WILLIE'S TREE

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 147, 19 December 1927, Page 21

WILLIES TREE

A DREAM OF CHRISTMAS

This is the story of a little boy who wanted a Christmas tree. He yearned for it as great men yearn for fame and riches.

He had never even seen a Christmas tree. Pictures and stories conveyed very poorly the magnificence of glittering candles and toys. So he dreamed of this wonderful Christmas tree in the lonely dreariness of his environment. He lived in a dingy house in a dingy street, where fitful sea breezes died aud roses nov^r grew. His father and mother were dead. • His grandmother took care of him, and his grandmother

We'll keep our Christmas merry \ still; • Each age has deemed the new | born year t The fittest time for festal cheer. S

was old and cross and rather weary. From her pension she had to scrape a meagre existence for herself and Willie. She didn't care about Christmas. She saw no glory in hanging up stockings. She declared the chimney was too narrow for Santa Claus.

Willie looked troubled. If only he could widen the chimney. Then his old grandmother banded him a penny and told him to go out and buy an evening paper.

For a moment temptation assailed him. If lie could only have bougbt.a penny ice cvenm or a chocolate bar, or a balloon or a bag of peanuts. He never had a penny of his own. But liis gran/hr.ot.lier wanted her paper. So ho darted towards the news agent's shop at the corner.

lie had scarcely dashed off the pavement when a motor-car came bearing down on him. It all hapepned so quickly. A littlo crowd, a policeman, a, hast-ily-dispatched ambulance. Then the

whirl of life went on again. Christmas shoppers thronged the streets. Flower sellers shook flamboyant Christmas bells and pink Christmas bush at passers-by. llappy-cyca children nibbled ice creams or swung gaily-coloured balloons. And in a big building, above the surge of traffic, Willie lay deaf to all sounds

But after a while the dark cloud lifted, and he saw rows of white beds which seemed to terrify him. Then he noticed that he, too, was lying on a bed, and it pained him to move. So he lay motionless for a while, with eyes closed, and ho wondered whether his old grandmother was still waiting for the paper. "Ah, what had become of the penny? „ Then he opened his eyes again, and" he noticed there were oth.er Httlc boys in the room, and some were sitting up. His glance travelled on.

Suddenly he drew his breath. lie forgot his pain, and ha.f-raised himself up. For, lo! in all its glory sparkled a great Christmas tree, the Christmas tree of his dreams with coloured candles glittering amongst the dark green boughs, with gifts of all kinds, and strings of coloured glass balls hanging in fairy ropes from bough to bough. Oh, glorious! Glorious 1

The weak tears rose to Willies eyes. "Do you like it?" asked a kind-faced nurse bending towards him. "It not a dream, is it?" quavered Willie.

"Not a hit of it. And here's Santa Claus to ask you what you would like from ths tree."

And sure enough there was Sama Claus in the traditional red i-obe, bestowing smiles on the poor little occupants of the ward, am! receiving wan smiles in return. Willie lay there perfectly happy, for at last hohad seen a real Christmas troe, and what was more ho was going to receive a present fvom it, and the glory of it would linger with him when ho returned to his old grandmother in. the dingy street.