house beside Granny and the warm fire.

The two went quietly to bed, and that night as little Gretchen knelt
to pray to the Heavenly Father, she thanked him for having sent the
Christ-Child into the world to teach all mankind to be loving and
unselfish, and in a few minutes she was sleeping, dreaming of the
Christmas angels.

The next morning, very early, even before the sun was up, little
Gretchen was awakened by the sound of sweet music coming from the
village. She listened for a moment and then she knew that the choir
boys were singing the Christmas carols in the open air of the village
street. She sprang up out of bed and began to dress herself as quickly
as possible, singing as she dressed. While Granny was slowly putting
on her clothes, little Gretchen having finished dressing herself,
unfastened the door and hurried out to see what the Christmas angels
had left in the old wooden shoe.

The white snow covered everything--trees, stumps, roads, and
pastures--until the whole world looked like fairy land. Gretchen
climbed up on a large stone which was beneath the window and carefully
lifted down the wooden shoe. The snow tumbled off of it in a shower
over the little girl's hands, but she did not heed that; she ran
hurriedly back into the house, putting her hand into the toe of the
shoe as she ran.

"Oh, Granny, Granny!" she exclaimed; "you did not believe the
Christmas angels would think about us, but see, they have, they have!
Here is a dear little bird nestled down in the toe of your shoe! Oh,
isn't he beautiful?"