One dark November night a stranger rides into a small prairie town. Who is he? Why has he come? The townspeople wish he were a doctor, a dressmaker, or a trader. But the children have the greatest wish of all, a deep, quiet, secret wish. Then a young girl named Lucy befriends the newcomer. When he reveals his identity and shares with her the legend of the candy cane, she discovers fulfillment of her wishes and the answer to her town's dreams. Now will she share what she has learned? Warm, lavish illustrations by James Bernardin bring to life a timeless tale by Lori Walburg, a story that will help families celebrate the mystery and miracle of Christmas--for many Christmases to come.

One rainy night, a man rode his horse up to the door of an empty store. He stopped his horse and smiled. "This will do just fine," he said.

The man worked hard to fix up the old store, "Pam! Pam! Pam!" went his hammer. "Snish! Snish! Snish!" went his saw.

The people in town did not know who the man was. Nobody knew what he was building. The grown-ups just watched ... and waited. The children just wondered ... and wished!

One day a little girl named Lucy knocked on the door of the mysterious store.

"Hello," she said. "My name is Lucy. Do you need some help?"

"Can you unpack boxes?" the man asked.

"Yes, I can do that," answered Lucy.

She came in and saw dozens of boxes, barrels, and crates.

Lucy opened the first box. She picked up something wrapped in paper. It was round and heavy. She almost dropped it!

When she unwrapped the paper, she saw a glass jar.

Lucy unpacked another glass jar. Then another ... and another. Fat jars, tall jars, thin jars, round jars.

"Now what shall we put inside the jars?" the man finally asked.

Lucy wished a secret wish! She did not tell what it was. She waited to see what the man would say.

Then he took the top off a big box. Inside it, Lucy saw lollipops, chewing gum balls, peppermint sticks, taffy and her favorite candy-gumdrops!

Lucy's secret wish had come true.

The man laughed when he saw Lucy's eyes light up.

"Welcome to John Sonneman's Candy Store," he said. "And now, Miss Lucy, we must fill all these jars with treats."

So they worked and worked until all the jars were full of colorful candy.

In the very last crate, Lucy saw a candy she had never seen before.

Excerpted from The Legend of the Candy Cane Board Book by Lori Walburg Copyright © 2002 by Zondervan
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.