Adventsläsning

 

Christmas Fun 

Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin

Christmas Games

The shops are putting on their Christmas dress. The cotton-wool, that time-hallowed substitute for snow, is creeping into the plate-glass windows; the pink lace collars are encircling again the cakes; and the “charming wedding or birthday present” of a week ago renews its youth as a “suitable Yuletide gift.” Everything calls to us to get our Christmas shopping done early this year, but, as usual, we shall put it off until the latest possible day, and in that last mad rush we shall get Aunt Emily the wrong pair of mittens and overlook poor Uncle John altogether.

Before I begin my own shopping I am waiting for an announcement in the papers. All that my paper has told me is that the Christmas toy bazaars of the big stores are now open. I have not yet seen that list and description of the new games of the season for which I wait so eagerly. It is possible that this year will produce the masterpiece--the game which possesses in the highest degree all the qualities of the ideal Christmas game.

Så här börjar den korta novellen ”Christmas Games”, av A. A. Milne — ja, han med den välbekante nallebjörnen.

Eftersom årets julklapp sägs bli ett sällskapsspel så är det väl en passade berättelse.

Undrar någon vad i all världen ”Tiddleywinks” (tiddledywink) är, så är det vad vi kallar för loppspel på svenska — ett spel vars existens jag helt glömt bort, tror inte jag spelat det sedan jag var 10 år.