Chapter 1 Once there was a homeless girl named Alexandra. Her parents had abandoned her when she was nine and a half years old. She was 10 years old now. She moved from place to place and was now living at the Bermuda City Dump.

She had found an old blue van, she took out the seats, and had moved into it.

She found an old lamp that still worked, a quilt and a fold-up table. It was her home.

She had to go to the soup kitchen for breakfast, lunch and dinner, because she didn't home any money to buy food for herself. Alexandra hated going there because she felt embarrassed.

One night Alexandra went to a Christmas Fair instead of the soup kitchen. She had enough of it. Alexandra planned to steal some food for herself.

As she walked to the fair which was at Victoria Park, she thought about what her parents might being doing right now. She began to feel very angry at her parents for deserting her.

When she got to the fair, she pretended to be a plain, old, little girl. She smiled and laughed, and she looked at the Christmas stalls there. Then she spied a food stall.

A lady was buying a hamburger. When the lady took her eyes off her food and put her hand over the counter to pay the man, Alexandra reached over and grabbed it.

She ran and ran away from the food stall. After she ate the stolen hamburger, she decided to go back to her little shack at the city dump. As she was walking back home a couple spotted her. They waved at her. Alexandra was scared. She wanted to run but they probably think she was a thief.

Chapter 2 As they came closer, she could see their faces clearer. The man was in his early 30's, maybe 30 or 31. He had blue eyes, dark brown hair and a creamy complication. The woman was in her late 20s, maybe 28 or 29. She had blonde hair, green eyes and a creamy complication too.

"Where do you live?'' asked the woman. Alexandra didn't'' know if she should tell the truth. She decided to tell the truth.'' "I live at the city dump.'' The lady asked, "Would you like to sleep at our house just for tonight?'' Alexandra was very afraid but the more she thought about sleeping in a real house, in a real bed, the more she wanted to and finally she said "OK, but just for tonight.'' Then the couple and she got in a Toyota car and drove to their house. it was just like Alexandra had imagined an ordinary home would be like; it had a fireplace with Christmas stockings hanging on it, the sound of Jingle Bell Rock was blurring from the speakers and it was warm. Best of all was the homey smell. That night she slept in the visitor's bedroom.

Chapter 3 The next day, Alexandra thanked the couple over and over again before she left their house. Over the days that followed, Alexandra visited them a lot. The couples names, as she found out were Carol and Mark. They didn't have any children.

On the week before Christmas, Alexandra went to visit them. When Alexandra knocked at the door, Carol opened it.

"Come sit down,'' she said ushering her into the living room. "We would like to talk to you.'' "So something wrong?'' thought Alexandra.

"We have talked it over and we have decided that we would like to adopt you'', they said. "You would,'' Alexandra said. "Yes!'' they said.

Antique drawing of a little girl by Thomas Nast SHORT STORY COMPETITION CPN