It was the Eve of St. Nicholas. In Germany St. Nicholas’s Day comes on the sixth of December.

The children were in the nursery. On the hearth before the fireplace, were five little sugar shoes.

Thekla was filling her shoe with oats. Max put rye in his shoe. Hans put an apple in his, and Gretchen filled hers with lumps of sugar.

Betty, the poor little girl who sometimes helped in the kitchen, had only a bit of brown bread to put in her shoe.

The children were expecting St. Nicholas, who always comes on a white horse, and the things in the shoes were for the horse to eat.

As the clock struck six there was a loud knock at the door.

Aunt Hilda opened the door, and in came St. Nicholas. He was very tall and had a long white beard. He wore a long black robe and a red and white cap, with a big red tassel.

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“Dear little children,” he said, “it will soon be Christmas. I have come to find the good children. I shall bring gifts to them on Christmas Eve. Has Thekla learned to knit?”
Santa Caus at the door

“Yes, indeed,” said her mother. “See this pair of stockings she has knit for Hans.”

“They are very well made,” said St. Nicholas. “I shall surely bring a gift for Thekla. Has Hans learned to get up early?”

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“We have not had to call him for six weeks,” said his father.

“Good,” said St. Nicholas. “Has Max learned his multiplication table............