The Star in the Well, A Christmas Story.

New York: The P. F. Volland Company, 1928. Octavo, paperbound (stiff, illus. rose wrappers), uncut, tissue-protected frontis., 46 pp. Illustrated. Very Good, with sunned spine and edgewear that includes light chipping. From book: Mary-Alice, eating her very soft-boiled egg and her square of buttered toast, was serenely unaware of the stormy forces gathering about the breakfast table until she heard her mother say, with a sob in her voice, “But I hate to think, Michael, that she won’t have what we had.” “What did we have?” “Oh, all the beautiful beliefs about Christmas Day. And now, we’ve lost them, you and I -- we’ve lost the shepherds and the angels singing, and the Babe in the Manger, and we’ve lost the Star.” Mary-Alice reached for another square of toast, but was stopped by her mother’s question, “How many have you had, Mary-Alice?” “Two.” “Drink your milk before you have another.” Mary-Alice, having drained her glass, demanded: “How did the star get losted?” “There, you see?” said her mother tensely. “See what?” Michael had risen, and stood looking down at his wife... “What can we tell her? Am I to repeat to her what you have just said to me -- that Christmas Day is a pagan hold-over, that the Wise Men and all the rest are just -- poetic fantasies?” “We must face the truth.” “But what is the truth, Michael?”...