Miss Muffet's Christmas Party

A quiet Christmas Eve changes when a kindly spider offers Miss Muffet a party. Her mother has prescribed curds and whey, an uncomfortable seat and long stretches of counting the seconds as a suitable way to spend the holiday. The visitor suggests inviting the people she has met in books, and together they tackle the practical difficulties of sending letters to Wonderland, Lilliput and the Moon. Familiar nursery figures become prospective guests with addresses, titles and awkward travel arrangements.

Samuel McChord Crothers turns this gathering into a playful children's Christmas story about the pleasures of reading. At the party, ordinary workers discuss their troubles with giants, while a solemn meeting upstairs makes even adjourning seem like important business. The humor comes from treating fanciful characters as everyday acquaintances and taking adult rules a little too seriously. Readers who enjoy nursery rhymes and fairy tales can follow their familiar inhabitants into unexpected conversations.