Every Christmas, we must tell a good story, one that we may learn from, or share, or use to make for a better existence. This story could be about truth, or justice, or the origin of Santa Claus. Maybe that story could be about the uncovering of tru...
As St. Nick's popularity blew up the following years, the children of the world decided it was time to give a little something back to him. They were certainly grateful for all the gifts that he'd bring them each year, but they were beginning to lose satisfaction. One-way giving didn't carry the appeal for them that it had in the beginning. They didn't know how to give back, of course—if any of them knew how to make toys, then they wouldn't have needed him in the first place. But then the world changed. Just as St. Nick needed a spark to begin the cycle of charitable giving, so, too, did the children, and their giving began with one child setting the precedent.
St. Nick hadn't quite gotten used to air travel, even after five years, so he was prone to dizziness and air sickness. On the night of his fifth annual gift delivery, he had lost track of where he was, so he could've been anywhere. But he kept to his plan, and dropped in on any house that he could find with a stuffed animal lying in the yard, the signal that a child lived there. That night, the night that the world had changed, had been full of the standard routine—swoop down, say hello to the children who were standing outside waiting for him, then toss them whatever gift from the bag they wanted, then fly off to the next house.
But one household dared to be different than the rest that evening. The child who lived there waited for him, as was the tradition for the time, but he wasn't alone. He had with him a plate stacked with cookies and a glass full of milk. When St. Nick tossed the child a small box that released a clown after turning a crank a few clicks, the child tossed him the cookies and milk. St. Nick was reluctant to try this unusual food at first. But the child, in his eagerness to make his gift-giving hero happy, stared at him with wide eyes and an expectant face, and St. Nick, who had come to realize that he liked the children of the world, did not want to disappoint the one standing before him, so he ate the cookies and drank the milk. And it was the greatest thing he had ever eaten, ever.
"You've done good, kid," he told the boy with a smile. "Real good."
And the boy, thrilled that St. Nick not only knew his name but liked his gift, ran into the house screaming to his parents that he had just gotten approval from Santa Claus.
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The following year, St. Nick discovered that word about this exchange of gifts had gotten around, and now most of the children he visited had milk and cookies waiting for him. Because he couldn't refuse those innocent faces, he took and ate every cookie he was offered and drank every glass of milk he needed to wash it all down.
The next day he was very sick, but he decided it was worth it for the children. And, he couldn't deny his newfound love for milk and cookies.
Then came the shocker. He realized he was moving a lot slower than usual.
The entire next year, he sat at his bench, building toy dolls for the following start of winter and the subsequent delivery, and forgot that he had a gym. When it came time to make the next delivery, word had spread across the globe that Santa Claus ate milk and cookies, and every home he visited had a plate waiting for him. By the time his deliveries ended for the year, he would come home sick to his stomach.
