A Magical Christmas Tale: The Golden Antlers

The holiday season had just begun. The little village was lit up like a fairytale garden. Colourful fairy lights sparkled magically on the trees and the row of quaint wooden houses. The first snow of the season had started falling a few days ago, and a white fluffy carpet covered the streets. Though there were still a couple of hours left to midnight, no one was visible in the village square, which was dominated by a massive golden statue of a stag, a commonly found animal in the surrounding forests.

It was not surprising that in this magical environment, Golden Antlers stepped in chasing the Golden Lights. He lived in another realm where day and night merged into one, where there was no inanimate object, everything that existed could feel, sense and think. Golden Antlers actually did not realise when he had left his own home and entered the world where man lived. And there he was, standing right before the statue of the stag, in the village square.

He knew there was some reason why the Golden Lights, which flitted around in his world all the time, had brought him here. Did they want him to understand something or were they just being playful?  He wondered.

Golden Antlers was intrigued by the statue of the stag, its antlers towering high up, much bigger than his own. “What a magnificent creature.  It looks so beautiful and magical. I must bring it to life,” he said, blessing the hands that created the statue. You see whenever there was a full moon night, Golden Antlers had the power to bring to life anything he wanted. So far, he had been waking up crushed flowers and drooping leaves, insects and dying animals. He had never brought to life an object.

When he touched with his antlers the belly of the statue, a blue light surged through it. Within a few moments the statue of the stag became alive and started running towards the forest. Golden Antlers wished he could take the beautiful creature back to his own world, but he knew he couldn’t. Then he saw the Golden Lights flickering around him again, so he knew it was time for him to head home. He thought his job was done and he returned.

What Golden Antlers didn’t know was that how his one act of kindness had triggered a chain. After entering the forest, the stag found a baby antelope, which was separated from its family. The stag adopted it to keep predators at bay and started searching for its mother.

The sculptor who had crafted the statue six years ago, had to give up work in recent times due to rheumatoid arthritis, which had affected his fingers. Lying in drunken stupor in his studio, he woke up in the morning to find that his hands had miraculously healed.

And little Tim, who had watched from his window, the statue coming alive and running away, saw for the very first time in his life an unbelievable happening. Though nobody in the whole village trusted his account the next morning, it taught him how to stand his ground. The incident instilled in him the strength of conviction, which helped him later in life.

One act of kindness, one blessing, one prayer, goes a very long way. When miracles happen in our life, we do not know whose good wishes have worked the magic.