Synopsis
St. Agnes orphanage has closed for Christmas, and all the children except Ivy have been dispatched to various homes for the holiday. Miss Shepherd, the head of the home, cannot take Ivy home with her, so she decides to send her to an infants' orphanage, a train ride away. Ivy suggests that she could instead go to her grandmother in Aylesbury, a surprising inspiration, since she has no grandmother. This inspiration is a primary theme of the story, which begins, "This is a story about wishing."
Ivy is put on a train. She tells travelers she will be visiting her grandmother in Aylesbury. When they respond knowingly to that, she says, "Then...there is an Aylesbury." She gets off there and begins to explore, enjoying the Christmas Eve in the town and looking for her grandmother.
A beautiful new Christmas doll named Holly is standing in the display window of Mr. Blossom's toy store, wishing for a little girl to come and take her home. The toy owl next to her, Abracadabra, treats her with undisguised contempt, and suggests that, since no one will want Holly after the holiday, she will wind up spending the year in the back room with him.
Mrs. Jones, who lives a few blocks from the toy store, suggests to her husband, a police officer that they have a Christmas tree that year. Her husband refuses, saying that it would be a waste of money since they have no children to enjoy it. Despite his words, Mrs. Jones buys a Christmas tree and decorates it.
After a busy afternoon of Christmas sales, Mr. Blossom's toy store finally closes. Neither Holly nor Abracadabra has been sold. Mr. Blossom is tired from a long day's work, so he asks Peter to lock up the store for him, telling him that he can pick a toy for himself as a bonus. Peter locks up the store, but the key slips out of a hole in his pocket without him noticing, landing in the snow outside the shop.
Meanwhile, Ivy's search for her grandmother has not gone well. Feeling very discouraged, she is walking past the toy store when Holly catches her eye. The doll is exactly what she wanted, but she is outside, and the store is locked. She wishes to have the doll, and Holly wishes to have the girl (Ivy). She finds the key that Peter dropped, and decides to keep it. Night falls, and she takes shelter in a nearby alley.
The next morning, she returns to the toy store to look at Holly, and overhears a conversation between Peter and Officer Jones, who has been on patrol all night. Peter is distraught about losing the key to the shop. Ivy realizes that was the key that she found, and returns it. Peter goes in to check the store. Officer Jones quickly realizes that Ivy is on her own, and decides to take her home for breakfast. When Ivy insists that she is going to see her grandmother, Officer Jones decides to let her lead the way to her supposed grandmother's home.
Peter is relieved that the store has not been robbed. Since Ivy saved his job, he decides to use his bonus to select a present for her, and chooses Holly. Abracadabra, furious that Holly's wish is about to come true, hurls himself at Peter and winds up in the trash. When Mr. Blossom goes to retrieve him later, he has mysteriously vanished.
When Ivy sees a house with a beautiful Christmas tree and no children, she claims it is her grandmother's house, which surprises Officer Jones, because it is his own home. When he lets them inside, Mrs. Jones quickly accepts Ivy, and Ivy decides she has found her grandmother. Shortly after, Peter delivers a beautifully wrapped box, which contains Holly. Everyone's wishes have come true: Ivy has a family and a Christmas doll, Holly has a little girl, and Mrs. Jones has a child - she and Officer Jones adopt Ivy.
The story ends with a reflection of "If" imaginings showing how thin are the threads holding together the big elements of the story, and "If I had not wished," concludes Holly.
