Thursday, 6 December 2012
The Three Pickled Boys
There is video with no good sound quality of Britten's interpretation on youtube.
St. Nicholas, as you know, is patron of children.
And, oh, the story. A horrible inn-keeper in a famine scarred country kidnapped three boys, killed them and cut them up and put them in pickle vats, as it was before refrigeration Well, St. Nicholas promised the mother he would find them. So, he travelled to the inn, and when the innkeeper offered him meat for dinner, he asked to go down to the cellar and bless the vats of meat. And, out popped the three boys restored to life, although needing baths.