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Show X-ext morning he was awakened by shrieks and squeals of the children. They were ont doors. Pick ran to IWifl-VV'vVVl the window to see h7fmm what was the mat- WXKWkl tor. There a sight K'WU met his eves that ') V-X wCr ;r'd never ftSItif The children and 'f.V&i'Vvb; 'A Mary were danc- S -t Ing around the A" ' ' loveliest tree he (tjM KV I had ever seen in i iTifl his life. It was not J Jv5J f,Vi spruce, pine, fir or Steif hemlock. It was, or had been until gs;, II j this transforma- ig".- "' ' fjj j tion, a scraggy old (MpltJ I $ I apple tree. Now it liMIJPlI;'! looked like something some-thing out of fairyland. Mary had cut up yards and yards of paper ad crinkled it and thrown It over the bare branches. It looked like snow. Presents hung from every limb. There were even a few candles. The children chil-dren shrieked with joy at it. "No man," said Dick solemnly to himself, "ought to dare to fail ... with a wife like Mary." Then he dressed and ran down to shout happily with the children. ((cl. 192:1, Western Newspaper Union.) .tr7TT"ARY had a way of accom-v' accom-v' 11 Pushing the impossible. I 11 She could think of more )J diu"crent things to do IT . J about a situation thanany-.CV.V thanany-.CV.V onG else in the world. At E?X&$ least Diok thought so. But OCV now came a time when even she had to give up. There would be no Christmas tree for little Betty and Joe. There couldn't be. In the first place they lived In a rather barren town far from Christmas Christ-mas trees. They neither grew nor were sold within a hundred miles. ' This was the family's first winter In the place, as Dick had been sent out by his New York firm on an engineering engi-neering job. Dick had been so busy he scarcely had a moment at home. His job had reached a critical point. Putting It through meant everything moving away from the town, more money, better chances for bigger work. Then the day before Christmas he had thought about the tree. Mary said quietly she had been trying to get one everywhere, but had failed. "Leave it to me, Dick," she smiled. "Somehow "Some-how we'll have a tree for the children, chil-dren, if it's no more than a feather duster trimmed with popcorn !" He came in very late Christmas eve. The house was dark and quiet. Mary was asleep so he asked questions about the tree. |