eat mystery to me why the crows don't come into our
cornfield, when there is no scarecrow," said Aunt Hannah.

But she had a still greater mystery to solve when Christmas came round
again. Then she and Betsey had each a strange present. They found them
in the sitting-room on Christmas morning. Aunt Hannah's present was her
old crazy quilt, remodelled, with every piece cut square and true, and
matched exactly to its neighbour.

"Why, it's my old crazy quilt, but it isn't crazy now!" cried Aunt
Hannah, and her very spectacles seemed to glisten with amazement.

Betsey's present was her doll-baby of the Christmas before; but the doll
was a year older. She had grown an inch, and could walk and say,
"mamma," and "how do?" She was changed a good deal, but Betsey knew her
at once. "It's my doll-baby!" she cried, and snatched her up and kissed
her.

But neither Aunt Hannah nor Betsey ever knew that the quilt and the doll
were Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas presents to them.

XII

WHY THE CHIMES RANG[H]

RAYMOND MC ALDEN

THERE was once in a faraway country where few people have ever
travelled, a wonderful church. It stood on a high hill in the midst of a
great city; and every Sunday, as well as on sacred days like Christmas,
thousands of people climbed the hill to its great archways, looking like
lines of ants all moving in the same direction.

When you came to the building itself, you found stone columns and dark
passages, and a grand entrance leading to the main room of the church.
This room was so long that one standing at the doorway could scarcely
see to the other end, where the choir stood by the marble altar. In the
farthest corner was the organ; and this organ was so loud, that
sometimes when it played, the people for miles around would close their
shutters and prepare for a great thunderstorm. Altogether, no such
church as this was ever seen before, especially when it was lighted up
for some festival, and crowded with people, young and old. But the
strangest thing about the whole building was the wonderful chime of
bells.

At one corner of the church was a great gray tower, with ivy growing
over it as far up as one could see. I say as far as one could see,
because the tower was quite great enough to fit the great church, and it
rose so far into the sky that it was only in very fair weather that any
one claimed to be able to see the top. Even then one could not be
certain that it was in sight. Up, and u