|UNITED STATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONWashington, D.C. 20549FORM N-QQUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTEREDMANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANYInvestment Company Act file number:811-01728Nicholas 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:03/31/2009Date of Reporting Period:12/31/2008
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



|Item 1. Schedule of Investments.
|--------------------------------

---

|                                    |  | Nicholas Fund, Inc.                           |  |               
|----------------------------------- |  | --------------------------------------------- |  | --------------
|Schedule of Investments (unaudited)
|                                    |  | December 31, 2008                             |  |               
|                                   
|                                    |  |                                               |  | VALUE         
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|COMMON STOCKS - 92.42%              |  |                                              
|                                    |  | Consumer Discretionary - Auto                 |  |               
|                                    |  | & Components - 0.90%                          |  |               
|575,100                             |  | Johnson Controls, Inc.                        |  | $ 10,443,816  
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Consumer Discretionary - Durables             |  |               
|                                    |  | & Apparel - 2.14%                             |  |               
|600,000                             |  | Fortune Brands, Inc.                          |  | 24,768,000    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Consumer Discretionary - Services - 0.83%     |  |               
|832,868                             |  | DineEquity, Inc.                              |  | 9,627,954     
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Consumer Discretionary - Hotels, Restaurants  |  |               
|                                    |  | & Leisure - 3.82%                             |  |               
|1,400,000                           |  | Yum! Brands, Inc.                             |  | 44,100,000    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Consumer Discretionary - Retail - 8.40%       |  |               
|380,000                             |  | Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. *                |  | 9,937,000     
|650,000                             |  | Kohl's Corporation *                          |  | 23,530,000    
|1,692,476                           |  | O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. *                   |  | 52,026,712    
|676,160                             |  | Penske Automotive Group, Inc.                 |  | 5,192,909     
|1,130,886                           |  | Sally Beauty Company, Inc. *                  |  | 6,434,741     
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  |                                               |  | 97,121,362    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Consumer Staples - Food                       |  |               
|                                    |  | & Staple Retail - 3.10%                       |  |               
|1,450,000                           |  | Walgreen Co.                                  |  | 35,771,500    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Consumer Staples - Food, Beverage             |  |               
|                                    |  | & Tobacco - 3.67%                             |  |               
|300,000                             |  | Altria Group, Inc.                            |  | 4,518,000     
|2,404,800                           |  | Constellation Brands, Inc. - Class A *        |  | 37,923,696    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  |                                               |  | 42,441,696    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Consumer Staples - Household & Personal       |  |               
|                                    |  | Products - 1.35%                              |  |               
|650,000                             |  | Avon Products, Inc.                           |  | 15,619,500    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Energy - 10.04%                               |  |               
|400,000                             |  | Apache Corporation                            |  | 29,812,000    
|213,300                             |  | Bristow Group Inc. *                          |  | 5,714,307     
|881,300                             |  | Inergy, L.P.                                  |  | 15,017,352    
|230,000                             |  | Kayne Anderson Energy Development Company     |  | 1,727,300     
|700,000                             |  | Kayne Anderson Energy Total Return Fund, Inc. |  | 8,050,000     
|700,000                             |  | Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Company         |  | 11,410,000    
|1,070,285                           |  | Kinder Morgan Management, LLC *               |  | 42,789,975    
|150,000                             |  | McMoRan Exploration Co. *                     |  | 1,470,000     
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  |                                               |  | 115,990,934   
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Financials - Banks - 2.02%                    |  |               
|1,544,126                           |  | Marshall & Ilsley Corporation                 |  | 21,061,879    
|642,975                             |  | MGIC Investment Corporation                   |  | 2,237,553     
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  |                                               |  | 23,299,432    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Financials - Diversified - 4.65%              |  |               
|1,000,000                           |  | Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. *             |  | 41,920,000    
|599,085                             |  | Leucadia National Corporation                 |  | 11,861,883    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  |                                               |  | 53,781,883    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Financials - Insurance - 7.69%                |  |               
|700                                 |  | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. - Class A *           |  | 67,620,000    
|750,000                             |  | Loews Corporation                             |  | 21,187,500    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  |                                               |  | 88,807,500    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Financials - Real Estate - 0.08%              |  |               
|253,550                             |  | Cohen & Steers Quality                        |  |               
|                                    |  | Income Realty Fund, Inc.                      |  | 963,490       
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Health Care - Equipment - 3.75%               |  |               
|280,000                             |  | Alcon, Inc.                                   |  | 24,973,200    
|507,500                             |  | Covidien Ltd.                                 |  | 18,391,800    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  |                                               |  | 43,365,000    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  | Health Care - Pharmaceuticals &               |  |               
|                                    |  | Biotechnology - 5.62%                         |  |               
|228,000                             |  | Charles River Laboratories                    |  |               
|                                    |  | International, Inc.                           |  | 5,973,600     
|550,000                             |  | Gilead Sciences, Inc. *                       |  | 28,127,000    
|905,688                             |  | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. *               |  | 30,856,790    
|                                    |  |                                               |  | --------------
|                                    |  |                                               |  | 64,957,390    

---

|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|------------------------------ |  | ---------------------------------------------- |  | ------------- |  | ---------- |  | ---------- |  | --------------
|                               |  | Health Care - Services - 7.41%                 |  |              
|731,087                        |  | Cardinal Health, Inc.                          |  |               |  | 25,200,569
|850,000                        |  | DaVita, Inc. *                                 |  |               |  |            |  | 42,134,500
|920,000                        |  | VCA Antech, Inc. *                             |  |               |  | 18,289,600
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | 85,624,669    
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  | Industrials - Capital Goods - 12.19%           |  |              
|905,173                        |  | Brady Corporation                              |  |               |  | 21,678,894
|300,000                        |  | Briggs & Stratton Corporation                  |  | 5,277,000    
|600,000                        |  | Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V.             |  | 6,030,000    
|136,100                        |  | Curtiss-Wright Corporation                     |  | 4,544,379    
|100,000                        |  | EMCOR Group, Inc. *                            |  |               |  | 2,243,000 
|400,164                        |  | General Dynamics Corporation                   |  | 23,045,445   
|300,000                        |  | Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.                |  | 15,279,000   
|2,083,300                      |  | Oshkosh Corporation                            |  |               |  | 18,520,537
|425,000                        |  | W.W. Grainger, Inc.                            |  |               |  | 33,507,000
|465,800                        |  | Woodward Governor Company                      |  | 10,722,716   
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | 140,847,971   
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  | Industrials - Commercial Services              |  |              
|                               |  | & Supplies - 1.80%                             |  |               |  |           
|756,500                        |  | Copart, Inc. *                                 |  |               |  |            |  | 20,569,235
|57,630                         |  | Interface, Inc. - Class A                      |  | 267,403      
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | 20,836,638    
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  | Information Technology - Hardware              |  |              
|                               |  | & Equipment - 1.88%                            |  |               |  |           
|250,400                        |  | Mettler-Toledo International Inc. *            |  | 16,876,960   
|250,000                        |  | ScanSource, Inc. *                             |  |               |  | 4,817,500 
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | 21,694,460    
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  | Information Technology - Software              |  |              
|                               |  | & Services - 4.12%                             |  |               |  |           
|785,000                        |  | Fiserv, Inc. *                                 |  |               |  |            |  | 28,550,450
|500,000                        |  | Hewitt Associates, Inc.                        |  | *             |  | 14,190,000
|200,000                        |  | Solera Holdings, Inc.                          |  | *             |  | 4,820,000 
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | 47,560,450    
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  | Materials - 6.96%                              |  |               |  |           
|250,000                        |  | Airgas, Inc.                                   |  |               |  |            |  | 9,747,500 
|350,000                        |  | AptarGroup, Inc.                               |  |               |  | 12,334,000
|1,000,000                      |  | Bemis Company, Inc.                            |  |               |  | 23,680,000
|300,000                        |  | RPM International, Inc.                        |  |               |  | 3,987,000 
|653,400                        |  | Stepan Company                                 |  |               |  |            |  | 30,703,266
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | 80,451,766    
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                              
|TOTAL Common Stocks            |  | (COST: $ 1,053,744,172)                        |  | 1,068,075,411
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                              
|SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS - 7.79% |  |                                                |  |              
|                               |  | Commercial Paper - 7.57%                       |  |              
|$3,000,000                     |  | Alcoa Inc. 01/02/09, 4.45%                     |  | 3,000,000    
|3,525,000                      |  | Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 01/05/09, 6.40%    |  | 3,523,120    
|4,000,000                      |  | Volkswagen of America, Inc. 01/05/09, 5.45%    |  | 3,998,183    
|3,325,000                      |  | Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 01/06/09, 5.75%    |  | 3,322,876    
|5,000,000                      |  | Kellogg Company 01/06/09, 4.00%                |  | 4,997,778    
|5,525,000                      |  | Diageo Capital plc 01/07/09, 5.70%             |  | 5,520,626    
|2,960,000                      |  | Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 01/07/09, 5.70%    |  | 2,957,657    
|3,025,000                      |  | Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 01/08/09, 6.15%    |  | 3,021,899    
|3,375,000                      |  | Kellogg Company 01/09/09, 3.70%                |  | 3,372,572    
|5,000,000                      |  | Diageo Capital plc 01/12/09, 4.95%             |  | 4,993,125    
|450,000                        |  | Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 01/13/09, 6.10%    |  | 449,161      
|1,675,000                      |  | Kellogg Company 01/13/09, 4.00%                |  | 1,672,953    
|4,130,000                      |  | Kellogg Company 01/14/09, 4.20%                |  | 4,124,218    
|2,310,000                      |  | General Mills, Inc. 01/15/09, 4.40%            |  | 2,306,329    
|4,025,000                      |  | ITT Corporation 01/15/08, 4.25%                |  | 4,018,823    
|2,670,000                      |  | Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 01/16/09, 5.70%    |  | 2,664,082    
|5,000,000                      |  | CVS Corporation 01/20/09, 5.50%                |  | 4,986,250    
|5,000,000                      |  | Kellogg Company 01/21/09, 4.22%                |  | 4,988,864    
|2,940,000                      |  | General Mills, Inc. 01/22/09, 4.00%            |  | 2,933,467    
|5,000,000                      |  | H.J. Heinz Finance Company 01/23/09, 1.50%     |  | 4,995,625    
|5,645,000                      |  | Kraft Foods Inc. 01/26/09, 2.40%               |  | 5,635,968    
|3,130,000                      |  | Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 01/27/09, 4.80%    |  | 3,119,566    
|3,000,000                      |  | Kellogg Company 01/29/09, 4.20%                |  | 2,990,550    
|4,000,000                      |  | Wisconsin Energy Corporation 01/29/09, 2.00%   |  | 3,994,000    
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | 87,587,692    
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                               |  | Variable Rate Security - 0.22%                 |  |              
|2,501,121                      |  | Corporate Central Credit Union 01/02/09, 0.12% |  | 2,501,121    
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------
|                              
|                              
|TOTAL Short-term Investments   |  | (COST: $ 90,088,813)                           |  | 90,088,813   
|                               |  |                                                |  |               |  |            |  |            |  | --------------

---

|TOTAL SECURITY HOLDINGS - 100.21%  |  |         |  | 1,158,164,224 
|---------------------------------- |  | ------- |  | --------------
|                                   |  |         |  | --------------
|                                  
|LIABILITIES, NET OF OTHER ASSETS - |  | (0.21)% |  | (2,455,780)   
|                                   |  |         |  | --------------
|TOTAL NET ASSETS                   |  |         |  | $1,155,708,444
|                                   |  |         |  | --------------
|                                   |  |         |  | --------------
|                                  
|                                  
|% OF NET ASSETS                    |  |         |  |               
|* NON-INCOME PRODUCING             |  |         |  |               

As of December 31, 2008, investment cost for federal tax purposes was $1,152,388,892 and the tax basis components of unrealized appreciation/depreciation were as follows:

|Unrealized appreciation     |  | $ 276,213,121
|--------------------------- |  | -------------
|Unrealized depreciation     |  | (270,437,789)
|                            |  | -------------
|Net unrealized appreciation |  | $ 5,775,332  
|                            |  | -------------
|                            |  | -------------

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 investments

Level 2  other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

Level 3  significant unobservable inputs (including the Funds own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of December 31, 2008 in valuing the Funds investments carried at value:

|Valuation Inputs                              |  | Investments in Securities
|--------------------------------------------- |  | -------------------------
|Level 1 - Quoted Prices                       |  | $1,068,075,411           
|Level 2 - Other Significant Observable Inputs |  | 90,088,813               
|Level 3 - Significant Unobservable Inputs     |  | --                       
|                                              |  | --------------           
|Total                                         |  | $1,158,164,224           
|                                              |  | --------------           
|                                              |  | --------------           

---

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:02/26/2009
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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:02/26/2009By:/s/ Jeffrey T. MayName: Jeffrey T. MayTitle: Principal Financial OfficerDate:02/26/2009
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---