Chapter 10 Summary

This chapter opens with Louis XVI creating another house out of cardboard for the town of Bethlehem. Louis XVI remembers being there, and tells Carlos the story about how the window he is cutting out now is the one through which Herod's son threw his twin sons' corpses after he beheaded them.

At Carlos's home during Christmas time, a silent feud ensues because of the battle between Spanish tradition and American customs. The nativity scene that Louis XVI slaves over fights for attention with the Christmas tree Carlos' mother puts up. There really is no contest, however, for Santa Claus brings better presents than the Three Wise Men, and Carlos loves the Christmas tree.

Carlos does not like the Nativity scene because he thinks that the gifts of the Three Magi are terrible. He thinks that Jesus is a very unlucky baby to...