noon
It was December , ten years later . Carol had seen nine Christmas trees lighted on her birthdays , one after another ; nine times she had assisted in the holiday festivities of the household , though in her babyhood her share of the gayeties was somewhat limited . For five years , certainly , she had hidden presents for Mama and Papa in their own bureau drawers , and harbored a number of secrets sufficiently large to burst a baby 's brain , had it not been for the relief gained by whispering them all to Mama , at night , when she was in her crib , a proceeding which did not in the least lessen the value of a secret in her innocent mind . For five years she had heard '' 'T was the night before Christmas , '' and hung up a scarlet stocking many sizes too large for her , and pinned a sprig of holly on her little white night gown , to show Santa Claus that she was a `` truly '' Christmas child , and dreamed of fur-coated saints and toy-packs and reindeer , and wished everybody a `` Merry Christmas '' before it was light in the morning , and lent every one of her new toys to the neighbors ' children before noon , and eaten turkey and plum pudding , and gone to bed at night in a trance of happiness at the day 's pleasures . Donald was away at college now . Paul and Hugh were great manly fellows , taller than their mother . Papa Bird had grey hairs in his whiskers ; and Grandma , God bless her , had been four Christmases in heaven .