ST. ANTHONY'S GODCHILD
The Story of Antonia who became a King's Page
Long ago there lived a man who had so many children that he could scarcely find godfathers for them all. He had requested so many of his friends to serve, that when his last baby was born, a little dark-eyed daughter, he vowed that he'd ask the first man he met upon the street.
As luck would have it, he happened to meet the good St. Anthony.
"Will you be godfather to my baby daughter?" he asked.
Kind St. Anthony gladly consented. He named the baby Antonia, and said to the father:
"Train up this child in the way she should go. Teach her all you can. When she is thirteen years old I'll come to get her and I'll give her a good start in life."
The years flew by and soon little Antonia was thirteen years old. The father was afraid that St. Anthony had forgotten his promise, but one day the saint appeared.
"Is this my godchild?" he asked as he looked at Antonia. "Surely she has grown prettier each year of her life."