
      Texas Night Before Christmas


T'was the night before Christmas in the cold wintry fog.
Nary a critter was movin' nor a lone prairie dog.

Then from out of the north the breeze gave a stir;
An icy cold blast swirled the fog in a blur.

A blue Texas norther roared over the plains.
The cold fairly whistled through the loose winderpanes.

I poked at the farplace to stir up the flame-
The embers glowed redder, but the cold stayed the same.

Ma were fixing our dinner to be ready next day.
And thought about Christmas a few hours away.

Our scuffed boots were assembled on the floor pair by pair
Where Santy would find 'em for he soon would be there.

The younguns were bundled down snug in thier covers,
A sprout of a girl and her two older brothers.

So me in my long-johns and Ma in her gown
Warmed up by the far' 'fore we liad ourselves down.

Then from out on the range there came such a ruckus,
I ran to the winder to see what the fuss was.

Through the blue winter blizzard a scene came to sight;
I squinted to see, for there warn't much light.

There stompin' an snortin' an pawin' the ground
Were eight scroungy longhorns stampedin' aroun'

In front of a wagon piled as full as could be
With boxes and bundles an' a big 'ole pine tree.

Then a bellerin' yell soon set them all straight
From a fat li'l ole ramrod who put fear in the eight.

Well, they waren't really scairt, no harm would he cause.
For that longhorn head honcho was ole Santy Claus!

He got thier attention and called 'em by name,
''Hey Leadfoot and Walleye, git up, there Culhane!''

''Come on, Gimpy and Flopear an Scarface. Start draggin'
Git on Star and Shorttail let's move this here wagon!''

Ole Leadfoot, he bellered and lifted his head,
Then straight on they trampled through Ma's flower bed.

They laid the gate flat, an the clothesline went, too.
Nuthin' stood in thier way as they flatfooted through.

Santy pulled 'em up short on top of the roof,
After wreckin' the porch with them clodhopper hoofs.

They rocked our sod shanty, the dirt sifted down,
And then through the chimley Santy came with a bound!

He was dressed all in rawhide with a Stetson on top.
His big cowboy boots hit the floor with a clop.

He shook his great belly and stomped with each foot,
Which knocked off a shower of mud, ash an' soot.

His eyes were both squinty and his skin was like leather
From too much exposure to the raw Texas weather.

He looked tough as a horseshoe, but I felt no alarm,
Cause a wink of his eye showed he'd do us no harm.

A feed bag of toys he flung from his back,
And with nary a word he opened the sack.

He filled all the boots and piled 'em up high,
Then looked out the winder and up at the sky.

The cold Texas Norther still whistled an' blew,
But more yougins was awaiting, his work wasn't through.

T'was hard to just leave and walk through the door
To face all them longhorns an' the cold as before.

He drank some hot mud and hunched close to the heat
To soak up the warmth and thaw his cold feet.

He could no longer dally or put off the chore,
So he gave us a wink and pushed through the door.

He prodded the longhorns to get on the go,
An' the wagon took off through the fog an' the snow.

He called over the Norther 'fore he went out of sight
''Merry Christmas, y'heah an y'all have a good night!''

