The Fifth Tale - The Tale of Three Visitors - Part 1 - The First Visitor - Day 17

The Tale of The Three Visitors

   

Part 1 - The First Visitor

    Nicholas took another step along the dusty road toward home. Each time he took one of these trips it was a little more difficult. His hips hurt a little more, his feet were not quite as sure, his breath was a little harder to come by. The next time he might be using a cane and riding on a donkey. 

    It had been a good meeting though. He had met people from all over the world. There had been the people from Africa. They had stories of amazing creatures that were almost impossible to believe. Short, thick horses with armor and a horn. Dogs that laughed when they ate. An animal with legs longer than a man and a neck longer than that. He would love to visit there, but Africa was too hot for him. He was longing for cooler temperatures. Now the visitors from Lapland said that they had snow year round, like the mountaintops here. They said they had a cart that could drive on snow, called a sleigh. Sometimes they even had it pulled by a gazelle. No wait, that wasn't right. They said the deer there were the size of small horses. "Reindeer" they called them. What an amazing thing, Nicholas thought to himself, to ride in a cart on snow being pulled by a gazelle! If he were a younger man he would travel there to see such wondrous sights. 

    There would be no traveling far away for him though. He still had work to do in Myra. Nicholas smiled with the thought of far away lands and continued walking toward home. 

    "Hallo Sinterklaas!" 

    "Hello Rein! How are you today?" 

    "I am doing well my friend. It is fine weather to be heading home, is it not?" 

    "Yes, yes it is my friend. You are heading north now?" 

    "Yes, to my homeland and you?" 

    "I will be heading southwest, to my home in Myra." 

    "Ah is good. I am happy to have met you. I have heard so many stories about you." 

    "Yes, there are many stories, some of them are even true!" Nicholas laughed his big laugh, "Ho, Ho, Ho!" 

    Rein laughed right along. The stories of Saint Nicholas and how he had helped people had spread all over. In Rein's country they even had their own name for him, "Sinterklaas". Everyone knew of "Saint Nicholas" and how kind, generous and helpful he was. 

    "Sinterklaas, shall we rest for the evening? It is late and there is an inn nearby." 

    "Well yes, that's a good idea. I would love to get a bite to eat and a place to rest." 

    Nicholas and Rein went into the inn to get some food. After an evening of talking and eating they both went to their rooms. 

    As Nicholas was preparing for bed there was a heavy knocking at his door. Nicholas, thinking that it was Rein, opened the door to see what was the matter. Standing there,  though, was someone he didn't recognize. It was a short person, that barely came up to his knees. Nicholas couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, or even see their face because their hair flowed down and past their chin. It was long, curly, black hair that gleamed in the candlelight. 

    "Get dressed quickly, you must go." 

    "Pardon me, who are you and where must I go?" 

    "I am a messenger and you must go to where I will show you. Get ready quickly." 

    Now there are many that might wonder who or what this person was. Some say that it was some sort of fairy creature that was coming to ask for Nicholas's help. Some say that it was an angel, because angels are messengers from God and they had called themselves a messenger. Some might say that it was a mysterious wizard from an exotic land. Either way, Nicholas could tell that this was a visit from an important person, with an important message, and so he hurried to get ready. 

    Once he had put his outdoor clothes and shoes on, he turned to go. The visitor reached out to take Nicholas's hand. The visitor's hand was as dark as the night outside. Nicholas grabbed it and they ran out of the room. 

-----

    Through the night they ran, down from the inn toward the village. The night sky was clear and full of stars. The houses were all dark with the windows shuttered and the people in bed. Up and down the streets the little visitor led Nicholas until finally they came to a house where there were lamps burning. In the house they found a coal miner and his wife. She was crying and rocking back forth in her chair. The miner was standing beside her as tears poured down his face. Nicholas turned to ask the visitor what was wrong, but the visitor had gone back outside. 

    "Excuse me, my name is Nicholas. I heard you crying. Please tell me, what is troubling you so?" 

    "Ah, excuse us Saint Nicholas. We do not mean to disturb you. It is just that, today is a very sad day for us." The lady dried her eyes and looked at Nicholas. "It was one year ago today when we lost our dear son. He was playing by the river with some other children. Then, the Wolfpack came in their ships. They stole what few riches we had in the town. Then, just as they were headed back to the ships, they grabbed my boy Basil and took him with them. " Her eyes began to fill with tears again." We have not seen or heard of him since that day. " She gasped and her emotions overwhelmed her. 

   " We are afraid we will never seem him again, " her husband said." The Wolfpack is vicious. They sell the people they take to strangers far away. We have prayed and prayed, but it has done no good. It has now been a year and we are sure our little Basil is never coming back. "

    Nicholas got very quiet, he had heard rumors of this Wolfpack. They were led by the very same Lycos that used to sneak around Myra. After the affair with the three officers and the government official a few years ago, the emperor had removed him from being the Master of Forces. Now Lykos traveled with a gang of pirates up and down the rivers, robbing from people and kidnapping them. He seemed to particularly like to take children to sell. 

    "God has brought me here to help you. You, continue to love God with all that you are. I will love you the same way I love myself. We will see if the way of Love can fix this problem." 

    With that Nicholas left the room. The strange visitor was waiting for him outside. Nicholas grabbed their hand and the visitor began running. Nicholas followed quickly. Between one footstep and the next, Nicholas found himself in a another place, a palace in a far distant land. He was at the banquet of a king. There were strange foods and loud music. The people were speaking to each other in a language that Nicholas did not understand. 

    Slowly the people at the party began to notice Nicholas. He was dressed differently from everybody there and no one had seen him arrive. Everyone became very quiet. They began staring at him. After a few minutes there was complete silence in the banquet hall. Then the king pointed at him and shouted something. Nicholas didn't know what he was saying. The king shouted again. It sounded like the same words. Nicholas still didn't know what he was saying. The king shouted again, and this time he was starting to look angry. Nicholas wasn't sure what he was saying,  but he thought he could guess. It sounded like a question. Hopefully his answer was the right one. 

    "I am Nicholas of Myra. I am here for Basil. Give him to me so that I can take him back to his parents."     

    The people looked very confused. Nicholas tried it again.

    "I am called Saint Nicholas from the town of Myra. I have come here looking for Basil. Is the child here?"     

     The king still looked confused. Some of his servants though, looked up. Apparently they understood Nicholas.

      "Basil, I am looking for a little boy named Basil. Bring me...Basil!" That last time was very loud.

     Next to the king he had servants. One was giving him food, one was fanning him with a giant leaf, and one was holding his golden cup while pouring him something to drink. When Nicholas said Basil the last time, very loudly, the little boy looked up. He had the king's golden cup in one had, and a pitcher in the other. 

   "Saint Nicholas! " he shouted. "Saint Nicholas, I'm here." He had never seen Nicholas before, but he knew the stories. He quickly began running to where Nicholas was standing. The king shouted something and his guards began trying to grab the boy. He threw the pitcher into the face of one guard, slipped between the hands of another, and then ducked under the table. As the guards scrambled to get him, he  crawled along underneath the table and then popped up at the other side. Reaching out he grabbed Nicholas's hand. Nicholas held his hand firmly and with his other hand, grabbed the visitor's hand. They began to run as quickly as they could away from that place. The guards were chasing them as they flew down the hallways looking for a way out. And then, between one step and the next, they were back in the village running towards the boy's house. They ran right up to his door. 

    "Mama! Papa!" Basil began shouting. His mom and dad came running out. 

    "Who? What? How?" They were so amazed. One moment they had been overwhelmed with grief, now standing there in front of them was their little boy. They gathered him in their arms and covered him with kisses. As they went inside Basil told them the whole story, how he had been captured, how he had worked in the palace as a cup bearer for the foreign king. He even showed them the golden cup, which he had managed to somehow hang onto throughout the whole escape. During the whole story they thanked Nicholas over and over again. Finally, after all the excitement was over, Nicholas told them that he was glad that Basil was safe. He looked around for the visitor, but they were gone. So, because the hour was late, Nicholas walked back to the inn and went to sleep.