The children were all gathered on the first floor landing, which was wider and allowed them to huddle together, so they could talk while cleaning their boots.
It was December 5, the Eve of the Feast of Saint Nicholas, the original bearer of gifts. Most parts of the world have been taken over by Santa Claus, but in some European countries people still celebrate Sinterklaas, the good saint protector of children. Santa came later, with his huge belly and the red coat, but Sinterklaas doesn't mind it, he does not see it as competition, as kids in these countries get more presents.
'I hope I get the red train I saw in the window of the new toy-store, you know, the one off Main Square?', said Misha.
The others nodded in agreement. The new store was all they dreamed about. Shelves upon shelves of every kind of toy you could imagine – remote-controlled cars, big dolls – taller than a four-year old, small dolls with houses, furniture and a complete wardrobe. A full row of construction sets. Then there were the smart toys, 'as seen on TV'. They knew the ads by heart for each and everyone of them, from the plush bunny that told nine different stories to the crazy talking monsters you could hatch from a mystery egg. The kids knew the smart toys were 'veeery expensive' and they had small chances of getting one of those. Certainly, not for St. Nicholas. Everybody knew St. Nicholas was not as rich as Santa, so he mainly brought sweets and fruit. The most you could hope was a cheap toy, like the red train, that Misha wanted.
The kids were scrapping furiously at the dirt caked in the soles of their boots, all crouched over old newspapers strewn on the floor. They were very careful not to make a huge mess, because they were expected to clean it up themselves. That was the tradition of cleaning up the boots on the eve of the feast and make them look as good as possible. The Saint came during the night and filled with gifts the boots left by the door of each apartment in the building.
While the kids were focused on their work, Sasha, the boy living on the second floor, apartment number 7, came running down the stairs.
'Careful, there', Misha cried out. 'Where are you going anyway at this hour?'
Sasha slowed down, but did not stop.
'I'm meeting some classmates in the school-yard. We're having a football game.'
'What?! Tonight!? When are you going to clean your boots then?'
All the kids looked at Sasha in astonishment. It was something unheard of. Had he forgotten about Saint Nicholas?
'Nah, doesn't matter. Do you really think the old man has time to check every pair of shoes on Earth? I'm sure I'll get plenty of gifts anyhow. I always do. Remember last Christmas when I got the Jedi lightsaber and a smartphone, losers?'
True, they all remembered that. But, of course, Sasha was the oldest kid in the building. He was in 5th grade now and he was richer than all of them. Just look at his shiny new boots – of course he'll get lots of presents in those fancy boots.
When Sasha was gone, the children returned to their work. After getting rid of the dirt, they started applying generous amounts of shoe polish on their boots, which they rubbed in with a soft piece of cloth. They rubbed and rubbed until the boots were shining.
Misha worked very hard as his boots were hand-me-downs from his older brother and were rather worn. Sure, they were warm and waterproof, but no matter how hard he tried there was no way of making the scratches disappear completely.
They were almost done when little Katia, who was only four, started to cry. She had been holding the boots in her lap and now her blue pants were smudged with black shoe polish. When her mother came to see what was going on, she was not mad at all. 'I'm sure it will come out', she said, looking at the ruined pants. 'Saint Nicholas won't even know about this, sweetheart'.
By the time Sasha came back, it was already late in the evening and all the kids were gone. As he climbed the stairs, he could see their shining boots outside their doors, as per tradition.
'Dumb kids', he said to himself as he took off his filthy boots and left them by the door. 'It's not my fault there was mud on the football field, now is it?'
I cannot tell you what happened during the night. You all know that on such nights you're supposed to go to bed early, even the grown-ups, because Saint Nicholas, just like Santa, doesn't show up until he's sure there's no one around.
Early next morning, the children started coming out of their apartments, hearts beating fast with excitement. What will they find in their boots? Misha glanced quickly towards the door where Sasha lived. Sure enough there were some sweets and a big box exquisitely wrapped, carefully balanced on top of them. His heart sank a bit. It wasn't fair, he knew it.
He forgot everything when he looked at his old boots. There was no mistaking. That long parcel must be the toy train! What else could it be? He sat down on the door-mat to unwrap everything on the spot. A big box of heart-shaped gingerbread figurines, a huge red-and-white candy cane, mint chocolates, a new pair of waterproof mittens and the battery-operated toy train with flashing lights.
Wow! Saint Nicholas had been most generous and, as everyone knows, this is a good sign for the Christmas bounty, chances were Santa will come with a sack full of toys. Maybe even one of those little monsters you hatch from an egg!? Why not?
Still, Misha lingered on his doorstep, waiting for Sasha to show up. He had to see what was in that big box.
After a few minutes, Sasha came to the door and his face lit up in triumph seeing the big present waiting for him. He didn't even bother to look at the chocolates stuffed inside the boots.
He tore the wrapping paper and struggled to open the box, which, strangely, had no markings on it. What could it be?
When the box finally gave in and the lid came off, Sasha was stunned. He just stood there staring in disbelief. Tears filled his eyes as he slowly took out a box of shoe polish and a piece of soft cloth.
Misha went inside, closing the door quietly behind him. He felt a bit vindicated, but also sorry for his neighbor. They weren't exactly friends, but he wasn't such a bad boy.
Comprehension test:
- Why were the children cleaning their boots?
- Do you celebrate Saint Nicholas in your country?
- Do you think it's fair that Sahsa didn't get any toy?
- Do you think he will learn his lesson and behave better?
- How do you behave to be sure you're on Santa's good list? Name three reasons why you think you deserve the presents on your Christmas list.
Thanks for reading
