Hey, it's Brian. Back with another Burr Month's bonus episode for those of us getting an early start on the Christmas season.

Now that we've finished that nine-part series where I read the 1918 YA novel Campfire Girls in the Allegheny Mountains,

it's time for some more classic

Christmas fiction and some programming notes for the rest of the run-up to Christmas.

For the remainder of October, you can look forward to roughly one new episode a week where I

read you a classic Christmas short story, including a special Halloween episode where I read

you a spine-tingling Christmas ghost

story. And then I've got some special plans for November as we count down the days to Thanksgiving,

which marks the official start of the new Christmas season episodes for Christmas past.

But I'll share more about that as we get closer. Today I'm bringing you the 1917 short story, The Lone Scouts Christmas.

It's from a collection of short stories called A Little Book of Christmas written by Cyrus

Townsend Brady.

It's the story of a grieving boy facing the prospect of Christmas and uncharted territory

when he finds himself stranded in the snow, but uses

his skills and resourcefulness to bring everything to a satisfyingly Christmasy conclusion.

I'll come back at the end to wrap up and say goodbye, but for now, please enjoy the

1917 short story, Alone Scouts Christmas by Cyrus Townsend Brady.

Thank you. Story, Alone Scouts Christmas, by Cyrus Townsend Brady. Every boy likes snow on Christmas Day, but there is such a thing as too much of it.

Henry Ives, alone in the long railroad coach, stared out of the clouded windows at the whirling

mass of snow with feelings of dismay.

It was the day before Christmas, almost Christmas Eve.

Henry did not feel any too happy.

...