angry, and he sent his soldiers to Bethlehem, and had all the baby boys
killed--all the children who were less than two years of age. And they
killed all the baby boys in the places near Bethlehem as well. And the
poor mothers cried, and nobody could comfort them.

Joseph and Mary stayed in Egypt, waiting for the angel to bring them
word that it was time to go back again to Palestine. And one night,
when Jesus was about three years old, the message came. The angel of
the Lord said to Joseph in a dream, 'Arise, and take the young Child
and His mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which
sought the young Child's life.' Joseph got up, and took the young
Child and His mother, and went into the land of Israel. But when he
came there, people said to him, 'Herod is dead, but his son Archelaus
is king.' And when Joseph knew that Archelaus was king, he was afraid
to stay in Judaea. And God spoke to him again in a dream, and told him
to go back to Galilee. So Joseph and Mary went back to Galilee, and
lived in Nazareth again.




CHAPTER III

THE BOYHOOD OF JESUS

The Bible tells us only a few stories about the time when Jesus was a
little boy.

Nazareth is built up the side of a hill, and there are plenty of
gardens and fields down below. Amongst these fields there is a