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In a little mountain village lived a girl called Maria. She shared a cosy home with her parents and her little brother, Pau. One day, while walking through the woods, they found a very unusual log.
“Look! This log has a smiling face!” Maria cried.
“It’s a Christmas tió!” said Dad. “Let’s take it home and look after it until Christmas.”
They placed the log beside the fireplace. Every night, Maria and Pau tucked a little blanket around it to keep it warm and left it a small helping of food so it would grow strong.
When Christmas Eve arrived, the children could hardly contain their excitement. Their parents explained that it was time for the tió to give out its presents. Following the tradition, Maria and Pau gently tapped the log with little sticks and sang a cheerful song:
“Christmas log, Christmas log, what will you bring? Nuts and nougat and wonderful things!”
All at once, the magical log began to wiggle, and little presents appeared beneath its blanket! There were sweets, toys and pieces of nougat for everyone.
“Thank you, tió!” said Maria and Pau, their eyes shining with happiness.
Mum explained that the Christmas tió is an old Catalan tradition. Children look after a log in the days before Christmas, and then it leaves treats and small presents beneath its blanket. In Catalan, the game is playfully called “fer cagar el tió”, which means making the log “poop” its presents. That made the children giggle.
After all that excitement, Maria and Pau went to bed smiling. Their beloved Christmas log had helped them enjoy a truly magical evening.
From that year on, they looked forward to Christmas: a time to care for their tió and share happy moments with their family.
And that is the end of the magical Christmas log’s story. Goodnight, and sweet dreams!