jerk, exactly as ifthe tree pushed it.
They tried a ladder, but theladder fell back the moment it
touched the tree and laysprawling upon the ground.
(19:26):
Finally they brought axes andthought they could chop the tree
down, costumer and all, but thewood resisted the axes as if it
were iron, and only dentedthem, receiving no impression
itself.
Meanwhile, the costumer sat upin the tree, eating cherries and
throwing the stones down.
Finally he stood up on a stoutbranch, and, looking down,
(19:49):
addressed the people.
It's of no use your trying toaccomplish anything in this way,
said he.
You'd better parlay.
I'm willing to come to termswith you, to make everything
right on two conditions.
The people grew quiet then, andthe mayor stepped forward as a
spokesman.
Name your two conditions, hesaid rather testily.
(20:09):
You own tacitly that you arethe cause of all this trouble.
Well, said the costumer,reaching out for a handful of
cherries, this Christmasmasquerade of yours was a
beautiful idea, but you wouldn'tdo it every year, and your
successors might not do it atall.
I want those poor children tohave a Christmas every year.
(20:30):
My first condition is thatevery poor child in the city
hangs its stocking for gifts inthe city hall on every Christmas
Eve and gets it filled too.
I want a resolution filed andput away in the city archives.
We agree to the firstcondition, cried the people with
one voice, without waiting forthe mayor and aldermen.
(20:50):
The second condition, said thecostumer, is that this good
young cherry man here has themayor's daughter Violetta for
his wife.
He has been kind to me, lettingme live in his cherry tree and
eat his cherries, and I want toreward him.
We consent, cried all thepeople.
But the mayor, though he was sogenerous, was a proud man.
(21:12):
I will not consent to thesecond condition, he cried
angrily.
Very well, replied thecostumer, picking some more
cherries.
Then your youngest daughtertends geese the rest of her
life, that's all.
The mayor was in greatdistress, but the thought of his
youngest daughter being a goosegirl all her life was too much
for him.
He gave in at last.
(21:33):
Now go home and take thecostumes off your children, said
the costumer, and leave me inpeace to eat cherries.
Then the people hastened backto the city and found to their
great delight that the costumeswould come off.
The pins stayed out, thebuttons stayed unbuttoned, and
the strings stayed untied.
The children were dressed intheir own proper clothes and
(21:55):
were their own proper selvesonce more.
The shepherdesses and thechimney sweeps came home and
were washed and dressed in silksand velvets, and went to
embroidering and playing lawntennis.
And the princesses and thefairies put on their own
suitable dresses and went abouttheir useful employments.
There was great rejoicing inevery home.
(22:16):
Violetta thought she had neverbeen so happy now that her dear
little sister was no longer agoose girl, but her own dainty
little lady self.
The resolution to provide everypoor child in the city with a
stocking full of gifts onChristmas was solemnly filed and
deposited in the city archivesand was never broken.
(22:36):
Violeta was married to thecherry man, and all the children
came to the wedding and strewedbeautiful flowers in her path
till her feet were quite hiddenin them.
The costumer had mysteriouslydisappeared from the cherry tree
the night before, but he leftat the foot some beautiful
wedding presents for the bride,a silver service with patterns
of cherries engraved on it, anda set of china with cherries on
(23:00):
it in hand painting, and a whitesatin robe embroidered with
cherries down the front.
The End.
Thank you for joining us forMary Wilkins Freeman's The
Christmas Masquerade on ClassicChristmas Stories.
I hope this magical tale lit upyour holiday spirit.
If you're loving these dailystories, please hit subscribe on
(23:23):
Apple, Spotify, or yourfavorite podcast platform to
catch every episode throughChristmas Day.
Want more timeless tales?
Explore Chamber of Classicspodcasts for Sherlock Holmes
Mysteries and Cozy Shortsstarting on December 1st.
I'll leave a link in the shownotes for you to follow that
podcast.
Thank you for listening, andwe'll see you tomorrow for
(23:44):
another holiday treasure.
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