At the train station, there was a special tree that had names
of children of all ages. Each card was in the shape of a heart. It had requests for boys and girls. One day a little girl passed by the tree. She was getting ready to catch a train with her family. She asked her momma,
“What is this?”
Her momma smiled and said that they call it an angel tree. “Who are the cards for,” the little girl asked.
Patiently, her momma answered,
“They are for little boys and girls who have a special holiday
wish for Christmas. The children’s wishes are printed on the cards for people to choose.”
The little girl asked,
“Don’t their parents buy them gifts?”
Smiling sweetly, the momma answered,
“Nellie, some of these children don’t have a mom or dad. This could be the only Christmas gift they receive.”
Thoughtfully, Nellie asked,
“Can I pick out a card?”
“Yes, Nellie,” her momma answered approvingly.
Nellie picked a card off the tree. It was for a 5-year-old named
Emily Aubrey. Her wish was for a special doll. She also wanted some hair ribbons and a journal.
Nellie said, “Since the train isn’t coming yet, can we get Emily’s gift?” Checking her watch, Nellie’s momma nodded, and they went to the toy store near the train station. They found the doll Emily had wanted.
“One down, two to go,” exclaimed Nellie.
Next they went to the dollar store and found hair ribbons of many colors. Then momma showed Nellie a journal.
Examining it thoroughly, Nellie shook her head and said, “No,
that’s not it. It has to be special.”
They went to a stationary store with cards, gifts, and letters.
Nellie looked around, and then she found it. It was a little pink journal with floral designs. It had a special latch in the front.
Nellie said, “That’s it!”
The storekeeper helped them wrap up their purchases.
“We still have one more thing to buy,” said Nellie.
“Here is a little heart that says I love you. I will say this is from
Nellie.”
Her momma agreed. They bought the card and added it to the
gift. They had just enough time to drop off Nellie’s gift before the train came.
They sent off the gift to Angel Tree. On Christmas Day, there was a Christmas train rolling.
It had gifts for all the children on the angel tree. All the children wondered if they would be remembered.
The train engineer said that he had a special package.
With a deep, resonating voice, he inquired, “Is there an Emily Aubrey there?”
Emily raised her hand excitedly and yelled,
“Yes, yes, I’m Emily!” The train engineer smiled and announced,
“Here is your gift.”
Emily thanked the engineer as he handed her the package. She untied the bow and opened the wrapping paper.
What could it be? She first saw the doll and hugged it tightly. It was the most beautiful doll she had ever seen.
Then she saw the many colors of the ribbons. She tried a couple in her hair. She looked in amazement at her new journal. It was just what she wanted.
“This will be my favorite,” she vowed.
Then she saw the heart card from Nellie.
She wondered how she could let Nellie know how much she loved these gifts.
She decided to make a special card just for Nellie.
Inside the card she wrote, “Thank you so much for the way you showed love when times were getting hard.
I looked for an angel, and then I found you. An angel without wings in all you say and do.”
After the train trip, Nellie went back to the tree. She saw her card, and she was very excited. She read the card, and it brought tears of joy to her face. “Momma, Nellie cried, “This is the best Christmas gift ever!”
“Why, dear?” her momma asked.
Joyfully Nellie answered, “I could help another little girl like me to feel the Spirit of Christmas.”
