Joseph in the Snow, and The Clockmaker. Vol. I (Unabridged)

Nearly Christmas and the precocious and rambunctious Joseph is excited at the prospect of meeting his father (Adam) on the morrow (Christmas Eve). For her part, his unwed mother, Martina, dreads the passage of time, for Adam is now betrothed to another. Adam's overbearing mother - an embittered woman who holds God and others responsible for the tragic death of her other son, Vincent - had refused to countenance a union of her only remaining son with the 'lowly' Martina, who had served as a maid in her household. The young and beautiful Martina does not lack for other suitors but, as she has said, 'I could easily get a good husband, but my Joseph can get no other father than Adam, even if he wished it.' Christmas Eve arrives and little Joseph disappears. Where can the boy be? Has he wandered into the snowy forest where the villagers have seen a wolf on the prowl? What will become of the child?