posted by Michael on 12/23/11
I read this heart-warming anonymous poem for the first time last year as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and Out on the Ranch” and really enjoyed it. I changed a few words to suit my fancy and put it in an Appalachian setting. Enjoy!
‘Twas the night before Christmas and down in the holler,
The pond was froze over, the crick soon to foller.
The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule,
And the kids were all home on vacation from school,
Sprawled out in the big room just a-watchin’ TV,
And they thought it was fine as vacation could be.
Then suddenly, some time around eight o’clock,
There came a surprise that gave them a shock!
The power went off, the TV went dead!
When Grandpa came in from out in the shed,
With an armload of wood, the house was all dark;
“Just what I expected,” they heard him remark.
“Them power line wires must be down from the snow;
Seems sorter like times on the ranch long ago.”
“I’ll hunt up some candles,” said Mom, “With their light,
And the fireplace, I reckon we’ll make out all right.”
The teen-agers all seemed enveloped in gloom,
Then Grandpa came back from a trip to his room,
Uncased his old fiddle & started to play
That old Christmas song about bells on a sleigh.
Mom started to sing, and first thing they knew
Both Pop and the kids were all singing it, too!
They sang Christmas carols, they sang “Holy Night,”
Their eyes all a-shine in the ruddy firelight.
They played some charades Mom recalled from her youth,
And Pop read a passage from God’s Book of Truth.
They stayed up till midnight-and, would you believe,
The youngsters agreed ’twas a fine Christmas Eve!
Grandpa rose early, some time before dawn;
And when the kids wakened, the power was on!
“Them power folks sure got the line repaired quick,”
Said Grandpa – and no one suspected his trick.
Last night, for the sake of some old-fashioned fun,
He had pulled the main switch – the old Son-of-a-Gun!
6 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side
