too, had sought the Christ Child. She, too, desired to bring him
gifts. But she had nothing to offer, for she was very poor indeed. In
vain she had searched the countryside over for one little flower to
bring Him, but she could find neither bloom nor leaf, for the winter had
been cold.

And as she stood there weeping, an angel passing saw her sorrow, and
stooping he brushed aside the snow at her feet. And there sprang up on
the spot a cluster of beautiful winter roses,--waxen white with pink
tipped petals.

"Nor myrrh, nor frankincense, nor gold," said the angel, "is offering
more meet for the Christ Child than these pure Christmas Roses."

Joyfully the shepherd maiden gathered the flowers and made her offering
to the Holy Child.

THE WOODEN SHOES OF LITTLE WOLFF

BY FRANCOIS COPPEE (ADAPTED)

Once upon a time,--so long ago that the world has forgotten the
date,--in a city of the North of Europe,--the name of which is so hard
to pronounce that no one remembers it,--there was a little boy, just
seven years old, whose name was Wolff. He was an orphan and lived with
his aunt, a hard-hearted, avaricious old woman, who never kissed him but
once a year, on New Year's Day; and who sighed with regret every time
she gave him a bowlful of soup.

The poor little boy was so sweet-tempered that he loved the old woman in
spite of her bad treatment, but he could not look without trembling at
the wart, decorated with four gray hairs, which grew on the end of her
nose.

As Wolff's aunt was known to have a house of her own and a woolen
stocking full of gold, she did not dare to send her nephew to the school
for the poor. But she wrangled so that the schoolmaster of the rich
boys' school was forced to lower his price and admit little Wolff among
his pupils. The bad schoolmaster was vexed to have a boy so meanly clad
and who paid so little, and he punished little Wolff severely without
cause, ridiculed him, and even incited against him his comrades, who
were the sons of rich citizens. They made the orphan their drudge and
mocked at him so much that the little boy was as miserable as the
stones in the street, and hid himself away in corners to cry--when the
Christmas season came.

On the Eve of the great Day the schoolmaster was to take all his pupils
to the midnight mass, and then to conduct them home again to their
parents' houses.

Now as the winter was very severe, and a quantity of snow had fallen
within the past f