When school broke up briefly for Weihnachten, Liesel even afforded Sister Maria a «merry Christmas» before going on her way. Knowing that the Hubermanns were essentially broke, still paying off debts and paying rent quicker than the money could come in, she was not expecting a gift of any sort. Perhaps only some better food. To her surprise, on Christmas Eve, after sitting in church at midnight with Mama, Papa, Hans Junior, and Trudy, she came home to find something wrapped in newspaper under the Christmas tree.
«From Saint Niklaus,» Papa said, but the girl was not fooled. She hugged both her foster parents, with snow still laid across her shoulders.
Fra boka The book thief av Markus Zusak.