Minu was playing with her cousins when she noticed Jose, her classmate and best friend, sitting in front of the church.“Hi Jose, Join us in our game,” she called out.
Jose was a jovial fellow, but she noticed he was gloomy. “What happened?” she asked.
“I lost the money our principal gave us for our project. My pocket had a hole, so I left it in my English text book and it is missing now.”
After the Christmas holidays, there was to be an inter school science exhibition. Minu and Jose had been selected to display their project.
They had to fix a robot on a motor bike and ride through a magnetic path. The robot would take three rounds, stop and salute the onlookers. Jose and Minu had spent a lot of time to make it work, and the principal was impressed, and had given them the money to buy a robotic kit. Now, it was lost.
Father Mathews came out after mass. He was someone who loved the children dearly and took interest in their lives. “Have you bought your new Christmas dress?” he asked.
Disappointed
Mini stood up and with tears in her eyes, and told him what had happened.
“It is a huge sum. I feel sorry for you. Pray. In the mean time, I would like to see the robotics book and details about your project,” he said.
On Christmas Day, Jose woke up early. Someone had thrust a box inside his thatched door. It was a robotic kit with a note which said, “Merry Christmas and Happy new year. All the best for your project.” — Santa .
Jose and Minu could not understand how Santa knew about their project.
Surprise
The project was successful and the duo won the first prize. They showed their medals to Father Mathews. “Oh! Father, we want to thank Santa for his help,” they said.
In the evening, when they were playing in the park, they saw Santa standing in front of the church.
They rushed to thank him, but he nodded his head, waved his hand and disappeared inside the church. The children were left wondering how Santa and Father Mathews had the same physique.
