The Littlest Angel

The Littlest Angel is a children's Christmas book, authored by Charles Tazewell. Originally published in 1944, it is a classic and original copies sell for hundreds of dollars.

In the story, a young boy (age "four years, six months, five days, seven hours, and forty-two minutes") enters Heaven, and immediately becomes a disaster to the rest of the heavenly host. Ultimately brought into counseling, an older angel ("The Understanding Angel") realizes the young boy is homesick and bored (a product of becoming an angel at such a young age), and he is allowed to reclaim a box he once had at home, which results in improved conduct.

The announcement is soon made that Jesus, the Son of God, is to go to earth and be born of Mary. Running out of ideas for gifts (he had no musical talent to sing, nor could he compose a prayer since he couldn't read), eventually he presents his box as a gift. Immediately he thinks his gift to be irreverent, but he can't reclaim it before the hand of God chooses it.

The box is opened and its contents are revealed: a butterfly, a sky-blue egg, two white stones from a riverbank, and a well-worn dog collar. God mentions that the "contents are of earth and of men, and my Son is born to be king of both". The box was then transformed into the Star of Bethlehem.