Henry Had A Merry Christmas - Walter Brennan

My dad used to raise turkeys for Christmas

And about a week before he'd take them into town

He always kept ther biggest one 'specially for us

And mom'd cook it till it was golden brown

One year he brought the usual batch home

Just hatched with a lot of growing to do

There was one awful skinny like he put in my care

He never figured he'd pull through

I named him Henry and with a young boys touch

I finally got him to grow

Now I knowed what'd happen if he'd growed to much

I remember I used to tell him so

Henry you're growing a way to fast

Dad's got his eye on you

And Christmas Day is goin' to be you last

Eating the way you do

Course I never thought about the one dad sold

How they'd end up in the oven too

But I'd seen what happened when the ones he'd chose

And what him and that axe could do

Early one morning dad took 'em to town

And sure enough Henry was left

And by Christmas Eve the way I moped around

They all knew how bad I felt

After supper dad left the house

And everything was quiet exceptn' the old hall clock

It was a long long wait

Then we jumped straight up when the axe hit that choppin' block

We shot out the back door to where dad was

All of us a runnin' around

And dad just stood there grinnin' at us

Then we heared a goblin sound

No we didn't have turkey that Christmas Day

But that was alright with us

And there weren't a one of us

Who didn't want ot that way

And you know Henry had a Merry Christmas