Of course Gini and Karl hadn't forgotten to put their boots near the entrance on the evening of December 5. They had polished them carefully and placed them neatly side by side before going to bed.
And in the morning? They were up even earlier than usual and raced down the stairs.
And really: their boots were filled to the brim with chocolates, nuts, and little treats, just like every year. What a pity, though, that they had never once managed to meet Nikolaus in person to thank him.
Later that day they went to the beach with their parents. They had arranged to meet their dolphin friends Wim and Wom, who were already waiting for them with their own parents.
Everyone hugged and splashed in greeting.
"Do you want to see our Christmas village?" Wim and Wom asked, their fins wiggling excitedly.
"This year it's more beautiful than ever!"
Of course Gini and Karl wanted to see it! They hopped onto the dolphins' backs and the swift, bubbly ride began. After gliding far across the glittering water, the dolphins dived - and a moment later, Gini and Karl found themselves in front of the underwater Christmas village.
A tiny train with a jingling bell stopped right in front of them. Gini and Karl climbed aboard with their parents and friends. The bell chimed and the train puffed away.
What a magical underwater wonderland! Everything was glowing and colorful, with underwater Christmas trees, shimmering candles, snowmen made of pearly sand, and twinkling stars floating like jellyfish. Gini and Karl stared wide-eyed out the window, mouths open in amazement.
Then the train stopped.
Before them was a giant pile of building blocks and a sign:
"To meet St Nikolas today, you must complete 5 tasks.
Task 1: Build a beautiful Christmas landscape.
No block may remain unused."
They didn't waste a second. Gini, Karl and their friends started stacking and shaping. Soon they had created a big sleigh with reindeer and presents, snowmen, Christmas trees and all kinds of festive surprises. They laughed, built, rebuilt, and admired their enormous Christmas scene.
Papa Antoin took a quick photo of all of them proudly sitting inside their block-landscape and then the train jingled onward.
Task 2 awaited them at the next stop: baking cookies!
They mixed the dough, rolled it out, pressed shapes with cookie cutters and slid tray after tray into the oven. A warm, sweet smell filled the air - but they kept a close eye on them, making sure they turned golden instead of black.
As soon as the cookies were done, the train carried them off again and they rolled further through this wonderful, unknown landscape.
At the next stop task 3 was to build a giant snowman.
Luckily, eight helpers made quick work of it. They rolled big snowballs, stacked them, stuck a crooked branch-mouth on the snowman's face, and gave him a proud carrot nose. And of course... they couldn't resist a short snowball fight before boarding the train again.
The next task, number 4: crafting gifts from heaps of colorful craft materials.
They snipped, glued, folded, decorated and created gift after gift - each one more splendid than the last. They loaded them onto the train as instructed and continued on, hearts thumping in excitement.
Only one task left before they could finally meet St Nikolas! They were so excited! But what if the task was too difficult?
Their worries hadn't been necessary: it was an easy one:
They had to wrap their handmade gifts and give them to the glowing, colorful fish who otherwise wouldn't receive any Christmas presents.
The fish beamed with joy, swirling around them in sparkly circles. That made Gini and Karl and all their friends deeply happy too. They almost forgot what they had been working toward all this time!
And then - there he was.
St Nikolas stepped out of his little underwater house, smiling warmly and shook each of their hands. He invited them in for cookies and warm chocolate. They sat together for a long time, chatting and laughing.
Knecht Ruprecht was there too. At first, Gini and Karl felt a little uneasy - he was dressed all in black and looked quite solemn.
"You might not know him," their dad whispered. "Long ago, besides helping St Nick handing treats to good children, he also took care of children who misbehaved."
But times had changed. Knecht Ruprecht no longer carried sticks or frightened children. Instead he simply helped Nikolaus organize deliveries and make sure all treats arrived on time.
And after talking with him for a while, Gini and Karl discovered that he was actually a very funny fellow-just like Nikolaus.
Eventually their parents sighed and said it was time to go. It was already late evening, though none of them had noticed - time had flown by like magic.
What a day it had been!
And they still couldn't quite believe it:
They had really, truly met St Nikolas.
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