Lulu’s Library - Volume 1 - Christmas Dream and Other Stories

Aug 24, 2026

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Lulu’s Library, Volume I (of 3) collects twelve short stories by Louisa M. Alcott, originally told to her young niece and framed as a Christmas gift. The preface explains the origin of the tales and presents them as bedtime favorites. The contents highlight story titles including “A Christmas Dream,” “The Candy Country,” and “Naughty Jocko,” setting a playful, moral, and imaginative tone. The opening chapter introduces Effie’s discontent with repetitive Christmas traditions and her mother’s attempt to transform her view.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages124

Reading Time3 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Contents

A Christmas Dream

The Candy Country

Naughty Jocko

The Skipping Shoes

Cockyloo

Rosy’s Journey

How They Ran Away

The Fairy Box

A Hole in the Wall

The Piggy Girl

The Three Frogs

Baa! Baa!

LULU’S LIBRARY, VOLUME I This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at [https://www.gutenberg.org/license. If you](https://www.gutenberg.org/license. If you)[ ](https://www.gutenberg.org/license. If you)are not located in the United States, you’ll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: Lulu’s Library, Volume I (of 3) Author: Louisa M. Alcott Release Date: September 05, 2012 [eBook \#40682] Language: English *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LULU’S LIBRARY, VOLUME I (OF 3) *** Produced by Al Haines. [image] Cover LULU’S LIBRARY. BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT, AUTHOR OF ”LITTLE WOMEN,” ”AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL,””LITTLE MEN,” ”EIGHT COUSINS,””ROSE IN BLOOM,””UNDER THE LILACS,” ”JACK AND JILL,””HOSPITAL SKETCHES,””WORK, A STORY OF EXPERIENCE,””MOODS, A NOVEL,””PROVERB STORIES,””SILVER PITCHERS,” ”AUNT JO’S SCRAP-BAG.” VOL. I. A CHRISTMAS DREAM. THE CANDY COUNTRY. NAUGHTY JOCKO. THE SKIPPING SHOES. COCKYLOO. ROSY’S JOURNEY. HOW THEY RAN AWAY. THE FAIRY BOX. A HOLE IN THE WALL. THE PIGGY GIRL. THE THREE FROGS. BAA! BAA! BOSTON: ROBERTS BROTHERS. 1886. Copyright, 1885, BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. University Press: JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE. PREFACE. All but three of these stories were told to my little niece during our quiet hour before bedtime. They became such favorites with her and her friends that I wrote them down in several small blue books, and called them LULU’S LIBRARY. Having nothing else to offer this year, I have collected them in one volume as a Christmas gift to my boys and girls from their old friend AUNT JO. CONCORD, August, 1885 . CONTENTS. I. A Christmas Dream II. The Candy Country III. Naughty Jocko IV. The Skipping Shoes V. Cockyloo VI. Rosy’s Journey VII. How They Ran Away VIII. The Fairy Box IX. A Hole in the Wall X. The Piggy Girl v XI. The Three Frogs XII. Baa! Baa! [image] She actually stood in ”a grove of Christmas trees.”–PAGE 30. I. A CHRISTMAS DREAM, AND HOW IT CAME TRUE. ”I’m so tired of Christmas I wish there never would be another one!” exclaimed a discontented-looking little girl, as she sat idly watching her mother arrange a pile of gifts two days before they were to be given. ”Why, Effie, what a dreadful thing to say! You are as bad as old Scrooge; and I ’m afraid something will happen to you, as it did to him, if you don’t care for dear Christmas,” answered mamma, almost dropping the silver horn she was filling with delicious candies. ”Who was Scrooge? What happened to him?” asked Effie, with a glimmer of interest in her listless face, as she picked out the sourest lemon-drop she could find; for nothing sweet suited her just then. ”He was one of Dickens’s best people, and you can read the charming story some day. He hated Christmas until a strange dream showed him how dear and beautiful it was, and made a better man of him.” ”I shall read it; for I like dreams, and have a great many curious ones myself. But they don’t keep me from being tired of Christmas,” said Effie, poking discontentedly among the sweeties for something worth eating. ”Why are you tired of what should be the happiest time of all the year?”asked mamma, anxiously. ”Perhaps I should n’t be ifI had something new. But it is always the same, and there is n’t any more surprise about it. I always find heaps of goodies in my stocking. Don’t like some of them, and soon get tired of those I do like. We always have a great dinner, and I eat too much, and feel ill next day. Then there vi is a Christmas tree somewhere, with a doll on top, or a stupid old Santa Claus, and children dancing and screaming over bonbons and toys that bre

FAQs

What is the collection origin and purpose described in the preface?

The preface says the stories were told to Louisa M. Alcott’s little niece during quiet bedtime hours and became favorites. She then gathered them into one volume as a Christmas gift to her boys and girls from “Aunt Jo.”

What does Effie complain about at the start of “A Christmas Dream”?

Effie is tired of Christmas because it feels repetitive and lacks surprise. She dislikes certain gifts, overindulges at dinner, and finds the usual tree, Santa, and toys disappointing.

How does Effie’s mother respond to Effie’s wish for no more Christmas?

Her mother challenges Effie’s attitude and suggests that something meaningful and dear about Christmas can change a person’s perspective. She also considers offering gifts that better match Effie’s ideas.

Aug 24, 2026

Upload by Connor