János Apró, a widowed master bootmaker in Pest, is raising his nine small children on his own. They are so poor that, at Christmas, the only gift he can offer them is teaching them a cheerful song greeting the Baby Jesus—a song they can sing together. The melody rings out from the lips of the nine smiling children, filling the entire house; yet, the sound so disturbs the wealthy, solitary landlord living upstairs that he comes down to demand silence. Upon seeing their poverty, however, he abandons his intention; instead, he offers to adopt one of the boys—raising him to wealth so that he might later help the others.