So up went the pies , for Mrs. Smith had not much to give , and her spirit was generous , though her pastry was not of the best . It looked very droll to see pies sitting about on the thresholds of closed doors , but the cakes were quite elegant , and filled up the corners of the towel handsomely , for the apron lay in the middle , with the oranges right and left , like two sentinels in yellow uniforms . It was very late when the flicker of a candle came up stairs , and a pale lady , with a sweet sad face , appeared , bringing a pair of red and a pair of blue mittens for her Dolly and Polly . Poor Mrs. Blake did have a hard time , for she stood all day in a great store that she might earn bread for the poor children who staid at home and took care of one another . Her heart was very heavy that night , because it was the first Christmas she had ever known without gifts and festivity of some sort . But Petkin , the youngest child , had been ill , times were very hard , the little mouths gaped for food like the bills of hungry birds , and there was no tender mate to help fill them . If any elves had been hovering about the dingy hall just then , they would have seen the mother 's tired face brighten beautifully when she discovered the gifts , and found that her little girls had been so kindly remembered . Something more brilliant than the mock diamonds in Miss Kent 's best earrings fell and glittered on the dusty floor as Mrs. Blake added the mittens to the other things , and went to her lonely room again , smiling as she thought how she could thank them all in a sweet and simple way . Her windows were full of flowers , for the delicate tastes of the poor lady found great comfort in their beauty . `` I have nothing else to give , and these will show how grateful I am , '' she said , as she rejoiced that the scarlet geraniums were so full of gay clusters , the white chrysanthemum stars were all out , and the pink roses at their loveliest . They slept now , dreaming of a sunny morrow as they sat safely sheltered from the bitter cold . But that night was their last , for a gentle hand cut them all , and soon three pretty nosegays stood in a glass , waiting for dawn , to be laid at three doors , with a few grateful words which would surprise and delight the receivers , for flowers were rare in those hard-working lives , and kind deeds often come back to the givers in fairer shapes than they go . Now one would think that there had been gifts enough , and no more could possibly arrive , since all had added his or her mite except Betsey , the maid , who was off on a holiday , and the babies fast asleep in their trundle-bed , with nothing to give but love and kisses . Nobody dreamed that the old cat would take it into her head that her kittens were in danger , because Mrs. Smith had said she thought they were nearly old enough to be given away . But she must have understood , for when all was dark and still , the anxious mother went patting up stairs to the children 's door , meaning to hide her babies under their bed , sure they would save them from destruction . Mrs. Blake had shut the door , however , so poor Puss was disappointed ; but finding a soft , clean spot among a variety of curious articles , she laid her kits there , and kept them warm all night , with her head pillowed on the blue mittens . In the cold morning Dolly and Polly got up and scrambled into their clothes , not with joyful haste to see what their stockings held , for they had none , but because they had the little ones to dress while mother got the breakfast . Dolly opened the door , and started back with a cry of astonishment at the lovely spectacle before her . The other people had taken in their gifts , so nothing destroyed the magnificent effect of the treasures so curiously collected in the night . Puss had left her kits asleep , and gone down to get her own breakfast , and there , in the middle of the ruffled apron , as if in a dainty cradle , lay the two Maltese darlings , with white bibs and boots on , and white tips to the tiny tails curled round their little noses in the sweetest way .
Polly and Dolly could only clasp their hands and look in rapturous silence for a minute ; then they XXXXX down on their knees and revelled in the unexpected richness before them .
added arrive dreamed glittered ruffled said shut smiling think went