The King Nobody Wanted

, looking for a fat sheep to eat. After dark the hyenas and jackals began to howl. Robbers might be somewhere in the darkness too. In the ni

field not far from the town of Bethlehem. Not many miles to the north lay Jerusalem, t

one of them would see something move, or hear a little rustling sound. He would ra

eyond the clouds. Everything had been dark a minute before, but now

. Some were too frightened to spea

t is

can

ord," one called out. "L

heard a loud

pher

ell upon

hear. This very day, Christ your Saviour has been born in the city of David. And this is how you

began to sing. The sky rang with the mus

God in t

eace, good wil

again, and the far-off howling of wild beasts. Everything was the same as before, except tha

broke the spell as th

last-the Mes

id the a

David-that me

ing here? Let's

em at once, and find out

nces and the rocky fields the shepherds scrambled, and hardly stopped for breath till they reached the edge of the town. Ever

he light is," said

they ran, and in

ing hay. A cold draft of air was blowing in around the cracks of the door and over the dirt floor. Beside one of th

Messiah," one of the

The animals mu

The shepherds told the story of

r did not have anything very e

one remembers us now. I've been working in Galilee for years. I have a carpenter shop there. T

t any room for us with all the important people here. They said we could sleep

that they would see something unusual about

membered the

light streaking the blackness in the east. Morning was com

looking for the Messiah in a manger! The shepherds were the first to learn the

ound the manger. Mary, the mother, said never a word, but her thoughts

sky. Many miles away, three men saw a new star. They were Wise Men,

The Wise Men were rich and important, and thought nothing of a journey. At once they made ready and set out to see

ected someday in Palestine. When they saw that the star had brough

hey said to each other. "W

Men went to his palace. Since they were rich and fam

the king, and Herod received them wi

ve seen his star in the east. We have come to

ng of the Jews? Why, Herod himself was the king of t

out what you

and hurried off to con

d. "Where do they say th

y he wa

riptures tells us that out of Bethlehem shall

erod was old and wise. When he had called his three visitors to him, he was as sm

efully. And when you have found him come and

on they arrived at the place where Joseph and Mary were stay

They opened their treasures and put their gifts in front of the baby. One bro

ed in adoration. "Hail, Chri

ore outside on the ro

be well for us not to see anythin

th him quickly. They

dangerous," they said. "Herod means to harm th

the baby was given his name

as about six weeks ol

salem and give an offering to the Lord. We cannot afford a lam

em, and carried Jesus with them

me up to them

for you a long time. All my life I have been wait

her's arms, and as he held

For I have seen the Messiah, the Saviour of a

seph and Mary, who were

and cause great trouble in this country. He will suffer, and others will suffer too, bec

Mary, and turned away. Joseph and Mary never saw hi

eir walk back to Bethlehem. There

en had come with their wonderful gifts. And now there was t

in the world. And yet they were not happy. There was trouble in the air. Their baby was goin

leave Bethlehem at once. God had sent the dream as a warning for them to get out of the country. They did not dare to stay ther

did not come back. Now he was sure that the Messiah really had been born! He was afra

whom he feared, and somehow that child must be killed. But he did not know which c

ficers together, and

d them, "and have them kill every boy in

oys they could find there were put to death. No matter who the

e back in Jerusalem. He

y little boy in Bethlehem is dead, the M

ldiers got there. While the fathers and mothers of Bethlehem were crying because thei

mistake. After he died, the little family in

the town of Nazareth in Galilee, where Joseph had worked before Jesus w

erds and the Wise Men, and nobody knew what Simeon had said in the Temple. Nobody knew why it was tha

sus began to walk perhaps they said, "Joseph's son is strong for his ag

reth than the carpenter's family. There was the Messiah to t

eth had heard t