A Christmas for Shacktown
A Christmas for Shacktown is a 32-page Disney comics story written, drawn, and lettered by Carl Barks. The story was first published in Four Color #367 (January 1952), and tells of Donald Duck's attempts to raise money for a Christmas party for the poor children of Shacktown.[1]
| "A Christmas for Shacktown" | |
|---|---|
 A Christmas for Shacktown comic book cover | |
| Story code | W OS 367-02 |
| Story | Carl Barks |
| Ink | Carl Barks |
| Pages | 32 |
| Layout | 4 rows per page |
| Appearances | Donald Duck Huey, Dewey and Louie Daisy Duck Scrooge McDuck Gladstone Gander Jake McDuck (1st; photo only) |
| First publication | Four Color #367 January 1952 |
Plot
The story begins with Donald's nephews passing through Shacktown, the most impoverished area of Duckburg. They progressively get more depressed as they see the living conditions there, children of their age dressed in rags and having tired expressions, hunger and sickness evident in many of them. They feel responsible for it and want to help those poor children find some happiness. The Ducks have the idea of organizing a Christmas celebration.
They ask for the help of Daisy Duck, president of a local ladies' society, and their friends in the Junior Woodchucks. Soon, however, it becomes evident that raising enough money is harder than it sounds. With all their efforts, they are still fifty dollars short.
Donald Duck has the idea to ask his Uncle Scrooge for the money. Scrooge refuses his nephew's request for a donation, but nevertheless offers to match Donald's own twenty-five dollars, if he can manage to raise that much.
Donald soon learns that asking for charity during the holidays, when every family struggles with its own increased expenses, is extremely difficult. He tries to trick his Uncle into making the donation, but he is unable to do so. Only when he swallows his pride and asks for his cousin Gladstone Gander's help does he finally succeed in raising his twenty-five dollars.
When he arrives at his uncle's money bin, an apparently shocked Scrooge tells him it is too late. Enraged, Donald opens the vault door and discovers that inside, the overloaded floor had collapsed, and the money has been lost in the caverns below Duckburg. Now Donald still is twenty-five dollars short and has to take care of a shocked and depressed uncle.
Dewey, Huey and Louie remember that they once explored Shacktown district and learned about a cavern that might lead to the lost money. In the cavern Ducks find a beaver hole that leads to the money, but it can't be expanded as the vibration would collapse the bottom of the cavern, making it impossible to retrieve the money. Boys bring a toy train to retrieve the money and Scrooge promises that they can keep the first load of money, no matter how much it is. They manage to get a hefty pile of bills and Scrooge faints, and using the bills, the residents of Shacktown receives a grand Christmas party. Scrooge, however, resides in the cavern and complains how he must wait for 272 years for the toy train to bring out all the money from the bottom.
See also
References
- "Four Color #367 (January 1952)". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
Further reading
- Barks, Carl (2012). Walt Disney's Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown. Fantagraphics Books. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-60699-574-7.
- Andrae, Thomas (2006). Carl Barks and the Disney Comic Book. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 246–247.
External links
- A Christmas for Shacktown at Inducks
- A Christmas for Shacktown in Carl Barks guidebook