well out of harm's way, then he swung once more, one great hefty
stroke, and with a great crash the spruce fell and measured its length
in the snow. And the Toyman put the axe and the tree too, over his
shoulder--he certainly was strong, that Toyman--and through the woods
they tramped back again, and loaded the tree on the sleigh.

Then he paused for a moment.

"Think a little jag of green would go nice on the windows," he
remarked, "and a touch of red to brighten things up a bit."

So they looked and found plenty of green for wreaths, and some
bayberries like coral, and some holly, besides, by the ruins of the
deserted house that had burned down years before they were born.

It had been a long hunt and, though the sky had cleared, it was
growing pretty dark when they climbed in the sleigh. As the Toyman
clambered upon the seat and took the reins, he turned around and
looked up the hill.

"The stars are beginning to twinkle," he said, "and look, youngsters,
there is a whole army of Christmas trees for you."

They turned around and gazed in the direction in which his finger
pointed, and there, sure enough, the evergreens,--the spruces, pines,
and hemlocks, the firs, and the cedars, too, were standing so still,
and the stars were peeping out between their twigs and branches all
over the hill, twinkling like little candles. There were hundreds and
hundreds of Christmas trees, standing up straight on that hill, with
millions and millions of candles on them.