Sleeping Beneath the Christmas Tree

A young boy is so excited to have a Christmas tree in the house that every night he sneaks out to the living room to sleep beneath it. Then, on Christmas morning, something wonderful happens.

One cold December night,

little Samuel was standing in the living room with the baby sitter when the door suddenly burst open and a cold, winter wind came whipping around the room and chilled Samuel, who was standing there in his pajamas. You know, the one-piece pajamas with the footies. That’s what he was wearing.

The next thing to come through the door were Mom and Dad backing their way into the house while pulling a large evergreen tree, whose branches were scraping the sides of the doorway as they pulled it inside. They set it up in the living room and Samuel went over near it. Cold air would come out from between the needles and branches in wisps and cool Samuel’s cheeks.

They started to decorate it and little Samuel got to hang the lowest ornaments—the only ones he could reach. Then, all of a sudden, he was lifted high into the air, a star was placed into his hand, and he got to place it on the top of the tree.

They took a step back to admire the work they had done. There it was, their Christmas tree, a beauty of nature and of electricity.

Little Samuel was tucked into bed but he could not get to sleep. He was so excited to have this tree in the house. So, when he was sure that Mom and Dad were asleep, he snuck out into the living room and sat cross-legged in front of the tree. But he wanted to get closer to it, so he got down on his belly and carefully crawled beneath the lowest branches. And when he got back beside the truck he carefully rolled over.

It was like being in an upside down nest and it was so cozy and dark under there that little Samuel fell asleep. Well, the next morning, he woke up very early in the morning and carefully got himself out from under the tree. He then hurried back to his room because he didn’t want to try to explain why he was sleeping there instead of the nice bed they bought for him.

Well, he did this every night during Advent and he did it on Christmas Eve. The only difference was that on Christmas Eve, Mom and Dad left the tree lights on all night. So, when he turned himself over back by the trunk and looked upward—well, all the lights played tricks with Samuel’s eyes as they came down through the needles and branches. Samuel gasped because to Samuel it was like looking up into heaven.

It was now Christmas morning and Samuel woke up very early on Christmas morning to sneak back to his room. But, every possible pathway out from under the tree was blocked by a large Christmas present. Now, Samuel panicked for a moment because he felt trapped. But then the thought occurred to him that Santa Claus had been there. And the thought that Santa had been so close and so quiet, so as to not to awaken him; well, this thought of such goodness and generosity calmed Samuel down and he fell asleep once again.

It was about an hour later when Mom and Dad came out in the living room. And they went over to the tree to look for any presents with their names on them. And then, they spotted Samuel. So, they moved this present this way and that present that way to clear a pathway back to Samuel. And then, they knelt down to reach back to position their hands beneath him and they very carefully lifted and scooted Samuel very gently so as not to awaken him. They stood up holding Samuel in their arms and said, “Of all the gifts beneath this tree, this we hold is by far the most precious.”

by Tony McCaffrey

(Notice that the written version is slightly different than the oral version. The oral version is slightly different each time it is told.)