Original subtitles

And now, I Love Ruthie.

How's it here, honey?

Over to the left a little.

No, no, the other way. Now, I want it in the middle so the mantle won't look

lopsided.

Santa Claus doesn't care if the mantle looks lopsided. Oh, well.

There you are, partner.

Thank you, Daddy. You're welcome.

Now, when you get up in the morning, honey, Santa Claus is going to have that

chock full of goodies.

Yes, sir.

Now off to bed, son.

In a minute, Daddy.

What are you doing, dear?

I'm waiting for Santa Claus.

You've got to go to bed now.

I'm going to bed after Santa Claus gets here.

But, honey, Santa Claus is not going to come and bring the tree and the presents

and everything until you go to sleep.

He won't.

No. Why, Mommy?

Why is that, Daddy?

Why?

Why?

Well, you see, partners,

Santa Claus comes all the way down from the North Pole.

And he has all these reindeers with him.

And when he gets here, he circles around in the sky until he gets a signal.

Now, you know who gives him the signal?

Who? Yeah, who?

Who?

I bet I know it's the Sandman.

The Sandman, that's right. Yeah, the Sandman gives him the signal, that's

When all the little children are in bed, the Sandman runs up to the roof and he

says, Santa Claus, all clear.

So you got to go to bed.

Why, honey, that's fascinating.

You see, young man, you got to go to bed right now.

care of the why and the who. You take care of the how.

Uh, how, huh?

Well, um, now, you see, Santa Claus doesn't need any steps, honey.

He, he, he, when he comes, he brings the North Pole with him and he slides down

like a fireman.

Good, good, good.

All right, son, off to bed.

Yeah, come on, honey.

Good night.

Here, Fred, wait a minute.

Oh, here, I'll show you.

I'll show you. I think right about in here.

There. All right. Oh, it's a beauty, Fred.

How much do I owe you?

It's for a month.

Well, that's very generous of you. Oh, it was nothing.

Nothing? The tree cost five bucks.

Well, it's good to see you, all right. The children are tucked in their beds

waiting for Santa Claus. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

And we have our very own Scrooge.

That is a beautiful tree.

It's a present from me and Ebenezer.

Well, thank you very much.

Will you lay off, Ethel? Anyway, I thought Santa Claus was supposed to foot

bill for the tree.

Well, he does ordinarily, but this year we're doing it for him. You just try and

think of yourself as one of Santa's little helpers.

Well, all right. Okay.

Come on, let's get the tree trimmed. Okay.

Honey? What? Is it right where you want it? Back by the window a little bit. Oh,

okay.

Come on. You help me, Ethel. Yes, ma 'am. Be very careful of these now. Okay.

These are all the only bulbs that I have. All right.

All right. You take that box there. Oh, I love doing this. Isn't it wonderful?

Honey. Come in here. See how it looks from the front, huh?

What do you think?

Well, it looks pretty good, except there's a branch on the right side that

spoils the shape.

Which one, honey? This one right up here.

Fred, will you go down to the basement and get your saw and cut that off for

It's a little unbalanced.

Oh, now, honey, maybe we can...

Hang something there. He don't have to go all the way down to the basement and

get his soul. Now, that's funny. The tree has to be balanced. We know that.

can't have one branch out like... I've been putting up trees with that kid for

the last 15 years.

He came prepared. That's right, Fred.

Gee, the four of us have spent a lot of Christmases together, haven't we? We

sure have.

Yes, sir, and it's been great.

It's even been better since little Ricky came along.

That's right, honey.

Oh, Fred, now that you cut that branch off, it makes the other side look too

full. You better trim that branch on the other side and make it all even.

You know, honey, I've been thinking.

Our life has sure been different since you told me you were going to have the

baby. I almost never got to tell you. What do you mean?

Don't you remember?

Oh, Fred, that skinny branch on the top just looks awful. It's going to have to

come off.

Don't you remember, Ricky? I tried to tell you all day, and I never got a

because you were so busy.

Oh, now the other side looks uneven.

Got a little afraid.

Honey, finally, in desperation, I had to go down to the club while you were

working and give a note to the maitre d' for you.

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. And now for the...

thank you. Excuse me.

Pardon me, please.

Oh, isn't this wonderful? Listen to this.

Dear Mr. Ricardo, My husband and I are going to have a blessed event.

I just found out about it today, and I haven't told him yet.

I heard you sing a number called We're Having a Baby, My Baby and Me.

If you will sing it for us now, it will be my way of breaking the news to him.

Isn't that wonderful? Of course I'll do it for you, sure.

Oh, wait a minute.

I got a wonderful idea.

Why don't we bring the couple up here, and I'll sing it right to them, eh? Come

on, let's bring them up on the floor.

Come on, Bob.

Who is it?

Rock -a -bye, baby, on the treetop. No.

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.

No. When the bough breaks,

the cradle will fall.

And down will come, baby, cradle.

Hiya, honey, on the treetop.

When the wind blows,

the cradle will fall.

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.

Honey, honey.

Honey, no. Really?

Why didn't you tell me?

Are you kidding me?

It's me.

I want you to be a father.

I want you to be my mother.

I mean, my wife, my wife.

What?

We're having a baby.

My baby and me.

You'll read it in winter.

To our family tree While pushing that carriage How

proud I will be There's nothing like marriage As your

father and mother And they'll agree He'll have toys Baby clothes

He'll know he's come to the right house By and by When he grows

Maybe he'll live

you, he sure looks brighter.

But definitely, we're having a baby.

I bet he's gonna look just like you. Oh, I hope not.

We're having a baby.

I'll bet she'll speak with an accent like you.

It's okay, honey. So am I.

I'm crying, too.

Me, too, but for a different reason.

Fred, what have you done to that tree?

Well, I got so carried away with the story, I forgot what I was doing.

Oh, Fred, for heaven's sake.

Well, you've got to admit that it's even on both sides.

How do you think we're going to trim that?

Well, why can't we trim it with those branches I just cut off?

Fred Mertz, you march right down to the corner and get another tree.

Okay, but who's going to pay for it?

I will, I will.

No, you won't. He will.

And one word out of you and I'll tell Santa Claus that you were a bad little

and you won't get any presents.

You can't squeal on me. I'm one of his helpers. Oh, get out of here.

You might as well get the lights ready, dear. Okay.

Gee, I just love this old ornament. It's been on our tree ever since I can

remember.

I don't seem to sing well anymore.

Lately?

Anymore?

Now, that's not very nice. I grant you, my voice isn't quite what it used to be.

It's exactly what it used to be.

That's what's wrong with it.

Why do you say that? I used to sing quite well, as I recall.

Well, dear girl, then something is wrong with your memory.

What do you mean?

Well, a few months after you told me... that the baby was going to be born.

You wanted to sing at the club in a barbershop quartet. Oh, I remember that.

Fred and I did that with you. Right.

Boy, that was a terrible evening. It was not. It turned out very well.

It was one of the most embarrassing nights of my career.

Well, I'll never forget it.

The three of us started the number thinking George Watson was under the

the barber chair.

Little did we know that the tuneless wonder was there in the thing.

There's a picture that in fancy oft appearing

Brings back the time, love, when

you were nearer It is there I

wonder where you are, me darling And

if your heart to me is still the same

a half a buck.

It has just been proven to Fred once and for all there is a Santa Claus.

You bet. And he also gave me some mistletoe. Oh, don't go getting any wild

ideas, Ethel.

I'll try to restrain myself.

Oh, Fred, this tree is just perfect.

Absolutely.

Help me put the lights on, huh? Sure. Let me help you, huh? Okay, here. Oh,

Give me a strand.

Okay, Brent. Want to help me? There you are.

Fine. Thanks.

Ricky. Yeah, honey?

Won't you give me just one little hint about what you're giving me for

Christmas? You know, you're worse than your son.

You'll find out tomorrow morning. I know, but I just want to think about it.

Come on, give me one little clue.

All right, I'll give you one clue.

Good. What is it?

It's a gift.

Merry Christmas, sweetheart.

Merry Christmas, you great, big, wonderful, adorable, lovable husband,

Do you love me? Mm -hmm.

How much?

A lot. But not enough to tell you what your Christmas present is. Oh.

Now, what makes you think that's what I wanted to know? And what is it? You'll

find out tomorrow morning.

Go in what?

You know what this means, don't you?

Yeah, it means you're an incurable optimist. Oh, Fred.

Honey, I've only fallen.

Merry Christmas.

Ah, Merry Christmas, you great, big, adorable husband.

All right, Fred, plug in the lights and see if they work.

Hey! Hey!

Fred, congratulations.

This is the only time that the lights have worked in the first time in 15

have to spend an hour testing all the bulbs to see which one hasn't burned

Okay, let's start testing the bulbs.

You know, I'm kind of glad it happened. It makes it seem more like Christmas.

Girls, how do you get the ornaments, huh? Oh, yeah. Come on. This is the part

love.

What's little Ricky getting this year?

Well, I don't know what Santa Claus is going to bring him, but we're getting

a new set of drums and a bike.

I'm probably spoiling him, but he won't be little for long.

Gee, it's amazing how much he's grown.

Seems like only yesterday that he was born.

Would you ever forget that night?

I had a new show at the club, and Lucy insisted that I make it, and I was going

crazy trying to be at two places at once.

Well, it wasn't any picnic for me either, waiting at that hospital while

were doing the show.

What about me? I thought I'd lose my mind sitting at home waiting for the

Of course, I was lucky. All I had to do was have the baby.

You're right.

You three were so nervous that night.

I remember it was almost time for me to go to the hospital, and you all sat and

watched me like I was going to explode any minute.

a signal. Everything should go like clockwork. I don't want to lose a minute

getting you to the hospital. Oh, that's a wonderful idea, Ricky. Now, Ricky,

Ricky, there's no problem, dear. The room is reserved at the hospital. The

doctor's number is right here by the phone. My suitcase is all packed.

All we have to do is go downstairs, get a cab, and go.

I know, I know. But who's going to call the doctor? Who's going to carry the

suitcase? Who's going to hail the cab?

Look, you split it up any way you want. I'm going to go lie down.

All right, honey. I think that's a good idea. You need your rest. Here, I'll

help you there.

That's nice.

Come on, honey.

Don't you worry about anything now. No, I won't. You leave everything to us,

honey. Okay.

Take it easy.

Now, listen, right? I'll tell you how we ought to do this. Now, wait a minute.

Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. I'm in charge of this thing. After all, I'm

the baby's father.

Take over, Captain. All right.

Now, let's see. Now, first of all, one of... has to call the doctor.

Who's going to do that? I'll do that.

Okay. As soon as we get the signal, you rush to the phone.

Okay. All right.

Now, you carry the suitcase.

Right.

I'll look after Lucy.

I'll get her coat, see that she gets downstairs all right, and we'll hail a

Now, let's rehearse.

Okay. Good. Okay. Let's go.

Now, let's make believe that Lucy just came out of the bedroom, see?

And she comes out of the bedroom.

And she says, the time has come.

Go.

Hello, Dr. Harris. We're leaving for the hospital with Mrs. Ricardo now.

Goodbye.

Hey, that was pretty good. We did that in a few seconds. Well, now let's do...

it again so we'll have everything perfect. Okay. Now, the main thing is to

calm so we don't get Lucy excited. That's right. We've got to keep calm.

Get right. Put that over there, Fred, so we can start right. Get it over there.

Get it over where it was at the beginning now. Right. Go back over

Are you ready?

Yeah. Okay.

Now, Lucy comes out of the room and she says, the time has come.

now. Goodbye.

Hey, that was even better than before.

Yeah, that was wonderful.

Okay, now we know what to do. Now let's put this stuff right where it was so we

know where everything is. Now all we have to do is just wait. That was fine,

kids. That was wonderful.

Just think.

Tomorrow night at this time, I'm going to be a father.

Yes, sir.

I'm going to be a godfather.

And I'm going to be a godmother.

Uh -huh.

Ricky, this is it.

This is it.

on this.

The four of us sure got the same idea at once.

We sure did.

Mommy, Daddy, is it time to get up?

He can't find four of us here. Come on, go in the kitchen.

Listen, as long as we've gone to this much trouble, one of us ought to go in

there and let little Ricky see us. Yeah, that's right.

Boy, you've got to get up early if you want to be Santa Claus around here.

Just a minute.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

Now a word from our alternate sponsor, Lilt Home Permanent.

I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, has been presented

for your pleasure by Instant Sanka, the hearty coffee you can drink as strong as

you like. It still can't upset your nerves.

I Love Lucy is a Desilu production.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz will be back next week at this same time.