Rotary Eclub- Butterfly StoryBook Participant
Age: 11 years old
Enis Adams Primary School
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
JOSEPH CALLENDAR
A Magical Christmas
Long ago Christmas in the Virgin Islands was spent with family and friends sharing with each other. People visited houses in the villages, ate ham and tart and drank guavaberry wine. They went from house to house singing songs of the season. They were a very happy people, who loved to share.
As time went on people changed. Their ways became selfish and no one shared. Some families had very little, but no one cared.
The Winter family lived in the country in a very small cottage with very little furniture. They had one small pot to cook meals and the family of three had only one bed to sleep on. They were so poor they could not afford anything new for Christmas.
One day a stranger knocked on the cottage door. The funny little man gave Mrs. Winter an invitation to a grand Christmas party. She wondered why anyone would invite her to such a fancy affair. She had nothing to wear to the party, but the little man would not listen. He told her that she and her family must come.
The Winters put on their best clothing and headed out to the party. They walked for a long time before they got to the Botanic Gardens where the party was being held. When they got there, they were surprised to see that they were the only ones there, yet there was a large table filled with enough foods to feed the entire village! There was a tall century tree garnished with lights and tinsel and gift boxes of different sizes lay beneath. The strange little man was there with a big smile and welcomed them. He told them they were the guests of honour and the party was for them. They could eat whatever they wanted and all the gifts belonged to them.
They were very excited, but felt it was wrong. Mr. Winter told the little man they should call all his neighbours and let them enjoy the 'feast. The little man smiled even bigger. He was pleased that the Winters were such kind-hearted people. He agreed for the neighbours to come as well.
They ran and called everyone in the village. Those who had plenty and those who had very little. Everyone came and enjoyed the feast. There were gifts for everyone and everyone was happy. They started talking about how Christmas was and they agreed it should be that way again.
At the end of the night the little man was nowhere to be seen. No one knew who he was. Not even his name. No one had ever seen him before that night. But all the people in the village were happy he came and helped them to see the magic of Christmas once more.