She liked school so very much that the days slipped by one after another so fast a person could hardly count them--one day and another day and another day--just that way. Till one Monday morning when they went to school, Miss Treavor announced, "Do you boys and girls know what we are going to do to-day? We're going to start making Christmas presents. Because Christmas is only _three weeks away_!" "Christmas!" thought Mary Jane, with a thrill of joy, "Christmas! Why, they _do_ have Christmas in Chicago! I wonder what I'll get and what I'll do!" CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO Christmas in Chicago! When Mary Jane heard those words she had her first real pang of homesickness for the home she had left when they moved to Chicago. Would any Christmas anywhere ever be so beautiful as the Christmas in that dear home? She remembered the pine trees in the yard, loaded down with their wealth of snow: the glowing fire on the hearth with its Christmas-y smell from the pine cones that were saved through the year for the Christmas Day fire; the tree in the angle near the fireplace where the afternoon sun touched it into a blaze of glory; the party for the poor children that had been such fun to plan for--would anything in Chicago ever be half the fun of Christmas in the old home? But Mary Jane was soon to discover that Christmas doesn't need certain houses or fires or trees to make it perfect; that Christmas is made in folks' hearts and that wherever there is a Christmas heart, there will be a happy day--in village or city, the place makes no difference. When she went home from school that afternoon and announced that Miss Treavor said Christmas was so very near, she found that mother wasn't even a little surprised. "Why to be sure Christmas is coming," laughed Mrs. Merrill, "and here I've been waiting and waiting and _waiting_ for you to talk about it till, actually, I thought I'd had to begin myself, if you didn't wake up pretty soon." And then everybody began to talk at once. "Do they have trees in Chicago?" asked Alice. "Are there any poor folks who would like parties?" asked Mary Jane. "Is anybody coming to see us?" demanded Mary Jane. "Here! Here! Here!" exclaimed Mr. Merrill, "one at a time, ladies, one at a time! If you doubt that there will be trees in Chicago, you should see what I saw this morning as I went down to work. A train load of Christmas trees--yes, sir!" (for he noticed the girls could hardly believe him) "a whole train load of trees. And I see by the paper this evening that a boat load has arrived, too, so there will be no shortage of trees." "Then we can have one," said Mary Jane, with a satisfied sigh. "And let's put it in front of this foolish little gas log," suggested Alice, "then we won't think about a real fireplace."