if they were all made out of one of the glowing coals of
the wood-fire. Such cunning Shoes as they were--Little Girl could hardly
wait to pull off her slippers and try them on. They looked as if they
were too small, but they weren't--they fitted exactly right, and just as
Little Girl had put them both on and had taken the Light in her hand,
along came a little Breath of Wind, and away she went up the chimney,
along with ever so many other little Sparks, past the Soot Fairies, and
out into the Open Air, where Jack Frost and the Star Beams were all busy
at work making the world look pretty for Christmas.

Away went Little Girl--Two Shoes, Bright Light, and all--higher and
higher, until she looked like a wee bit of a star up in the sky. It was
the funniest thing, but she seemed to know the way perfectly, and didn't
have to stop to make inquiries anywhere. You see it was a straight road
all the way, and when one doesn't have to think about turning to the
right or the left, it makes things very much easier. Pretty soon Little
Girl noticed that there was a bright light all around her--oh, a very
bright light--and right away something down in her heart began to make
her feel very happy indeed. She didn't know that the Christmas spirits
and little Christmas fairies were all around her and even right inside
her, because she couldn't see a single one of them, even though her eyes
were very bright and could usually see a great deal.

But that was just it, and Little Girl felt as if she wanted to laugh and
sing and be glad. It made her remember the Sick Boy who lived next door,
and she said to herself that she would carry him one of her prettiest
picture-books in the morning, so that he could have something to make
him happy all day. By and by, when the bright light all around her had
grown very, very much brighter, Little Girl saw a path right in front of
her, all straight and trim, leading up a hill to a big, big house with
ever and ever so many windows in it. When she had gone just a bit
nearer, she saw candles in every window, red and green and yellow ones,
and every one burning brightly, so Little Girl knew right away that
these were Christmas candles to light her on her journey, and make the
way clear for her, and something told her that this was Santa's house,
and that pretty soon she would perhaps see Santa himself.

Just as she neared the steps and before she could possibly have had time
to ring the bell, the door opened-