Are you sorry we did n't keep our quarters for ourselves ? '' asked the other voice , with an under-tone of regret in it . `` Yes , I am , till I think how pleased the children will be with our tree , for they do n't expect anything , and will be so surprised . I wish we had more toys to put on it , for it looks so small and mean with only three or four things . '' `` It wo n't hold any more , so I would n't worry about it . The toys are very red and yellow , and I guess the babies wo n't know how cheap they are , but like them as much as if they cost heaps of money . '' This was a cheery voice , and as it spoke the four blue eyes turned toward the chest under the window , and the kind moon did her best to light up the tiny tree standing there . A very pitiful little tree it was -- only a branch of hemlock in an old flower-pot , propped up with bits of coal , and hung with a few penny toys earned by the patient fingers of the elder sisters , that the little ones should not be disappointed . But in spite of the magical moonlight the broken branch , with its scanty supply of fruit , looked pathetically poor , and one pair of eyes filled slowly with tears , while the other pair lost their happy look , as if a cloud had come over the sunshine . `` Are you crying , Dolly ? '' `` Not much , Polly . '' `` What makes you , dear ? '' `` I did n't know how poor we were till I saw the tree , and then I could n't help it , '' sobbed the elder sister , for at twelve she already knew something of the cares of poverty , and missed the happiness that seemed to vanish out of all their lives when father died . `` It 's dreadful ! I never thought we 'd have to earn our tree , and only be able to get a broken branch , after all , with nothing on it but three sticks of candy , two squeaking dogs , a red cow , and an ugly bird with one feather in its tail ; '' and overcome by a sudden sense of destitution , Polly sobbed even more despairingly than Dolly . `` Hush , dear ; we must cry softly , or mother will hear , and come up , and then we shall have to tell . You know we said we would n't seem to mind not having any Christmas , she felt so sorry about it . '' `` I must cry , but I 'll be quiet . '' So the two heads went under the pillow for a few minutes , and not a sound betrayed them as the little sisters cried softly in one another 's arms , lest mother should discover that they were no longer careless children , but brave young creatures trying to bear their share of the burden cheerfully . When the shower was over , the faces came out shining like roses after rain , and the voices went on again as before .
`` Do n't you wish there really was a Santa Claus , who XXXXX what we wanted , and would come and put two silver half-dollars in our stockings , so we could go and see Puss in Boots at the Museum to-morrow afternoon ? ''
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