Orthodox Parables and Stories: Miracle of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

This story took place in Lalsk in 2003, when Taniečka was three years old. On Sunday, October 12th, the parents took Taniecka with them to lay firewood by the village bathhouse. The girl was running around the adults, playing with fallen snow and leaves. When they finished the work, they found the child missing.

All relatives, neighbors and acquaintances went out to look for Taniecka. All the bridges, sheds, woodburns, baths, ditches were checked. All streets and alleys were thoroughly searched... but all efforts were in vain.

The next day, in the morning of October 13, Taniecka's grandmothers ran to the Church of the Annunciation. And there, kneeling before the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, they prayed tearfully, asking God's Saint not to leave an innocent child in trouble and to save her. All that day the search by relatives and volunteers did not stop even for a moment at night.

On Tuesday morning, the probability of finding the girl alive was extremely small. Mid-October at the northernmost point of the Kirov region is often marked by snow and negative temperatures.

The Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos was visited by parishioners with anxious thoughts. Everyone was worried about the little Taniecka, and prayed, asking God for a miracle!

By the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, joyful news came with a bell ringing - a miracle happened. Taniecka was found! Lively and healthy! But even more miraculous was the story of the disappearance and rescue of the child.

When Taniecka’s parents laid firewood near the village bath, the girl, playing, began to run after some dog. And this dog took the child far and imperceptibly from her parents, to the outskirts of Lalsk. There the dog hid in the bushes and Taniecka settled down next to it, where she sat for two days.
“How did you not freeze, poor thing?” the parents asked the daughter.
"The dog warmed me, snuggled up to me and warmed me!",answered Taniecka.
"So you're probably hungry!” grandmothers worried, scurrying around in the kitchen and preparing all kinds of goodies for the granddaughter.
“No! Grandfather fed me!” the girl answered, and to the bewilderment of her parents she explained: “This grandfather was with me!”  and she pointed at the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
"He passed the lambs and spoke to me. He is very kind! "
The relatives looked at Taniecka, then at the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, cried and thanked God and the Great Wonderworker for the miraculous salvation of their daughter.

And it was snowing outside the window ..

Priest Roman Zayats, rector of the Annunciation Church of the village of Lalsk, recorded the story from the words of Natalia, mother of Tanya,.