Star

This is a Christmas tale of a small Christmas tree in an open field in a rural town. It was December 23,1998 in a town that was located 50 miles off the shore of a small lake in Connecticut. The town was called Bantamshire and had a population of only about 1,200 people. It was a temperate day and was not too cold. The days to come however foreshadowed a white Christmas.

A small tree stood in a field with his brothers and sisters. His brother, Tom, was a large tree, nearly nine feet tall. He had full branches that contained thousands of healthy green �fingers� which stretched outward emitting a fresh pine scent and was sold to a family which he thought he heard their name was Mottau. He could picture his older brother in a large white house with a red door. It would have to have to have high nine-foot ceilings to contain Tom�s great height and fullness. He saw him decorated with colorful lights that gave off a vivid array of Christmas cheer that lit up the room and ornaments that contained memories of the Christmas�s before. Presents and gifts of the sort would be packed underneath him. Around the house would be an extensive backyard covered with a blanket of white snow, undisturbed and reflecting the early mornings light. In the windows there candles that created a specter of light that people passing by on the street would acknowledge. He saw a family huddled around Tom nestled by a gaily-lit fire. The flames grew and cast shadows on the walls and..... he shook his head and the vision faded. He glared into the night at the shadows that were defined by the trees surrounding him. As the sun rose the next morning he found himself alone. Alone. Except for one tree. This tree was not one of his relatives and he was surprised that she hadn�t been sold yet. It was getting close to Christmas and all the �best� trees had been sold. The little tree wondered what would happen to him if he hadn�t been sold by Christmas. His question was instantly answered by two men wearing green and black checkered jackets, jeans and brown boots covered with fallen tree needles.

The first one, Butch, spoke to the second, �Hey Carl, what the heck are we gonna� do with the rest of these trees if they�re not sold?�

Carl replied by saying, �Same thing we do every year, cut em� down and make em� into sawdust, hey it�s like they always say out with the old in with the new.

Butch laughed at Carl�s cruel remark and added a comment, � This little one here ain�t gonna� sell for nothin� why don�t we get a head start and cut her down so we can close this place up early and take the next couple of days off from this miserable job.�

�Hey good idea I�ll go rev� up the chainsaw,� answered Carl.
Then as if by magic a tall man bustled into the field. He was about six and a half feet tall, he wore an executive suit and a tie, he carried a briefcase in his right hand.

� D- do you have any more trees left?� the man asked in a panicked voice.

�Yeah, we�ve just got two trees left, that one over there and the other is right here, most likely you�ll want that one,� Butch said pointing the average sized female tree.

� Thank God, I�m so lucky my wife would have killed me if I didn�t get a tree. I�ve looked at three other places in town and they were all sold out, that�s what I get for waiting so late to buy a tree. It�s a good thing I came here, how much will it be?� the man said in the same panicked tone only a bit calmer than before. I guess the fact that he had found a tree relieved him slightly.

Sensing that the man was desperate Butch decided to charge him a great bundle, �That one right there is, let me think, thirty-two dollars.� Thirty-two dollars! That was a lot of money for a tree, even great Tom, the best tree in the lot went for less than that.

�Thirty-two dollars, well, I guess I have no choice,� the man said, � Here�s the money.� He handed Butch the money, cut the tree, loaded it on top of his car and drove home to his family. Family. The little tree was now all alone in the field with no family and would soon be butchered by two savage men.
The day past and night came, the little tree stood alone in the darkness. Tears filled his eyes, as they fell they beaded on the end of his branches then dropped one by one. He had lost all hope, �who would buy a three foot tree this close to Christmas,� he thought, everyone who was going to get a tree had and no one wanted him. He looked up to the dark sky. It was surprisingly clear that night and all stars were easily visible. One star in particular caught his attention, it was much smaller than all the other stars, but it was by far the brightest. The little tree gazed upon the small, bright star and wished that someone, any one would come, buy him, and save him from the two greedy men. The star flickered several times then went out. The sky did not seem as bright as before. The little tree squeezed out his final tear then fell asleep under the dark sky. Soon after the little tree closed his eyes and fell asleep the star lit up again brighter than before.

On the other side of Bantamshire, was a family of five a mother with three children, two boys and a girl. They lived in a small three-room house; there was a main room and two bedrooms, one for the adults and one for the children. Their neighborhood consisted of a few other small homes. They had a dirt driveway and a small backyard where the children could play. Their father was a hard worker however he didn�t get very good pay. He worked for a decorating company that specializes in Christmas. He is the guy who climbs on roofs and hangs up lights, wreaths, and other decorations. The company does other holidays, but Christmas is so busy they needed to hire extra employees. Their father works around Christmas to earn money for the children�s gifts. If he didn�t work then he wouldn�t be able to afford them. Because of their situation they couldn�t get a tree. The father would work all day and their mother had to watch the children, so even if they had the money they didn�t the time to go and buy a tree.

It was Christmas Eve, snow was falling and the children�s father was out unusually late. Their mother was getting a little worried because something could have happened to him under the current snowy conditions. She told the children it was time for bed and shuffled them into their beds. She kissed each one on the forehead giving them a blessing. As soon as their mother turned off the light the three children rushed to the window. They all gazed into the dark sky; they to noticed the small, bright star. Their jaws all dropped in amazement of how it lit up the sky. They prayed that if their father arrived home safely that that would be enough of a gift and no others would be necessary. The star flickered several times, but sustained its brightness. Soon after they heard a car in their driveway, and because of the darkness they could not see it, but they all ran to the front door to greet their visitor. They opened the door to see their father holding a Christmas tree! It was the little tree. The children hugged their father; he smiled and handed the tree to his astonished wife. He stretched over the children and kissed her on the cheek, and whispered that he loved her into her ear.

He walked through the door set the tree into the corner in front of their window. He picked up the youngest child and carried him to his bed and the other two siblings followed. He tucked them into their beds. He kissed each one and as he closed the door he whispered softly, �Merry Christmas, my children.� A tear filled his eye for he had no money to buy them presents because he had spent all the money he had earned on the tree.

The next morning, Christmas, the children awoke and rushed into the main room of their house where the tree was. Their mother first got up and walked to her husband�s side of the bed. She nudged him several times, and told him it was time to go open presents. He opened his eyes and looked at her, at first he did not speak then he told her that there weren�t going to be any presents because he had spent all the money he earned on the tree. She gasped then reassured him it was all right, that the tree was a great gift in itself. No sooner had she finished her sentence the children burst into the room begging to go open their presents. Their parents look at each other; they scurried out of bed and into the main room of the house. Their jaws dropped, there were dozens of presents littered around the tree. They wondered who had brought them. They turned with their children around them and looked out the window up at the sky. The tree adjusted his branches and looked out the window as well. The children smiled, their mother cried, and their father didn�t say anything. The tree even showed a small grin for he as well as the family knew that the Christmas spirit had made their Christmas a merry one.