The real St. Nick
At Christmas, children wait for St. Nicholas to bring gifts down the
chimney. But it's not just a story. St. Nicholas was a real person.
A long time ago, a man named Marcus occupied a house with his
family. He was not modest. He always told everybody he was the
strongest man in the province.
He worked hard, but he could barely sustain his family. He wanted to
save money and prosper. Still, he could never earn a penny more than
he needed.
One day, Marcus made an agreement with a blacksmith. The
blacksmith had a lot of work to do. But he couldn't do it all by himself.
Marcus wanted to help him forge iron. The blacksmith agreed to
compensate him with a lot of money.
In the same town, there was a man named Nicholas. At an early age,
Nicholas started preaching. But he also believed that he should be
humble and charitable. He learned that helping people gave him even
more satisfaction than preaching.
One day. Nicholas encountered Marcus. Marcus told Nicholas about
his agreement with the blacksmith. "I worked hard for him," Marcus
said, "but a problem arose. Even though I worked for him, he didn't pay
me."
Nicholas wanted to help Marcus. That night, he went back to Marcus's
house. He brought a bag of gold. It exceeded the amount that Marcus
needed. Nicholas climbed up a ladder and dropped the bag of gold
down the chimney. Marcus thanked his benefactor.
Soon, people found out about Nicholas's gift. He became well known
and loved. Even today, people still give secret gifts to children. And we
say they are from St. Nicholas.