52 lines
2.6 KiB
Standard ML
52 lines
2.6 KiB
Standard ML
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### WHY SANTA GIVES LUMPS OF COAL ###
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There once wa a little boy named George Greeley. George started out okay --
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but somewhere he started to get the idea that he should be given anything
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(and everything) he wanted. That's when things started to go bad for
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little George.
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By the time George was eight years old, he had a new name: Greedy George
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Greeley. When he went to school, the other kids would greet him, "Hello,
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Greedy George Greeley. How are you today, Greedy George Greeley?"
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Greedy George always tried to get the things that belonged to the other
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kids. He wouldn't steal, of course -- Greedy George wasn't dishonest.
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He was just, well...GREEDY! So he'd beg. "Can I have that pencil? Huh?
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Huh? Can I please? Please give me your pencil -- you have two nice ones
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and I haven't any." When the other kid would finally break down and
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give Greedy George one of his pencils, George still wanted more. "That
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other pencil you have there sure is nice. It sure would be nice if I had
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a set of them. Will you give it to me? Huh? Huh?"
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George got greediest of all at Christmas time. The first year he wrote
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a letter to Santa: "Please give me these ten items," he said. Santa
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wanted to please George, so he gave him as many as he could. The next
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year, George sent another letter: "I want thirty-two things for Christmas.
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Here's a list."
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"That's sure a lot of things George Greeley is asking for," Santa thought.
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"I can't possibly give him thirty-two. I hope he'll be satisfied with
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twenty-five. I don't want him to think old Santa is stingy or anything."
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The next year, George sent a letter that was so fat it took FIVE stamps!
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"Dear Santa," it said. "You didn't give me everything I wanted last year.
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It made me real sad. I cried all Christmas day, and the next day too.
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I know you don't like children to be sad. Please bring me these 112 toys
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this year and I'll feel better."
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That's when Santa realized George Greeley wasn't just plain George Greeley
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anymore. He'd turned into Greedy George. "I'm going to give that twerp
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a lump of coal this year!" Santa said. "Take him 112 toys! The nerve!
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Humph!" (Even Santa gets upset sometimes.)
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That year Santa didn't take a single toy to Greedy George Greeley. All he
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gave him was one dirty lump of coal. "Maybe that will cure Greedy George
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of his greediness," Santa said to himself.
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And it did! The next year George sent a letter to Santa: "Please, if you
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will, dear Santa, give me this one toy this Christmas." Santa smiled to
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himself and gave George two toys that year. And George was never greedy
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again.......
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