Lisa Barry: Well, we're many months away from Christmas but it's hot and it behooves us to think cool thoughts. So, what sorts of things do you do to your home to make it festive at Christmas? Put up a tree, no doubt. You probably set out colorful decorations and display lots of youthful art. Maybe you play Christmas music low in the background or light candles, or bake cookies. All of these varied sights, sounds and smells do much to put us in the Christmas spirit, don't they. Well, pretend it's Dec. 23rd and get ready for a few holiday stories that your imagination will enjoy. "The Great White Bear" is first and then "The Song that Traveled." Get comfortable now and get ready for this Gateway To Joy. Here's Elisabeth.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, reading another story from Maud Lindsey's lovely little book called The Storyteller. This is called "The Great White Bear."

"Once upon a time the tailor of Rey and the tinker of Rey went to the king's fair together. When they had seen all the sights that were there, they started home together, well pleased with their day's outing.

"The sun was going down when they left the fair, and when they came to the Enchanted Wood through which they had to pass, the moon was rising over the hill. And a fine full moon it was, so bright that the night was almost as light as day.

'There are some people who would not venture in this wood at night, even when the moon is shining,' said the tinker. 'But as for me, I do not know what fear is.'

'Nor I,' said the tailor. 'I would that everyone had as stout a heart as mine.'" A stout heart is a brave heart, isn't it?

"It was just then that Grandmother Gray's old white sheep that had wandered into the wood that evening came plodding through the bushes.

'Goodness me! What is that?' said the tinker, clutching his companion's arm. 'A bear!' cried the tailor, casting one frightened glance toward the bushes. 'A great white bear! Run! Run for your life!'

"And run they did. The tailor was small and the tinker was tall, but it was a close race between them, up hill and down hill and into the town. 'A bear! A great white bear!' they called as they ran, and everybody they met took up the cry, 'A bear! A bear!' till the whole town was roused.

"The mayor and his wife, the shoemaker and his daughter, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, the blacksmith and the miller's son--indeed, to make a long story short, everybody was awake in the town of Rey. They came hurrying out of their houses to hear what the matter was. There was soon as large a crowd as went to church on Sunday gathered about the two friends.

"And the tailor and the tinker talked as fast as they had run to tell their thrilling tale. 'We were just coming through the wood,' said the tailor, 'when there--as close to us as the shoemaker is to the blacksmith--we saw a terrible creature.'

"Interrupted the tinker, 'Tis as large as a calf, I assure you!' 'And white as the mayor's shirt,' cried the tailor. 'It's a marvel that we escaped. And if it had not been that I--'

'I saw it first,' said the tinker, 'but I stood my ground. I did not run till the tailor did.'

"The two would have been willing to talk till morning, had not all the others determined to go to the wood at once and kill the bear. 'I cannot answer for the safety of the town till it is done,' said the mayor. So everyone ran for a weapon as fast as his feet could carry him.

"The mayor brought his long sword that the king had given him, and the carpenter a hatchet. The blacksmith took his hammer, and the miller's son a gun. The rest of the men, whatever they could put their hands on. The women went too, with mops and brooms to drive the bear away, should he run toward the town. And one little boy, who had waked up in the stir, followed after them with stones in his hands.

"They very soon came to the wood. Then the question was, 'Who should go first?' 'Let the tinker and the tailor lead the way,' said the mayor, 'and we will come close after.'

'Oh, no, if you please, your honor,' said the tinker and the tailor, speaking at the very same time. 'That will never do. We cannot think of going in front of you.'

'I will go first, if the mayor will send me his sword,' said the shoemaker. 'Aye, aye, let the shoemaker go,' cried some.

'No, no. 'Tis the mayor's place. The king gave the sword to him,' said the others.

'I could kill the bear while you are talking about it,' said the miller's son.

"Everyone had something to say. But at last it was all settled, and the miller's son with the mayor's sword by his side and his own gun in his hand was just slipping into the wood when out walked"--what do you think? "Out of the woods walked the old white sheep.

'Baa! Baa!' she cried, as if to ask, 'Pray tell me, what is all the stir about?'

'A sheep! A sheep! A great white sheep!' cried the miller's son. And then how the people of Rey did laugh. They laughed and they laughed and they laughed, so loud and so long that their laughter was heard all the way to the king's fair and set the people to laughing there.

"But whether the tailor and the tinker laughed or not, I do not know."

That's the story of "The Great White Bear." Here's a story of "The Song That Traveled."

"One day, when all the world was gay with Spring, a king stood at a window of his palace and looked far out over his kingdom. And because his land was fair to see and he was a young king and his heart was happy, he made a song for himself and sang it out loud and merrily.

'The hawthorn's white, the sun is bright, and blue the cloudless sky; and not a bird that sings in spring is happier than I, than I, is happier than I.'

"Now it chanced that a plowboy at work in a field hard by the palace heard the king's song and caught the words and the air of it. He was young and happy. As he followed his plow across the dewy field, he thought of the corn that would grow, by and by, in the furrows it made, and of his little black and white pig that would feed and grow fat on the corn.

'The hawthorn's white, the sun is bright, and blue the cloudless sky; and not a bird that sings in spring is happier than I, than I, is happier than I.'

'A right merry song, Robin Plowboy,' called the Goose Girl, who tended the farmer's geese in the next field. And she leaned on the fence that divided the two and sang for him, for she was as happy a lass as ever lived in the king's country.

"The farmer's wife had given her a goose for her very own that day, and the goose had made a nest in the alder bushes. There was already one egg in it, and soon there would be more. Then she would send them to market, and when they were sold she would buy a ribbon for her hair. It was no wonder that she felt like singing.

'Not a bird that sings in Spring is happier than I, than I, is happier than I.'

"The chapman"--which means a peddler, somebody who goes from town to town selling little things. "The chapman from whom she bought her ribbon in all good time learned the king's song from her. And as he trudged along the king's highway with his pack upon his back, he too sang it. There's no better weather for peddling or singing, either, than that which comes in the Spring.

"A soldier just home from the wars and glad enough to be there heard the song from the chapman, and in turn he taught it to a sailor, who took it to sea with him. The sailor was going to the far countries. But if all went well with his ship and with him, he would be at home in time to see the hawthorn bloom in his mother's yard another year and another Spring. He kept the song in his heart for a year and a day.

"And then, because nothing had gone amiss and he was homeward bound, he sang it, too. 'The hawthorn's white, the sun is bright, and blue the cloudless sky; and not a bird that sings in spring is happier than I, than I, is happier than I.'

"On the sailor's ship there was a minstrel bound for the king's court." A minstrel is someone who plays music for the king. "He was bound for the king's court to sing on May Day. The minstrel learned the song from the sailor.

"He was a young minstrel and very proud to sing at the king's festival. So when it was his turn and he stood before the throne, he could think of no better song to sing than 'The hawthorn's white, the sun is bright, and blue the cloudless sky; and not a bird that sings in Spring is happier than I, than I, is happier than I.'

"Now the king had been so busy about the affairs of his kingdom, deciding this question and that, sending messengers here and there and listening to one and another, as all kings must do, that he had forgotten the song which he had made. But when he heard the minstrel, it all came back to him.

"Then he was puzzled. 'Good minstrel,' said he, 'ten golden guineas I will give you for your song, and to the ten I will add ten more if you tell me where you learned it.'

'An easy matter, that,' said the minstrel. 'The sailor who rides in yon white ship in your harbor taught it to me.'

'The soldier, who even now stands guard at your Majesty's gate gave me the song,' said the sailor when he was asked.

'I had it from the chapman who travels on the king's highway,' said the soldier.

'I heard it from the little Goose Girl singing it,' said the chapman when they found him.

''Tis Robin Plowboy's song,' laughed the Goose Girl. 'Go ask him about it.'

'The king sang it first, and I next,' said the Plowboy.

"Then the king knew that he had made a good song that everybody with a happy heart might sing. And because of this, he was glad. And he stood at his window and sang again.'"

The music is down here. "The hawthorn's white, the sun is bright, and blue the cloudless sky; and not a bird that sings in spring is happier than I, than I, is happier than I."

So that story is called "The Song That Traveled." I hope there are some boys and girls listening who would want to make other people happy because you can show them how happy you are. There are some things in your life that you don't think make you very happy, but you need to sit down and think about all the things that do make you happy. Can you come up with a list? It would be a good thing to make a song and sing, "Not a bird that sings is happier than I."

Lisa Barry: I love stories. And if you thought you were too old to listen to stories, I hope you think differently now.

As we drag ourselves away from the warmth of Christmas and back to the heat of August, let me tell you how you can snatch a little bit of that holiday flavor for yourself. The program you heard today is just one of the 10 programs that you'll get on our "Best of Gateway To Joy" series. We've selected the most popular, influential programs of the last 12 1/2 years and put them all in one nice, neat cassette series for you. We're making this commemorative tape set available today for a suggested donation of $8 when you call or write to request it. For information on how to get this special offer for yourself,

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Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible. And we thank God for the partnership we've had with them for all of these years. You have also joined with us as partners in your support of Gateway To Joy, and our gratitude to you cannot be overstated. And now, with the end of Gateway To Joy just 2 weeks away, I want to encourage you to continue your faithful support as we transition to Revive Our Hearts on September 3rd. Nancy Leigh DeMoss will be the speaker and you're going to love her. She is genuine, committed, passionate and a wonderful teacher. And I know you'll give her a warm welcome.

Tomorrow, we'll continue in our "Best of Gateway To Joy" series with a visit from Valerie Shepherd and a discussion on child training. That's next time on Gateway To Joy.