Washoe County Library System

Katrusya's family cannot afford Christmas, but they cut a small pine tree in the forest, decorate it with buttons, and, when baby spiders hatch in its branches, they especially enjoy the silvery webs that appear.

A skeptical visitor to the village of Nemirov finds out where its rabbi really goes just before the Jewish New Year, when the villagers claim he goes to heaven to speak to God.

A freshly baked gingerbread man escapes when he is taken out of the oven and eludes a number of animals, until he meets a clever fox.

Relates how the Jade Emperor chose twelve animals to represent the years in his calendar. Also discusses the Chinese calendar, zodiac, the qualities associated with each animal, and what animal rules the year in which the reader was born.

When his sins threaten the lives of his beloved twin children, a Jewish man finally repents of his wicked ways.