THE CHRISTMAS DONKEY

Southern France for another story of Christmas in other lands (the first two were Norway and Switzerland). It is a charming story -- for the older of the age group below this- the younger in this age group- about Michel, who wanted so desperately to earn enough money to get his grandmother the donkey she wanted. It called on forces he didn't realize he had, for self-deprivation, hard work- and sometimes decisions that were not wholly admirable. There's lots of local flavor, as Michel and his grandmother make the santons for the Christmas creche and the santon fair, and the village background comes into being.