"Is that foal available for adoption?" Matthias asked Mr. Knight.

"Yes, he is," Mr. Knight replied with a smile.

"Oh, Daddy, can we take him home today?" Paula begged.

"Let's work out the terms," Matthias said to Mr. Knight.

The two men discussed prices, food, supplies, and medical care, and then Mr. Knight loaned the Brimmers a trailer to take the horse home in.

"What are you going to name him?" Matthias asked his daughter as they rode along.

"I don't know," Paula replied. "I hadn't thought about that. What do you think would be a good name for him, Daddy?"

"How about Donner or Blitzen? Those mean 'thunder' and 'lightning' in German."

"'Donner' sounds like 'Donna', and that's a girl's name," said Paula. "I think I like 'Blitzen' better."

"'Blitzen' it is, then," said Matthias.

By the time they got home, everyone was starving, so Matthias bought hamburgers and French fries for everyone. All three children spent the entire afternoon playing with Blitzen in the back yard. They were so tired they hardly stayed awake to hear their bedtime story.

"Mommy, how come Paula got her Christmas present two days early?" Lili asked Ginny as she was tucking her in that night.

"Well, Santa could hardly bring a horse on his sleigh, could he?" Ginny laughed. "Sometimes he has to have helpers, and that's what your Daddy and I were today. We helped Santa by bringing Paula's present home in the trailer."

"Oh." Lili looked thoughtful. "My doll is a lot smaller, so Santa can bring her in his sleigh."

"That's right! Now go to sleep, sleepyhead." Ginny kissed the tip of her daughter's nose, and Lili giggled.

The children spent most of the following day, Christmas Eve, playing with Blitzen. When Paula woke up Christmas morning and remembered what day it was, she became slightly worried. With her parents' help, Santa had already brought her major gift. Would there be anything under the tree for her?

Lili and Benny dashed into the living room with much joyful whooping. Lili quickly found the package containing her Baby Tender Love and ripped it open. "Oh, Mama, she's just what I wanted!" she cried.

Ginny helped Benny find the presents that were his, and he was soon absorbed in playing with them. To Paula's great relief, Santa had brought her a few token presents - a new comb and brush, lip gloss, and bows for her favorite doll's hair - but she spent most of the morning playing with Lili and Benny's new toys with them.

The family went to Ben and Cindy's for dinner. Paula couldn't wait to tell her grandparents about Blitzen.

"Grandma, Grandpa! I got a horsey for Christmas, just like I wanted!" she shouted as she ran into the house.

"Really? That's great! I've always loved horses," said Cindy.

"His name is Blitzen," Paula continued. "That means 'lightning' in German. Daddy said so."

"Well, he would know," Cindy replied.

For dinner, there was pot roast with potatoes and carrots, green beans, and corn muffins, with pecan pie for dessert. After dinner, Matthias and Ginny stayed and visited for a few hours, and the children opened their presents from their grandparents. All three of them got new sweaters, and there were necklaces for the girls and a new set of blocks for Benny.

Later, Cindy and Ginny sat sipping cups of hot cocoa and watching through the window as a light snow fell outside.

"I think everyone's had a very nice Christmas this year," Cindy remarked.

"Yes," Ginny agreed. "The horse was a bit more than we could afford, but we knew how much Paula wanted one, and as happy as it's made her, it's been worth it."

"The other children will enjoy it as well, for many years to come," Cindy pointed out.

"We had that in mind when we bought it," said Ginny.

For the rest of Christmas vacation, Jakob came over to play with his cousins and the new horse almost every day.