ANGELINO AND THE BAREFOOT SAINT

The church foliage in a little Tuscan village surrounded a statue of Saint Francis to whom little Angelino offered flowers every day of summer. On one such day it seemed to the child that the statue's feet moved and as the season fades so too does the statue's smile. As Angelino attempts to discover the reason for his beloved Saint's melancholy, he comes upon a quite ordinary physical one- perhaps the statue's feet are cold. Persuading the shoemaker to lend a hand, Angelino fits a pair of leather shoes on Saint Francis and on Christmas morning, the smile on the stone face seemed more radiant than ever. Angelino's goodness is contrasted with another village boy's selfishness and it is the saintly child who in the end benefits most from Christmas. Plus sale for religious libraries.