Alice's Christmas-Tree
The story revolves around a young girl named Alice who wants to decorate a Christmas tree for the poor children living at a nearby hospital. She decides to take matters into her own hands and secretly decorates a small tree in her home, intending to move it to the hospital on Christmas Eve. However, her plan is thwarted when her uncle accidentally discovers the tree and decides to display it at a wealthy family's party instead. Alice is devastated but eventually finds a way to still bring joy to the hospitalized children by decorating multiple trees and distributing them among the city's poor institutions.
By Edward Everett Hale · First published 1884 · Genre: Fiction, Holiday, Children's Literature · 3 chapters · 5,560 words
First lines
Alice MacNeil had made the plan of this Christmas-tree, all by herself and for herself. She had a due estimate of those manufactured trees which hard-worked "Sabbath Schools" get up for rewards of merit for the children who have been regular, and at the last moment have saved attendance-tickets enough. Nor did Alice MacNeil sit in judgment on these. She had a due estimate of them. But for her Christmas-tree she had two plans not included in those more meritorious buddings and bourgeonings of the winter. First, she meant to get it up without any help from anybody. And, secondly, she meant that the boys and girls who had anything from it should be regular laners and by-way farers, -- they were to have no tickets of respectability, -- they were not in any way to buy their way in; but, for this once, those were to come in to a Christmas-tree who happened to be ragged and in the streets when the Christmas-tree was ready.
What this Textopian page supports
Alice's Christmas-Tree is listed on Textopian as a short story by Edward Everett Hale, dated 1884 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Edward Everett Hale
- Date: 1884 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fiction, Holiday, Children's Literature, Short Story, Classic
- Length: 5,560 words
- Structure: 3 chapters, 72 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Alice's Christmas-Tree by Edward Everett Hale
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering Alice's Christmas-Tree?
- How does this short story by Edward Everett Hale fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Fiction first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
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- The Patroncitos Christmas by Edward Everett Hale
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Genres
- Fiction — The book is a work of imaginative narrative.
- Holiday — The story revolves around Christmas themes and events.
- Children's Literature — The writing style and themes are suitable for a younger audience.
- Short Story — The book is a brief narrative, typically shorter than a novel.
Tags
Christmas · Fiction · Short Story · Classic Literature · American Literature · 19th Century · Holiday Fiction · Family · Children's Literature · Social Commentary · Satire · Humor