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The First Christmas Tree · The Children's Book of Christmas Stories

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  Speaker 1: Story number twenty five of the Children's Book of Christmas Stories.
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  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Alisa mc caslin June
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  Speaker 1: two thousand twelve. The Children's Book of Christmas Stories by
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  Speaker 1: various artists. The First Christmas Tree by Lucy Weelock. Two
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  Speaker 1: little children were sitting by the fire one cold winter's night.
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  Speaker 1: All at once they heard a timid knock at the door,
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  Speaker 1: and one ran to open it. There outside, in the
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  Speaker 1: cold and darkness stood a child with no shoes upon
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  Speaker 1: his feet and clad in thin, ragged garments. He was
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  Speaker 1: shivering with cold, and he asked to come in and
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  Speaker 1: warm himself. Yes, come in, cried both the children. You
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  Speaker 1: shall have our place by the fire. Come in. They
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  Speaker 1: drew the little stranger to their warm seat and shared
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  Speaker 1: their supper with him, and gave him their bed. While
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  Speaker 1: they slept on a hard bench in the night, they
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  Speaker 1: were awakened by strains of sweet music, and looking out
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  Speaker 1: they saw a band of children in shining garments approaching
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  Speaker 1: the house. They were playing on golden harps and the
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  Speaker 1: air was full of melody. Suddenly the strange child stood
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  Speaker 1: before them, no longer cold and ragged, but clad in
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  Speaker 1: silvery light. His soft voice said, I was cold and
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  Speaker 1: you took me in. I was hungry and you fed me.
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  Speaker 1: I was tired, and you gave me your bed. I
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  Speaker 1: am the christ Child, wandering through the world to bring
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  Speaker 1: peace and happiness to all good children, as you have
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  Speaker 1: given to me. So may this tree every year give
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  Speaker 1: rich fruit to you. So saying, he broke a branch
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  Speaker 1: from the fir tree that grew near the door, and
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  Speaker 1: he planted it in the ground, and disappeared. And the
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  Speaker 1: branch grew into a great tree, and every year it
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  Speaker 1: bore wonderful fruit for the kind children. And of the
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  Speaker 1: first Christmas Tree by Lucy Weelock