Speaker 1: Have you googled yourself lately? Are there negative posts from
an ex employee or from a former client, maybe an
outdated news article. Search engines don't always get it right
for right or wrong. It's your reputation on the line.
That's where Reputation Defender by Norton comes in take control.
With Reputation Defender, their cutting edge approaches help you to
wipe away unwanted information in your search results. They also
promote the good stuff. You can start by getting your
free reputation report card at ReputationDefender dot com or call
eight hundred eighty one one forty nine seventy five to
speak to an expert.
Speaker 2: Morning people wake up for peace and quiet. McDonald's Breakfast People,
We wake up for the sweet rush of getting that warm,
delicious breakfast right before it ends.
Speaker 3: Crush your morning goals with a steak, egg and cheese
bagel or any breakfast sandwich, and snag another one for
just a buck with a buy one, get one deal
only in the McDonald's app, limited time only at participating
McDonald's valid ones per day must opt into rewards.
Speaker 4: Bottom Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe by Elizabeth Harrison
once upon a time, a long time ago, far away
across the Great Ocean, in a country called Germany, there
could be seen a small log hut on the edge
of a great forest, whose fir trees extended for miles
and miles to the north. This little house, made of
heavy hewn logs, had but one room in it. A
rough pine door gave entrance to this room, and a
small square window admitted the light. At the back of
the house was built an old fashioned stone chimney, out
of which in winter curled a thin blue smoke, showing
that there was not very much fire within. Small as
the house was, it was large enough for two people
who lived in it. I want to tell you a
story to day about these two people. One was an old,
gray haired woman, so old that the little children of
the village nearly half a mile away often wondered whether
she had come into the world with the huge mountains
and the giant fir trees which stood like giants back
of her small hut. Her face was wrinkled all over
with deep lines, which, if the children could only have
read aright, would have told them of many years of cheerful,
happy self sacrifice, of loving, anxious, watching beside sick beds,
of quiet, endurance, of pain, of many a day of
hunger and cold, and of a thousand deeds of unselfish
love for other people. But of course they could not
read this strange handwriting. They only knew that she was
old and wrinkled, and that she stooped as she walked.
None of them seemed to fear her, for her smile
was always cheerful, and she had a kindly word for
each of them if they chanced to meet her on
her way to and from the village. With this old
old woman lived a very little girl. So bright and
happy was she that the travelers who passed by the
lonesome little house on the edge of the forest often
thought of as Sunbeam as they saw her. These two
people were known in the village as Granny Good and
little Gretchen. The winter had come and the frost had
snapped off many of the smaller branches of the pine
trees in the forest. Gretchen and her Grannie were up
by daybreak. Each morning. After their simple breakfast of oatmeal,
Gretchen would run to the little closet and fetch Grannie's
old woolen shawl, which seemed almost as old as Grannie herself.
Gretchen always claimed the right to put the shawl over
Grannie's head, even though she had to climb onto the
wooden bench to do it. After carefully pinning it under
Grannie's chin, she gave her a good bye kiss, and
Grannie started out for her morning's work in the forest.
This work was nothing more nor less than the gathering
up of the twigs and branches which the autumn winds
and winter frosts had thrown upon the ground. These were
carefully gathered into a large bundle, which Grannie tied together
with a strong linen band. She then managed to lift
the bundle to her shoulder and trudged off to the
village with it. Here she sold the faggots for kindling
wood to the people of the village. Sometimes she would
get only a few pence each day, and sometimes a
dozen or more, But on this money little Gretchen and
she managed to live. They had their home, and the
forest kindly furnished the wood for the fire, which kept
them warm in winter. In the summer time, Grannie had
a little garden at the back of the house where
she raised with little Gretchen's help. If you putake watooes
and turnips and onions. These she carefully stored away for
winter use. To this meager supply, the pennies gained by
selling the twigs from the forest added the oatmeal for
Gretchen and a little black coffee for Grannie. Meat was
a thing they never thought of having. It cost too
much money. Still, Grannie and Gretchen were very happy because
they loved each other dearly. Sometimes Gretchen would be left
alone all day long in the hut because Grannie would
have some work to do in the village after selling
her bundle of sticks and twigs. It was during these
long days that little Gretchen had taught herself to sing
the song which the wind sang to the pine branches
in the summer time. She learned and the chirp and
twitter of the birds, until her voice might almost be
mistaken for a bird's voice. She learned to dance as
the swaying shadows did, and even to talk to the
stars which shone through the little square window when Grannie
came home late or too tired to talk. Sometimes when
the weather was fine or her Grannie had an extra
bundle of knitted stockings to take to the village, she
would let little Gretchen go along with her. It chanced
that one of these trips to the town came just
the week before Christmas, and Gretchen's eyes were delighted by
the sight of the lovely Christmas trees which stood in
the window of the village store. It seemed to her
that she never tire of looking at the knit doors,
the wooly lambs, the little wooden shops with their queer
painted men and women in them, and all the other
fine things. She had never owned a plaything in her
whole life. Therefore, toys which you and I would not
think much of, seemed to her very beautiful. That night,
after their supper of baggag potatoes was over, and little
Gretchen had cleared away the dishes and swept up the heart,
because Granadeer was so tired, she brought her own little
wooden stool and placed it very near Grannie's feet and
sat down upon it, folding her hands in her lap.
Grannie knew that this meant she wanted to be told
about something, so she smilingly laid away the large Bible
which she had been reading, and took up her knitting,
which was as much as to say, well, Gretchen, dear
Grannie is ready to listen, Grannie said Gretchen slowly. It's
almost Christmas time, isn't it. Yes, dearie, said Grannie. Only
five days more now, and then she sighed. But little
Gretchen was so happy that she did not notice Grannie's sigh.
What do you think, Grannie, I'll get this Christmas, said she,
looking up eagerly into Grannie's face. Ah, child, child, said Grannie,
shaking her head. You'll have no Christmas this year. We
are too poor for that. Oh, but Grannie interrupted little Gretchen.
Think of all the beautiful toys we saw in the
village to day. Surely Santa Claus has sent enough for
every little child. Ah, dear, those toys are for people
who can pay for them, and we have no money
to spend for Christmas toys. Well, Grannie said Gretchen. Perhaps
some of the little children who live in the Great
House on the hill at the other end of the
village will be willing to share some of their toys
with me. They will be glad to give some to
a little girl who has none, dear child, dear child,
said Grannie, leaning forward, and stroking the soft shiny hair
of the little girl. Your heart is full of love.
You would be glad to bring a Christmas to every child,
But their heads are so full of what they are
going to get that they forget all about anybody else
but themselves. Then she sighed and shook her head. Well, Grannie,
said Gretchen, her bride happy tone of voice growing a
little less joyous. Perhaps the dear Santa Claus will show
some of the village children how to make presents that
do not cost money, and some of them may surprise
me Christmas morning with the present. And Grannie dear added she,
springing up from her low stool. Can't I gather some
of the pine branches and take them to the old
sick man who lives in the house by the mill,
so that he can have the sweet smell of our
forests in his room on Christmas Day? Yes, dearie, said Grannie.
You may do what you can to make the Christmas
bright and happy, but you must not expect any present yourself.
Oh but Grannie, said little Gretchen, her face brightening, you
forgot all about the shining Christmas angels who came down
to earth and said their wonderful song the night the
beautiful christ Child was born. They are so loving and
good that they will not forget any little child. I
shall ask my dear stars to night to tell them
of us, you know, she added with a look of relief.
The stars are so very high that they must know
the angels quite well as they come and go with
their messages from the loving God. Grannie sighed as she
half whispered poor child, poor child. But gretching threw her
arm around Grannie's neck and gave her a hearty kiss,
saying as she did so, Oh, Grannie, Grannie, you don't
talk to the stars often enough, as you would not
be said at Christmas time. Then she danced all around
the room, whirling her little skirts about to show Grennie
how the wind head.
Speaker 1: Have you googled yourself lately? Are there negative posts from
an ex employee or from a former client, maybe an
outdated news article or sensitive personal information about your family.
Search engines don't always get it right for right or wrong.
It's your reputation on the line. That's where Reputation Defender
by Norton comes in. One of the most trusted names
in online reputation repair Reputation Defender has been fixing people's
search results for over fifteen years. Their cutting edge approaches
help you to wipe away unwanted information in your search results.
They also promote the good stuff so that it rises
to the top, helping you put your best foot forward.
Your good name is too valuable to leave to the
whims of a Google algorithm. Take control with Reputation Defender.
You can start by getting your free reputation report card
at reputation deefender dot com, or call eight hundred eight
one one forty nine seventy five to speak to an expert.
That's eight hundred eight one seventy five.
Speaker 5: When you visit Arizona, time is measured in moments, not minutes,
Like the moment your work stress disappears as you kayak
through the canyons, for the moment you discover the life
changing effects of prickly pear chocolate. But nothing beats the
moment you see the Grand Canyon for the very first time.
Visit a new state of mind. Learn more at here
you Are az dot com.
Speaker 4: Made the snow dance that day. She looked so droll
and funny that Rennie forgot her cares and worries and
loughed with little Gretchen over her new snow dance. The
days passed on, and the morning before Christmas Eve came Gretchen,
having tied it up the little room, for Rennie had
told her to be a careful little housewife, was off
to the forest, singing a birdlike song, almost as happy
and free as the birds themselves. She was very busy
that day preparing a surprise for Grannie. First, however, she
gathered the most beautiful of the fir branches within her
reach to take the next morning to the old sick
man who lived by the mill. The day was all
too short for the happy little girl. When Grannie came
trudging wearily home that night, she found the frame of
the doorway covered with green pine branches. It is to
welcome you, Grannie, It is to welcome you, cried Gretchen.
Our dear old home wanted to give you a Christmas welcome.
Don't you see the branches of the evergreen naked, look
as if it were smiling all over, And it is
trying to say Happy Christmas to you, Grannie. Grannie laughed
and kissed the little girl as they opened the door
and went in. Together. Here was a new surprise for Grannie.
The four posts of the wooden bed, which stood in
one corner of the room, had been trimmed by the
busy little fingers with smaller and more flexible branches of
the pine trees. A small bouquet of red mountain ash
berries stood at each side of the fireplace, and these,
together with the trimmed posts of the bed, gave the
plain old room quite a festive look. Gretchen laughed and
clapped her hands and danced about until the house seemed
full of music to poor tired Grannie, whose heart had
been sad as she turned toward their home that night,
thinking of the disappointment that must come to loving little Gretchen.
The next morning, after supper was over, little Gretchen drew
her stool up to Grannie's side, and, laying her soft
little hands on Grannie's knee, asked to be told once
again the story of the coming of the Christ Child,
How the night that he was born, the beautiful angels
had sung their wonderful song, and how the whole sky
had become bright with a strange and glorious light never
seen by the people of earth before. Gretchen had heard
the story many many times before, but she never grew
tired of it, and now that Christmas Eve had come again,
the happy little child wanted to hear it once more.
When Grannie had finished telling it, the two sat quiet
and silent for a little while thinking it over. Then
Grannie rose and said that it was time for her
to go to bed. She slowly took off her heavy
wooden shoes, such as are worn in that country, and
placed them beside the hearth. Gretchen looked thoughtfully at them
for a minute or two, and then she said, Grannie,
don't you think that somebody in all this wide world
will think of us to night? Nay, Gretchen, I do
not think any one will. Well, then, Grannie said, Gretchen,
the Christmas angels will, I know. So I am going
to take one of your wooden shoes and put it
on the window sill outside, so that they may see
it as they pass by. I am sure the stars
will tell the Christmas angels where the shoe is. Ah,
you foolish, foolish child, said Grannie. You are only getting
ready for a disappointment. To morrow morning. There will be
nothing whatever in the shoe. I can tell you that now,
But little Gretchen would not listen. She only shook her
head and cried out, ah, Grannie, you do not talk
enough to the stars. With this, she seized the shoe, and,
opening the door, hurried out to place it on the
window sill. It was very dark without, and something soft
and cold seemed to gently kiss her hair and face.
Gretchen knew by this that it was snowing, and she
looked up to the sky, anxious to see if the
stars were inside. But a strong wind was tumbling the dark,
heavy snow clouds about and had shut away all else.
Never mind, said Gretchen softly to herself. The stars are
up there, even if I can't see them, and the
Christmas angels do not mind snow storms. Just then a
rough wind went sweeping by the little girl, whispering something
to her which she could not understand. And then it
made a sudden rush up to the snow clouds and
parted them, so that the deep, mysterious sky appeared beyond,
and shining down out of the midst of it was
Gretchen's favorite star. Ah, a little star, little star, said
the child, laughing anout. I knew you were there, though,
I could not see you. Well, you whisper to the
Christmas Angels as they come by, that little Gretchen wants
so very much to have a Christmas gift tomorrow morning,
if they have one to spare, and that she has
put one of Grannie's shoes upon the window sill for it.
A moment more and the little girl, standing on tiptoe,
had reached the window sill and placed the shoe upon it,
and was back again in the house beside Grannie and
the warm fire. The two went quietly to bed, and
that night, as Little Gretchen knelt to pray to the
heavenly Father, she thanked him for having sent the christ
Child into the world to teach all mankind to be
loving and unselfish. And in a few minutes she was sleeping,
dreaming of the Christmas Angels. Next morning, very early, even
before the sun was up, Little Gretchen was awakened by
the sound of sweet music coming from the village. She
listened for a moment, and then she knew that the
choir boys were singing the Christmas carolds in the open
air of the village street. She sprang up out of
bed and began to dress herself as quickly as possible,
singing as she dressed, while Grannie was slowly putting on
her clothes. Little Gretchen, having finished dressing herself, unfastened the
door and hurried out to see what the Christmas Angels
had left in the old wooden shoe. The white snow
covered everything, trees, stumps, roads and pastures, until the whole
world looked like a fairyland. Gretchen climbed up on a
large stone which was beneath the window, and carefully lifted
down the wooden shoe. The snow tumbled off of it
in a shower over the little girl's hands, but she
did not heed that. She ran hurriedly back into the house,
putting her hand into the toe of the shoe as
she ran. Oh, Grannie, Grannie, she exclaimed, you dare not
believe the Christmas angels would think about us, But see
they have they have. Here is a dear little bird
nestled down in the toe of your shoe. Oh isn't
he beautiful. Grannie came forward and looked at what the
child was holding lovingly in her hand. There she saw
a tiny chickadee whose wing was evidently broken by the
rough and boisterous winds of the night before, and who
had taken shelter and the safe dry toe of the
old wooden shoe. She gently took the little bird out
of Gretchen's hands and skillfully bound his broken wing to
his side, so that he need not hurt himself trying
to fly with it. Then she showed Gretchen how to
make a nice warm nest for the little stranger close
beside the fire, and when their breakfast was ready, she
let Gretchen feed the little bird with a few moist crumbs.
Later in the day, Gretchen carried the fresh green boughs
to the old sick man by the mill, and on
her way home, stopped to enjoy the Christmas toys of
some other children that she knew, never once wishing they
were hers. When she reached home, she found that the
little bird had gone to sleep. Soon however, he opened
his eyes and stretched his head up, saying, just as
plain as the bird can say, Now, my new friends,
if you want to give me something more to eat,
Gretchen gladly fed him again, and then holding him in
her lap, she softly and gently stroked his gray feathers
until the little creature seemed to lose all fear of her.
That evening, Grannie taught her a Christmas hymn and told
her another beautiful Christmas story. Then Gretchen made up a
funny little story to tell the Birdye, he winked his
eyes and turned his head from side to side in
such a droll fashion that Gretchen laughed until the tears came.
As Grann and she got ready for bed that night,
Gretchen put her arms softly around Granny's neck and whispered,
what a beautiful Christmas we have had today? Grannie? Is
there anything more lovely in all the world than Christmas? Nay, child, Nay,
said Grannie, not to such loving hearts as us. And
off Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe by Elizabeth Harrison.
Speaker 1: Have you googled yourself lately? Are there negative posts from
an ex employee or from a former client, maybe an
outdated news article. Search engines don't always get it right,
but right or wrong, it's your reputation on the line.
That's where Reputation Defender by Norton comes in. Take control.
With Reputation Defender, their cutting edge approaches help you to
wipe away unwanted information in your search results. They also
promote the good stuff. You can start by getting your
free reputation report card at reputation defender dot com or
call eight hundred eight one one forty nine seventy five
to speak to an expert.
Speaker 2: Mourning people wake up for peace and quiet. McDonald's Breakfast people,
we wake up for the sweet rush of getting that warm,
delicious breakfast right before it ends.
Speaker 3: Crush your morning goals with a steak, egg and cheese
bagel or any breakfast sandwich, and snag another one for
just a buck with a buy one, get one deal
only in the McDonald's app, limited time only at participating
McDonald's valid ones per day must opt into rewards.
Speaker 2: Bottom