The Best Christmas Present in the World

 

Michael Morpurgo

The story, “The Best Christmas Present in the World” depicts a war story with the festive season of Christmas in the backdrop. In this story, the author finds a note in an old desk and tries to reach out to its owner, Mrs. Connie Macpherson, to deliver the letter written by her husband, Jim during the war.

Summary

The story “The Best Christmas Present in the World” begins with the author making a decision about buying an old roll-top desk which is in a bad-condition. He had longed for one since long and he was also confident that he could restore it. Thus, he takes the desk home and as he starts working on it on the Eve of Christmas, he finds a secret drawer that carried a letter addressed to some woman named Connie from her husband Jim. It said that it was his last letter and was dated December 26, 1914. It was written at the time of the war between Germany and Britain. It enlisted the series of events that followed on the day of Christmas that year 1914 or “a wonderful thing that happened”, in the words of Jim. He wrote about how the two armies that came together to celebrate the spirit of Christmas despite belonging to enemy nations. They forgot about their differences for a while and realized that they had much in common. They shared schnapps, sausages and rum. The two officers, Jim and Hans Wolf developed a good bond over a chit-chat. They both were of the view that countries should negotiate peacefully and resolve conflicts by playing football or cricket. The soldiers played football that day and when all their supply of food and drinks was finished, they knew it was time to return back to their own trenches. That night, they exchanged Christmas carols. As Jim tells Connie about the day in his letter, he assures Connie of their reunion next Christmas. The author, who read this letter thought he should reach out to Connie. He finds the address mentioned on the envelope and discovers that the house had been burnt and Connie, a hundred and one years old lady, now lived in a Nursing home. He visits the Nursing home and hands over the letter to Connie, who is immensely overjoyed on reading the letter. She misunderstands the author to be her husband Jim and calls him “The Best Christmas present in the World                    

 

QUESTION/ANSWER

1: What did the author find in a junk shop?

Ans: The author found a very old 19th century roll-top desk in a junk shop. It was made of oak. It was in a very bad condition. The roll-top was broken into several pieces. One of the legs was clumsily mended and there were scorch marks down one side.

 

2: What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there?

Ans: In a secret drawer of a roll-top desk, the author found a small tin box. There was a piece of lined note paper sello-taped to its top. It had, ‘Jim’s last letter, received January 25, 1915. To be buried with me when the time comes” written on it. Most likely, it was put there by Mrs. Jim Macpherson, who was Jim’s wife. Her name and address were on the envelope inside the box

 

1: Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?

Ans: Jim Macpherson, who had gone to fight the war against the Germans, had written the letter to his wife Connie Macpherson on December 26, 1914.

 

2: Why was the letter written-what was the wonderful thing that had happened?

Ans: Jim wrote the letter to tell his wife about a wonderful thing that had happened on Christmas day. The British and the Germans were engaged in a war, yet on this day, both the troops met in no man's land. It was a thing of wonder because right in the middle of a war, the warring soldiers were making peace. They celebrated Christmas together and played a friendly football match.

 

3: What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers?

Ans: Both Jim Macpherson and Hans Wolf were not soldiers in their normal life. Hans Wolf played the cello in the orchestra at Dusseldorf. Jim Macpherson was a school teacher from Dorset in the West of England.

 

4: Had Hans Wolf even been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it?

Ans: No, Hans Wolf had never been to Dorset. He had learned all about England from school and from reading books in English. His favorite writer was Thomas Hardy from whose novels he must have learned a lot about England

 

5: Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How do you know this?

Ans: No, it is most likely that Jim Macpherson did not come back from the war. In the sellotaped notepaper it was written that the letter was Jim’s last letter. Connie Macpherson did not receive any more letters from him. The statement given by the neighbours of Mrs. Macpherson and the nurse at the nursing home showed no reference of Jim. The neighbour said she lived alone and the nurse said she had no family as not one visited her till date. 1: Why did the author go to Bridport? Ans: The author went to Bridport because that was the address where Mrs. Macpherson lived. The address on the letter read “Mrs Jim Macpherson, 12 Copper Beeches, Bridport, and Dorset. He wanted to give that letter back to her. He was feeling guilty for opening her letter.

 

2: How old was Mrs. Macpherson now? Where was she?

Ans: Mrs. Macpherson was a hundred and one-year-old. She was in a nursing home in Burlington house, on the Dorchester road, on the other side of town.

 

1: Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?

Ans: Connie Macpherson thought that her visitor was her husband, Jim. as the narrator was carrying his letter.

 

2: Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity?

Ans: The sentence which shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity is, 'I explained about the desk, about how I had found it, but I don't think she was listening.

 

Working with Text

1: For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim's letter? Give reasons for your

 Ans: Connie must have kept Jim's letter for a long time. This is because she told the narrator how she read it quite often every day so that she could feel that Jim was near her.

 

2: Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?

Ans: The desk must have been sold when the house in which Connie Macpherson lived had caught fire. She was taken to a nursing home. All the burnt up things must have been sold after that.

 

3: Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree?

Ans: Jim and Hans thought that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts because nobody dies in matches. No children are orphaned and no wives become widows. Due to these reasons, games are good ways for resolving conflicts. Wars only lead to death and devastation. I do agree with them as it is the best way to resolve any conflict between two enemy countries without losing so many things.

 

4: Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence form the story to support your Ans.

Ans: The soldiers of the two armies were like each other. Below are some instances from the story to prove: → Both the armies celebrated Christmas → Both the armies shared their food and spent time together in smoking, laughing, talking, drinking and eating. → They played a football match and agreed that conflicts and disputes may be resolved by football match → They agreed about the negative aspects of war and longed peace. → They exchanged carols and hoped to unite with the families again.

 

5: Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.

Ans: On the cold, beautiful frosty Christmas morning the British and the German troops celebrated Christmas with each other. They enjoyed each other's food. All of them were smoking, laughing, talking, drinking and eating. Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson shared the cake Connie had baked. They talked about Bathsheba, Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Troy and Dorset. They even talked about the books they liked. They agreed about everything. Both the troops played a game of football for which both Hans and Jim cheered, clapped hands and stamped feet. They also exchanged carols at night. In this way, they celebrated Christmas together, finding a lot in common between them.

 

6: What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world?

Ans: When the narrator came to return Connie's letter and her the box, she mistook him for her husband Jim, due to memory loss and old age. She thought that Jim had come back home for Christmas. That delusion was Connie's Christmas present. It was the best Christmas present in the world for her because Jim had written in the letter that he would come home on Christmas. She had read that letter several times every day to feel that he was near her. Now that he was finally there with her, she was extremely happy.

 

7: Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any other title(s)?

Ans: Yes, the title of the story is suitable for it. The spirit of Christmas is the theme that prevails throughout the story. The message of Christmas peace and good will to all is brought out so clearly through the story. It was on a Christmas day, in the middle of a raging war, that two warring troops made peace. The moment of peace that the soldiers shared with each other was the best Christmas present for them. Again, it was on a Christmas day that the narrator went to see Mrs. Macpherson. He went to return her husband’s letters to her. The letter was precious to her, but even more precious was her allusion that the narrator was her husband Jim, who she believed had returned as promised on a Christmas day. This was the best Christmas present in the world for her. Suitable titles could be “A Christmas wish comes true!”, “Someday at Christmas…” “The Christmas Message”.

 

Moral

The story 'Best Christmas Present in the World' has beautifully depicted the moral lesson. It conveys that war and fight only bring sadness and humiliation all around the world. One should generally follow the path of peace for attaining happiness in the world.

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