Hope was a little angel - a special kind of angel - no, not like one of those who hover around in heaven and look down on little children, and sing, "Alleluia" and "Amen." She was a Christmas angel. More precisely, she was the plastic angel that hovered over the nativity in the Ellenberg's front yard. Her name was the same as their youngest daughter, who had named the angel after herself. It seemed like a good name for an angel, after all, and especially one that watched over Jesus in the manger every year.

Every year her mother and father would get out the nativity set and put it in their yard, and every year Hope would stand by them, holding the angel until the rest of the set was up. Then her dad would help her put it up, and put a light inside of her, so that she shown down on the baby Jesus. "There," the little girl would say. "Now you watch over Jesus, and keep him safe and warm." And Hope would try to do just that, although, since she was plastic and all in one piece, it was a very difficult job. But she would shine as brightly as she could over Jesus, and from her perch above him would watch him all through the holiday season.

The little girl would sometimes come out to talk to her. She liked that, because the other figures in the creche were very quiet. Mostly they did the same as her - they just watched over Jesus, and silently adored him. It was nice, though, when the little girl came, and talked to her about school, or going to church, and sometimes she would sing a Christmas carol to her. She especially liked that, because, after all, angels are very fond of music, especially songs about Jesus.

Every year, the little angel could feel it in her bones - or, rather, in her plastic - when it was time for the Ellenbergers to put up the nativity. And she looked forward to the little girl picking her up, and putting a fresh light bulb inside her, and holding her until the rest of the set was up, and putting her in the place of honor, so that she could shine down on Jesus. She marveled, every year, how much the little girl had grown and changed, although she, herself, never seemed to change at all! And soon the little girl's talks with her changed from school to boyfriends, and then to going off to college, and then, one year, she spent a lot of time talking about a boy named Mark, of whom she seemed awfully fond.

The next year the little girl wasn't there when the nativity set went up. The Ellenbergers placed her on the ground, which was hard and cold, while they placed the other figures in the nativity. They forgot to put a new bulb in her and, half way through the season, her bulb burnt out - a fact they didn't discover until the next day. Hope was worried all night about Jesus, and whether he would freeze without her bulb to keep him warm. She waited and waited all through the Christmas season for the little girl to come and talk with her, but she never came.

Then, one night, a group of boys were playing in the street; she was watching them, hoping they would maybe come over and talk to her a while. One of them picked up a stone and threw it at one of the wise men. "Bam!" it went, as it struck the wise man. And the wise man fell over. The boy laughed, and the others joined in, trying to hit the figures with rocks. "Oh, no!" the little angel cried. She was worried that one of them might hit Jesus. Suddenly a large stone hit her wing, breaking it right off. "Please stop!" she cried, as loudly as she could, but, of course, no one could hear her. But the sound of her wing breaking was loud enough to be heard in the house, and, when the porch light came on, the boys ran away.

Mister and Mrs. Ellenberger came out and surveyed the damage. "Guess we'll have to get a new set," Mister Ellenberger said. Mrs. Ellenberger just shook her head. In the morning, they took the set down, but it was a busy day - they were getting ready to travel to Pennsylvania to see their daughter and her new husband. So they just packed up the set and put it in a box, thinking that they would throw it away later, when they got home. The angel, sitting on top of the pile of broken lawn ornaments, could see the Ellenbergers load the car with presents. Then they shut the garage door, and she heard them pull away.

The Ellenbergers actually forgot all about the nativity set, until next year. About the time Hope felt the stirring of Christmas again, she heard Mister Ellenberger stirring around the attic, where she was stored. "We'll have to replace the nativity this year," he yelled down to his wife, who was catching lights and ornaments and decorations as he handed them down the ladder to her. "Let's get a Frosty the Snowman this year," he said. He didn't bring down the nativity, but left it in the attic. "I'll get rid of the old set later," he said.

In the darkness of the attic, Hope could feel the other figurines beneath her. She could feel her broken wing. She could not feel the warmth of the light bulb inside her, or see the baby Jesus. It was dark and cold in the attic - not the kind of place an angel should be. She tried to cover Jesus, to keep him warm, and softly sang the Christmas carols she remembered the little girl singing to her, for so many years.

Just a few days later, the attic door opened, and she heard a familiar voice. "Is it up here? You didn't throw it out, did you?" It was the little girl! "Honey, you don't want that old set. It's broken and the paint is chipped. Let us get you a new one," her father said. The little angel's heart leapt for joy! The little girl, now all grown up, tenderly picked up the box full of lawn ornaments. "Oh, here it is! You can't throw this away! You can't throw away Hope! Let me take her!" She gently brought the box down into the garage, and took out the angel, studying her broken wing. "Is the wing still here? Oh, here it is!" she said, rummaging through the box. "I can glue it on. And I think I can repaint the faces. Can I have it, daddy - please?" "Sure," her dad replied. "Although I'd be happy to get you a new one." "You don't understand, daddy," the girl said, turning toward him. "You can't replace Hope. She's my oldest friend."

Hope never thought about that before. All of the years they had talked together. All the years she had spent listening to the little girl's stories. It made her feel good, and very special to be thought of as a friend.

She noticed that the little girl was very much changed, indeed, since the last time she saw her, two years ago. She was wearing a wedding ring, and had a very fat belly. The little girl introduced Hope to a young man, who the little girl said was Mark, her husband, and explained that now the angel would be living with them, up in Pennsylvania.

Over the next couple of weeks, the girl was good as her word. One of the wise men could not be fixed, so there were only two wise men in the nativity set she set up on her front lawn. But she fixed Hope's wing, and repainted all the figures, and put a new light bulb inside of Hope, and the angel felt better than she had felt in a long time. The girl put her up where she could shine down on Jesus, and keep him warm, and then she read the story of Jesus' birth to her, and it filled the angel with delight. And the little girl said to the angel, "Next year, I want to introduce you to a new friend. Her name will be "Joy." I hope you will be as good a friend to her as you have been to me. I hope you will listen to her stories, and share her secrets, and teach her the story of Jesus." And Hope promised that she would. And she did.