STATUE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT
BERTHA'S HOME




CHAPTER I.

CHRISTMAS

"Don't look! There, now it's done!" cried Bertha.

It was two nights before Christmas. Bertha was in the big
living-room with her mother and older sister. Each sat as close as
possible to the candle-light, and was busily working on something in
her lap.

But, strange to say, they did not face each other. They were sitting
back to back.

"What an unsociable way to work," we think. "Is that the way Germans
spend the evenings together?"

No, indeed. But Christmas was near at hand, and the air was brimful
of secrets.

Bertha would not let her mother discover what she was working for
her, for all the world. And the little girl's mother was preparing
surprises for each of the children. All together, the greatest fun
of the year was getting ready for Christmas.