title: The Modern Magi: A Christmas Fable
author:  Carol Lynn Pearson 
description: Pearson's (A Stranger for Christmas) simplistic Christian fable concerns an unremarkable woman who finds that faith enables her to do the most remarkable things. Annabelle Perkins, a 57-year-old unmarried waitress with a weak heart, is set on visiting the Holy Land in order to bring "to the baby Jesus" the gift of a bronze ("but really gold, as gold as the gold of the Magi") lamb her deceased mother has left her. She tells the travel agent, Mr. Olson, that she doesn't need to see Jerusalem, only Bethlehem, and when she leaves his agency she feels suddenly empowered: "She was one of the Magi on a fabulous journey." She scrimps and savesAyet when she finally has enough to pay off the ticket, she discovers that someone else has a greater need of the money. Prompted by the voice of her mother, she gives the money away. Another year passes, and another needier case warrants her hard-earned savings, though Mr. Olson unaccountably informs her that her ticket has been paid in full. Pearson's tale is a kind of Simple Heart for believers; but its mawkish sentimentality combined with wooden and clich?-ridden prose should limit its audience to those who like their doses of spiritual uplift in childlike portions. <br />Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: > > UNMASKING LADY CAROLINE
  
  > >  _Belles of Christmas Series_
  
  > > MINDY BURBIDGE STRUNK
  
  Copyright © 2019 by Mindy Burbidge Strunk
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
  mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
  written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in
  a book review.
  
  Publisher’s Note:
  
  This is a work of fiction. Names, places and incidents are a product of the
  authors imagination. Locals and public names are sometimes used for
  atmospheric purposes, but any similarities to people-living or dead, business,
  events or locals are unintentional.
  
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  > > > > INTRODUCTION
  
  This book is the first book in a series of five. All the books are stand alone
  romances and can be read in any order. Make sure you read them all:
  
  Unmasking Lady Caroline
  
  Goodwill for the Gentleman
  
  The Earl’s Mi