Our fully decorated Christmas tree crashed onto a tile floor, shattering precious ornaments and leaving menacing splinters of glass all over the room.

"Don't worry!" I assured our two preschool girls. "We'll clean everything up, and the tree will be pretty as ever."

My husband and I worked full-throttle to make things right. He parked the kids on the couch, bribed each with a candy cane, and told them not to move. I swept. We thought things were improving, but then I felt a sickening thickness under my slipper.

"Uh, honey," I whispered. "Have you seen Chirpy?"

Normally, our daughters' parakeet lived in a cage over in the corner, but sometimes the kids liked to set him free. I looked down and saw green tail feathers fanning from my slipper. I froze. My husband lifted my foot, scooped Chirpy from the floor, and gave me that "it's not looking good" sort of grimace. Within minutes, Chirpy squawked his last pitiful squawk and fluttered mercifully on to his reward.

I felt terrible, but more so when one of my daughters wailed, "You murdered my bird!"

The girls wanted nothing to do with me, so their father took charge and provided the best on-the-spot grief counseling that he could muster. He placed Chirpy in a tissue-lined-box, assured them that the bird didn't mind being in there, and promised that "my accuser" could preside over services in the morning. He bathed and dressed the kids as quickly as possible, read them a happier Christmas story, and tucked them in for the night.

Morning came and we laid Chirpy to rest. As promised, our daughter led the service.
"Oh, Lord," she prayed. "Mommy stepped on my bird!"

She paused. I wondered what she would say say next. She smiled at me and said, "It was on accident, Lord. Maybe could I get another one for Christmas?"

My husband and I wanted to laugh, but we didn't. We had too much to do. First we made a big breakfast. Next, we went shopping,'cause Mommy needed a new pair of slippers. Finally, we secured that tree so that nothing, not even Santa, could bring it crashing down ever again!

Learn more about this author, Barbara Lee Norris.
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