The Secret Christmas Tree by Maud Van Buren

Name: The Secret Christmas Tree
Author: Maud Van Buren

On Christmas Eve, Susan works late at her sewing-machine, striving to finish enough coarse shirts to earn money for her household, while her father, gran'pap, secretly prepares a splendid Christmas tree in his little shop across the yard. The tree is decorated with gilded nuts and white popcorn balls and surrounded by handmade gifts: a miniature village, carved animals, a sled, chessboard, doll’s cradle, necklaces, a spool-holder, and skins for winter clothing. Months earlier, gran'pap had learned from Susan’s children, Thomas and Eliza, that they had scarcely known Christmas. Thomas remembers only one earlier tree, from a time when “he was here still,” and neither child has received presents in recent years. Gran'pap promises them a tree and gifts, asking what they would choose: Thomas wants a gun, and Eliza wants a locket. But when the children excitedly repeat his promise at supper, Susan firmly refuses. She says she cannot bear a tree and has no money for presents. Her exhaustion, grief, and poverty silence both gran'pap and the children. Though saddened, gran'pap resolves to try to bring Christmas to the family. He helps Susan with the housework, cares for the cow, assists the children with their lessons, and secretly makes presents in his workshop. He and the children gather chestnuts, selling the surplus to buy thread for Susan, who needs it for her sewing. In hidden hours, gran'pap builds and decorates the tree, hoping that its beauty will soften the sorrow fixed in Susan’s mind. On Christmas night, after Susan has gone upstairs, gran'pap is distressed because he has not dared show her the tree. Waking at two o’clock, he remembers that he left the shop light burning. He finds the kitchen door open and discovers Susan in the shop, weeping before the tree. Believing his plan has caused her pain, he prepares to keep the tree hidden and perhaps give the children only one gift each. Susan returns carrying a little rifle that belonged to the children’s father and a chain and locket that had been hers. Her grief has changed: she asks gran'pap to place them beneath the tree for Thomas and Eliza. Smiling through tears, she wishes him a merry Christmas. Gran'pap, overwhelmed, embraces the treasured gifts and rejoices at what the children will find.

By Maud Van Buren · First published 1927 · Genre: Christmas Fiction, Children's Literature, Holiday Fiction · 4,877 words

First lines

_Elsie Singmaster_

In the kitchen of the little house on the mountain-side there was only / one sound, the whirring of a sewing-machine. The kitchen was a pleasant / place. There was a glowing fire in the stove, a brightly striped rag / carpet on the floor, and a red cloth on the table. In three of the four / deeply embrasured windows were potted geraniums. By the fourth stood / the machine which whirred so busily.[4]

Open reader

What this Textopian page supports

The Secret Christmas Tree is listed on Textopian as a short story by Maud Van Buren, dated 1927 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Short story
Author: Maud Van Buren
Date: 1927 CE
Language: English
Genres: Christmas Fiction, Children's Literature, Holiday Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Sentimental Fiction
Length: 4,877 words
Structure: 1 section, 119 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for The Secret Christmas Tree by Maud Van Buren
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

Similar titles

Genres

Christmas Fiction — The plot is centered on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, a secretly prepared tree, gifts, and the restoration of holiday joy within a grieving family.
Children's Literature — The story is written in an accessible, moral, emotionally direct style and focuses strongly on the children's anticipation, disappointment, and wonder.
Holiday Fiction — Christmas customs, seasonal preparations, family ritual, generosity, and the emotional meaning of the holiday organize the narrative.
Domestic Fiction — Its central concerns are household labor, poverty, caregiving, parent-child relationships, and the emotional life of a small family home.