Whiter than snow (session 1)

This story takes place in Europe, in a country called Switzerland. But it's a little bit like here, because it's always, in the winter, covered in snow. And up on the mountain lived a little family.

This is one of the children. Her name is Annette. Oh, she'd just woken up.

And as she opened her eyes, it was cold in her house. She was about to snuggle down and go back to sleep, when she sprang out of bed, because she remembered what day it was. It was Christmas morning.

And she leapt out of bed, and she thought, Oh, what's the time? Dad will be in from the barn. Because her dad was a farmer. And he'll milk the cows.

Oh, Grandma, she likes her coffee ready when she gets up. Oh, I'm late this morning. Then she turned, and she looked across where her younger brother, Danny, Daniel, they called him Danny, where he should have been.

He's younger than she is by about five years. And she looked at his bed, and Danny wasn't there. The only thing she could see was something that all the Swiss children got on Christmas Eve.

A little brown cookie bear for them to eat. But Danny, he hadn't eaten it on Christmas Eve. He had left it ready for the morning.

But he'd forgotten when he jumped out of bed. She thought, he's obviously forgotten. It's Christmas morning.

Well, when she went downstairs, and she looked in the living room, she wondered what Dad and Danny were doing. It looked quite funny to Annette, because there was the little boy, five years old, with his little boots on. And there's his dad beside him, his legs are long, and he's got his boots on.

But Annette couldn't see what it was they were doing. Happy Christmas, you two, she said. What's going on? Oh, look what I got for Christmas.

What have you got? I can't see, said Annette. Look what I've got. And Annette had seen the cutest little white kitten curled up beside Danny.

Now Danny's only got little feet, because he's only five. The smallest little kitten she'd ever seen. And his slippers were made of rabbit fur.

The kitten was tucked up inside his little slipper. Well, what have you called him, said Annette? His name's Klaus, and I got it for Christmas. What were you doing, though? I couldn't see.

Oh, Dad was giving him some warm milk. He was ever so cold when we found him in here this morning. Well, Annette knew she really should get breakfast ready, and she really should get the coffee on for Grandma.

But she sat down in Grandma's rocking chair, and suddenly she found herself thinking about five years early. Christmas Eve, five years ago, she was seven years old. She had gone with a neighbour, Lucian and his mum, to a little church in their village, a little church building, where they sung carols, songs like Silent Night, Holy Night, or O Little Town of Bethlehem.

And she remembered how lovely it was, how the little building was decorated for Christmas, and she learned about how the Saviour, God's Son, came from heaven, was born a little baby, and laid in a manger. And when she left, all the children who had come to the little church service had been given one of those little cookie bears. She put her safe inside her coat.

Lucian had eaten it, gobbled it up right away. She thought he was a greedy little boy. She didn't really like Lucian, but it was kind of his mum to take her.

You see, her mum was very, very sick. In fact, her mum was dying. And so she couldn't go with her mum.

The reason she went on her own is because at this point, Daphne had to be born. Because her mum was so sick, her dad had stayed home on Christmas Eve. Give me some of yours, said Lucian.

I want some of yours. No, she said. He's my little cookie bear.

I'm never going to eat him, and you're not going to have him. She really didn't like Lucian. When she got home, Dad opened the door.

She could tell straight away by his face something was wrong. It's not worse. I'm afraid so, said Dad.

But will you go to her room? She's got a present for you. Now that wasn't unusual for Swiss children. And this is a custom I've tried to introduce in my family.

But my wife, Auntie Ray, won't have it. I think it's great to have Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. Don't you think so? Yeah, why not? But she doesn't think so.

We're not Swiss, you see. We're English. And she doesn't like that idea.

So Annette didn't think it was strange that Mum wanted to give her a present. But she never expected the present that was put into her arms. It was handed to her by the nurse.

Happy Christmas, said her mum. This is Danny. He's your little baby brother.

I want you to look after him. I want you to bring him up. He's yours to care for.

His name is Daniel. Daniel. This little seven-year-old girl didn't understand what her mum was talking about.

What did she mean? It was Mummy. She lay in her bed and thought about Christmas Day and how sad her home was because Mum was so sick. But before she fell asleep, Dad came into the room crying.

I'm sorry, but I have some sad news for you. But Mummy's spending Christmas in heaven this year. Mummy's dying.

Now, it was sad. But at the same time, there was happiness. There was a tinge of happiness.

Because there was one thing special about Annette's mum. She was a believer in the Lord Jesus. She had trusted the Saviour earlier in her life before she had been sick.

Her husband knew the day she would die, she would go to be with the Lord Jesus because he had died for her sins. Suddenly, a sound brought Annette back to the present Christmas. It was the sound of little feet.

Well, Grandma's feet were little, but it was her stick, really, that was making the sound on the stone floor of the kitchen. Oh, she jumped out of the seat. Don't be cross, Grandma.

I'll get you coffee in a minute. Oh, no need to worry, Annette. She said, Happy Christmas, everyone.

You see, when Mum died, Grandma came to stay with them. She was quite riddled up with arthritis and her hands and her feet. She was in a lot of pain, but she did her best to help her little family.

Well, she wanted to know. She couldn't see either. What was Danny playing with? Of course, it was perhaps the kitten.

Look, Grandma, look what I've got. Well, what a cute little fella he is, said Grandma. I suppose you've given him a name already.

Oh, yes, he said. This is Klaus. He nearly died, Grandma.

Dad had to give him some warm milk. Grandma, if my kitty had died, would he have gone to heaven? Annette spoke up. What a question to ask Grandma.

What a question, Danny. Grandma didn't answer right away. They had their breakfast, and as was the custom in their home, Dad pulled the big family Bible down from off the shelf, and Danny got all excited.

Please, Dad, I know it's Christmas Day, but read about heaven. Let's talk about heaven. All right, then, said Dad.

Dad didn't know as much of the Bible as Grandma. He'd often read the Bible, but often it was Grandma who would share his thoughts. She shared with the children the wonderful things of heaven.

They talked about who was in heaven. The Lord Jesus. Oh, he made heaven special, said Grandma.

He's in heaven preparing a place for those who trust him, said Grandma. But she told the children there was one thing that would never, ever be in heaven. The children listened.

Whatever could it be? No sin, said Grandma. God is holy. No sin is allowed in heaven.

That Christmas Day, Annette couldn't get that thought out of her mind. All day she thought about one sin. She knew it was wrong to hate Lucy.

Five years later, she still hated the boy in the next farm. She knew it was wrong, and that sin stayed hidden. Who knows how Swiss children get to school? Come back tomorrow, and we'll see if you're right.

I'll show you tomorrow how the Swiss children get to school, and we'll have episode two of Whiter Than Snow.