JUST before Christmas there was a sound of singing at our door, as follows:

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Oh what fun it is to ride on a one-horse open sleigh."

The singing stopped with a knock on the door. On opening it, my wife was confronted by two girls about ten years old, both with their hands held out.

My wife said: "If you think I am going to give you money for two lines of Jingle Bells forget it. Now, if you sing a nice carol, then I will reconsider."

The girls looked at each other rather puzzled and then broke into song: -- ....

"Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer."

Carol singers? Say no more!

J AINSWORTH (Mr), Tockholes Road, Darwen.