o you wish, Snookums?

SNOOKUMS. Wish Grandpaw would come home.

TOOTSY. I know a real good wish. I wish it were Christmas every day.
Don't you, Dumpling?

DUMPLING. No, I don't. We'd have to have a present and a tree and a
turkey and plum pudding every day of our lives. We'd get awfully tired
of it after a while. Just think, we'd have to give away about a
million presents every year.

TOOTSY. I'll tell you what I really do wish.

DUMPLING. What?

TOOTSY. I wish we could do just like grown up folks do. I wish I was
the biggest little girl in all the world.

DUMPLING. And I wish so, too. I wish we were just awfully, awfully,
awfully big--and then we could go to Aunt Clara's dinner party, and
everywhere.

SNOOKUMS. Me wish me was great big Snookums.

TOOTSY. But money couldn't buy that wish, Dumpling.

DUMPLING. No, that's right. But Grandpa said if he couldn't buy our
wish he'd get it some other way.

TOOTSY. How could he get it?

DUMPLING. He said he'd tell the Wishing Man.

TOOTSY. My, I wonder if there really is such a person!

DUMPLING. I don't know. But I'd like to see him if there is.

TOOTSY. I'll make a rhyme.

Good Mr. Wishing Man, how do you do?
If there is such a person, we'd like to see you!

DUMPLING.

If you come from afar, if you come from near,
Good Mr. Wishing Man, appear, appear!

_The_ WISHING MAN _rolls out from under the table, rises, faces the
three children, arms akimbo._

WISHING MAN (_after a pause, drawls_). Well?

DUMPLING _and_ TOOTSY (_frightened, down R._). Well? (_They look at
each other, pause, then repeat._) Well!

SNOOKUMS (_comes in front of them, stands facing the_ WISHING MAN,
_arms akimbo_). Well?

WISHING MAN. Well, I'm here.

DUMPLING. Who's here?

WISHING MAN. Why, _I_ am here. You said you would like to see me and
so I have come. _I'm_ here.

TOOTSY. Are you the Wishing Man?

WISHING MAN. That's my name. (_Sings to the tune of "Wearing of the
Green." He sings briskly, shaking head in time and dancing a step or
two._)

I'm the friend of all the children,
And I'll help you if I can,
Just tell me what your wishes are,
For I'm the Wishing Man.
I have wishbones on my fingers,
I have myst'ry in my eyes,
My clothes are trimmed with horseshoes,
And they're stained with magic dyes.
My pocket's full of rabbits' feet,
And clover leaves and charms,
For luck I've g