THE TWELVE PASSENGERS

As the clock struck twelve at midnight to welcome the New Year, a strange stagecoach drew up. The sentry hurried towards it and found twelve very strange-looking passengers.

The first seemed to be the most important and the others looked at him very hopefully. He said that his name was January and immediately rushed off, as he had much to do. The second laughed loudly, introducing himself as February, the King of Carnivals said,'My life has only twenty-eight days, but I enjoy it to the full.' March, the third passenger, was thin. The fourth one pointed to the moon's thin silver and jokingly told March that it was a treasure made of silver, but as she was April, everyone took it as an April fool's joke! Then, May sang a beautiful song that she kept for the blossoming flowers. The next two, June and July, had worn swimming costumes for the hot summer. The eight was the plump and homely Mother August with a basket full of fruits. Artist September came next, famous for painting green leaves into rust and gold. The tenth, Duke October, was very rich and spoke of agriculture but it was lost in the sneezing of the cold and pale November! The last one was December, carrying a fir tree, which he said he would decorate with lights, stars, and tinsel during Christmas. The sentry saluted them saying:'I wish a very good year to the Month family.'