know; and dolls, and tops, and jacks, and trumpets, and whips, and
everything you can think of,--till it is as full as it can be, and the
branches hang down with the weight; and it looks like a fairy tree; and
then the heavy presents lie at the foot round about and cover the tub."

"I should think the children would be delighted," said Madge.

"I don't believe it's as much fun as Santa Claus and the stocking,"
said Lois.

"No, nor I," said Mrs. Barclay.

"But we have nothing to do with the children's stockings," said Mrs.
Seelye. "They may hang up as many as they like. That's at home. This is
in the church."

"O, in the church! I thought you said it was in the house--in people's
houses," said Charity.

"So it is; but _this_ tree is to be in the church."

"What tree?"

"La! how stupid you are, Charity," exclaimed her aunt. "Didn't Mrs.
Seelye tell you?--the tree the other church are gettin' up."

"Oh--" said Charity. "Well, you can't hinder 'em, as I see."

"Don't want to hinder 'em! What should we hinder 'em for? But we don't
want 'em to get all our chil'en away; that's what we're lookin' at."

"Do you think they'd go?"

"Mr. Seelye's afraid it'll thin off the school dreadful," said Mr.
Seelye's helpmate.

"They're safe to go," added Mrs. Marx. "Ask children to step in and see
fairyland, and why shouldn't they go? I'd go if I was they. All the
rest of the year it ain't fairyland in Shampuashuh. I'd go fast enough."

"Then I don't see what you are goin' to do about it," said Charity,
"but to sit down and count your chickens that are left."

"That's what we came to tell you," said the minister's wife.

"Well, tell," said Charity. "You haven't told yet, only what the other
church is going to do."

"Well, we thought the only way was for us to do somethin' too."

"Only not another tree," said Lois. "Not that, for pity's sake."

"Why not?" asked the little minister's wife, with an air of being
somewhat taken aback. "Why haven't we as good a right to have a tree as
they have?"

"_Right_, if you like," said Lois; "but right isn't all."

"Go on, and let's hear your wisdom, Lois," said her aunt. "I s'pose
you'll say first, we can't do it."

"We can do it, perhaps," said Lois; "but, aunt Anne, it would make bad
feeling."

"That's not our look-out," rejoined Mrs. Marx. "We haven't any bad
feeling."

"No, not in the least," added Mrs. Seelye. "_We_ only want to give our
children as good a time as the o