Dandi Daley Mackall - The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving

ZONDERKIDZ

The Legend of St. Nicholas
Copyright 2007 by Dandi Daley Mackall
Illustrations 2014 by Richard Cowdrey

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zonderkidz, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

This edition: ISBN 978-0-3107-3118-4 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mackall, Dandi Daley.
The legend of Saint Nicholas / by Dandi Daley Mackall ; [illustrated
by Guy Porfirio].
p. cm.
Summary: As Nick does last-minute Christmas shopping, he sees
several Santas and overhears one retelling the legend of Saint Nicholas,
which he takes to heart as he examines his own attitudes towards
gift-giving.
ISBN 978-0-310-71327-2 (jacketed hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Nichlas, Saint, Bp. of MyraJuvenile fiction. [1. Nicholas, Saint, Bp.
of MyraFiction. 2. ChristmasFiction. 3. GenerosityFiction.]
I. Porfirio, Guy, ill. II. Title.
PZ7.M1905Leg 2007
[Fic]dc22 2006015169

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy
Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by
Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in
this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be
or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the
content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations
in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

Editor: Barbara Herndon
Art direction and design: Kris Nelson/StoryLook Design

The Legend of

S t. N icholas

A Story of Christmas Giving

WRITTEN BY Dandi Daley Mackall

ILLUSTRATED BY Richard Cowdrey

N ick followed his dad

through the snow- dusted
parking lot. Not my idea of
fun, he muttered.

Hey, youre the one who
waited until the last minute
to buy Christmas gifts for
your little brothers, Dad
reminded him.

True, Nick admitted.
Why was it so much easier
to think about getting gifts
than giving them?

Nick spotted a skinny
Santa ringing a bell and
collecting for the poor.
Dad handed Nick some
money for Santas kettle.
Nick thought about adding
something from his own
wallet, but he was hoping
to have enough left to get
himself something.

Once inside the crowded
store, Nick smelled hot dogs
and popcorn. Scratchy
Christmas music played
overhead.

You get your gifts, and
Ill see to this list your
mother gave me, Dad
called, disappearing into
the sea of shoppers.

Nick headed for the toy
aisle, but a baseball glove
caught his eye. A few
minutes later, he heard a
deep voice saying his name.

The voice belonged to a
store Santa. Santa used to
go by the name Nick, or
Saint Nicholas, he heard
the Santa say to a group of
children in the Elf Room.
Nick remembered waiting
for his parents in that room
when he was a little kid.
A long, long time ago,
the store Santa continued,
in a country far across the
sea, a boy named Nicholas
was born.

Nick leaned against the
doorway and listened.

Nicholass parents were very rich. They traveled all over the world with
their son. When Nicholas was eight, they visited beautiful gardens
in the Far East. Nicholas noticed children begging for food.

When Nicholas turned ten, his parents took him to the West.
Nicholas couldnt sleep at night because he kept thinking
about the longing eyes of the children in the streets,
children who had certainly never owned a toy.

On his twelfth birthday, Nicholas and his family journeyed to the North. Nicholas waved to the
children playing in the snow. Why arent they wearing coats and hats? he asked.

His parents exchanged sad looks. They probably dont own coats and hats, Nicholas, his father said.

A few years later, they visited the Holy Land, where baby Jesus had been born that first
Christmas. In this holy place, God gave us the greatest gift ever given, Nicholass father
remarked. Imagine how much God loves us to give us his only son.