slumbered peacefully she prayed in her heart: "I am a poor handmaiden
of the Lord. The will of the Lord be done."




CHAPTER II

It is midnight and, wakeful shepherds see a bright star. A strange
star, too; they had never seen its like before. It sparkled so
brightly that the shepherds' shadows on the plain were long. And it is
said that they saw other stars approach it, and at length surround it.
And then the new star threw off white sparks, which flew down
earthwards and stopped in mid-air; and there were children with white
wings and golden hair. And they sang beautiful words to the honour of
God and the good-will of men.

In that selfsame hour a boy brought tidings that a tall, white-robed
youth stood in front of the shepherd Ishmael's cave, and that within
lay a young woman on the bed of leaves, an infant at her breast. And
high up in the air they heard singing.

The story quickly spread through the mountains round Bethlehem. The
shepherds who were awake roused those who slept. Everywhere a
delicious tremor was felt, a sense of mighty wonder. A poor, strange
woman and a naked child! What was the use of singing? Swaddling
clothes and wraps and milk were what was needed. One brought the
fleece of a slaughtered sheep. Another brought dried figs and grapes
and a skin of red wine. Other shepherds brought milk and bread and a
fat kid; every one brought something, just as they took tithes to the