It reached from the floor to the ceiling, and spread its branches abroad in all directions.

It stood well and firmly; it had all the appearance of growing; it held its head erect, and seemed as likely to stand as any of the trees outside in the garden.
But our tree only stood for a time.

So long as the heavy weights and props which held it up remained, so long as the strings, which were tightly tied to nails in the wall, were uncut; just so long the tree remained upright and unmoved.

But the very instant that the props and supports were taken away our tree came down with a crash.
What was the reason of its downfall?
Why did the trees in the garden stand unsupported, and yet this tree fell so soon as its props were removed?
The answer is clear and simple.

The trees in the garden had each of them a root, our Christmas tree had no root.