On Teaser Tuesdays readers are asked to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between 7 and 12 lines.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given.

Several years ago, my aunt Patti began the tradition of sending me a different collection of Christmas stories every year. Last year’s collection, entitled simply Christmas Stories was one of the more literary of the collection – others tend toward lighter fiction, and even humor on occasion, but I like all styles of writing, so I enjoyed it even so.

As it’s December, and I’m a sucker for a good holiday tale – they make a nice change from worrying over wireless security systems and other such technological concerns – I’m using it this week.

So, from the short story “The Burglar’s Christmas,” by Willa Cather, which is included in the Everyman’s Pocket Classics edition of Christmas Stories, I offer the following:

‘O, my poor boy, much or little, what does it matter? Have you wandered so far and paid such a bitter price for knowledge and not yet learned that love has nothing to do with pardon or forgiveness, that it only loves, and loves – and loves? They have not taught you well, the women of your world.’ She leaned over and kissed him, as no woman had kissed him since he left her.