When Shirley stepped off the front porch, we all gasped. She was certainly the general's daughter. She wore a white rabbit fur coat with a matching hat and muff. It was unlike anything we had ever seen. "Isn't she the prettiest girl in the world?" I stammered. My mother agreed.

From that moment forward, the campaign was on. I had already asked Santa for a Shirley Temple doll, but I knew that my parents always gave me something special. Last year it had been a "Flexible Flier" sled. This Christmas there was only one thing I wanted: a white rabbit coat with a matching muff and hat. I didn't expect another thing, not so much as a candy cane, if I could only have the coat, muff and hat. Certainly my daddy loved me enough to grant my only wish. I helped with the dishes every night, dusted every surface in the house, kept my room spotless, and even helped my brother shovel snow. It was clear that such a good helper should have her heart's desire.

Mother tried to help me see that the coat was out of the question. "These are hard times. You can't expect to dress like that. What would your cousins think?"

I knew that my uncle had been out of a job for more than a year, but what did that have to do with my coat, muff and hat?

Christmas Eve came, and with it, our traditional dinner with my grandparents. For some reason, the oyster stew seemed to stick in my throat and Grandma's eggnog pie did not taste quite the same. I was tense with the fear that I might not get the gift I wanted most. As always, we opened our grandparents' gifts that night. Mine was a lovely pair of hand-knit red mittens. I let go of my fears long enough to hope that my grandmother had made them to go with the lovely new coat I would be receiving the next day.

That night, after helping my mother with the dishes, I went up to my room and after putting on my warm nightie, I knelt down to pray: "Dear Heavenly Father, I know you aren't supposed to ask for things for yourself, but please let me get that white rabbit coat and muff and hat, please. I have been such a good girl this year, and I'll be even better in 1935."

I awakened to the sound of jingling bells on the stairway and the happy voice of my daddy calling out, "Rhoda Susan, Charles, it looks like Santa has once again found his way to 1373 Third Ave.."

We raced downstairs and found stockings brimming with treats . . . a popcorn ball, strips of ribbon candy, chocolate coins wrapped in shiny gold foil, a double book of Life Savers, two tangerines and even a silver dollar!

Under the tree was the Shirley Temple doll that had been the focus of my attention until just a few weeks before. She was dressed in the exact yellow organdy dress I had imagined her in, with a matching organdy purse and a tiny gold locket around her neck. I danced for joy and twirled around the room. This was going to be the best Christmas ever.