The Enid Blyton Society

The stories in this collection are:
One Christmas Eve
All the Way to Santa Claus
Annabelle's Little Thimble
A Coat for the Snowman
The Extraordinary Christmas Tree
On His Way Home
Good Gracious, Santa Claus!
No Present for Benny
First Walk in December
The Christmas Tree Fairy
A Christmas Legend
The Christmas Bicycle
The Battle in the Toyshop
A Grand Visitor
The Little Carol Singer
The Man Who Wasn't Father Christmas
A Christmas Wish
He Belonged to the Family
A Hole in her Stocking
Christmas in the Toyshop
They Didn't Believe in Santa Claus!
Bobbo's Magic Stocking
On Christmas Night
Little Mrs Millikin
Second Walk in December
The Magic Snow-bird

Annabelle had always been careful of her little thimble, because she had seen Rascal looking at it two or three times, when she put it on her finger. But there came a morning when she forgot.

She was sewing a new bonnet for her doll when Mummy called her, ‘Quick, Annabelle! There’s Auntie Sue!’ Annabelle loved Auntie Sue so she hurriedly put down her work, stuck her thimble on top of it and ran to meet her auntie. And as soon as she was safely out of the door Rascal the Jackdaw came in at the window!

He spied the bright little thimble at once and pounced on it. Ah! He had wanted that for ever so long. Where should he put it? He went and sat on the kitchen window-sill, holding it in his beak.

Cook was busy making Christmas puddings, and she didn’t even look at him. Rascal watched her.

Dear me, Cook had lots of bright things too, on the table beside her! Yes – she had six one pence pieces, four five pence pieces, a very small silver elephant, a tiny silver doll, a little silver horseshoe and one big, bright twenty pence. She was going to put them in the Christmas pudding for luck! It was always fun at Christmas time to see who got the treasures out of the pudding.

Rob Houghton wrote:Having done a search, the story is in 'Enid Blyton's Gay Story Book' - which I have. The original text read -

Yes - she had six threepenny bits, four sixpences, a silver elephant, very small, a tiny silver doll, a little silver horseshoe, and one big, bright shilling.