Père Fouettard (Companions of Christmas)
$10.00
Part of the Companions of Christmas collection (#Xmas F23)
Père Fouettard was a butcher and cook whose tavern was visited by three children on their way to boarding school. Seeing their nice clothes, wicked Fouettard assumed that they must be rich, and, being children, would be easy to rob. He killed them with his carving knives, chopped them up, and closed their remains in a barrel, intending to serve them as meat to his unwary customers to get rid of the evidence of his crime, pocketing the money that they had carried and congratulating himself on how efficiently he had performed this dastardly deed.
That night, his tavern had a visitor – Bishop Nicholas of Myra, who was ever aware of the plight of children in danger. The evil Fouettard did not want the saintly priest in his establishment, so when Nicholas requested a hearty supper, Fouettard replied that he had no meat.
“What’s in that barrel, then?” asked Nicholas, who clapped his hands, and the three youngsters, miraculously returned to life and wholly intact, leapt from the barrel. Fouettard was brought to his knees in terror by the evidence of Nicholas’s magical goodness, and begged Nicholas to show him mercy.
Nick suggested that the most merciful thing he could do would be to give Fouettard the opportunity to right his wrongs through contrition and service, and ever since that day Père Fouettard has been Nick’s cook, working first to feed the hungry of Myra during Nick’s earthly lifetime, and then as the head cook at the North Pole, satisfying the appetites of the Clauses, their companions, the elves, and any visitors who might stop by.
Though reformed in spirit, Père Fouettard is still short-tempered and surly, and kids in France, Belgium, and the French-speaking cantons of Switzerland know to steer clear of him when he accompanies Saint Nicholas on his holiday visits.
1/4” Baltic Birch, roughly 3.7” tall
This figure can be purchased individually here, or comes as part of the Santa's Workshop DisPlayset, along with Santa Claus and ten elves.
Figure comes with a 2.75 x 8.5” card telling her story. The card fits in the story shelf on the Santa’s Workshop DisPlayset.
