The voices, colors, odors, and forms of summer were gone. The very face of things had changed; all had been reduced, made plain, simple, single, pure! There was less for the senses, but how much keener now their joy! The wide landscape, the frosty air, the tinkle of tiny icicles, and, out of the quiet of the falling twilight, the voice of the quail! There is no day but is beautiful in the woods; and none more beautiful than one like this Christmas Day,--warm and still and wrapped, to the round red berries of the holly, in the magic of the snow. NOTES =cripple=:--A dense thicket in swampy land. =good-will=:--See the Bible, Luke 2:13, 14. =Cohansey=:--A creek in southern New Jersey. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY Read the selection through once without stopping. Afterward, go through it with these questions:-- Why might the snow mean a "hungry Christmas"? Note the color words in paragraph three: Of what value are they? Why does the pond seem small to the visitor? Does the author mean anything more than persimmons in the last part of the paragraph beginning "I filled both pockets"? What sort of man do you think he is? What is the meaning of "broken bread"? What is meant by entering the woods "at Nature's invitation"? What do you understand by "the long fierce fight for life"? What was it that the coon learned "generations ago"? What does the author mean here? Do you know anything of the Darwinian theory of life? What has it to do with what is said here about the coon? How does the author make you feel the variety and liveliness of the bird life which he observes? What shows his keenness of sight? What do you know about weasels? Is it, true that "one's woods are what one makes them"? Do you think the author judges the hunter too harshly? How does the author make you feel the charm of the late afternoon? Go through the selection and see how many different subjects are discussed! How is the unity of the piece preserved? Notice the pictures in the piece. What feeling prevails in the selection? How can you tell whether the author really loves nature? Could you write a sketch somewhat like this, telling what you saw during a walk in the woods? THEME SUBJECTS A Walk in the Winter Woods An Outdoor Christmas Tree A Lumber Camp at Christmas The Winter Birds Tracking a Rabbit Hunting Deer in Winter A Winter Landscape Home Decorations from the Winter Fields Wild Apples Fishing through the Ice A Winter Camp A Strange Christmas Playing Santa Claus A Snow Picnic Making Christmas Gifts Feeding the Birds The Christmas Guest Turkey and Plum Pudding The Children's Christmas Party Christmas on the Farm The Christmas Tree at the Schoolhouse What he Found in his Stocking Bringing Home the Christmas Tree Christmas in the South Christmas away from Home A "Sensible" Christmas Christmas at our House SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING