Last night, Bella had noticed three forms from the same family when she went through the ones she’d been given so far. The family in question were known for being cheeky to say the least, and Bella hoped it was just a mistake, but knowing the Foxes as she did, she wouldn’t have been surprised if they were trying to pull a fast one. Compared to some of the other items she’d had requests for, there was something off about them too. One had been for a new TV (though they had noted they didn’t mind a small one), another had been for a hair dryer and the other had been for a goose to feed fifteen. Firstly, she didn’t know if gooses grew that big and secondly, surely turkey would have been fine. Whichever way you looked at it, that was a lot of leftovers for a family of four even with both sets of in-laws round for Christmas.

One thing Bella had never expected was for people to try and cheat the system to such an extent. Had she been naïve? Perhaps a little. She’d always thought the best of people rather than the worst and had been brought up not to judge others’ circumstances. She didn’t want genuine cases to lose out while greedy people gained. The whole point of the giving tree was to give and not just receive, but was there any way she could actually police it? She’d have to rely on everyone having a good conscience and doing the right thing.

Bella continued her wrapping, singing along as she went. Every time she folded a corner of wrapping paper or fastened a bow, she felt a surge of happiness imagining the person’s face when they opened the present on Christmas Day. A little while later, her cheerful humming stopped abruptly as she took the next donation. It was in a thick cardboard box with ‘heavy’ written on the side, yet she lifted it with ease. Too much ease. She read the number scribbled on the box and grabbed her file of completed forms. Searching through she found the corresponding form and read what the present should have been. It should have been a pair of boy’s trainers and a winter coat. So why was it so light? Knowing there was nothing fragile inside she gave it a little shake. Nothing moved inside the box. In fact, it made no sound at all. Grabbing the scissors, she sliced through the Sellotape, holding it closed.

Folding back the lid she found … nothing. The box was empty.

‘Huh! Why would you do that?’ she said into the emptiness of the shed. ‘Why would you give us an empty box? Suppose I’d given this to the Morgans, hey?’ She raised her eyes to heaven. ‘Whoever took this tag I hope you get soggy stuffing on Christmas Day.’