a
minute; then they shouted till the room rang: they danced gleefully
round the Tree, and one present after another was plucked from it.

"What are they about?" thought the Tree. "What's going to be done?"

And the candles burned down to the twigs, and as they burned down
they were extinguished, and then the children received permission to
plunder the Tree. Oh! they rushed in upon it, so that every branch
cracked again: if it had not been fastened by the top and by the
golden star to the ceiling, it would have fallen down.

The children danced about with their pretty toys. No one looked at the
Tree except one old man, who came up and peeped among the branches,
but only to see if a fig or an apple had been forgotten.

"A story! A story!" shouted the children; and they drew a little fat
man toward the tree; and he sat down just beneath it--"for then we
shall be in the green wood," said he, "and the tree may have the
advantage of listening to my tale. But I can only tell one. Will
you hear the story of Ivede-Avede, or of Klumpey-Dumpey, who
fell downstairs, and still was raised up to honor and married the
Princess?"

"Ivede-Avede!" cried some, "Klumpey-Dumpey!" cried others, and there
was a great crying and shouting. Only the Fir Tree was quite silent,
and thought, "Shall I not be in it? Shall I have nothing to do in
it?" But he had been in the evening's amusement, and had done what was
required of him.

And the fat man told about Klumpey-Dumpey who fell downstairs, and yet
was raised to honor and married the Princess. And the children clapped
their hands, and cried, "Tell another! tell another!" for they
wanted to hear about Ivede-Avede; but they only got the story of
Klumpey-Dumpey. The Fir Tree stood quite silent and thoughtful; never
had the birds in the wood told such a story as that. Klumpey-Dumpey
fell downstairs and yet came to honor and married the Princess!

"Yes, so it happens in the world!" thought the Fir Tree, and believed
it must be true, because that was such a nice man who told it. "Well,
who can know? Perhaps I shall fall downstairs, too, and marry a
Princess!" And it looked forward with pleasure to being adorned again,
the next evening, with candles and toys, gold and fruit. "To-morrow I
shall not tremble," it thought.

"I will rejoice in all my splendor. To-morrow I shall here the story
of Klumpey-Dumpey again, and perhaps that of Ivede-Avede, too."

And the Tree stood all night quiet and tho