It was the night before Christmas   When all through the house   Not a creature was stirring   Not even a mouse      The stockings all hung   By the chimney with care   In hopes that St. Nicholas   Soon would be there      The children were nestled   All safe in their beds   While visions of sugarplums   Danced in their heads      And mom in her kerchief   And I in my cap   Had just settled down   For a long winter's nap      When out on the lawn   There arose such a clatter   I sprang from my bed   To see what was the matter      Away to the window   I flew like a flash   Tore open the shutters   And threw up the sash      The moon on the breast   Of the new fallen snow   Gave the lustre of midday   To object below      When what to my wandering eyes   Should appear   But a miniature sleigh   And eight tiny reindeer      With a little ol' driver   So lively and quick   I knew in a moment   It must be St. Nick      More rapid than eagles   His courses they came   As he whistled and shouted   And called them by name      And quot, now dasher   Now dancer   Now prancer   Now vixen      On comet   On cupid   On doner   An' blitzen' and quot      To the top of the porch   To the top of the wall   Now dash away, dash away   Dash away all      As dry leaves   Before the wild hurricane fly   When they meet with an obstacle   Mount to the sky      So, up to the housetop   The courses they flew   With a sleigh full of toys   And St. Nicholas too      And then in a twinkling   I heard on the roof   The prancing and pawing   Of each little hoof      As I drew in my head   And was turning around   Down the chimney St. Nicholas   Came with a bound      He was dressed all in fur   From his head to his foot   And his clothes were all tarnished   With ashes and soot      A bundle of toys   He had flung on his back   And he looked like a peddler   Just opening his pack      His eyes how they twinkled   His dimples how merry   His cheeks were like roses   His nose like a cherry      His drawl little mouth   Was drawn up like a bow   And the beard of his chin   Was a white as the snow      The stump of his pipe   He held tight in his teeth   And the smoke it encircled his head   Like a wreath      He had a broad face   And a round little belly   That shook when he laughed   Like a bowl full of jelly      He was chubby and plump   A right jolly old elf   I laughed when I saw him   In spite of myself      A wink of his eye   And a twist of his head   Soon gave me to know   I had nothing to dread      He spoke not a word   But went straight to his work   And filled all the stockings   Then turned with a jerk      An' laying a finger   Along side his nose   An' giving a nod   Up the chimney he rose      He sprang to his sleigh   To his team gave a whistle   An' away they all flew   Like the down of a thistle      But I heard him exclaim   As he drove out of sight   And quot, Happy Christmas to all   And to all a goodnight and quot      Hm