Bernadette Watts

"Varenka lives contently in her cottage in the woods, until passersby warn her that war has broken out. Pack up a bundle and come along with us. But Varenka can't leave. Who will care for the children who wander and get lost in the forest? Who will shelter the animals and feed the birds when winter comes? Soon, Varenka shelters a young artist, an old farmer and his goat, and a lost child. And each night she prays for a wall to be built around her...

A little fir tree realizes too late that it did not appreciate the grand moments of life, such as being a Christmas tree, while they were happening.

A strange little man helps the miller's daughter spin straw into gold for the king, on the condition that she will give him her first-born child.

Despite the scorn of the other animals, a donkey persists in his journey to see the newborn Christ Child.

Originally published in 1872, many of these poems are now considered childhood classics.