ncert 8th class English honeydew ch 1 summary
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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 realised 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 owntrenches. 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.”
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