Hey, it's Brian, back with another one of these Burr Month's bonus episodes, trying to make things

merry and bright for those of you who start celebrating the season early, like I do. And a lot of you

have reached out to me to let me know that you like when I read these old forgotten Christmas

stories, and I like reading them to you, so I've got another one in

store. This one's the 1912 short story called A Christmas Adventure by J.E. Chamberlain.

And I think this week I'll skip all the announcements and just get right to it. I'll be back at the

end to say goodbye, but for now, please enjoy a Christmas adventure.

Having lived all his 14 years in New York City, making occasional visits to his grandfather's house in Connecticut, Horace Mason had often sighed for an adventure, and lamented because

life in the eastern part of the country is so tame and

uninteresting. It had certainly never occurred to him that the chance for a pretty thrilling

adventure existed in the quiet country neighborhood in which his grandfather lived. About a week

before Christmas, Horace's mother took him to his grandfather's

farm for the holidays. He had seldom been there in the winter. The weather became remarkably

cold and rough, but Horace found pleasure in walking about the woods and pastures and rubber

boots and ulster and noting how odd the familiar scenes looked when

covered with snow and ice, instead of dressed in green.

A tree was to be set up on Christmas Eve in the old homestead, but Uncle John, on the afternoon

of the 23rd, brought in for the celebration a rather scraggly and little red cedar,

brown rather than green,

which Horace deemed totally unfit for the dignity of a Christmas celebration.

Why didn't you get a fur balsam with a nice even top? Horace asked his uncle.

They don't grow around here.

...