<TITLE>17. Par 112-123</TITLE>L-112   You notice how a little girl, she goes to a doll, because she... that's her nature, she's a--she's a coming mother. She will be mother someday if she lives and everything. You know, her nature. That's the reason a little girl likes a little doll, she wants to take care of it; 'cause after all, she--she's a little, potentially, a--a--a little mother.

L-113 And she wanted a little doll, and she had never had one. And Daddy had saved everything he could to--to get her a little doll. And, so, she died.

L-114 And the father kind of had a lapse of mind. His wife had been taken, his little girl, and his mind kind of got to a place till he--he... still he'd--he'd go to bed every night and talk to this little girl, though she was... been buried. But he thought he was he was talking to her, and telling her, "Now, Honey, it won't be long, and Daddy's going to get you this dolly for Christmas. And--and Daddy's promised you the dolly, and I--I'm--I'm going to get it."

L-115   Finally, Christmas arrived. And, course, you know how it is. The rich had their--their big parties; and--and candles burning, and the great high masses in the churches, and talking about Jesus and--and so forth (the churches were), and going through all kind of a routines and mass, and singing, and carols and everything. Little did they know what was going on back in the alley, behind all this.

L-116 This little fellow back there, and he got beside himself. He wanted that little girl to have that doll so bad, 'cause she had begged so for this little doll. So he went out and he bought her a little rag doll, a little--a little thing, probably about thirty cents; a little dirty something he'd bought, down on the side of the street. And it was a real cold night, the--the--the blizzard winds blowing, the snow falling hard there; and New York, right on the coast.

L-117   And the streets filling up; and the people in their great, big limousine cars. And drunken parties, out drinking, the celebration of the birth of Christ and of these things that we speak of tonight, trying to think that that's the right way to do it; just drink off their old sorrows and things, and that that's the way to do it. All of them...

L-118 Stand in the store, the other day, and a woman talking about what... two girls met and they wanted to know what they got for their daddy. And one of them said, "Well, he..." She got him a carton of certain kind of cigarettes. And the other one said she got him a fifth of whiskey and a--and a--and a deck of cards. Now if that ain't giving a memorial gift for the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ! And that's the way it goes, you see, it's just a big bunch of tinsel. It hasn't got Christmas in it at all.

L-119   And so we find now, this little man, he wandered along. And he knowed in his heart his little girl was gone, but he went and bought the doll anyhow. And he thought, "I'll just start walking, I'll find her somewhere. She'll be along the street here and I'll find her." And he started walking.

L-120 He--he couldn't fool himself, she wasn't back there in the little shanty and in the little, ragged, dirty bed; but, she was buried. So, he--he knew. He thought he'd find her on the street. He said, "I'll just keep walking." And he was going down through the alleys, while they were singing their carols and going on. And going down the alley, packing this little, dirty doll; holding it in his coat, up to his heart, thinking of his little girl.

L-121   And finally a policeman happened to see him, and the policeman had a few drinks himself, and he ran into the alley and grabbed the old man and turned him around. He said, "What are you doing hanging here?"

L-122 He said, "I'm taking this little doll, sir, to my little girl."

L-123 He said, "Well, where do you live?" And he told him where he lived. He said, "Well, you're going away from that place, you're drunk. Go back the other way."


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