Gaspar

Gaspar is one of the three magi, the wise men who followed a star from the east to worship the newborn Jesus. Travelers in Whit's Imagination Station meet him on adventures set around the first Christmas. His companions are Balthazar, a talkative man whose ointment of herbs and myrrh soothes weary feet, and Melchior, the expedition's sour-tempered guide. Gaspar is the warm and welcoming member of the party. He found a stranded, thirsty Eugene Meltsner in a desert canyon and coaxed him back to camp with a pointed warning about thieves. He grew fond of the surprising young man, though he sided with Melchior when Eugene insisted the child lay in Bethlehem rather than Jerusalem. After meeting King Herod, the magi found the child in Bethlehem and bowed before him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.