The day was all too short for the happy little girl.  When Granny came trudging wearily home that night, she found the frame of the doorway covered with green pine branches.

“It is to welcome you, Granny!  It is to welcome you!” cried Gretchen; “our dear old home wanted to give you a Christmas welcome.  Don’t you see, the branches of the evergreen make it look as if it were smiling all over, and it is trying to say, ’A happy Christmas to you Granny’.”

Granny laughed and kissed the little girl, as they opened the door and went in together.  Here was a new surprise for Granny.  The four posts of the wooden bed, which stood in one corner of the room, had been trimmed by the busy little fingers, with smaller and more flexible branches of the pine trees.  A small bouquet of red mountain ash berries stood at each side of the fireplace, and these, together with the trimmed posts of the bed, gave the plain old room quite a festive look.  Gretchen laughed and clapped her hands and danced about until the house seemed full of music to poor, tired Granny, whose heart had been sad as she turned toward their home that night, thinking of the disappointment that must come to loving little Gretchen the next morning.

After supper was over little Gretchen drew her stool up to Granny’s side, and laying her soft, little hands on Granny’s knee asked to be told once again the story of the coming of the Christ-Child; how the night that he was born the beautiful angels had sung their wonderful song, and how the whole sky had become bright with a strange and glorious light, never seen by the people of earth before.  Gretchen had heard the story many, many times before, but she never grew tired of it, and now that Christmas Eve had come again, the happy little child wanted to hear it once more.

When Granny had finished telling it the two sat quiet and silent for a little while thinking it over; then Granny rose and said that it was time for her to go to bed.  She slowly took off her heavy wooden shoes, such as are worn in that country, and placed them beside the hearth.  Gretchen looked thoughtfully at them for a minute or two, and then she said, “Granny, don’t you think that somebody in all this wide world will think of us tonight?”

“Nay, Gretchen, I do not think any one will.”

“Well, then, Granny,” said Gretchen, “the Christmas angels will, I know; so I am going to take one of your wooden shoes and put it on the windowsill outside, so that they may see it as they pass by.  I am sure the stars will tell the Christmas angels where the shoe is.”

“Ah, you foolish, foolish child,” said Granny, “you are only getting ready for a disappointment.  Tomorrow morning there will be nothing whatever in the shoe.  I can tell you that now.”

But little Gretchen would not listen.  She only shook her head and cried out:  “Ah, Granny, you do not talk enough to the stars.”  With this she seized the shoe, and opening the door, hurried out to place it on the window sill.  It was very dark without and something soft and cold seemed to gently kiss her hair and face.  Gretchen knew by this that it was snowing, and she looked up to the sky, anxious to see if the stars were in sight, but a strong wind was tumbling the dark, heavy snow-clouds about and had shut away all else.