This is a story my mother told me, sitting by my bedside, on some Christmas Eve when i was a child. A nave story, with the charm and popular imagery of ancient tales.

I will share it with you: let us all recall those happy Christmas days when we were kidsHere it is:

Once upon a time, in the French province of Alsace, there was a little orphan boy. He lived with his mother in a shack, they were so poor! And she was so sick and weak, he had to earn every cent of their living.

He worked as hard as he could, picking up flowers in the meadows and selling them in springtime, helping the landlords with crop- and vine-harvest during Summer and Fall, but when winter came, there was no more work in the farms, and no more fruits to pick in the orchards and bushes.

They starved.

That year, as Christmas drew near, his only dream was to offer a cake for his Mother to eat on the Holy Night, but they were broke. On Christmas Eve, he suddenly had an idea: he would walk to the woods, and grab one or two evergreens, to sell them as Christmas trees, and with the money, buy a cake.

So he walked out in the cold, under the snowstorm: his shoes, full of holes, filled up with snow, and his feet were freezing. He had no gloves, and could not feel his fingertips. Once in the woods, he realized he had no axe nor strength to cut the trees or branches. All he could do was to unroot two ridiculously small and miserable fir tree saplings.

Dragging them behind him in the snow, into the village, he knocked at the first door: Bonjour! Would you buy a Christmas Tree from me, Sir ?. Without a word, the man slammed the door closed.

The boy went to the next house: Bonjour, Monsieur, would you buy a Christmas Tree from me ?

The peasant stared at the tiny saplings and laughed at him.

The following house belonged to a widow, who patted him gently on the head, saying: I alreadyhave one, my dear, come back next year.

And this went on and on, all through the village, and the little boy had a big lump in his throat. Finally, he reached the last house, the big mansion of the main landlord in the country: he owned farms, fields, forests and vineyards. After knocking once again, when he saw, framed in the door, the shadow of this big man in velvet jacket and smoking a pipe, the little boy could not utter one word.

Bonjour, mon garon ! What brings you here? But dont stay out in the cold, come in!

The orphan entered the main room. He had never seen such a beautiful and large place in his life: thick carpets, a huge fireplace where the fire was joyously crackling, richly decorated walls, high, oh- so- high ceilings.and in the middle of the room stood the Master of all Christmas Trees, a tall fir tree, all girdled and lit with candles, the most wondrous thing!

Sensing his last chance to sell his miserable saplings was gone, the boy burst into tears, he could not hold them any longer.

Now, Hush, my boywipe away your tears, and tell me whats the matter said the man in the velvet jacket, and the little boy told his story.

The landlord, puffing his pipe, smiled and said: Could you show me your trees?...oh! they look quite interesting! Really! Of course, they are like baby trees, I could not use them as Christmas trees this year, but they seem quite promisingyes, I am interested, I might plant them somewhere , and when they are grown up, I have the feeling that they might be the most beautiful fir trees!

After a while, he added: Would you accept to sell them to me, as a favor?. He searched in his waistcoat pocket, and handed the boy a coin. A gold coin! Un Louis dOr!

The orphan could not believe it. With bulging eyes he stared at the coin, turning it around between his fingers. He could only mumble: Oh good Lord! Thank you, Monsieur, thank you so much, God bless you!.

The landlord, still puffing his pipe, wore a bright smile on his face, as he watched the child running back to the village, to buy food and bring it home. His smile disappeared when he saw the two tiny fir trees the boy had left on the floor. He was about to throw them away, but then he thought again: No, I could not lie to a poor orphan boy on a Holy Day like this: I told him I would plant the trees, so I will . He stepped out with a shovel and a spade, headed to the hamlets chapel, and planted the trees behind hedges , one on each side of the church. He knew all along it was not a good season to plant trees, but he had promised.

Later that night, everybody in the village had a wonderful family dinner, including the poor orphan and his mother. When these two finished their last meal ( a deliciously creamy cake!), the little boy asked his Mom if she felt restored and sound enough to attend the Midnight Mass with him. She nodded and off they went.

It was not snowing anymore, the night was dark and shiny, and even the stars seemed to glow with happiness. From all the roads leading to the hamlet, all the families of the surroundings were gathering slowly and silently towards the church. As this assembly got nearer to it, and before they could see it, they heard in the distance a mysterious and heavenly music. They followed the sounds and when they arrived in front of the chapel, they could not believe their eyes, and some of them even fell on their knees.

On each side of the little church, two huge fir trees no one had ever seen before had grown taller than the steeple, and on top of them angels of light were swaying in the flow of celestial music.