"
Suddenly the little boy caught her by the arm. "Oh, mother," he said.
He had seen the star.
"Well, what is it, darling?" asked the lady.
"Oh, mother, just see that star up there! I wish--oh, I do wish I had
it."
"Oh, my dear, we have so many things for the Christmas-tree," said the
mother.
"Yes, I know, but I do want the star," said the child.
"Very well," said the mother, smiling; "then we will take that, too."
So the star was taken down from the place where it hung and wrapped up
in a piece of paper, and all the while it thrilled with joy, for now it
belonged to the little boy.
It was not until the afternoon before Christmas, when the tree was
being decorated, that the golden star was unwrapped and taken out from
the paper.
"Here is something else," said the sweet-faced lady. "We must hang this
on the tree. Paul took such a fancy to it that I had to get it for him.
He will never be satisfied unless we hang it on too."
"Oh, yes," said some one else who was helping to decorate the tree; "we
will hang it here on the very top."
So the little star hung on the highest branch of the Christmas-tree.
That evening all the candles were lighted on the Christmas-tree, and
there were so many that they fairly dazzled the eyes; and the gold and
silver balls, the fairies and the glass fruits, shone and twinkled in
the light; and high above them all shone the golden star.
Pages:
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161