Once a little fir tree was planted so hastily that it withered away. At Christmas time the little tree was taken to town. However, nobody wanted to buy it. So a homeless boy received this tree as a present. He was also given some money, which he spent on candles and a box of 
matches. Then he decorated the little fir tree and the other homeless people formed a circle around the boy and his tree. They sang Christmas carols and an old busker played the accordion.
When the boy moved on after some days he said goodbye to the little fir tree; which had already begun to shed its needles. A street sweeper saw that the little fir tree was full of life nevertheless and planted it into the corner of the park. Over the years the little fir tree grew into a massive tree. And whenever the days started getting shorter again, the fir tree thought about its former miserable shape and the magical Christmas Eve many years ago.
This book is suitable for children aged 5 and 8.
Delia Huddy grew up surrounded by books. After taking a degree in English at King’s College London, she began to work in publishing, first at Constable & Co, then Hamish Hamilton, and then with close friend Julia MacRae at Julia MacRae Books. Latterly she became Editorial Director at Random House Children’s Books. Alongside her distinguished career in publishing, Delia wrote for children and young people – novels, picture books and young fiction – over 30 titles in all. At the end of her life, in 2005, Delia was working on the text for The Christmas Eve Tree.
