-for her mother was kind-hearted at the bottom and looked well
after their material comforts. Hansi's pretty fair curls peeped out from
under the red hood, her blue eyes with their dark lashes were more
starry than usual from excitement.

The fir woods looked purple-black against the white fields, and as she
came near, she saw the fir-trees covered with silver hoar frost "almost
like the tree in my dream," she thought. Her heart beat faster for a
moment as she entered the shade of the solemn evergreen trees, but she
did not feel naughty to be running away from home. She felt rather as
if she were fulfilling a mission that had been laid upon her.

Meanwhile her mother was worrying and wondering what could have happened
that her little girl did not return at the usual time. Then she
remembered that Hansi often went home with her friend Barbara Arndt, and
then they did their lessons together before dinner. That doubtless
accounted for her non-appearance.

Hansi wandered on and on, and the woods seemed deserted. She picked up
fir cones and beech nuts and acorns and filled her pinafore with them,
also frosted fern leaves and dry grasses exquisitely outlined with hoar
frost went into her apron.

At last she stopped before a little fir-tree. This was just the
beautiful little tree she wanted. It spread out its branches
symmetrically on all sides, and was slender and straight at the top.
"That will just do for me! If only I could get it home," she thought.
She tugged at it with her little hands, dropping some of her treasures,
but of course it would not move. Just then she heard something stir, and
looking round she saw a squirrel peeping at her from behind a big
oak-tree near by. This was a wonder in itself if she had known; for
squirrels are usually fast asleep in the cold weather, and only wake
once or twice to eat some of their store of nuts.

"O, Mr Squirrel, can't you help me," Hansi said. Off he went, round and
round the trunk, and then suddenly, with a great spring and his tail
spread out for a sail, he alighted on Hansi's tree. He stared at her in
a friendly way, and then stretched out one of his dear little paws and
offered her a nut, politely cracking it for her first with his sharp
teeth which had grown very long whilst he was asleep. She ate it at
once, but looked anxious. "O, Mr Squirrel, do cut down this tree for me,
and help me to carry it home," she said, "or else we shall have no
Christmas tree, and that