In honor of the Feast of St. Nicholas on
December 6th (which starts in 13 minutes here as I write this), here is
a short story I wrote about three years ago. I hope you like it.
- Karen
Snowflake
by Karen Funk Blocher
The bishop of Myra returned to his prayers with satisfaction, wonder,
and guilt. Satisfaction, because the girl had awakened at the
sound of the bag of gold hitting the dirt floor, and received it
joyfully. The dowry meant that she would marry, and have a good
life instead of one of degradation. Wonder, because only the
Almighty knew the source of the gold. Guilt, because he had
accidentally seen the girl partially unclothed. What if that was
not what the Lord had wanted him to do?
Nicholas
prayed for an hour or more, and went back to bed. Dawn would come
soon, and with it morning vespers. In his dreams he was no longer
a clergyman, but a toymaker. He had a wife, but no children
except the world's children. He wore strange red and white
garments to keep out the cold, for he lived in a place of snow and
ice. He drove a chariot without wheels, pulled by strange deer
never seen in Asia, and gave toys, not gold, to children who called him
by dozens of names.
When he awoke, he wondered: was this a prophetic dream, a nightmare, or
both? He got up, pulled on his cassock and slippers, and stepped
outside for the short walk to the church. The dawn air was still
and warm, and the stars were fading into the growing daylight. Nicholas
heard a jingling bell that was not a church bell. A single
snowflake fell from heaven into the bishop's hand.
St. Nicholas: Discovering the Truth About Santa Claus
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5 years ago
1 comment:
Great story, thanks for posting it, Jeff
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