The short story by Louisa May Alcott is told from the third-person perspective. The novel opens two days before Christmas, and the protagonist is a little girl called Effie who tells her mother that she is tired of Christmas. The mother does not believe what her daughter says because it is strange that Effie does not like Christmas, a day every child longs to see. The mother responds by telling Effie that she will be as bad as old Scrooge, who hated Christmas, but a dream convinced him otherwise. Effie is optimistic about reading more about Scrooge because she also loves dreams. According to Effie's mother, Christmas is the happiest day of the year.
The reason why Effie does not like Charismas anymore is that it has repetitive, boring events. For instance, there is a Christmas tree and a doll on top of it every Christmas, and there is nothing new. The same Santa Claus pops up every Christmas with the same outfit, which Effie finds boring. Additionally, Effie laments that she eats a lot during Christmas, and she wakes up feeling sick the following day. Effie suggests to her mother that instead of the regular gifts she receives on Christmas day, this time, she would prefer a little deer and do things differently.
As the narrative continues, Effie suggests that she wishes she were a poor girl or a beggar. According to Effie, poor children are happy because they can do anything they want. For instance, there are no housemaids around to monitor what they do. Consequently, Effie tells her mother that she is not free and does not like close supervision when doing her daily activities. When her mother asks if she would love to go hungry and be homeless, Effie happily agrees, and she says her Friend Cinderella, despite being poor, is happy.
As the narrative concludes, Effie's mother realizes that her daughter is passionate about the poor. Consequently, Effie believes that Christmas should be about sharing and feeding the hungry and gifting them. When Effie says she wants to be a beggar, she implies that even poor people deserve to be happy and enjoy themselves like rich people. Therefore, Effie's dream to celebrate Christmas by bestowing different presents upon poor children to make them happy becomes true. Effie's mother organizes gifts that Effie shares with poor children and feels very satisfied.
