This short story by Truman Capote relates a series of events during the Christmas season that describe his memories of his elderly cousin. It serves as a memoir of Capote's childhood, and the characters and events are based very closely on real life. Capote narrates the story as an older adult looking back on a particular Christmas of his childhood over a period of a few days.

The external conflict of the story could probably best be described as the conflict that exists in the household, with Buddy and his cousin Sook living a carefree and fun existence, versus the other adults who are pious and judgmental. Buddy is only seven years old when this story takes place, but he describes his cousin as being very childlike. Her childish demeanor obviously made it easier for them to have a close knit relationship. It is also possible that, due to her unusual behavior, his elderly cousin may have been considered somewhat mentally deficient, or socially awkward, by the other adults and this also caused tension in the household.

This is also related to the internal conflict portrayed in the story, in that Buddy does not always understand why his cousin does certain things, and did not comprehend how she was different until he was much older. He could relate to her because of her childlike innocence and enjoyment of things, but she was not necessarily a role model to help him understand the world of adults. Buddy, being a very intelligent child, sometimes realized Sook was different and that he was sometimes more of an adult than she was. This did sometimes create a conflict wherein Buddy felt weighted down with the pressure of doing the more responsible thing, a path that his cousin did not always choose. And yet, the story portrays their relationship as one that was very significant in his childhood, and one that he still remembers as he tells the story when he is much older.