Scouting, Volume 49, Number 10, December 1961 Page: 9
32 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Christmas ^cout
By Samuel D. Bogan
i his is the legend of the Christmas
Scout. It was told me first by a small
boy whose faith in the story was absolute.
He showed me a toy airplane and said
emphatically that it came from the Christ-
mas Scout.
The Christmas Scout was returning
on Christmas Eve from a party of his
relatives where he had received all his
gifts. He had a sledful of presents, just the
things he had been hoping for; and al-
though it was cold, he was warm because
he was wearing the new plaid jacket
for which he had been hinting. It was
his favorite gift.
In spite of everything, he was not
happy. This was because it was to be
his first Christmas without his brother
who had, during the year, been the tragic
victim of a reckless driver. His brother
had always been a good Scout and a fine
example to him.
The Christmas Scout had taken a short
'lit through the Flats hoping he might
meet his patrol leader who lived there
with his widowed mother. This was a
section of town in which many of the
poor lived. His patrol leader, one of the
best Scouts in the troop, had to work
hard. Not that the Christmas Scout was
rich. His family was just a step above the
Flats.
As he hiked down the street, the
Christmas Scout caught glimpses of the
trees and decorations in many of the
homes. He had no intention of prying
but suddenly, in one glimpse, he had seen
a shabby room with two limp stockings
hanging above an empty fireplace and
a woman seated near them weeping. The
stockings reminded him of the way he
and his brother had always hung theirs
side by side. But they had always found
them, next morning, full to brimming.
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Then he remembered that he had not
done his Good Turn for the day.
He knocked on the door.
"Yes?" the sad voice of the woman
inquired.
"May I come in? I am a Scout."
"You are very welcome," she said, "but
I cannot help you. I have nothing for
my own children."
"That is why I am here," he replied.
"You are to choose whatever you need
from this sled."
"Why, God bless you!" she answered
gratefully. "My little boys will be very
happy."
She took some candies and a game,
the toy airplane, and a puzzle. Then,
as she took the new official flashlight, the
Scout almost cried out. But he did not.
He saw that the stockings were full and
turned to go.
"Won't you tell me your name?" she
asked.
"Just call me the Christmas Scout,"
he replied.
He was glad to have done the Good
Turn but he was not really happier. He
had seen that his sorrow was not the
only sorrow in the world and, before he
got out of the Flats that night, he had
given the remainder of his toys away.
The plaid jacket had gone to a boy who
had none at all.
He trudged homeward, cold and dis-
consolate. He had given his presents away
and now he could think of no explanation
he could give his family that would seem
reasonable. He wondered how he could
make them understand.
His parents tried to be patient.
"But, son, I don't see how you could
(Continued on page 32)
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 49, Number 10, December 1961, periodical, December 1961; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth331727/m1/11/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.