it was Gretchen's favorite star.

"Ah, little star, little star!" said the child, laughing aloud, "I
knew you were there, though I could not see you. Will you whisper to
the Christmas angels as they come by that little Gretchen wants so
very much to have a Christmas gift tomorrow morning, if they have one
to spare, and that she has put one of Granny's shoes upon the
windowsill for it?"

A moment more and the little girl, standing on tiptoe had reached the
windowsill and placed the shoe upon it, and was back again in the
house beside Granny and the warm fire.

The two went quietly to bed, and that night as little Gretchen knelt
to pray to the Heavenly Father, she thanked him for having sent the
Christ-Child into the world to teach all mankind to be loving and
unselfish, and in a few minutes she was sleeping, dreaming of the
Christmas angels.

The next morning, very early, even before the sun was up, little
Gretchen was awakened by the sound of sweet music coming from the
village. She listened for a moment and then she knew that the choir
boys were singing the Christmas carols in the open air of the village
street. She sprang up out of bed and began to dress herself as quickly
as possible, singing as she dressed. While Granny was slowly putting
on her clothes, little Gretchen having finished dressing herself,
unfastened the door and hurried out to see what the Christmas angels
had left in the old wooden shoe.

The white snow covered everything--trees, stumps, roads, and
pastures--until the whole world looked like fairy land. Gretchen
climbed up on a large stone which was beneath the window and carefully
lifted down the wooden shoe. The snow tumbled off of it in a shower
over the little girl's hands, but she did not heed that; she ran
hurriedly back into the house, putting her hand into the toe of the
shoe as she ran.

"Oh, Granny, Granny!" she exclaimed; "you did not believe the
Christmas angels would think about us, but see, they have, they have!
Here is a dear little bird nestled down in the toe of your shoe! Oh,
isn't he beautiful?"

Granny came forward and looked at what the child was holding lovingly
in her hand. There she saw a tiny chick-a-dee, whose wing was
evidently broken by the rough and boisterous winds of the night
before, and who had taken shelter in the safe, dry toe of the old
wooden shoe. She gently took the little bird out of Gretchen's hands,
and skilfully bound his broken wing to his side, s