The Robber Family, banished for the father's theft of a cow, live in a cave in the forest. When the mother and her children enter the cloister garden to admire the flowers, a lay brother asks them to leave. They refuse, and the old abbot is called. Mother Robber tells him of how the forest is transformed on Christmas Eve into a beautiful garden, a Christmas miracle that the old abbot longs to see. The bishop agrees to a pardon for Robber Father if he can see a flower from the Christmas garden. The following year the old abbot and the lay brother come to the forest to see for themselves; here the old abbot dies, clutching a handful of root bulbs. The lay brother plants them, and they bloom the following Christmas and forever after. This long legend, faithfully and smoothly retold, is set in the Middle Ages. Mikolaycak's attention to period detail as well as his dramatically composed pictures are evident, but the complexity of the setting and subject matter make the book of dubious interest to children.
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