Show DANG 1 R and ond Of s b M 11 1 dente it ec A-ec 4 t 1 r. f w j E t I HERE HERB was once In a far faraway faraway faraway away country where few tew people have ever traveled trav tray a wonderful church It stood on a high hill hlll In Inthe the midst of a a great city and every Sunday and on sacred days like Christmas Christ mas thousands of ot people climbed the hill hlll to the church When you came came- cameto to the building Itself itself It it- self you found stone columns and dark passageways and a grand entrance leading to the main room ot of the church This room was so long that one standing at the doorway could scarcely see the other end where the choir and the minister sat near near the marble altar At the farthest corner corner cor cor- ner was the organ which was so loud that when It began to play the people far off ott could hear it The strangest thing about the whole building was the wonderful chime of bells There stood at one corner of the church a gray stone atone tower with ivy growing over It as far as one could see It was so high that it was only In in very fair weather that anyone cl claimed to see the top Up lip and nd up climbed the stones and since the men who built the church had been dead for many hundreds of ot years everyone had forgotten how high the tower was supposed to beNow beNow be Now all the wise people knew that at the top of the tower was a chime of Christmas bells They had hung there ever since the ch church was finished and were the most beautiful bells In the world Some thought it was because a great musician had cast them and arranged them in th their lr place and others oth oth- others ers said it was because of the great height of the tower reaching up to where the air was clear and pure however this may map be beno no one who had heard the chimes denied that they were the sweetest In the world Some t r rv n ir v tn 41 1 T f I Laid His Crown on the Altar described them like angels sounding far up in the sky But the fact was that no one had heard them ring for years and years There was an old man living not far from tho church who said that his mother had bad spoken of hearing them when she sho was little a girl and he was the only one who ho could say as much muchas as that They were Christmas chimes you remember and were not meant to tobe tobe I Ib b be played by men or on common oc oc- oc I cas Ions I IOn On Christmas eve all ot of the people In the city brought their offerings to the church to offer otter to the Christ child and when the greatest and best offering offering offer offer- ing was laid on the altar there would c come me sounding through the music of the choir the voices of the Christmas chimes far up In the tower Some said the wind rang them and others other that they were so high angels would I Iet jet iet them swinging But Dut for many long years rears as was said before they had never been heard The minister said that people had been growing less careful of their gifts for the Christ child or gave them rather to make a display for their own honor than for love of him so that no offering was brought good enough to deserve tho the music of tho the chimes Still every Christmas eve the rich people of the city crowded to tho the altar each one trying to give some better gift than anyone else and the church was filled with those who thought that perhaps tho the wonderful wonder 1 bells would ring again But aIth although ugh the music was wah sweet and the offerings were plenty only the roar of the wind could be heard far tar up in the old Now a number numbu of miles mUes from the toe I 4 city In a little village where nothing could be seen of ot the great church save glimpses of the tower when the weather was fine lived a boy named Pedro and his little brother They knew very little about the Christmas chimes they had heard beard of ot the service in the church on Christmas eve and had a secret plan that they had bad often talked over when by themselves for forgoing forgoing forgoing going to the beautiful celebration Nobody can guess Little Brother Pedro would say all the fine things there are to see and hear in the church and I have even heard it said that the Christ child himself sometimes sometimes some some- times comes down to bless the meet meet- ing What If we could see him The day before Christmas it was bitterly cold and a few lonesome snow snowflakes snowflakes flakes were flying in the air and there was a hard white crust on the ground Sure enough Pedro and Little Brother were able to slip quietly away early in the afternoon on their heir way to the celebration and although the walking was hard in the frosty air before nightfall they had trudged so far hand in hand that they saw the lights of the big city just ahead of ot them Indeed they were ab about ut to enter enter en en- ter one of the great gates In the war waY that surrounded it when they sat sav something dark on the snow near the path and stepped aside to look 1001 at it It was a poor woman who had fallen just outside ol of the city too sick and tired and cold to get In where she sh might have found shelter The snow made a soft sott pillow for her and she would soon be so sound asleep in the winter air that no one could ever awaken her again All this Pedro saw in a moment and he knelt down beside beside beside be be- side her and tried to rouse her He turned her face toward him so that he could rub some snow on it buthe soon sighed and said Its ns no use Little Brother you will have to go on alone Alone cried Little Brother and an you will not see the Christmas festival festi festival val No said Pedro and he could not help a little choking sound of disappointment disappointment in his throat See this woman she will freeze to death if nobody cares for her You can bring someone to help her when you come back and I can can keep her alive You can easily find your way to the church and you must see and heat hear everything twice little brother once for you and once for me I am sure the Christ child must know how I would love to come and worship him and oh if you get a chance little brother slip up to the altar without getting in anyone's way and take this little silver slIver piece of mine and lay it down for my offering when no one is looking Dont Don't forget the place where you left me and hurry now so you you ou wont won't be late He winked hard to keep back the tears as he heard the crunching footsteps footsteps footsteps foot foot- steps of ot little brother sounding farther and farther away In the darkness It was also hard to lose the music and the splendor of the celebration that he had planned so so long to lose the chance dance of offering his silver piece that he had saved for the offering to the Christ child and to spend the time instead in the lonesome snow outside the dreary walls But it nev ney never never er or occurred to him to leave the poor woman in the freezing cold The great church was truly a wonderful wonderful won won- place that night Every Everyone one said that it had never looked so bright and beautiful before When the and organ organ or or- gan played and the thousands of people people peo pee pie sang the hymns the walls shook with the sound and little Pedro outside outside out out- side aide the walls of bf the city felt the earth tremble all around him At last came the procession to bear bear- the offerings to the altar when great and andrich andrich rich men and women marched up to tolay tolay tolay lay down their gifts girts to the Christ child Some brought wonderful Jewels jewels Jew jew- els some baskets of gold so heavy that they could scarcely carry them down the aisle A great writer laid down a book that he had been making making mak make ing for years and last of all walked the king of the country hoping to win for himself the chimes chimos of the Christmas bells There Thero was a great murmur through the church as the people saw the king take from his head tho the royal crown all set with diamonds and other pre pre- precious precious cious stones and laid it gleaming on the altar as his bis offering to the Holy child Su Surely ely said every one we shall hear the bells now for nothing like this has ever been offered before And th they y all stood still sUll to listen but only the cold cold wind was heard Inthe in inthe inthe the stone tower and the people shook their heads some of them saying as they had done before that they really never believed the story of the chimes anyway The procession was over and the gifts were all on the altar the choir had begun the closing hymn Suddenly the organist stopped playing play ing and every on ono one looked at the minister minister min min- ister who was standing In his place I holding up his hand for silence Not Nota a sound could b bo heard from anyone in the church While all the peo people le strained their ears to listen there came softly but distinctly swinging through the air tho the sound of the bells in the he tower So far away and yet so clear seemed the music so much sweeter were the notes note than bad had been heard before that the people in to n tho the church sat for a moment as still sun as though something held each of them by the shoulders Then they all stood up together and star stared d straight at tho the altar to see what great gift gUt had awakened awakened awak awak- ened the long silent bells But all that the nearest of them saw was the childish h figure of Little Brother who had crept softly down the aisle when no one was looking and had laid Pedros Pedro's little pence pO of all sU Tr TN on the altar |