The Girl and the Wolf

December 4

by Christine Natale

Gentle stories in the Waldorf tradition for the days before St. Nicholas Day, December 6 + a bonus story

December 1 – The Little Boy Nicholas
December 2 – Bishop Nicholas
December 3 – Bishop Nicholas and the Family
December 4 – The Girl and the Wolf
December 5 – Bishop Nicholas and Rupert
December 6 – Saint Nicholas and Knecht Rupert
Bonus Story – Saint Nicholas and the Mouse

Now I must tell you a sad story. That is, it would have been very sad if it hadn't been for Bishop Nicholas.

Once, in the same town there was a naughty little girl. She was very pretty and quite clever, but also very naughty. She lived with her mother who loved her very much and who worked very hard to give her everything that she needed. But this little girl was not grateful at all. She would not listen to her mother or do what she asked her to do. If her mother asked her to get up in the morning, she would turn over and go back to sleep. When it was time for bed at night, she would run out to the town square. She often threw her dinner on the floor and then demand something that her mother did not have.

Finally, her mother gave up trying to tell her anything but what she needed to know to stay out of illness and danger. The most important thing was to never, never leave the town gates and go into the forest. There were wild animals in the forest and the girl was too little to protect herself against them.

Of course, one day the little girl took it into her head to go into the forest. She walked down the street and right out of the gates. She walked down the open road and turned off onto a path leading to the forest. It was great fun to pick wildflowers and to chase the little animals of the woods. As the day went on, she wandered deeper and deeper into the darker and wilder part of the forest.

Suddenly she stopped. There on the path right in front of her was a great grey wolf! He was much larger than she and he had glaring eyes and long fangs and he looking very hungry. In fact, he was very hungry and he had already decided that she would make him a fine dinner.

There was nowhere to hide and she could never outrun the wolf. It certainly looked like the end of her when all of a sudden (she never knew how) there stood Bishop Nicholas behind her! He stepped in front of her and looked sternly at the wolf. He raised his great staff in the air and the wolf put his tail between his legs and slunk off into the forest. Then, without a word, Bishop Nicholas took the little girl's hand and led her out of the forest, through the town gates, and up the street to her own doorstep, where her worried mother was waiting for her.

Bishop Nicholas reached into his pocket and pulled out a shining gold nut. "Do you know what might have happened to you today?" he asked the little girl.

"Yes," she answered.

"You must never forget this day." said Bishop Nicholas. "And to help you remember, I will give you this golden nut. Whenever you look at it, you will remember how you were saved from death."

"I will remember," promised the girl as she took the golden nut into her hand. Then Bishop Nicholas was gone and she went inside to her dear mother.

After that day, her mother's life was not as hard as it had been. The little girl did whatever her mother asked her to do and helped her in every way. She grew to be so loving, kind and good that many years later when she went to live with the angels, everyone who ever knew her said that she had always been an angel herself.

The other stories in this series

December 1 – The Little Boy Nicholas
December 2 – Bishop Nicholas
December 3 – Bishop Nicholas and the Family
December 5 – Bishop Nicholas and Rupert
December 6 – Saint Nicholas and Knecht Rupert
Bonus Story – Saint Nicholas and the Mouse

By Christine Natale, who used them in her Waldorf kindergarten, used by permission.

Musings on Saint Nicholas or How to Play Saint Nicholas
by Christine Natale
Saint Nicholas — The Scroll by Christine Natale

back to top