Reading...

That's what a Christmas tree looks like!"  She stuck the end of the trunk in an old leaky bucket and made it tight with rocks.  And so it sat beside the fireplace, green and wonderful.  "Well," said the Old Woman, pinching her lip between her fingers, "it lacks a few things yet..."  And so she went about the house, opening boxes and drawers and fumbling on shelves and under the bed.  At last she had assembled a little pile of things:  bright yarn, an old thimble, a little bell, some broken beads.  In a few moments her nimble fingers had attached them to the tree.  The tree fairly glowed,  "Now, that's what a proper Christmas tree should look like," said the Old Woman.

The Ugly Child sighed.  "It's beautiful," he said, and his odd brown eyes twinkled deep in his crumply face.  "Now, it must be time for the feast."

Star Mother's Youngest Child

Louise Moeri