St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra

Now that Dragonslayers is out, several people have  asked me if I'm working on anything new. Well, here's a clue.

St. Nicholas, one time Bishop of Myra, is usually depicted holding three golden balls. This harkens back to one of the oldest stories concerning the saint. When Nicholas was still a young man, his parents died, leaving him with a great deal of money. Instead of immediately giving it away to the poor, as is common in many saint's lives, Nicholas looked around to how the money could best be used. Eventually he heard about an old man who was so destitute that he was considering selling his daughters into prostitution to prevent the whole family from starving.

On three separate nights, Nicholas went to the man's house and tossed a bag of coins (or ball of gold) through the window, ensuring the man could afford to marry his daughters into good families.