Christmas Stories And Legends | Page 9

hidden from sight as if it had never existed.
"It is winter now," thought the tree; "the ground is hard and covered
with snow, so that people cannot plant me. I shall be sheltered here, I
dare say, until spring comes. How thoughtful and kind everybody is to
me! Still, I wish this place were not so dark and so dreadfully lonely,
with not even a little hare to look at. How pleasant it was out in the
forest while the snow lay on the ground, when the hare would run by,
yes, and jump over me too, although I did not like it then. Oh! it is
terribly lonely here."
"Squeak, squeak," said a little mouse, creeping cautiously towards the
tree; then came another, and they both sniffed at the fir tree, and crept
in and out between the branches.
"Oh, it is very cold here," said the little mouse. "If it were not, we
would be very comfortable here, wouldn't we, old fir tree?"
"I am not old," said the fir tree. "There are many who are older than I
am."
"Where do you come from?" asked the mice, who were full of curiosity;
"and what do you know? Have you seen the most beautiful places in
the world, and can you tell us all about them? And have you been in the
storeroom, where cheeses lie on the shelf and hams hang from the
ceiling? One can run about on tallow candles there; one can go in thin
and come out fat."
"I know nothing of that," said the fir tree; "but I know the wood where

the sun shines and the birds sing." And then the tree told the little mice
all about its youth. They had never heard such an account in their lives;
and after they had listened to it attentively, they said, "What a number
of things you have seen! You must have been very happy."
"Happy!" exclaimed the fir tree; and then, as he reflected on what he
had been telling them, he said, "Ah, yes! after all, those were happy
days." But when he went on and related all about Christmas eve, and
how he had been dressed up with cakes and lights, the mice said, "How
happy you must have been, you old fir tree."
"I am not old at all," replied the tree; "I only came from the forest this
winter. I am now checked in my growth."
"What splendid stories you can tell," said the little mice. And the next
night four other mice came with them to hear what the tree had to tell.
The more he talked, the more he remembered, and then he thought to
himself, "Yes, those were happy days; but they may come again.
Humpty-Dumpty fell downstairs, and yet he married a princess.
Perhaps I may marry a princess too." And the fir tree thought of the
pretty little birch tree that grew in the forest; a real princess, a beautiful
princess, she was to him.
"Who is Humpty-Dumpty?" asked the little mice. And then the tree
related the whole story; he could remember every single word. And the
little mice were so delighted with it, that they were ready to jump to the
top of the tree. The next night a great many more mice made their
appearance, and on Sunday two rats came with them; but they said it
was not a pretty story at all, and the little mice were very sorry, for it
made them also think less of it.
"Do you know only that one story?" asked the rats.
"Only that one," replied the fir tree. "I heard it on the happiest evening
of my life; but I did not know I was so happy at the time."
"We think it is a very miserable story," said the rats. "Don't you know
any story about bacon or tallow in the storeroom?"

"No," replied the tree.
"Many thanks to you, then," replied the rats, and they went their ways.
The little mice also kept away after this, and the tree sighed and said,
"It was very pleasant when the merry little mice sat around me and
listened while I talked. Now that is all past too. However, I shall
consider myself happy when someone comes to take me out of this
place."
But would this ever happen? Yes; one morning people came to clear up
the garret; the boxes were packed away, and the tree was pulled out of
the corner and thrown roughly on the floor; then the servants dragged it
out upon the staircase where the daylight shone.
"Now life is beginning again," said the tree, rejoicing in the sunshine
and fresh air. Then it was carried downstairs and taken into the
courtyard so quickly that it forgot to