UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM N-Q QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY Investment Company Act file number:811-01728 Nicholas Fund, Inc. (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter) 700 North Water Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) Jeffrey T. May, Senior Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer700 North Water StreetMilwaukee, Wisconsin 53202(Name and Address of Agent for Service) Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code:414-272-4650Date of Fiscal Year End:03/31/2013Date of Reporting Period:12/31/2012 Item 1. Schedule of Investments.


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NICHOLAS FUND, INC.SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (UNAUDITED)AS OF December 31, 2012SHARES ORPRINCIPALAMOUNT

   

   

   VALUE------------

   -

   --------------COMMON STOCKS -- 93.88%Consumer Discretionary - Durables &Apparel -- 2.81%582,014

   Polaris Industries Inc.

   

   $48,976,478--------------Consumer Discretionary -Retailing -- 14.93%1,428,600

   Aaron's, Inc.

   

   40,400,808849,100

   Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. *

   

   36,154,6782,038,018

   LKQ Corporation *

   

   43,002,180642,476

   O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. *

   

   57,450,204866,160

   Penske Automotive Group, Inc.

   

   26,062,755654,786

   Sally Beauty Company, Inc. *

   

   15,433,306775,000

   Signet Jewelers Limited

   

   41,385,000--------------259,888,931--------------Consumer Staples - Food & StaplesRetailing -- 4.15%1,950,000

   Walgreen Co.

   

   72,169,500--------------Consumer Staples - Food, Beverage &Tobacco -- 3.62%450,000

   Philip Morris International Inc.

   

   37,638,000835,537

   Seneca Foods Corporation - Class A *

   

   25,400,325--------------63,038,325--------------Energy -- 6.42%250,000

   Apache Corporation

   

   19,625,000682,761

   Kinder Morgan Management, LLC *

   

   51,521,1451,150,000

   Kinder Morgan, Inc.

   

   40,629,500--------------111,775,645--------------Financials - Banks -- 2.06%1,050,000

   Wells Fargo & Company

   

   35,889,000--------------Financials - Diversified -- 7.39%653,520

   Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. *

   

   85,055,6281,834,785

   Leucadia National Corporation

   

   43,649,535--------------128,705,163--------------Financials - Insurance -- 5.16%845,000

   Aon plc

   

   46,982,0001,050,000

   Loews Corporation

   

   42,787,500--------------89,769,500--------------Financials - Real Estate -- 1.95%1,550,000

   CBRE Group Inc. *

   

   30,845,000309,908

   Cohen & Steers Quality Income RealtyFund, Inc.

   

   3,148,665--------------33,993,665--------------Health Care - Equipment &Services -- 6.37%270,000

   C.R. Bard, Inc.

   

   26,389,800607,500

   Covidien plc

   

   35,077,050293,127

   DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. *

   

   32,399,327265,100

   Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. *

   

   17,088,346--------------110,954,523--------------Health Care - Pharmaceuticals,Biotechnology & Life Sciences -- 12.71%750,000

   Gilead Sciences, Inc. *

   

   55,087,500154,400

   Mettler-Toledo International Inc. *

   

   29,845,520825,688

   Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

   

   52,662,3811,400,000

   Valeant PharmaceuticalsInternational, Inc. *

   

   83,678,000--------------
  Page 1


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221,273,401--------------Industrials - Capital Goods -- 9.79%500,000

   A.O. Smith Corporation

   

   31,535,000721,100

   Snap-on Incorporated

   

   56,959,689278,910

   W.W. Grainger, Inc.

   

   56,443,017668,095

   Woodward Inc.

   

   25,474,462--------------170,412,168--------------Industrials - Commercial & ProfessionalServices -- 2.29%1,353,000

   Copart, Inc. *

   

   39,913,500--------------Information Technology - Software &Services -- 6.07%241,700

   Fiserv, Inc. *

   

   19,101,551130,000

   MasterCard Incorporated - Class A

   

   63,866,400425,700

   Solera Holdings, Inc.

   

   22,762,179--------------105,730,130--------------Materials -- 8.16%700,000

   AptarGroup, Inc.

   

   33,404,0001,250,000

   Ball Corporation

   

   55,937,500948,224

   Stepan Company

   

   52,664,361--------------142,005,861--------------TOTAL COMMON STOCKS(cost $1,007,248,992)

   

   1,634,495,790--------------SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS -- 6.15%Commercial Paper - 5.85%$5,000,000

   Integrys Energy Group, Inc.01/02/13, 0.42%

   

   5,000,0003,775,000

   Marriott International, Inc.01/02/13, 0.33%

   

   3,775,0007,275,000

   General Mills, Inc. 01/03/13, 0.29%

   

   7,274,9414,350,000

   Bemis Company, Inc. 01/04/13, 0.33%

   

   4,349,920250,000

   UnitedHealth Group Incorporated01/04/13, 0.27%

   

   249,9965,350,000

   General Mills, Inc. 01/07/13, 0.33%

   

   5,349,7552,500,000

   Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation01/07/13, 0.38%

   

   2,499,8682,140,000

   Consolidated Edison Company ofNew York, Inc. 01/08/13, 0.28%

   

   2,139,9006,425,000

   Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation01/08/13, 0.40%

   

   6,424,5723,000,000

   Devon Energy Corporation01/09/13, 0.25%

   

   2,999,8542,500,000

   Hewlett-Packard Company 01/10/13, 0.43%

   

   2,499,7613,000,000

   Integrys Energy Group, Inc.01/10/13, 0.40%

   

   2,999,7333,758,000

   UnitedHealth Group Incorporated01/10/13, 0.32%

   

   3,757,7331,375,000

   Valspar Corporation (The)01/10/13, 0.33%

   

   1,374,8991,150,000

   Integrys Energy Group, Inc.01/11/13, 0.39%

   

   1,149,8882,500,000

   Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation01/11/13, 0.40%

   

   2,499,7503,000,000

   Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation01/14/13, 0.40%

   

   2,999,6005,000,000

   General Mills, Inc. 01/15/13, 0.25%

   

   4,999,5493,000,000

   Bacardi-Martini B.V. 01/16/13, 0.41%

   

   2,999,5221,100,000

   Integrys Energy Group, Inc.01/17/13, 0.39%

   

   1,099,8214,000,000

   H.J. Heinz Finance Company01/18/13, 0.25%

   

   3,999,5563,025,000

   McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (The)01/18/13, 0.38%

   

   3,024,4897,000,000

   H.J. Heinz Finance Company01/22/13, 0.25%

   

   6,999,0284,200,000

   H.J. Heinz Finance Company01/22/13, 0.35%

   

   4,199,1833,000,000

   Marriott International, Inc.01/23/13, 0.32%

   

   2,999,440500,000

   Marriott International, Inc.01/23/13, 0.35%

   

   499,8982,400,000

   McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (The)01/23/13, 0.40%

   

   2,399,4405,450,000

   Hitachi Capital America Corp.01/25/13, 0.45%

   

   5,448,433
  Page 2


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1,925,000

   Hitachi Capital America Corp.01/28/13, 0.45%

   

   1,924,3743,975,000

   UnitedHealth Group Incorporated01/28/13, 0.23%

   

   3,974,340--------------101,912,243--------------Variable Rate Security - 0.30%5,234,031

   Fidelity Institutional Money MarketFund - Class I

   

   5,234,031--------------TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS(cost $107,146,274)

   

   107,146,274--------------TOTAL SECURITY HOLDINGS(cost $1,114,395,266) - 100.03%

   

   1,741,642,064--------------LIABILITIES, NET OF OTHER ASSETS - (0.03)%

   

   (512,287

   )--------------TOTAL NET ASSETS(basis of percentagesdisclosed above) - 100%

   

   $1,741,129,777----------------------------
  % Of net assets.* Non-income producing. As of December 31, 2012, investment cost for federal tax purposes was $1,114,349,175 and the tax basis components of unrealized appreciation/depreciation were as follows: Unrealized appreciation

   

   $638,830,412Unrealized depreciation

   

   (11,537,523

   )------------Net unrealized appreciation

   

   $627,292,889------------------------
  For information on the Fund's policies regarding the valuation of investments and other significant accounting policies, please refer to the Fund's most recent Semiannual or Annual Report to Shareholders. Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund's investments relating to Finanacial Accounting Standard No. 157. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three broad Levels listed below. Level 1 - quoted prices in active markets for identical investmentsLevel 2 - other significant observable inputs (including quoted pricesfor similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds,credit risk, etc.)Level 3 - significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s ownassumptions in determining the fair value of investments)The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarilyan indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.The following is a summary of the inputs used as of December 31, 2012 invaluing the Fund’s investments carried at value: InvestmentsValuation Inputs

   

   in SecuritiesLevel 1 -Common Stocks(1)

   

   $1,634,495,790Level 2 -Commercial Paper

   

   101,912,243Variable Rate Security

   

   5,234,031Level 3 -None

   

   ---------------Total

   

   $1,741,642,064----------------------------
  (1) See Schedule above for further detail by industry Page 3


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Item 2. Controls and Procedures. (a) The Fund's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the Fund's disclosure controls and procedures are sufficient to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Fund in this Form N-Q was recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules and forms, based upon such officers' evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report. (b) There were no significant changes or corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the Fund's internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect the Fund's internal controls during the last fiscal quarter. Item 3. Exhibits. Certifications of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Act, attached hereto as part of EX-99.CERT. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. (Registrant)Nicholas Fund, Inc. By:/s/ Albert O. NicholasName: Albert O. NicholasTitle: Principal Executive OfficerDate:02/08/2013 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated. By:/s/ Albert O. NicholasName: Albert O. NicholasTitle: Principal Executive OfficerDate:02/08/2013By:/s/ Jeffrey T. MayName: Jeffrey T. MayTitle: Principal Financial OfficerDate:02/08/2013


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