{"product_id":"2940012760388","title":"NIBSY'S CHRISTMAS","description":"NIBSY'S CHRISTMAS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was Christmas-eve over on the East Side. Darkness was closing in on a\u003cbr\u003ecold, hard day. The light that struggled through the frozen windows of\u003cbr\u003ethe delicatessen store, and the saloon on the corner, fell upon men with\u003cbr\u003eempty dinner-pails who were hurrying homeward, their coats buttoned\u003cbr\u003etightly, and heads bent against the steady blast from the river, as if\u003cbr\u003ethey were butting their way down the street.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe wind had forced the door of the saloon ajar, and was whistling\u003cbr\u003ethrough the crack; but in there it seemed to make no one afraid. Between\u003cbr\u003eroars of laughter, the clink of glasses and the rattle of dice on the\u003cbr\u003ehard-wood counter were heard out in the street. More than one of the\u003cbr\u003epassers-by who came within range was taken with an extra shiver in which\u003cbr\u003ethe vision of wife and little ones waiting at home for his coming was\u003cbr\u003esnuffed out, as he dropped in to brace up. The lights were long out when\u003cbr\u003ethe silent streets re-echoed his unsteady steps toward home, where the\u003cbr\u003eChristmas welcome had turned to dread.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut in this twilight hour they burned brightly yet, trying hard to\u003cbr\u003epierce the bitter cold outside with a ray of warmth and cheer. Where the\u003cbr\u003elamps in the delicatessen store made a mottled streak of brightness\u003cbr\u003eacross the flags, two little boys stood with their noses flattened\u003cbr\u003eagainst the window. Their warm breath made little round holes on the\u003cbr\u003efrosty pane, that came and went, affording passing glimpses of the\u003cbr\u003ewealth within, of the piles of smoked herring, of golden cheese, of\u003cbr\u003esliced bacon and generous, fat-bellied hams; of the rows of odd-shaped\u003cbr\u003ebottles and jars on the shelves that held there was no telling what good\u003cbr\u003ethings, only it was certain that they must be good from the looks of\u003cbr\u003ethem.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd the heavenly smell of spices and things that reached the boys\u003cbr\u003ethrough the open door each time the tinkling bell announced the coming\u003cbr\u003eor going of a customer! Better than all, back there on the top shelf the\u003cbr\u003estacks of square honey-cakes, with their frosty coats of sugar, tied in\u003cbr\u003ebundles with strips of blue paper.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe wind blew straight through the patched and threadbare jackets of the\u003cbr\u003elads as they crept closer to the window, struggling hard with the frost\u003cbr\u003eto make their peep-holes bigger, to take in the whole of the big cake\u003cbr\u003ewith the almonds set in; but they did not heed it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Jim!\" piped the smaller of the two, after a longer stare than usual;\u003cbr\u003e\"hey, Jim! them's Sante Clause's. See 'em?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Sante Claus!\" snorted the other, scornfully, applying his eye to the\u003cbr\u003eclear spot on the pane. \"There ain't no ole duffer like dat. Them's\u003cbr\u003ehoney-cakes. Me 'n' Tom had a bite o' one wunst.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"There ain't no Sante Claus?\" retorted the smaller shaver, hotly, at his\u003cbr\u003epeep-hole. \"There is, too. I seen him myself when he cum to our alley\u003cbr\u003elast----\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What's youse kids a-scrappin' fur?\" broke in a strange voice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnother boy, bigger, but dirtier and tougher looking than either of the\u003cbr\u003etwo, had come up behind them unobserved. He carried an armful of unsold\u003cbr\u003e\"extras\" under one arm. The other was buried to the elbow in the pocket\u003cbr\u003eof his ragged trousers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe \"kids\" knew him, evidently, and the smallest eagerly accepted him as\u003cbr\u003eumpire.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It's Jim w'at says there ain't no Sante Claus, and I seen him----\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Jim!\" demanded the elder ragamuffin, sternly, looking hard at the\u003cbr\u003eculprit; \"Jim! y'ere a chump! No Sante Claus? What're ye givin' us? Now,\u003cbr\u003ewatch me!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith utter amazement the boys saw him disappear through the door under\u003cbr\u003ethe tinkling bell into the charmed precincts of smoked herring, jam, and\u003cbr\u003ehoney-cakes. Petrified at their peep-holes, they watched him, in the\u003cbr\u003everitable presence of Santa Claus himself with the fir-branch, fish out\u003cbr\u003efive battered pennies from the depths of his pocket and pass them over\u003cbr\u003eto the woman behind the jars, in exchange for one of the bundles of\u003cbr\u003ehoney-cakes tied with blue. As if in a dream they saw him issue forth\u003cbr\u003ewith the coveted prize.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"There, kid!\" he said, holding out the two fattest and whitest cakes to\u003cbr\u003eSanta Claus's champion; \"there's yer Christmas. Run along, now, to yer\u003cbr\u003ebarracks; and you, Jim, here's one for you, though yer don't desarve it.\u003cbr\u003eMind ye let the kid alone.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This one'll have to do for me grub, I guess. I ain't sold me 'Newses,'\u003cbr\u003eand the ole man'll kick if I bring 'em home.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd before the shuffling feet of the ragamuffins hurrying homeward had\u003cbr\u003eturned the corner, the last mouthful of the newsboy's supper was\u003cbr\u003esmothered in a yell of \"Extree!\" as he shot across the street to\u003cbr\u003eintercept a passing stranger.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e       *       *       *       *       *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the evening wore on it grew rawer and more blustering still. Flakes\u003cbr\u003eof dry snow th","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47176325923056,"sku":"2940012760388","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012760388_p0.jpg?v=1763572388","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012760388","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}