En jul i Småland för länge sen (Swedish)

"Christmas Eve is a strange day, I think. You just go and wait all day. Gunnar and I sneaked into the hall and squeezed the packages into the clothes basket, where all the Christmas presents were.""Now you are going to hear about a Christmas a long time ago, specifically Christmas 1913, when Astrid Lindgren was only six years old. This is a story about when Astrid had to accompany dad into the forest to cut down a Christmas tree, it was knee-deep in snow and it was hard to walk on the dark, narrow forest path. But the tree was so beautiful and it became even more beautiful when she, dad and Gunnar had dressed it the next day.It is also the story of when the Christmas mess at home on the farm in Småland was transformed overnight into the most beautiful Christmas home imaginable, and of when Astrid received a "bliss thing" as a Christmas present. ""Bliss thing, it was if you got something so wonderful that it made you happy."" And about the fun Christmas party at grandma's with all the cousins, when the game never wanted to end. And about the magical journey home when the stars were shining, the horses were running wild in the snow and Astrid was lying down in the sleigh.In A Christmas in Småland for a long time, Astrid Lindgren tells, as only she can, about one of her childhood Christmases, about the magical atmosphere, the expectations and about all the fun she got to experience.The text has previously been published in the anthology A Christmas when I was young (Rabén & Sjögren 1992). Now it is being published for the first time as a picture book with illustrations by Cecilia Heikkilä."