"The story concerns Luke Steffink's Christmas house party and his "ne'er-do-well" nephew Bertie. One of the guests recalls that, according to Russian folklore, animals are given the power of speech once a year at midnight on Christmas Eve.[1] To indulge the young people, Luke and his wife decide to take everyone down to the cow house at midnight. Bertie, who is not in a festive mood, declines to join the expedition. The party comes to regret allowing him to stay behind." (Literawiki)
First published in the Westminster Gazette, December 23, 1911.
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | The Toys of Peace, and Other Papers | John Lane, The Bodley Head | Collection | 97 | |
| September 1945 |
|
A Saki Sampler | Superior Reprint / The Military Service Publishing Co. | Collection | 140 |
| 1976 |
|
The Complete Works of Saki | Doubleday | Omnibus | 436 |
| 1982 | The Complete Saki | Penguin Books | Omnibus | 436 | |
| 1993 |
|
The Complete Stories of Saki | Wordsworth Editions | Omnibus | 310 |
| May 1998 |
|
The Complete Saki | Penguin Books | Omnibus | 436 |
| October 1998 | The Toys of Peace, and Other Papers | Project Gutenberg | Collection | ||
| October 2000 |
|
Saki: The Complete Short Stories | Penguin Books | Collection | 436 |
| December 2018 |
|
The Greatest Christmas Stories | Oregon Publishing | Anthology | |225 |
| December 2018 |
|
The Christmas Library | Oregon Publishing | Anthology | |225 |