But Mister Shepherd didn't even mention the fire and red-hot
brimstones that Brother Milligan said were forever waiting for
the damned. Mister Shepherd seemed to want everybody in the
church to think about Christmas Eve instead of damnation. I was
glad, because Hell is too far away to think about.
"This is a night," the schoolteacher was saying, "for the
old, young, and all of us in between! How wonderful it is that
you've come and brought your children and grandchildren to see
the beautiful tree, to get their gifts, and to hear the story
told once more.
"It's important that we keep our festive customs and
traditions. They smooth the roughness of life. But it's even more
important that we hold fast to our sacred beliefs and pass them
down. They ease life's pain, give it purpose.
"It's a genuine pleasure being the teacher for your children
this year. Every school day, from eight o'clock in the morning
till four in the evening, my thirty-seven pupils and I are in our
own separate world over across the branch at the schoolhouse.
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