Little One, the Christmas Tree

By Alexandra Marshall

This is a story about a man who becomes a widower and must raise his two children alone. Luke and the children have become reclusive. After their mother's death, Ben and Sarah have no desire to celebrate Christmas.

A Christmas tree lot, owned by a kind, elderly man, is visited by the people in the village each Christmas. There are shops and cafes offering cider, cocoa, and coffee adjacent to the tree lot. The Christmas Tree Man notices that Luke and his children have not come to buy a tree. He sends a gift to the family. One year passes, and the second year, as Christmastime arrives, he notes that they did not buy a tree and decides to visit the family.

A third Christmas approaches, the children seem happier and tell Luke that they want a Christmas tree this year. Soon thereafter, they go to the Christmas tree lot and pick out a tree. It is a very unusual tree. As they go inside the shop to pay for it, a beautiful lady offers them some hot cocoa. It is Mary, the Christmas Tree Man's daughter. Luke and Mary are instantly attracted to each other, and soon begin a relationship. The children remark that Mary looks like a woman in their dreams.

The very special tree that the children have picked out is planted outside, near the small village church.

For the first time in three years, Ben and Sarah want to decorate the home for Christmas and send Christmas cards. Luke is very happy.

Christmas Eve arrives and after church, Luke and the children are invited to dinner with the Christmas Tree Man and Mary. That evening, Luke and Mary become engaged. Everyone is elated.

In the spring, a wedding is held in the small village church. The sun shines through the stained glass windows of the church and fills the ground by the little Christmas tree with hues of color, creating a wondrous scene of beauty.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098028107

Alexandra Marshall

Alexandra Marshall is the author of Tender Offer, The Brass Bed, and Still Waters. She lives in Boston with her husband, the writer James Carroll, and their two children.

Book preview

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Little One, the Christmas Tree

Alexandra Marshall

Copyright © 2021 by Alexandra Marshall

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Copyright No. TXu 2-070-034, 2018 by the Library of Congress

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

To my children, Cristina and Sam, and all the children of the world

To my children, Cristina and Sam, and all the children of the world

Once upon a time, in the land of the north, there lived an old man who had come to this part of the world because he loved trees. He had started out buying a small plot of land, and through the years, he had acquired more plots of land from previous owners who had moved to the city. Now, he owned a great mass of land filled with all kinds of trees. He had a special fondness for evergreen trees, and people from the city loved to go to his Christmas tree farm to walk through the land and pick out their Christmas trees.

No one knew much about this man, except that he was a Native American who had come to live here many years ago. He was simply known as the Christmas Tree Man. As he cultivated his land and had begun to sell Christmas trees, he had met a young woman named Margaret, who also loved evergreens. They had married, and together had created a Christmas tree village, so that, as families arrived to buy their Christmas trees, they could stop by different shops to buy handmade ornaments for their Christmas trees and also enjoy fresh baked goods and hot cider. Their daughter, Mary, was a loving child, who loved trees as much as her parents. She was homeschooled, and after her daily studies, she would run out and dance and play among