And suddenly there was seen with the angel a number of the angels of
heaven. And they praised God, and said, 'GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST,
AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN.'

When the light faded, and the song ended, and the angels had gone back
into heaven, the shepherds climbed quickly over the hillside to
Bethlehem. And there, in the stable near the inn, they found Mary and
Joseph, and the Babe lying in the manger, as the angels had said.

Jesus was the eldest son of His mother. And the eldest sons in Jewish
houses, when they were forty days old, were taken to the Temple, and
given to God.

So now, when Jesus was nearly six weeks old, He was brought from
Bethlehem by Mary and Joseph to the Temple at Jerusalem. The mothers
used to take a lamb with them, or two pigeons, as a sacrifice to God.
Mary took two pigeons. She was not rich enough to buy a lamb.

A long way on the eastern side of the Jordan, there were countries
where the people used to watch the sun and the moon and the stars very
carefully. If they saw anything new and strange in the heavens, they
thought it meant that something wonderful was going to happen. But
some of them knew and had heard from the Jews about God, and about the
Messiah who was coming; and they, like the Jews, were longing for Jesus.

One day these wise men saw a bright star which they had never seen
before. And as they looked at it they felt sure that a great King of
the Jews had been born in Judaea. So they took camels and rich
presents of gold and sweet-smelling stuff--such as people gave to kings
in those days--and they loaded their camels, and left their homes, and