Breakfast was an unusually cheerful affair at No. 16 that morning . There was no skeleton at the feast and everybody was beaming . Miss Allen laughed and talked like a girl herself . `` Oh , how surprised I was ! '' she said . `` The roses were like a bit of summer , and those cats of Nellie 's were so funny and delightful . And your letter too , Jean ! I cried and laughed over it . I shall read it every day for a year . '' After breakfast everyone went to Christmas service . The girls went uptown to the church they attended . The city was very beautiful in the morning sunshine . There had been a white frost in the night and the tree-lined avenues and public squares seemed like glimpses of fairyland . `` How lovely the world is , '' said Jean . `` This is really the very happiest Christmas morning I have ever known , '' declared Nellie . `` I never felt so really Christmassy in my inmost soul before . '' `` I suppose , '' said Beth thoughtfully , `` that it is because we have discovered for ourselves the old truth that it is more blessed to give than to receive . I 've always known it , in a way , but I never realized it before . '' `` Blessing on Jean 's Christmas inspiration , '' said Nellie . `` But , girls , let us try to make it an all-the-year-round inspiration , I say .
We can bring a little XXXXX our own sunshine into Miss Allen 's life as long as we live with her . ''
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