Loading...
The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-12-19, Page 17i.1lt }1 Crossr�ads ilioliveklyboopaim ,dear >O Banner. tiriagliant Advaace- es sad 'Mwlit rarest + eofe- °tler#tte IS real" yY 28.5041,e4PPle lifirt111110.1 of nfildl r►est,era tlr , (Based eit :1.5 residers' to elrcb et ti:,lt+a +h +s.j Published •eery. wreak in The ListowelBeer, Thor Winghtim Advance -Times and The mount Forest Confederate by Wenger Biros. L. mited. rio rber1.,l UP/4 ,.r.1.:.;oug TI nom son Long ago, before Ontario was cleared of the groat forests that once covered the province, there was a farmer who lived near the edge of the bush. Every spring before the .snow cleared and before he , began ploughing, he* and his children would go to where his land turned into bush and chop down some of the trees: With axes and huge two-man crosscut saws they would fell large trees and small. They trimmed off the limbs and hauled them to a clearing. They brought in the horses to drag away the pieces too big to carry. Then all was piled together and burned in a' most spectacular and wonderful bonfire. One year, in December, the old farmer got an idea. He would ask the people of the village to come to his farm to cut their Christmas trees. He would get help clearing the bush, and everyone in town would have one of his fine fir, pine or spruce trees in their homes at Christmas. Well, the people of the town thought this was a grand idea. Some of them came on foot, some on horseback' and some of them carne through the snow in great horse-drawn cutters. The old farmer- smiled as he saw the parade. Children played tag 'and hide and seek. Horses stamped their feet and snorted at old man winter — great billows of ..--'lroze►j ryeath. foritring -little clouds around' their 'nostrils:. The . men came with axes and saws. Some of the children had hatchets to help. The women came to make sure their families would not bring home some twisted little runt of a tree. \ , The families walked through the bush, looking every tree up and down, selecting fine, tall, straight trees which would look nice when decorated for Christ- mas. They cut them down, trimmed off excess- boughs and took them home in their cutters, on their horses or just dragged them along the ground. As the day went by, one small tree that wasn't quite as straight as it ..could have been and wasn't quite as tall as it might have been watched the excitement with anticipation. Time after time a family would come by; some stopped to , look but they all passed on. Most just laughed at the poor little tree and went to choose another. The little tree became very sad. He began to fear that no one wanted . him. Other trees were* going off to share a merry Christ- mas, but as the sky grew pale in that winter sunset he knew that he would spent Christmas alone in the snowy, windy field. The last of the villagers went home that Christmas eve and the little twisted tree, which was close to the farmer's house, saw them go and shivered. It was cold. His hope was lost. Alone in the snowy field he cried himself to sleep. As he slept he dreamed of other trees in houses in the villages and neigh- boring farms. He dreamed of candles and strings of cranber- ries and laughing children. 0 0 0 In a small house in the village a man sat beside his sick wife, deep lines of worry on his tired face. She was with child and the baby would be born soon. This was not so bad, they had been through this twice before and had two healthy children. But a week ago she had come down with a fever and it had been getting worse. Her face was flushed, she slept only fitfully and could hold down little food. The doctor had been coming by every day all week to look in on her, but there was very little he could do. The neighbors had been helpful, dropping by with cakes and soup, helping to look after the children, and sometimes taking them home for an afternoon. But they were all busy with Chriitt- mas preparations and hadn't much time to spare. The husband was sick with worry, and exhausted from looking after the children and his wife. He was not a very good cook. He was afraid to go out and leave his wife alone; he was ter- ribly afraid his wife would die. He loved her very much and didn't know how he could possibly raise the children by himself. He sat in the small room with one child sleeping on his lap. Deep shadows were cast by the candle on the rough hewn boards of the walls he had built himself. Shadows almost as deeply ringed as his tired eyes while he thought, "How weak she looks. If the baby comes n w ... " A knoek on the door startled him from his reverie. It must be the doctor. The child awakened, he went to the door and pulidd it open on squeaky hinges. Wks„It the doctor, and with hint was te pastor of the village church. "Merry Christmas," said the doctor in a subdued voice. "How is she?" "Resting now," said the hus- band quietly. In a quick, soft voice the pastor said, "We took up a collection this evening. The ladies of the church brought some sweet breads and have made a few small toys for your children." Then he added as an afterthought, "Merry Christ- mas." He placed the parcel on the sideboard. "I don't know how to thank you .. " said the husband. "It's the least we could do. Don mention it," replied the past r. The doctor was uncomfortable. "I'll go look in on her," he said. The three men walked into the bedroom where the sick woman lay on a\, straw mattress piled high with blankets and quilts. Their feet fell heavily on the pine floor, contrasting sharply with the patter of the two children who were now awake. The wife slept on as the doctor took her pulse, looked worried and said, "She's no worse at any rate." One child tugged at her father's trousers. "Daddy," she said, "aren't we going to have a Christ- mas tree this year?" "Yes, Daddy," said the little boy. "A Christmas tree will make mother feel better." The man looked at his children sadly. He had no energy to go and cut a tree tonight. "No," he said. "We won't have one this year, but next year we'll have an extra special Christmas if " his voice cracked and he could barely hold back the tears; " .. . if mommy lives." The pastor looked at the doctor, their eyes met and they nodded. "Well, there are signs of im- provement," said the doctor gruffly. "Now you folks get some sleep and I'll drop by tomorrow." With that the doctor and the pastor bustled out of the little house. They pulled themselves up on the doctor's cutter and the pastor said, "Farmer Brown has lots of trees. We must go and find one for that family. Those chil- dren were so disappointed, and it may make that ppor woman feel better." They were both tired and eager to go home to their own families but it was agreed to go to Farmer B'rown's first. The team of horses was tired, too. The mares were eager to be ,out of the cold and back in their stable, but they sensed the ur- gency of the moment and took the putter and its two passengers to Farmer Brown's house at a brisk trot. Up the lane they went, stop- ping in front of Farmer Brown's door. The farmer opened the door to greet them. It was strange for him to receive a visit from the pastor and the doctor at this time of night. When he learned the reason for their visit he pulled on a warm coat, picked up his axe and led his visitors towards the bush. Very soon they dame to a small, twisted little pine which was fast asleep. "This one will do fine," said the tired doctor. In a moment it was done,'the tree was loaded on the cutter and they set off for the village. The twisted little tree could almost be heard to squeal with delight as it travelled towards the village. "I will be a Christmas tree after all," he thought and snuggled deeper into the cutter. When they knocked at the door of the little house in the village a few minutes later there was no answer. "Could be they've gone to sleep," said the doctor. "Well," replied the pastor, "Let's take it in anyway." The two men crept quietly, in- side, and indeed everyone was asleep. They set the tree up just outside the bedroom door where the wife could see it. They draped it with. a String o[' cranio some candles then .cre t out awakening no Oee in spite of the sgsreakr,hinges. The little. eh istmas. ,tree (for 'he had become a ChristMai tree now) looked around., him n confusions "Where am1? r. , be thought "Why►. are, ., 'these people eep?» The'poo r little ,'tom hid .seen people electing been" and he had *tit. assumed that they slept standing up the way trees` do. There' wasn't:; much he cid; see in the dark, So hedeided•tto sleep too, Tbey'd wake up ;in the morning. At the crack of, dawn mother awakened. Herhead' was clear, and she realized the fever .' was gone, She looked through the bedroom door and saw the Wit• mss tree. It was still asleep; buf she didn't know that. She thought it was just the finest little Lint+ mas tree, she had ever seen. She felt terribly _h! .end weak. She got out of bed with dif, ficulty, stoked.the fi re and heated some soup. That m [de her ;fest.., better. Then the baby began to neve inside hear, and sh+e knew it .wad ready to come. She went back to her bed quickly;, An hour laxer the popullatioh of the little village had grown ktone as her little to bundle . au, .. minced its presenteao► the with loud wailiiij. . Th husband awoke, and .se; did the other two children. They went running to the bedroom and saw the mother sitting up in bed, child . in her arms. The poor little Christmas tree. was beginning to get annoyed. All this excitement was going on but nobody had even noticed him yet. ° It was the children who found him, and with shouts of delight announced to their parents that it was Christman, and Saint Nick must ht brghtr,, b cause hereave wasouonet ina the eelivinge- room, and nobody else could have brought it. The Christmas tree was de- lighted. Suddenly he was the centre of attention and much ad- miration. "But who could have brought it?" thought the hus- band. When the doctor came a short time later he found the two chil- dren playing under the Christmas tree. He also thought he could see the tree smiling. It looked very happy. 'Then he saw the husband com- ing out of the bedroom with a bundle of blankets in his arms. Suddenly the bundle started to cry. He could tell from the man's face all was well. He glanced at the infant and rushed in to see the mother. She was sipping at some soue and smiled at him. He felt tremen- dously relieved, but he couldn4t help reprimanding her for bear- ing a child when she was so weak from a long fever. "Well doctor," she said, "I didn't have much choice in the matter." "This is very, very remark- able," said the doctor. "You seemed near death yesterday, but today you have borne a child." "Yes doctor," said the hus- band. "This is a remarkable day. My wife is so much better, I have a new son, and we have a Christ- mas tree. Have you seen it?" "Yes, ah, er, I noticed it," re- plied the doctor. "It wasn't here when I went to sleep after you left last night, but here it is this morning. I don't know how it could have gotten here." The doctor looked at the little family gathered at the mother's bedside and said, "Remarkable things do happen now and then, and I suppose sometimes it's better just to be grateful and not ask too many questions." "I don't know how your wife got well so quickly," said the doctor. "I don't know how that tree got here," said the husband. "I do," said the crooked little Christmas tree. But nobody heard.