Play Oh Holy Night

~* The Little Tin Tree *~


I met a little girl on the East side of Vancouver,
Holding a tin can and inside was a candle so bright,
I asked her why she was out by herself so late,
She said, “I had to find a Christmas tree for tonight.”

She wanted to surprise her Mother, and Brother,
And was so excited about the can she held in her hand.
Someone had thrown the candle out of a window,
And she was standing right where it did land.

She was not supposed to play with matches,
So she got someone to light the candle for her,
She said, besides her tree would last longer
Than any old dumb, Douglas fir.

I asked could I come meet her Mom and Brother,
Surprisingly she took hold of my hand real tight,
We then walked somewhere I would never go,
Especially in downtown Vancouver at night.

My heart broke when I saw where she took me,
For they lived in an alley so dark and cold,
I got down to talk to her Mother, who told me,
Her daughter had a heart of the purest gold.

I agreed with her and asked carefully,
Was there anything that I could do?
I offered her money for food, or presents,
I promised they would all be brand new.

I was shocked at what I heard next.
She said, “Really we are all alright”,
We have shelter at the Mission over there,
And a warm bed and food for tonight.

Then she looked at me again and said,
“Wait, there is something I could ask you.
Do you think you could find an artificial Christmas tree?
I’d like to surprise Marie, anything would do.”

“Of course”, I said “I will be back this evening”.
I told her if I missed them, I wished them the very best.
I would bring a tiny tree for Marie, her and David,
Making a Christmas for them was now my quest.

I phoned the Gospel Mission and got the dinner time,
Quickly, got some of my neighbours on deck to assist.
We arrived at the alley with presents and tree,
I don’t think there was one thing we missed!

I was so proud of my neighbours for helping,
As they donated gifts from under their tree,
That told me a lot of their character,
To stop on Christmas Eve just to help me.

I hid and waited for them to come home,
And also to make sure nothing was taken,
And to this day I will never forget Marie’s face,
At her sight of the tree, and the presents shaken!

Oh, I know it was only one Christmas,
And only one family we helped out that day,
But it has stuck with me how fortunate I am,
And that feeling will never, ever go away.



~* This was a true story *~

         
Season's Greetings
    from my home in Canada to yours!

[This message has been edited by Madame Chipmunk (12-14-2002 06:13 PM).]

Sharon,

An uplifting, beautiful story.
Am so glad it's true! Wonderful,
am glad you shared it here.

Happy Holidays to you and yours,

Warm regards, Pat

..without surrender, be on good terms with all persons..
        "Desiderata"

"Love makes the world go around"
~~with love and hugs from Ethel~~  
                  

Let our love circle the world and
bring Peace to all this Holiday Season.