[Illustration: Christmas Outside of Eden--Book Cover] [Illustration: There, seated in the entrance to the cave, the Man sawthe Woman but not the Woman as he had left her. ] Christmas Outside of Eden BY Coningsby Dawson Author of "The Garden Without Walls, " "Carry On, " etc. ILLUSTRATIONS BY Eugene Francis Savage NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1922 * * * * * Copyright, 1921, By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC. Printed In U. S. A. * * * * * ILLUSTRATIONS There, seated in the entrance to the cave, the Man saw the Woman, butnot the Woman as he had left her. God had given the Man and Woman no time to pack. He had marched thembeyond the walls and locked the golden gates of Eden against themforever. The Man yawned. "I am still tired. Fetch the horse, that he may carry meback to my dwelling. " * * * * * CHRISTMAS OUTSIDE OF EDEN I This is the story the robins tell as they huddle beneath the holly onthe Eve of Christmas. They have told it every Christmas Eve since theworld started. They commenced telling it long before Christ was born, for their memory goes further back than men's. The Christmas which theycelebrate began just outside of Eden, within sight of its gold-lockeddoors. The robins have only two stories: one for Christmas and one for Easter. Their Easter story is quite different. It has to do with how they gotthe splash of red upon their breasts. It was when God's son was hangingon the cross. They wanted to do something to spare him. They were tooweak to pull out the nails from his feet and hands; so they tore theirlittle breasts in plucking the thorns one by one from the crown that hadbeen set upon his forehead. Since then God has allowed their breasts toremain red as a remembrance of His gratitude. But their Christmas story happened long before, when they weren't robinred-breasts but only robins. It is a merry, tender sort of story. They twitter it in a chuckling fashion to their children. If you preferto hear it first-hand, creep out to the nearest holly-bush on almostany Christmas Eve when snow has made the night all pale and shadowy. If the robins have chosen your holly-bush as their rendezvous and youunderstand their language, you won't need to read what I have written. Like all true stories, it is much better told than read. It's the storyof the first laugh that was ever heard in earth or heaven. To be enjoyedproperly it needs the chuckling twitter of the grown-up robins and thesqueaky interruptions of the baby birds asking questions. When they getterrifically excited, they jig up and down on the holly-branches and thefrozen snow falls with a brittle clatter. Then the mother and fatherbirds say, "Hush!" quite suddenly. No one speaks for a full fiveseconds. They huddle closer, listening and holding their breath. That'show the story ought to be heard, after night-fall on Christmas Eve, whenbehind darkened windows little boys and girls have gone to bed early, having hung up their very biggest stockings. Of course I can't tell itthat way on paper, but I'll do my best to repeat the precise words inwhich the robins tell it. II It was very long ago at the beginning of all wonders. Sun, moon andstars were new; they wandered about in the clouds uncertainly, callingto one another like ships in a fog. It was the same on earth; neithertrees, nor rivers, nor animals were quite sure why they had been createdor what was expected of them. They were terribly afraid of doing wrongand they had good reason, for the Man and Woman had done wrong and hadbeen locked out of Eden. That had happened in April, when the world was three months old. Up tothat time everything had gone very well. No one had known what fear was. No one had guessed that anything existed outside the walls of Eden orthat there was such a thing as wrong-doing. Animals, trees and rivershad lived together with the Man and the Woman in the high-walled gardenas a happy family. If they had wanted to know anything, they had askedthe Man; he had always given them answers, even though he had to inventthem. They had never dreamt of doubting him--not even the Woman. Thereason for this had been God. Every afternoon God had come stepping down from the sky to walk with theMan through the sun-spangled shadows of the grassy paths. They had heardthe kindly rumble of His voice like distant thunder and the little tonesof the Man as he asked his questions. At six o'clock regularly God hadshaken hands with the Man and climbed leisurely back up the sky-bluestairs that led to Heaven. Because of this the Man had gained areputation among the animals for being wise. They had thought of him asGod's friend. He had given orders to everybody--even to the Woman; andeveryone had been proud to obey him. It had been in April the great change had occurred. There had been allkinds of rumours. The first that had been suspected had been when Godhad failed to come for His customary walk; the next had been when He hadarrived with His face hidden in anger. The trees of Eden had bent andclashed as if a strong wind were blowing. Everything living that was notrooted, had run away to hide. Nevertheless, when God had called to theMan, they had tiptoed nearer to listen. The trouble had seemed to beabout some fruit. God had told the Man that he must not pluck it; he hadnot only plucked it, but had eaten of it. So had the Woman. It hadseemed a small matter to make such a fuss about. They had supposed thatGod's anger would soon blow over and that everything would be again asfriendly as before. [Illustration: God had given the Man and Woman no time to pack. He hadmarched them beyond the walls and locked the golden gates of Edenagainst them forever. ] And so everything might have been had it not been for the Man. Insteadof saying he was sorry, he had started to argue and blame the Woman. Atthat God had refused to speak with him longer. He had ordered the Manand Woman and all the animals to leave Eden immediately. He had giventhem no time to pack. Lining them up like soldiers, He had numbered themto make certain that none were missing and then, with the Man and Womanleading, had marched them beyond the walls and locked the golden gatesof Eden against them forever. Since then all had been privation and confusion. The animals, fromregarding the Man as their lord, had grown to despise him. They hadblamed him for their misfortunes. They had told him that it was hisfault that they had lost their happiness and that God walked the earthno more. The woman had told him so most particularly. Of all the createdworld only the dog and the robin had remained faithful to him. The dogslept across his feet at night to keep them warm and the robin sang tohim each dawn that he should not lose courage. III Through the world's first summer things had not been so bad, though ofcourse the wilderness that grew outside of Eden was not so comfortableas the garden they had lost. In the garden no one had needed to work:food had grown on the trees to one's hand and, because it was sosheltered, the weather had been always pleasant. It hadn't beennecessary to wear clothing; it hadn't been necessary to build houses, for it had never rained. Birds hadn't troubled to make nests, norrabbits to dig warrens. Everybody had felt perfectly safe to sleepout-of-doors, wherever he happened to find himself, without a thoughtof protection. Here in the wilderness it was different. There were no paths. The junglegrew up tall and threatening. Thorns leant out to tear one's flesh. Ifit hadn't been for the elephant uprooting trees in his fits of temper, no one would have been able to travel anywhere. One by one the animalsslunk away and began to lead their own lives independently, making lairsfor themselves. Every day that went by they avoided the Man and Womanmore and more. At first they used to peep out of the thicket to jeer attheir helplessness; soon they learnt to disregard them as if they werenot there. From having believed himself to be the wisest of livingcreatures the Man discovered himself to be the most incompetent. Oftenand often he would creep to the gold-locked gates and peer between thebars, hoping to see God walking there as formerly. But God walked nomore. As He had climbed back into Heaven, He had destroyed the sky-bluestairs behind Him. There was no way in which the Man could reach Him toask His advice or pardon. But it was the Woman who caused the Man most unhappiness. It wasn't thatshe despised and blamed him. He'd grown used to that since leaving Eden. Everybody, except the dog and the robin, despised and blamed him. TheWoman caused him unhappiness because she was unwell--really unwell; notjust an upset stomach or a headache. In Eden she had always been strongand beautiful, like sunlight leaping on the smooth, green lawn--so whiteand pink and darting. Her long gold hair had swayed about her like aflame; her white arms had parted it as though she were a swimmer. Hereyes had been shy and merry from dawn to dusk. She had been a darling;never a cross word had she spoken. The furry creatures of the woods hadbeen her playmates and the birds had perched upon her shoulders to singtheir finest songs. Now she was wan and thin as a withered branch. Like the elephantuprooting trees, she often lost her temper. Sometimes she was sorry forher crossness; more often she wasn't. When the Man offered her things toeat, no matter what trouble he'd taken to get them, she'd say she wasn'thungry. And yet he loved her none the less for her perverseness. He wasso afraid.... He couldn't have told you of what he was afraid, fornobody had had time to die in the world as yet. He was filled with dreadlest, like God, she might vanish and walk the earth no more. So hecudgelled his brains to find things to cure her. He invented wrongremedies, just as in Eden he had invented wrong answers to the animals'questions. He was never certain whether they would do her good or harm;but he always assured her gravely that, if she'd only try them, she'dfeel instantly better. She never did; on the contrary she felt worseand worse. Perhaps the wilderness was the cause. Perhaps it was theforbidden fruit she had eaten. Perhaps it was a little of both, plus atouch of Eden-sickness. She had never known an hour's ill-health up tothe moment when she had eaten the fruit and been turned out of thegarden. The poor Man was distracted. He didn't care what he did or whomhe robbed, if only he might hear her singing again and see her once moresmiling. What he did wasn't tactful; it only made the animals hate him--allexcept the dog and the robin--and brought new dangers about his head. Itwas the month of October and nights were getting shivery. He had scrapedtogether fallen leaves to make a bed for her and had woven a covering ofwithered grasses. In spite of this, from the setting of the sun tilllong after its rising, all through the dark hours her teeth chattered. She cried continually; every time she cried, out in the jungle the hyenascoffed. The Man rarely got any rest until full day. All night he wasrubbing her back, her feet and hands in an effort to make her warm. Asa consequence he slept late and accomplished hardly any work. He didn'teven have time to notice how all the animals were building houses. TheWoman was so fretful that he never dared leave her for longer than anhour. The poor thing was forever complaining that God might have madeher out of something better than a rib, if He was going to make herat all. It was a colder night than usual, when the Woman was crying verybitterly and the hyena was doing more than his ordinary share ofscoffing, that the idea occurred to the Man. The hyena was scoffingbecause he was comfortable; he was comfortable because of the heavy coatthat he wore. The Man determined to teach him a lesson by taking hiscoat from him. It was another remedy; he hoped that if he clothed theWoman with it, she might grow strong. Telling her that he wouldn't begone for long, he padded stealthily away, followed by the dog, and fadedout of sight among the shadows. They found the hyena in an open space which the elephant had beenclearing the day before. He was seated on his hind legs, gazing upat the moon with his fine warm coat all bristly, scoffing and scoffing. He was far too busy with his ill-natured merriment to hear them coming. In a flash the dog had him by the throat, holding him while the manrobbed him of his clothing. When they had stripped him of everything, even of his bushy tail, they let him go and he fled naked, howling thealarm through the forest. By the time they got back to the Woman all theunderbrush was stirring. From every part of the wilderness, in twos andthrees, the animals were coming together. The night was alive with theirglowing eyes; the leaves trembled with their savage muttering. "Be quick, " whispered the Man. "Put this on. " She dried her tears as she felt the warmth of the fur. "It's comfy, " shesobbed. "It fits exactly. " And then, "Oh, Man, I'm frightened. What haveyou done? You gave me a present once before. " The Man was making a club out of a tree. As he stripped it of itsbranches, he answered boastfully, "It was I and the dog; we did ittogether. You were cold, so we stole the hyena's coat from him. All theanimals are angry. They know that we shall do again what we have doneonce. They feel safe no longer. They say it must be stopped. They wantto get back the hyena's coat from us. " "And they will, oh, my master, " the dog interrupted, "unless we protectourselves. Through the wilderness, not many miles from here, a limestoneridge rises above the forest. In the limestone ridge there is a cave. Ifwe can win our way to it before our enemies come together, we can standin the entrance and guard the Woman. " So the dog ran ahead growling with such fierceness that everything fledfrom his path. Behind him came the Man carrying the Woman very closelybecause he loved her, and trailing his tremendous club. By dawn, beforetheir enemies could guess their purpose, they had gained the cave. Bythe time the animals had held their conference and decreed that the Manand the dog must be punished, they had escaped and were ready to defyall comers. IV From that moment a new and exciting kind of life started. Not an hourout of the twenty-four was free from anxiety. Always, whether it wasday or night, the Man and the dog had to take turns at guarding theentrance. The Man gathered piles of stones and learnt how to throw themunerringly. The dog trusted to his teeth and the fear which his barkinspired. The animals were furiously determined; they never ceased fromattempting to surprise them. Quite often they would have succeeded, hadit not been for the robin, who hiding in the bushes, overheard theirstrategies and flew back to the Man in time with warnings. The cave was well chosen. It was approached by a steep and narrow path. Only one enemy could attack at once, so the defenders were always ableto roll down bowlders on him before he gained a footing. That was howthey treated the lion, when he came thrashing his tail and roaring onthe first morning to make them prisoners. They gave a rock a big shoveand knocked him over like a ninepin. He was so hurt in his feelings thathe sulked in bed for a week; for many more weeks he was easily tired. Seeing that he was the King of the Beasts and the President of theirConference, this made the animals the more indignant and the moredetermined that the Man and the dog must be punished. The next toattempt their capture were the elephant and the rhinoceros. They boastedthat they weren't afraid of rocks; nevertheless they came together toback up each other's courage. Half way up the slope they stuck. Theywere too heavy for so steep a path. The ground crumbled from under them, the dog worried them, the Man struck them, and away they went, bumpingdown the hill, rolling over and over. They never stopped till they hadreached the bottom, where they lay on their backs with their feet in theair, grunting and panting like a pair of upturned locomotives. At first the Man and the dog regarded the enmity they had aroused in thelight of a huge joke; they got a good deal of fun out of fighting. Butthe sporting side of the affair ceased to appeal to them when they werecompelled to recognize the seriousness of their predicament. They wereabsolutely cut off from supplies at a season when food was runningshort. They had to sneak out at night at the risk of capture to getanything to eat at all. They had a sick woman on their hands who criednot for food, but for delicacies. Instead of gathering strength, shegrew steadily weaker. And then there was the matter of sleep; it was asscarce as food. They hardly snatched a wink of it. When they weren't onguard or fighting, they were soothing her fretfulness, foraging for heror thinking up some new method of keeping her warm. It was damp in thecave; sunlight rarely tiptoed farther than the entrance. It didn't takethem long to discover that the hyena's coat had been as dearly purchasedas the forbidden fruit that had lost them the garden. Peace, which theymight have concluded in the early days, was now entirely out of thequestion. Even an offer to return the hyena's coat wouldn't have madeany impression. They had carried hostilities too far; there wasn't ananimal whom they had not wounded and who wasn't mad with them cleanthrough from the point of his nose to the tip of his tail. Often andoften, standing in the entrance to his cave, the Man would gazelongingly across the bronzy roof of the forest to the distant shining ofthe padlocked gates of Eden. He was farther than ever from the gardennow with its tranquil blessedness. If only he hadn't learnt to steal!Stealing had been the cause of his downfall--first the forbidden fruitand then the hyena's coat. If he had been less enterprising and moreobedient, he would still have been the friend of God. After a wakefulnight he crept to the entrance to discover that the worst thing of allhad happened. "A worse thing!" you exclaim. "I thought you were going to tell us acheerful Christmas story. " And so I am: but all the unfortunate part comes first--that's the waythe robins tell it. If you'll be patient and read on, you'll find thisis the very cheerfullest story that was ever told in earth or heaven. You may not have noticed that we've not yet come to the first laugh. TheWoman has smiled and the hyena has scoffed; but no one has laughed. It'swhen we come to the first laugh that the happiness commences. V The worst thing of all that the Man discovered when he crept to thecave-entrance after a wakeful night, was this: with a terrible stealthysilence snow was drifting down so that even the distant shining of thegates of Eden was blotted out. It was frightening; snow had never fallenin the world before. If it had, the Man had not seen it. Within thewalls of the garden summer had been perpetual. He stood there staringout forlornly at the misty sea of shifting whiteness. It chilled him tothe bone. It seemed to him that the pillars of the sky had collapsed andthe dust of the moon and stars was falling. Soon everything would beburied and the world itself would be no more. He looked at the calendarwhich he had scratched upon the wall. It was the twenty-fourth day ofDecember. He wondered whether God knew what was happening and whetherHe had planned it. Then he gave up wondering, for behind him, from theblackness of the cave, the Woman called. "Oh, Man, " she cried, "I cannot bear this any longer!" He groped his way to her and raised her in his arms so that her head layon his breast. Even in the darkness he could see the glow of her hair, like the shadow of flame growing fainter and fainter. "My Woman, " he whispered, "what can I do for you?" And again hewhispered, "What can I do for you?" She pressed her face close to his before she answered, petting him theway she had been used to do in Eden. "Do for me? Nothing. You've triedwith your remedies--you've tried so hard. Poor you! If we could onlyfind God----" "If we could, " the Man said, "but----" And then they both grew silent, for how could they find God when He hadclimbed back to Heaven, destroying the sky-blue stairs behind Him? "Perhaps, He still walks in Eden. " It was the Woman who had spoken. "Ifyou were to go and watch through the bars of Eden till He comes and wereto call to Him--if you were to tell Him that I cannot bear it any longerand that we're sorry, so sorry--that we did it in our ignorance----"Without ending what she was saying, she fell to sobbing. He didn't dare to tell her that the moon and stars were falling and thatthe gates of Eden were blotted out. From where she lay in the blacknessof the cave she could see nothing; she was too weak even to crawl to theentrance. As he did his best to comfort her, "If we could only againfind God----" she kept whispering. So at last, having ordered the dog to guard her, the Man departed on hishopeless errand. It was brave of him. He believed that in trying to findGod, he would get so lost that he would never be able to retrace hisfootsteps. Before he went he kissed the Woman tenderly, beggingforgiveness for all the misery he had caused her. "But I caused it, too, " she confessed. "It wasn't your rib that was toblame. It wasn't you at all. I wanted the fruit and we ate it together. " It was the first time she had acknowledged it; until then she hadinsisted that the fault was his solely. So in the moment of farewell sherestored to him one little ray of the great, lost sun of flaminghappiness. VI The air was so thick with falling snow that he was well-nigh stifled. His eyes were blinded as though they were padded with cottonwool. Theflakes brushed against his cheeks like live things. At his sixth stepfrom the entrance he had lost his direction. His feet commenced toslide; against his will he went avalanching and cavorting down the path. At the bottom he lay panting for a time; then, because he was cold hepicked himself up and went blundering on, not in the least knowing wherehe was going. Bushes clutched at his feet. Trees slashed across hisface. He was inclined to weep, but checked himself, remembering that onone of those sunny afternoon walks God had told him that to cry wasn'tmanly. "And I must find God. I must find God, " he kept repeating tohimself. The only way he knew of finding God was by pressing forward. God had once confessed to him, "The reason I am God is because I showcourage. " "Then I'll show courage, too, " he thought. Presently he found himself in the heart of the forest and began tobreathe more freely. Avenues of giant trees stretched before him, whichcriss-crossed one another and faded into the gloom of twilit, colonnadedtunnels. He could almost feel the gnarled trunks bracing themselvesand the crooked branches linking arms to bear up the weight of thedown-poured roof of whiteness. As his eyes grew accustomed to thedimness, he saw the animals strewn flat among fallen leaves, their nosespressed between their paws, shivering with terror. Overhead birds andmonkeys sat in rows, squeezed side by side for companionship, weepingsilently. Of a sudden he regained his majesty, being filled withcontempt for their cowardice. "For I am Man, " he reminded himself, "solike to God that I could easily be mistaken for Him--and these are thecreatures who dared to talk of punishing me. " Throwing out his chest, he strode valiantly past them, utterly ignoringtheir presence. From behind him a voice called whimperingly. It was the lion's, the Kingof Beasts, squeaky and falsetto with panic. "Master, thou art wise. Whathas happened? Tell us. " Had he known how, the Man would have laughed. But the laugh comes laterin the story. Without turning his head, still going away from them heanswered. "It is a punishment for what thou and thy people have done tome and my Woman, oh, lion. " He had made the answer up on the spur of the moment; he knew no morethan they did what had happened. But he loved inventing and was neverso content as when he was pretending that he was God. Immediately they forgot the wrong answers he had given them and how hehad deceived them in the past. The leaves rustled as they lifted uptheir heads from between their paws. Their voices trembled as one whenthey besought him, "Master, stay with us. We are in terror. Make itleave off. " Turning slowly, he blinked at them through the dimness. Folding hisarms, he regarded them thoughtfully with his legs wide apart. He did itas he supposed God might have done it. He spoke at last. "It's only justbegun. Why should I make it leave off?" "Because thou art strong and we are repentant. " Their manner was so humble and adoring that he felt sorry for them. They had begged his pardon in the same words that he had intended tobeg God's. And then he was just--the only just creature that God hadcreated. In his heart he knew that he had merited their revenge--therewas scarcely one of them at whom he had not hurled his rocks. He cameback walking in stately fashion till he stood fearlessly in the centreof them. Looking up through the burdened branches at the calamity whichhe did not understand, he commanded, "Leave off. " To his immense surprise, on the instant the snow ceased falling. Itsettled gently like a tired bird into its nest. The serenity of thestillness was unbroken. "I am hungry, " he said. The animals hurried to their stores of food and waited on him. "I have not slept. " The squirrels scraped fallen leaves into a bed, and the bear and thewolf stood guard. When he awoke it was a brilliant winter's morning. The sun wascharioteering in highest heaven. The forest was white as thoughcotton-wool had blown through it. As far as eye could search, everythingglittered, sheathed in a film of glass. Snow bulged from branches likepillows filled to bursting. Icicles hung down like fantastic swords. Down the colonnaded avenues trees cast their shadows in heavy bars; thespaces between them were golden splashes. [Illustration: The Man yawned. "I am still tired. Fetch the horse, thathe may carry me back to my dwelling. "] The Man yawned. "I am still tired. Fetch the horse that he may carry meback to my dwelling. " He ordered the horse to be fetched because he had forgotten where hiscave was. It was clever of him. He did it to keep the animals fromknowing his ignorance. The horse came galloping up obediently. Clutching him by the mane, theMan bestrode him. Off they started at a sharp trot, with the animalsshouting and bounding beside them. As they travelled, the Man couldhardly keep from smiling at picturing what a fine fellow he was. He madeno attempt to restrain himself from giving orders. All the time he kepturging the animals to shout louder. He wanted the Woman to hear them, sothat she might crawl to the entrance of the cave and be a witness of histriumphant home-coming. It wasn't good enough merely to picture himselfas a fine fellow. He was anxious to hear her say to him, "Oh, Man, whata fine fellow you are!" He'd forgotten completely the purpose of hiserrand--that he'd set out through the world's first snowstorm in searchof God. So at last they burst forth from the forest and reached the foot of theslippery ascent. Because it was so slippery, the Man dismounted; thehorse could carry him no further. Having commanded the animals to go onshouting for at least half-an-hour, he left them and commenced to climbthe steep and narrow path. He had to go gingerly on his hands and knees. There were places where he slipped back two steps for every one headvanced. By snatching at rocks and bushes, he dragged himself slowly tothe turning which brought him in sight of the entrance. There, seated inthe entrance to the cave, he saw ... You must remember that by now it was the twenty-fifth of December. To remember that is most extraordinarily important. What he saw is soexciting that it deserves another chapter. VII He saw the Woman--but not the Woman as he had left her. She was nolonger sick. She was completely restored. As in the old days her hairclothed her like a flame. Her face parted it into waves as though shewere a swimmer. He could see the pink dimples in her knees where she satand the marble whiteness of her feet, which flashed like jewels. She wasagain the darling who had delighted his heart when she had darted like asunbeam across the shaven lawns of Eden; but now she was ten times moreradiant. What was it that had changed her? Her tenderness made a golden mistabout her which inspired him with awe. He had had precisely this senseof sunny quietness when he had walked through those long, stillafternoons with God. She was unaware of him. Her eyes were deep pools of sapphire. She wassmiling gently and brooding above something which nestled in her arms. He called to her softly; she paid him no attention. Far below the ridge, in obedience to his commands, the animals were still shouting. Was itbecause of them that she was smiling? Had the robin flown ahead of himto tell her what had happened? The robin was perched on her shoulder, fluttering his little wings and singing her his finest song. He calledto the robin; like the Woman, the robin was too occupied to hear him. No, it wasn't because of him that she was smiling--he felt sure. Thenwhy was it? He gazed back on the dazzling landscape that spread away below him, hoping to find something there that would tell him. How transformed itwas from the gloomy jungle that had been wont to threaten him! It waslike a nest of down. From its farthest edge where Eden lay, a beam ofglory spanned it with an orange path. It was this beam that made thegolden mist about the Woman. To his amazement he saw that Eden's gateswere open. Even while he watched they began to close, slowly and slowly, with the beam ever shortening, till at last they were utterly locked andbarred. The memory of lost happiness overwhelmed him. He turned again to theWoman. There she sat in the golden mantle of her hair, enthroned on thesnow's pure whiteness. Creeping to her humbly, he fell to covering herfeet with kisses, so great was his need of her. "My Woman, " he wept, "they are cold--so cold. Never again will I leavethee, not even to find God. " She bent towards him, lifting his chin in her hand. "I shall feel thecold no more. Put thy hand in my breast. Dost thou feel it? I have thatnext my heart which, though I grow old, shall keep me forever warm. " As he slipped his hand in her breast, she parted her hair and showedhim. Kneeling beside her, he gazed down wonderingly at a thing that hehad never seen before. He could find no name for it. It was like himselfand it was like her also, only it was tiny and no thicker than hisfore-arm. It had wee feet and hands, a rose-bud of a mouth and it wassmooth and soft. Its head, which was the size of an apple, was coveredwith silky floss. Lowering his face, he sniffed it all over. It smeltsweet like the flowers that used to bloom in Eden. "What is it?" She shook her head. "It was here when I wakened. " Her eyes became brightand immense as stars. "It's our's, " she whispered tenderly. VIII It was awkward to have something for which you could find no name, especially when it was something that you had begun to love already. "We'll have to ask someone, " the Man said. "If I knew where He was, I might ask----" The Woman's face blanched. "Not God, " she begged. "Because of the fruitwe ate, He might take it from us. " Just then they were disturbed by a rustling of snow. Looking up, theysaw the rabbit, watching them with timid eyes and recovering his breathafter the long climb. "What d'you want?" the Man asked sharply. The rabbit flicked his white scut and sat up on his hind-legs, hiswhiskers quivering with excitement. "I want to see it, " he panted. "The dog's been boasting. I hurriedbecause I wanted to be the first to see it. I'm so little; I couldn't doit any harm. " "Let him see it, " said the Woman. "He's gentle. He might be able to tellus what to call it. " So the Man told the rabbit that he could have just one peep. But whenthe rabbit tried to get his peep by standing against the Woman's knees, he wasn't tall enough, so the Man had to lift him till he lay all furryagainst the little creature that was in the Woman's arms. "I can't suggest anything, " said the rabbit. "We ought to consult theother animals. They all want to be friends; they're so curious. Butthere's one thing I do know: we're both small and my coat would just fitit. " Before they could stop him, he had pulled off his coat and was tuckingit snugly about the little stranger. He was right; it did fit exactly. So the first garment of the earth's first baby was a rabbitskin, whichaccounts for the rhyme which mothers sing about "Gone to fetch arabbitskin, to wrap the baby bunting in. " When the rabbit had presented his gift, he hopped down from the Woman'slap very much thinner. "And now can I bring the other animals?" he asked. The Man hesitated. He was remembering the last visits of the lion andthe elephant and the rhinoceros. "They might find a name for it, " therabbit pleaded. Then the Man nodded and the rabbit scuttled off. They hadn't long to wait before they heard a deep breathing andgrunting. Struggling up the frozen path to the cave came all the animalsthat God had created. They advanced in single file, the great and thesmall mixed up together; the giraffe followed by the hedgehog and themastodon preceded by the frog. They came hand-in-hand, forming a chainto pull one another up, treading on each other's heels, jostling andslipping back on one another. Those behind kept whispering to those infront to hurry; those in front were too winded to retort. Their ascentwas made more difficult by their generosity, for all save one of themcarried presents. The one who came empty-handed was the stork. He ledthe procession looking stately and pompous, as though he were taking thecredit for having occasioned the disturbance. The Man learnt later thatthat was precisely what he was doing--taking all the credit. He had beentelling the animals that it was he who had left the strange littlecreature at the Woman's side the night before. Because of this hepretended that it wasn't necessary for him to bring a present. Therewere many who believed him. There still are. When they had all climbed safely to the top they gathered in asemi-circle about the Woman, having piled their gifts before her. Insilence they waited; then she parted her hair and showed them the wonderthat nestled in her arms. The Man, standing at her side, addressed them. "Oh, brothers, I am wise, for I have walked with God; yet have I never seen anything like it. There was nothing like it in Eden. I have sent for you that I may askyou what to call it. " No one answered. He questioned each in turn, but none of them couldadvise him. "We have to find a name for it, " he said crossly; "so let's sit down andthink hard. " So they sat down in the snow, scratching their heads, and thought hard. From time to time the Man enquired whether any of them had had aninspiration. They never had, which was discouraging when you considerwhat a lot of them were thinking. In this way at least an hour must havepassed. Things were getting both cold and embarrassing, when the littlecreature, who was being thought about so hard, showed signs of wakingand began to stir in the Woman's arms. I ought to have told you thatever since the Man's home-coming it had been sleeping. First it kickedout with its bandy legs. Then it fisted its pudgy hands and yawned. Then it puckered its wee red face in a manner most alarming and, to theamazement of them all.... The Woman was so amazed that she nearly letit drop. And yet what it did was perfectly natural; it opened its eyes, like two blue patches of heaven, and blinked at them. Last of all itemitted a thin, wailing sound that made everybody abominably unhappy. The crocodile became so emotional that his tears froze in two longicicles. After a pause the sound was repeated. All the animals rose ontheir hind-legs and covered their ears with their paws. The Woman stared at them apologetically. She was distressed and puzzled. "Please don't cover your ears, " she begged. "And don't think that I'mhurting it. There's something that it's trying to tell us. It's said thesame thing before. It began saying it the moment I first found it. It'sgone on saying it, on and on.... There, there my little one, mybelovedest. " As if to corroborate her assertion that it had gone on and on, itcommenced to cry afresh. Out of politeness to the Woman, though thesound hurt them, the tenderhearted animals uncovered their ears andlistened intently. This is what they heard, repeated over and over, "Baa-aa-by! Baa-aa-by! Baa-aa-by!" They were all shaking with sobbing when the elephant, in his coarsestmanner, lifted, up his trunk and snorted through it contemptuously. "Stop snorting, " the Man ordered impatiently. "There's no reason why youshould snort. " "Isn't there?" The elephant shuffled to his feet to depart. Before hewent, just to show his independence, again he snorted. Across hisshoulder he remarked. "And you think yourself so wise! You want to knowwhat to call it. Every time it speaks it tells you. " It cried once more. "There you are!" The elephant trumpeted triumphantly as he seatedhimself at the top of the slide, having pulled his tail from under himpreparatory to tobogganning down the path. "Don't you hear what it says?'Baa-aa-by! Baa-aa-by!' It couldn't be put more plainly. It's asking youto call it baby. " As the elephant pushed off and vanished in a whirl of flying snow, theWoman turned to the Man with a smile of gladness. "The clumsy fellow'sright. Weren't we the stupids? Fancy not understanding our own baby!" IX As you may imagine, all the beasts and birds went back to the junglevery discontented. They didn't see why they shouldn't have babies. Theywere wild to have babies. They talked of nothing else. No sooner hadthey got down the hill from visiting the cave than they turned round andstarted to climb back again. They kept urging the Woman to be frank withthem and to confess how her baby had happened. Of course she couldn'tconfess, seeing that she didn't know herself. All that she knew was thatshe hadn't felt well since she had eaten the forbidden fruit in Edenand, now that the baby had been born, she felt completely restored. Suchinformation wasn't of much use to the animals, for the forbidden fruitgrew inside of Eden and the gates of Eden were locked. At last the Manhad to interfere to prevent her from being bothered. He stuck up anotice at the entrance to the cave, _December 25th. Mother And ChildBoth Doing Well. Don't knock. _ When the animals came to call, heprevented them from entering by explaining gravely that having a babywas a very touch-and-go business and left one decidedly exhausted. Tohave listened to him you might have supposed that he'd spent all hislife in rocking cradles, whereas he was such a novice that, had it notbeen for the elephant, he wouldn't even have known that babies werecalled babies. Like all fathers he deceived himself that there wasnothing he didn't know about baby-lore. What was very much moresurprising, by whispering and looking secretive he managed to impressthe animals with his new-found learning and paternal importance. But what had happened to the robin while all these excitements weregoing on? The last time we mentioned him he was sitting perched on theWoman's shoulder, singing her his very finest song. The robin, though you may not have heard it, has always been a mostreligious bird. He had made up his mind, the moment the Man had comeback, that the first thing to be done was to go and tell God. The chiefdifficulty about accomplishing this errand was due to God Himself; asyou will remember, in returning to Heaven God had destroyed the sky-bluestairs behind Him. But the robin had wings; moreover he was an optimist. He hoped that by fluttering up and up he would be able to reach Heavenin safety. The reason that he had never tried before was because he hadbeen afraid that God would not want him. He felt sure of his welcome nowthat he was the bearer of such glad tidings. He found the journey much harder than he had expected. There were partsof it that were so bitter that his wings would scarcely flutter. Afterhe had lost sight of earth, he had to wind his way between the burningstars; they were so close together in places that his feathers werescorched. But he pressed on valiantly till he made out the quiet shiningof the gates of Heaven and entered through the unguarded walls of jasperinto a garden, which was in no way different from the one that God hadplanted upon earth. Beneath scented trees the angels were scattered about disconsolately. There were black rims under their eyes; it was easy to see they had beenworrying. Their beautiful white gowns had come unstarched; it was manydays since they had tidied themselves. There wasn't a sound of anysort--least of all of music. Some of them still carried their harps; butmost of them had stacked them in open spaces the way soldiers stacktheir rifles. When the robin sank spent to the grass in front of them, they paid him scant attention. When he weakly chirped his question, "Where's God?" they jerked their thumbs, indicating the direction, toolistless to waste breath on words. "What's the matter?" asked the robin. "We're unhappy. " After they had said it, they had difficulty to chokeback their sobs. "But why are you unhappy? Whoever heard of being unhappy in Heaven!" "Because--because----. " They glanced at one another forlornly, hopingthat someone else would be the first to answer. "Because of theforbidden fruit. It's made God cross. " "Pshaw!" The robin swelled out his little breast with importance. "You'dbetter visit earth and see our baby. If the Woman hadn't eaten theforbidden fruit, there wouldn't be any baby. " The word "baby" was entirely new to them. They sat up beneath theirscented trees and began to ask questions. But the robin didn't want tobe delayed; he spread his wings and fluttered on. At last he came to the smoothest of smooth lawns, in the midst of whichgrew a mulberry-tree, beneath whose shadow God was seated with theVirgin Mary. Despite the flakes of sunlight falling and the gold-bluepeace by which They were surrounded. Their attitudes were no lessdespondent than the angels'. God sat with His elbows digging into Hisknees. His face was buried in His delicate hands. His eyes, peeringthrough His fingers, were strained and red with always staringbroodingly straight before Him. Of the Virgin Mary, crouching at Hisfeet, the robin could only see the glint of her flaxen hair and thepaleness of her narrow shoulders. Her head was bowed in the lap of herMaker as if she had been beseeching Him always. The robin was overwhelmed with terror. All his chirpiness was gone. "Dear God, " he quavered, "I beg Thy forgiveness. I have come when I wasnot bidden. " He paused, hoping that God would encourage him. When God took no notice, he felt himself to be the most insignificant and impertinent of livingcreatures. He spoke again, lest the silence should kill him on the spot. "I have brought glad tidings--at least, we on earth think they areglad. The Woman, whom Thou didst cast out for eating the fruit that wasforbidden, has been very sick. She has been sick since April till justbefore day-break this morning, when she miraculously recovered. At herside she found lying a little thing--such a little thing--so liketo Thyself, oh, God. It has bandy legs and arms no thicker than Thysmallest finger. It has a baldy head, about the size of an apple, withthreads of gold spread over it like floss. It has a pink, wee face anda rose-bud of a mouth. It's eyes are like patches of Thine own blueHeaven. And it's soft and cuddly. The Women calls it her 'Belovedest. 'And it smells sweet like the flowers we used to breathe in Eden. Wedidn't know what it was. Even the Man didn't know. He summoned theanimals to come and find a name for it. While they were sitting on theirhind-legs, behold, it awoke and told us that its rightful name was baby. And now, oh, God, we birds and animals want to have babies. We're alltrying to find out how it happened. And I want to find out mostespecially, because----" "A baby, thou sayest! What is a baby? I, thy Creator, know nothing ofit. The last thing I fashioned was the Woman, who has brought this deepshame upon Us. " God had spoken through His hands very softly, yet His voice was like agreat wind blowing. It took the robin some seconds to recover from theshock. By the time he was ready to answer, the angels were rustlingthrough all the glades of Heaven and the Virgin was gazing at him withwistful intensity. "What is a baby!" he said audaciously repeating God's words. "It is alittle Man and a little God. Surely, Thou knowest?" "I know nothing, " God thundered, letting fall His hands from before Hisface. "Be gone. " When the hurricane of sound had ended, the robin found himself hoveringin the gateway between the jasper walls, where the sheer drop which liesbetween earth and Heaven commences. He turned to look back before hetook the leap and saw that behind him the angels were following. Following most closely was the Virgin. "Tell me again, " she pleaded. "It's little and soft. It's cuddly and itsmells like the flowers that bloom in Eden. " Perched on her shoulder, with his beak against her ear, he twittered toher his tale once more. While he was telling her, the angels crowdedround, smoothing his feathers with shy caresses. But he didn't dare tostay too long, for distantly from beneath the mulberry tree, he stillfelt the brooding eyes of God. Launching himself from the Virgin'sshoulder, he sank between the burning stars and through the bittercoldness of clouds snow-laden, till late in the wintry afternoon hereached the cave on the limestone ridge, whence a murmur of secretsinging was emerging. X On the threshold he paused to listen. Yes, it was the Woman. It was thefirst time she had been happy enough to sing since she had been cast outof Eden. But her song was entirely different from anything that she hadsung before. It was more little and tender. It was a lullaby ofmother-nonsense, which she hummed when she couldn't find the properrhymes and made up as she went along. As the robin fluttered through the gloom to her shoulder, she pressedher finger to her lips to warn him. The baby eyes were the merest slitsof blueness. The little thumb was in the mouth and the baby lips weresucking hard. The tiny knees were digging into the Woman's body and thebaldy head was cushioned on her bosom. The dog snoozed across her feet. The Man crouched against her, shrouded in the mantle of her hair, overcome with weariness. She was mothering them all, rocking herselfslowly and singing gently her silly little song. The crooning of it overand over seemed to hush them with a sense of security. "You are my ownty, Dear little donty, Sweetest and wonty, Pudding and pie; Good little laddie, Just like your daddie. Fallen from Heaven, Come from the sky. " "But he didn't, " whispered the robin. The Woman paused in her singing. "Didn't what?" "He didn't fall from Heaven. God's just been telling me; He never heardabout him. " The Woman smiled. "Never heard about him! It doesn't matter; his Mummy'sheard about him. " She stooped to kiss the soft little bundle, for he hadcommenced to stir. Then she resumed her singing. Gradually the day failed. The late afternoon faded into evening. Graytwilight stole swiftly down. For a while the white fields of snowoutside reflected a vague dimness; then night came with a noiselessrush, closing up the entrance to the cave with a wall of blackness. Perched on the Woman's shoulder the robin dozed. She still went onsinging. How long he had been dozing he had no means of telling. Hewas wakened by a multitudinous rustling, as of a crowd assembling anddrawing nearer. At first he thought that it was some of the morepersistent of the animals, coming once more to urge the Woman to tellthem how babies happened. Then, of a sudden, he knew that he had beenmistaken. The gloom of the cave was lit up by a glowing brightness. Peering across the threshold, with all the haloed hosts of Heaventiptoeing behind her, was the Virgin Mary. It was the crowd of haloesthat was causing so much brightness. Stepping to the Woman's side, she gazed down longingly at the smallGod-Man. "I want one. Oh, I want one so badly, " she murmured. The angels, thronging behind her, folded their wings and repeated herwords, "So badly! So badly!" The sound was like a prayer, dying out inthe void which spreads between earth and Heaven. "Let me hold him, " she begged. Because she was the Virgin, even though it might wake him, the Woman didnot dare to refuse her. But she asserted her authority, as all mothersmust, by pretending that she was the only person who knew how to holdhim properly. And perhaps she was the only one at that moment, for therewas no other mother besides herself in earth or Heaven. She showed theVirgin how to support his little head because it was wobbly; and how tokeep one arm beneath his back because it was weak; and how he liked tobe cuddled against her breast because it was warm and cushiony. Andthen, becoming generous, she taught her the silly little lullaby. "I shall never go back to Heaven, " the Virgin whispered. "I shall stayhere always and help you nurse him. " "Never go back to Heaven, " the angels echoed; "stay here always. " The Woman's eyes became troubled. "But I want him to myself, " shefaltered. "I don't want helping. " Then she ceased to frown, for she haddiscovered a stronger argument. "Besides, what about God? You wouldn'tleave Him all by Himself in Heaven. He'd be lonely. " The Virgin nodded her head vigorously. "I would, for I also am a woman. There are no babies in Heaven. I couldn't be happy without a baby. " Behind her the angels nodded their haloes. "No babies in Heaven. Couldn't be happy without a baby. " It must have been so much talking that disturbed him; the baby woke up. As he opened his eyes and saw the Queen of Heaven bending over him, hesmiled. It was his first smile. On the instant the Woman, like allmothers, became jealous and snatched him back into her own possession. She liked to believe that no one, not even the Man, could make him ascomfortable as she could. Piling her golden hair upon her knees to makea pillow for him, she laid him naked on his back and commenced playingwith his toes. If he had not given her his first smile, she would atleast make certain of his second. She was so taken up with her playing that she did not notice who hadentered. She was the only one who had not noticed. The angels werecowering against the walls of the cave. The Man had roused and crouchedcovering his face with his hands. Only the Virgin stood upright, meekand fearless, with a look of unconquerable challenge. The Woman wasquite oblivious; she went on with her mother-nonsense. And there stoodGod regarding her through a cloud of puzzlement and anger. The game that she played with the baby-feet she was inventing on thespur of the moment. Starting with the tiniest toe, she wiggled it. Then she wiggled the next tiniest, and the next tiniest, and the nexttiniest, till she had come to the biggest of the tiny toes. To each toeas she wiggled it, she gave a name; when she had wiggled them all sheburied her face in the fat, kicking legs. "And this is Peedy Peedy, " she said as she wiggled the littlest toe. "And this next babiest is Polly Loody. And this in the middle is LadyFissle. And this tall fellow is Lally Vassal. And last we come of thebig, big toe, who's king of them all. His name is Great Ormondon. " Thenshe dived her lips into the little squirming legs and kissed them as ifshe were going to make a meal of them. She had to do it four times before the baby smiled at her. At first heonly looked serious and astonished. The fifth time his smile broadenedand he gurgled. But the sixth, as she came to "The Great Ormondon, " heburst into a crowing laugh. Never before had a laugh been heard in earthor Heaven. It was so surprising that the angels ceased from cowering andthe Man uncovered his face to see better. Then God spoke. His voice was kind and tender like the cooing ofdoves--so kind and tender that the Woman, discovering His presence, wasn't a bit frightened. Sweeping the hair back from her eyes, shenodded to Him in the old friendly fashion in which she had been used togreet Him in Eden. "Can you make him do it again?" God asked. He came nearer and leant above her shoulder. So she made the baby laughagain. "Could I make him?" "Try, " said the Woman. So God wiggled the little toes, starting with the tiniest, and the Womanwhispered the five magic names to Him secretly so that He might say themall correctly. "Peedy Peedy. Polly Loody. Lady Fissle. Lally Vassal. Andthe Great Ormondon. " When God boomed out the last large sounding name, the baby doubled hislittle fists, crowing and laughing unmistakably. Then God laughed, too, and the Virgin, and all the Hosts of Heaven, and the Man and the Woman, till at last the dog and the robin couldn't restrain themselves anylonger and joined in His laughter. When once they'd started laughing itwas difficult to stop. Besides, they didn't want to stop. They weredoing it for the first time and they liked the feeling of it. Godlaughed till the tears streamed down His face. By the time He held upHis hand for silence, there was scarcely an angel who wasn't wearing hishalo crooked. "That's done us all good, " said God. "I must have a baby for my very ownexactly like him. I almost think that everybody ought to have babies. "Then catching sight of the dog and the robin, He added, "I mean theanimals, too. " He turned to the Man. "What day is this? I've not been counting since Iceased to walk in Eden. " The Man answered humbly. "Dear God, it is the twenty-fifth of December. " "I must remember that, " said God thoughtfully. And then to the Virgin, "Come. It grows late. There is no one to light the lamps of Heaven. Youshall have your desire; for you, too, are a woman. " And the robins say that God did remember, for it was on the twenty-fifthof December, centuries later, that his own son was born into the world. They say that the limestone ridge within sight of Eden was the spotwhere Bethlehem grew up after Eden vanished. They even say that the caveto which Mary came on another winter's night, when the doors of the innhad been closed against her, was the very same. There, where the world'sfirst baby had been born, she wrapped God's son in swaddling clothes andlaid him in a manger, for the cave had now become a stable. Perhaps theheavenly host who sang "Peace and Goodwill" to the shepherds was thesame, though the robins do not assert that. Of one thing they are certain: that every time a baby is born Godlaughs again and His laughter travels down the ages. And that is why onChristmas Day everyone is especially kind to children, because it was alittle child who gave the first laugh and taught grown people, even GodHimself, how easy it is to love when one is merry. THE END CHRISTMAS OUTSIDE OF EDEN _By_ CONINGSBY DAWSON _Author of_ "The Little House, " "The Seventh Christmas, " "Carry On, " etc. WITH _ILLUSTRATIONS_ BY EUGENE FRANCIS SAVAGE A delightful Christmas fantasy told with inimitable charm and delicatehumor. It is "the story the robins tell as they huddle beneath the hollyon the Eve of Christmas"--the sensation created by the birth of thefirst baby, among the animals on earth, the angels in heaven, and evenin the mind of the surprised Almighty Himself. The conception of theDeity is a primitive one, as required by the nature of the tale, and thestory should be read as a "myth-story. " DODD, MEAD & COMPANY _Publishers_ NEW YORK