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SMOLICHECK

ONCE upon a time there was a little boy named Smolicheck. He lived in a little house in the woods with a deer whose name was Golden Antlers.

Every day when Golden Antlers went out he told Smolicheck to lock the door after him and on no account to open it no matter who knocked.

“If you disobey me,” Golden Antlers said, “something awful may happen.”

“I won’t open the door,” Smolicheck always promised. “I won’t open it until you come home.”

Now one day there was a knock on the door.

“Oh!” Smolicheck thought to himself, “I wonder who that is!” and he called out:

“Who’s there?”

From the outside sweet voices answered:

Smolicheck, Smolicheck, please open the door
Just a wee little crack of two fingers—no more!
We’ll reach in our cold little hands to get warm,
Then leave without doing you the least bit of harm!
So open, Smolicheck, please open the door!

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