December 1
The Lantern in the Attic
On the first of December, Viggo woke before anyone else in the house. He lay quite still under his duvet and listened. Outside it was as quiet as it only gets when it has snowed all night. Then he leapt out of bed so the night lamp rattled, and landed with a bump in his sister’s bed.
“Alma! Wake up! It’s the first of December!”
Alma never woke up quickly. But the word December worked better than any alarm clock. She sat up, pulled her notebook out from under her pillow and wrote at the top of a new page: Things to do today. One: light the calendar candle. Two: fetch the Christmas decorations from the attic. Three: eat breakfast. She looked at the list for a moment, and then swapped two and three.
