A Christmas Story
“Stay alert. This is hazardous work I’m assigning you.
You’re going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack,
so don’t call attention to yourselves.
Be as shrewd as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.”
Matthew 10:16 MSG
CAROL OF THE FRIENDLY BEASTS
Jesus, our brother, strong and good
Was humbly born in stable rude
And the friendly beasts around him stood,
Jesus, our brother, kind and good.
I, said the donkey, shaggy and brown,
Carried his Mother uphill and down
I carried her safe to Bethlehem town,
I, said the donkey, shaggy and brown.
I, said the cow, all white and red,
Gave him my manger for his bed,
I gave him my hay to pillow his head,
I, said the cow, all white and red.
I, said the sheep with curly horn,
Gave him my wool to keep him warm,
He wore my coat on Christmas morn,
I, said the sheep with curly horn.
I, said the dove, in the rafters high,
Cooed him to sleep with lullaby,
We cooed him to sleep, my mate and I,
I, said the dove, in the rafters high.
Thus every beast by some good spell
In the stable dark was glad to tell
Of the gift he gave Immanuel,
Of the gift he gave Immanuel.
From an old Carol
~ ❖ ~
The Fox At The Manger
(Originally written by P.L Travers)
It was late at night. Silence lay over the stable, broken only by the glow from the manger where the Child rested among the friendly beasts. The wise men slept in a corner, their gifts scattered, while shepherds dozed in the hay. Angels hovered above, resting from their songs.
The animals stirred as they sensed soft paws approaching. A red fox appeared in the doorway, his eyes fixed on the Child. Alarmed, the donkey, cow, sheep, and dove demanded he leave. But the fox replied quietly, “On the contrary. It is the only place for me.”
The animals accused him of cunning, thievery, and enmity with man. The fox did not deny it. “My cunning is my life,” he said. “It feeds my cubs, saves me from traps, and keeps me free. Yet one day, a fox will be man’s friend. I have come to give him my gift.”
The animals scoffed. “What gift could you give?”
“My cunning,” said the fox.
The donkey brayed: “I have carried his mother safely across deserts and hills. My back is broad enough for burdens.”
The cow added gently: “I have given him my manger, a place to rest.”
The sheep bleated: “I have given him my wool to keep him warm.”
The dove cooed: “I have sung him my lullaby.”
Each animal named its gift with pride, and each looked at the fox with suspicion. “What can you offer but tricks?” they demanded.
At that, the Child raised his hand. “That is a good gift,” he said. “Others give what they can spare. But the fox has given all he had. His cunning is his strength, his life. Now it is mine.”
“But what will you do with such a gift?” cried the donkey, in bewilderment. “I am puzzled at these riddles. What is this cunning? There is something here I do not understand.”
“Nor I!” echoed the cow, the sheep and the dove, doubtfully shaking their heads.
“It is not necessary to understand,” said the Child, gently. “It is only necessary to let it be.
Love and let be.”
Then he turned his head toward the door and beckoned to the fox.
“Come!” he commanded.
The fox nodded obediently. And, delicately lifting each paw and putting it down without a
sound, he stepped up to the manger.
The Child put out his hand and laid it on the red head in the broad space between the ears.
“I shall need someone to help me.”
The fox made a curious sound in his throat, something between a growl and a groan.
“What would you have me do?” he cried. “Roll you under the thorn with my paw, as I do my half-grown cubs? Follow the cry of the night-owl, wrest her prey from her sharp claws and feed you with a fine fat squirrel? Hide you in my fox’s hole and when they hunt you -
as hunt they will! - lead you by the secret paths that no one knows but I?”
“Stay with me,” the Child pleaded. “They welcome me now, but one day the welcome will fade.”
The fox’s eyes glistened. “You know I cannot do that. To be your friend is to let you walk alone. What I could do, I have done already. My cunning is yours. It will guide you when the world turns against you.”
The Child bowed his head, accepting the hard truth. “You are right,” he whispered. “Alone, when the wind rises and the rain comes down.”
“And I will go and live in the hedgerows” the fox said.
As he spoke, he moved his body away - very slowly, inch by inch - so that the Child’s hand
slid down the length of his red back and along the brush to the last hair. It seemed as though neither could bear to part from the other.
Then, he padded with dainty purposeful steps over the straw to the farmyard animals. With grave deliberation, he chose a place between the cow and the donkey and lay down, curling his brush about him, and sliding his pointed mask along his paws.
A black lamb nestled against him. The animals, their anger softened, thought: “We are too simple to understand. We can only love and let be.”
Through the night, while wise men and shepherds slept, the Child and the fox gazed at each other, keeping their watch. Wild and tame together at the crib, the circle was whole.
~ ❖ ~
There is a downside to a phrase, a story, a poem or song becoming overly familiar. We tune out when we hear it, because we know it. Sometimes we have to dust it off and listen to it again. Really listen.
When this happens, we discover similarities between the fox of our story and the little drummer boy we hear about endlessly at Christmastime in the famous song.
- They both bring gifts that are "different", from their hearts. The drummer boy's gift is his music, his devotion - all of himself. The fox also has no conventional gift: only cunning, courage and his wild heart.
- Neither of the givers rely on grandeur, spectacle or wealth. Their gifts are humble, intimate and personal.
- Even if the world around them - the other animals, wise men or spectators - does not understand, the recipient (Jesus) recognizes the value of each person's unconventional gift. The drummer's song, the fox's alertness and presence, are fully received, not judged.
'The Little Drummer Boy' sung in 3 different languages (English, Arabic, Italian) from a roof top in Bethlehem by 5 vocalists from Palestine who live in in Bethlehem/Jerusalem.
Our wish for you, a beautiful Christmas.
With our love.
George & Matilda
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