The Legend of Saint Nicholas

A long time ago in a far away land lived a very special boy named Nicholas. Nicholas’ parents were very rich. They died when Nicholas was a teenager, leaving Nicholas a great fortune.

“What should I do with all these riches?” Nicholas wondered.

Nicholas was kind and good, and he decided the best thing he could do would be to help others. He wanted to help the people in his own town who needed it.

Now in Nicholas’ town there lived a poor family with three daughters. The girls’ father wanted to be able to pay for their weddings – but he didn’t have the money.

Nicholas wanted to help the family. So when it was time for the oldest daughter to be married, Nicholas went to the man’s home at night and put a bag of gold outside the door. The next morning, the girls’ father discovered the gold and the family rejoiced!

Later Nicholas tossed a second bag of gold into the family’s chimney for the second daughter’s wedding. When it came time for the third daughter to be married, the girls’ father stood watch. He wanted to find out who was giving his family these bags of gold! This time, Nicholas tossed the bag of gold through an open window. As soon as the father heard the bag of coins hit the floor, he ran outside and chased young Nicholas until he caught him.

Nicholas was embarrassed and made the father promise not to tell anyone who had helped his family. Of course, the father couldn’t keep Nicholas’ secret for very long, and soon the whole town knew who had been doing all the good deeds.

Nicholas also rewarded children who had been good throughout the year by secretly leaving them presents during the month of December. Even today, we remember Saint Nicholas for his special love of children. In many countries throughout the world, children get bags filled with presents on December 6 – which is called Saint Nicholas’ Day.