Doudou clung desperately to the reefs as he saw his boat, ?La Marie-Angèle?, going adrift. There was nothing he could do but watch his tears flowing into hundreds and hundreds of tons of sea water. He started to swim ashore, praying that some other fisherman heading back home would see and rescue him. It was nearly dark but, with a bit of luck, he would reach the shore safely. He closed his eyes and swam in slow-motion to save his remaining strength, thinking fiercely of his lovely wife and of the baby she was about to give birth to.

When he opened his eyes, the silhouettes of two people appeared to him in some sort of misty halo. Marie-Angèle and his closest friend Bhim were leaning over him, smiling. The two of them said almost simultaneously: ?At last! you gave us a big fright?. ?Thanks God, I am alive !?, he thought joyfully.

But the following days were to be less serene for Doudou and Marie-Angèle. Harsh reality was back: Doudou had no boat, whisked away by the tide. How was he going to earn their living? He used to be the best in his field, coming back every time he went out to sea with not less than five to 10 pounds of fish. He had his secrets and his tricks. He used to rub his bait with? honey and the very smell of it was irresistible. No wonder he made miraculous catches.

And now the happy days were over. Doudou went down and down. He stayed all day long in bed and, when he finally got up, he could hardly drag himself to the beach. There he would stay for hours and hours his eyes gazing steadily at the horizon as if waiting for the ocean to give him back his ?Marie-Angèle?.

What he did not know or notice, was that Marie-Angèle was very unhappy seeing her husband whom she loved dearly in such a deplorable state of mind. She kept wondering how to help him out of his depressive mood?

One morning, Marie-Angèle stood firmly between Doudou and the lagoon and said: ?Look, that?s enough, stop looking at nowhere. Your boat is lost, finished, not our life. And you have to face it. We must think of the baby who will be coming soon.?

It was November. According to her last visit to hospital, she was to give birth in December. She was already thinking of his name : Christophe or Noël if he came on the 25th.

The next day, she would not leave Doudou alone. She wanted him to give his agreement for the traditional end of year fiesta, to be held on Saturday by the village council on the football ground near the public beach. She insisted so much that he could not say no.

Like a dream come true

Doudou was as neat as on his wedding day. He was wearing a colourful blue shirt with white designs of ? guess what ? ? small boats. Marie-Angèle was cute as well in her purple dress with white stripes in spite of the roundness of her body. They sat in front of the large platform amongst the many other villagers. In the crowd, he saw many familiar faces and it occurred to him that each and every one was staring at him.

He directed his attention to the platform. The president of the village council was talking. He was telling the kids who were sitting in the front row to be patient and that Father Christmas would be coming soon? by boat, of course.

Then what happened next was like a dream. Doudou would never forget that moment.

Everybody in the crowd was standing to greet Father Christmas who was helped up on to the platform amidst a lot of applause. On the stage, he started calling the names of the kids and they went one by one to take their Christmas presents. ?And now?, said Father Christmas, ?I am going to call on someone very popular in the village who has been through a terrible nightmare these past days. I mean Doudou. He has many good friends here and they have raised enough money to offer him a gift. I will ask all of you to accompany me to the beach.

The next minute, a large wave of people was flocking towards the sea. Doudou and Marie-Angèle were in the first row just behind Father Christmas and the president. Then Father Christmas took off his mask and his beard. Doudou saw the smile on his face. It was Bhim, his neighbour and friend. They had been fishing together several times. He said, somewhat emphatically : ?Here is your gift from the village.? And he pointed to a superb red and white boat dancing gracefully in the blue lagoon.

Tears were running down Doudou?s cheeks. He put his arms round Marie-Angèle and Bhim and hugged them close to him. He even kissed the president and, before anybody could stop him, he dived into the warm waters and swam swiftly towards his new boat. On board, standing at the prow, he shouted to the crowd on the beach: ?Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Every time, you feel like eating fish, I?ll be there.?

?Now he starts sounding like a politician?, said Bhim with a big laugh.