Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Ruth Bell Graham was the child of missionary parents, wife of world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham, mother of five children, grandmother of nineteen, and great-grandmother to a growing number. She was the author of many books, including Footprints of a Pilgrim, One Wintry Night, and Mothers Together (written with her daughter GiGi Graham Tchividjian).

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One Wintry Night

Thomas Nelson

Chapter One

The boy hunkered down and yanked his cap farther over his ears as the wind rose to a roar across the ridge. Low, dark clouds moving down from the north were bringing darkness early. A snowflake touched his cheek. The boy was mountain tough, but his grandpa had warned him against taking a long hike alone on such a cold day. Still, the boy had the urge.

He loved the mountains—especially the Seven Sisters. They were home to him. He'd lost track of how many times he had hiked them. His grandpa used to climb with him; only Grandpa's heart wasn't up to it now.

Another gust of wind caught the boy off balance. Grabbing a tree for support, he lit the old possum lantern against the oncoming darkness. Then, in its flickering yellow glow, he noticed the leaves of the laurel were curled up tight like pencils in the bitter cold.

Again the roar of the wind rose in the bare branches above him. The boy wasn't scared, but for the first time he wondered if he would make it home.

He wasn't only mountain tough; he was mountain smart. He figured he was well past Big Piney now. Then he remembered the cove, the one his great-grandpa had settled. It couldn't be far—on the south side of the ridge between Big Piney and Stompy Knob. Other folks had bought the property from the mountain family some time ago. His grandpa used to tell stories of how he had helped build the place for them, fetching rocks from the mountain streambeds—even from old still furnaces—for the chimneys and walls.

If the boy could make it down there, they'd let him in.

* * *

Inside the log and frame house, the woman heard the dogs bark. Not a friendly bark, but mean and fierce. She turned on the outside lights, peering through the little window by the front door. They were quiet now. But something was going on out there.

The wind sounded like a freight train coming over the ridge, and the snowflakes were blowing sideways instead of falling straight down.

Then she saw them, the two big dogs with a boy walking between, like he'd known them before.

The woman opened the door.

"I'm Zeb Morris," the boy yelled breathlessly as he ran toward the lighted entrance. "My grandpa, he helped build this—"

Before he could finish the sentence, the boy stumbled. The woman caught him and helped him inside.

Chapter Two

Next morning the boy woke up and peered drowsily out the window upon a strange world. Where the sky was usually blue, the clouds were almost black. And where the ridge should have risen dark, it was white and soft. The dark, leafless trees—they, too, were white. And huge snowflakes were falling silently.

Snow always filled the boy with excitement. He jumped from the big bed before noticing how high it was, and nearly cried out in pain. He didn't. But when he looked at the ankle he had twisted last night, he saw it was swollen and blue.

"Doggone it!" he exclaimed. Now how would he get home? He pulled on all but his left sock and shoe and limped across the hall to what looked to be the kitchen.

"Good morning, Zeb," the woman said.

"Mornin', ma'am," he replied. The smell of frying bacon, fresh coffee, and wood smoke made him feel at home.

He stood shyly beside the door, the large gray-and-white-striped cat rubbing against his good leg.

"Lost a shoe?" the woman asked.

"No'm. Comin' down by the old bear's den last evenin' where it's almighty steep, I twisted it. Didn't really notice it till I jumped off that bed. It shore is high."

"That's because there's a trundle bed under it. Now, let me have a look."

With gentle hands she carefully felt the ankle.

"You've got a bad sprain. We'll soak it in ice water, then wrap it well. I'm afraid you couldn't have hiked home today anyway. We're snowed in. I called a friend in North Fork to get word to your grandfather that you are here."

"I'm obliged to you," the boy said.

He stuffed down two helpings of the scrambled eggs and bacon while the puffy ankle soaked in a pan of water. Then the woman carefully wrapped it in a wide elastic bandage.

"You take this cane," she said, "and explore the house to see what your grandfather helped to build. If your ankle begins to hurt, climb on a sofa and raise your ankle with some pillows. I'll read to you and we'll talk about your grandfather. When evening comes, if you like, I'll tell you the Christmas story."

* * *

It had been a full day, a fun day. By the time darkness fell, snow had covered the second rail of the fence outside the living room window. The woman lit a fire in the fireplace that was large enough for a boy to stand in. A Christmas tree with little white lights that twinkled against the old hewn logs reached to the beamed ceiling. The boy leaned back, a pillow tucked comfortably behind him and another under the sprained ankle.

"I like your house," he said suddenly. "Feels like home."

"That's the nicest thing anyone could say about it," she said, smiling. "It's fun dressing it up for Christmas—always has been. We have five children, and they're all married now with homes of their own. But we dress up Little Piney Cove for Jesus' birthday every Christmas, and if any of them can come home, they're more than welcome."

"Got any grandkids?"

"Nineteen."

"Golleee!" the boy exclaimed. "Just like some mountain folks."

"Thank you, Zeb. I consider that a real compliment. You know," she continued, eyes smiling, "there's a gift for you under the tree."

"For me?" Gray eyes widened in surprise.

From among the piles of gifts awaiting the family's arrival, she picked up a long, skinny one wrapped in bright red with a shiny ribbon.

Slowly he opened it. Unused to gifts, he didn't want to spoil the ribbon or tear the paper. There across his lap lay a walking stick made from a vine-strangled sapling.

"It was here when we bought the place," explained the woman. "They said it belonged to your grandfather. When you showed up last night, I remembered it. I said to myself, 'This stick ought to belong to Zeb.'"

The boy's hands felt along the curved groove left by the vine, his eyes bright.

"I shore am pleased t' get it," the boy said, "mighty pleased ..." And he couldn't say any more.

"Now," the woman announced, "the Christmas story!"

Chapter Three

The woman put a log on the fire, which exploded into hundreds of tiny red stars. They twinkled against the sooty back of the fireplace and disappeared up the chimney.

"The first Christmas happened almost two thousand years ago," she began. "That's when the angel appeared to shepherds outside Bethlehem. But the story doesn't begin there. It couldn't have because the angel called Jesus a 'savior,' or a rescuer. Someone must have been in trouble.

"To find out about it, we have to jump into a time machine and go back before Mary and Joseph were born. Back before there was any town of Bethlehem. In fact, so far back there was no earth. (Whoops—now our time machine has nothing to sit on!)"

She glanced at him, and the boy grinned back. Then she continued.

* * *

In the beginning, the earth was shapeless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep. Then God began to move.

"Light!" God commanded in a voice that cracked like thunder. There was a brilliant flash, and God separated the light from the darkness.

Next He set the sun, moon, and stars in...