Many years ago in a little town far away, there lived a happy, jolly man named Nicholas. He was born in Patros, a city in Asia Minor, about three hundred years after the birth of Jesus. Nicholas devoted his time to studying the Bible, and he became known as Saint Nicholas. There are many legends told of this plump little man dressed in red. He was a happy man, and he loved to share his good fortune with others, especially the poor.
Now in this same little town where Saint Nicholas was living, there lived three very sad and lonely sisters. They were very poor and had no family except for themselves. They were unhappy because they had no husbands. Now back in those days, in order for a lady to find a husband, she must first have a dowry, which was money, property, or something of value to offer the young man. Tilda, Martha, and Jane had nothing. Saint Nicholas had lerned of their problem, but he didn't know that to do about it! So, Saint Nicholas wondered to himself, "What must I do?"

One night in the dead of winter, it was snowing and Saint Nicholas couldn't sleep. He put on his warm clothes and started for a walk. The air was cold and brisk, and the snow was falling softly. It was very quiet outside, and all that could be heard was the crunch of the snow under his boots as he trudged on. Soon Saint Nicholas found himself standing in front of the three sisters' house, and as he looked at it he was still wondering, "What can I do?"

Now in those days, poor girls were lucky if they owned more than one pair of stockings. So each night they would wash their stockings and hang them over the fireplace to dry. Through the candle-lit window, he could see the sisters as they hung their stockings by the fire to dry. At this very moment, an idea was born. "I know, I know what I'm going to do," he thought. "I'll put gold in their stockings." So with this thought, he hurried home to get that treasure.

Later on that night when Saint Nicholas thought the girls were asleep, he started back to their house. The snow had stopped falling now and the moon was shining brightly and the stars twinkled like diamonds in the sky. The whole community was a white, beautiful, peaceful, and happy picture. When he arrived at the house, he quietly slipped inside and without making a sound, he put a handful of sparkling gold into each girl's stocking. Wearing a big smile, he went back out into the magic night and headed for home. The next morning when Tilda, Martha and Jane found the gold, they were so happy they danced for joy. They each found a nice husband, and were very happy. As as for Saint Nicholas - he was very happy too.

From that day on, every year about this time, his memory comes into homes all over the world as stories are told and stockings are filled and good cheer is brought to all, both young and old.

--Sara K. Blankenship