As it’s almost Christmas, here’s a longer short story. Enjoy and have a happy Christmas.
It’s a story about a young shepherd and her family who spend a magical night and meet a very special person.
Brrr, I shivered as the last rays of sun faintly lit up the hills surrounding our field. It was that cold, dark time between sun and moonlight, before the sky was lit up with stars and I could fall asleep counting them. I snuggled up to my little lamb. Her mother had died when she was born and none of the other sheep would adopt her, so she was given to me to look after. How happy am I about that? Little lambs need a lot more than milk to keep them alive and well. Without a mother to keep them close, warm and safe, they need a lot of cuddles and that’s the job I love best.
At night, when my abba and uncles take their turns guarding the sheep, I lay down in the tent between my amma and lamb and dream the night away. However, that night, it was just me and lamb. Things were so busy in the town that amma and my aunts took their own turns watching the field, cooking food and keeping the men company. There was no sleep for adults that night.
I said the town was busy, it was more like chaotic. The Romans, who I’ve been taught to hate from birth had demanded that everyone travel to their hometown to be counted. Talk about harassment and control! Of course, our town’s not big enough to take everybody in. There aren’t enough places to stay or food to eat, so of course our fields and our sheep are tempting and not too far away. We didn’t want anybody camping out with us and we definitely didn’t want hungry strangers stealing our sheep, so the adults stayed awake and lamb and I tried to sleep.
My brother Jake is older than me, but he’s not a man yet, though he was determined to stay up that night. Soon, I heard the sound of the pipe he was playing. It soothed the sheep who were as anxious as the rest of us.
There it was, the evening star, the brightest of them all. Soon, it was joined by thousands of others and I lay, looking out of the tent, watching the stars appear and listening to Jake’s music. I hoped for happy dreams and felt Lamb’s tiny heart beating rapidly while she slept.
I must have dropped asleep quickly, because soon I was dreaming of a loud voice saying Do not be afraid. I’m bringing you good news, joyful news. A saviour has been born. You’ll find him in town, asleep in a manger.
Strange words indeed, what an odd dream, but unlike a dream, it didn’t fly away. I heard other voices, men’s voices sounding shocked, confused. I woke up properly then and looked outside. Everything was bright so I could see the men lying flat on their faces and the women huddled near the tents. Jake was standing close by. He’d dropped his pipes and was looking up, so I followed his gaze.
The stars were three times as bright as usual and as I looked at them, they started to move. I wondered if I was still asleep and dreaming, but my eyes were wide awake and I saw the stars begin to dance, up and down and round and round, waving their arms. Arms? Yes, they had arms and feet and faces and wings and were so bright. Then, I heard the most beautiful sound. The sky was full of singing! Glory to God on high and on earth, peace to men!
Almost as soon as they began, they fell silent, the sky dimmed and we were left with familiar stars. A hush had fallen over our field, even the sheep stopped bleating and everything was still for a few moments.
Eventually, figures began to move in the dark. Lamb was trembling and I pulled her closer to me while I watched my abba get to his feet and gather in a group with my uncles. Jack picked up his fallen pipes, wiped the dirt from them and came to stand near me. Amma and my aunts held hands, whispered and waited.
Finally, the men and women came together. We’ve got to go! I heard the words, but who was going where at that time of night?
Suddenly, all was movement. Amma came over to our tent and grabbed Jake and me. Come on, quickly, we’ve got to go into town.
Into town? What about the sheep, what about the tents? We can’t leave everything with a town full of strangers.
Yes, we can, screeched amma, town is where we’re going. That’s where the baby is, amongst strangers and we’ve got to find him.
Well, I wasn’t going to leave lamb behind, so I picked her up and ran, holding amma’s hand, with Jake running ahead.
This was the strangest night. Abba hated going into town. His rough and ready ways were better suited to fields and townsfolk didn’t like or trust him. They needed him to provide sheep and lambs but looked down at him because he couldn’t keep himself clean and didn’t turn up to synagogue. And yet, there he was, abandoning his sheep and leading the way, rushing to find a baby. He’d seen plenty of babies!
The streets were busy, the marketplace was full and some people were settling down there for the night. There were some drunken calls after us What’s the hurry, shepherds? You’ve forgotten the sheep, but you still smell of them!
Round corners we scurried until we found a narrow street. We had a sense for animals and quickly found our way to a stable.
Uncles, aunts, brother, abba and amma all paused to catch their breath. I stroked lamb and wondered what would happen next.
Eventually, the adults nodded to each other and abba pushed open the stable door.
I had no idea what to expect, but I walked into the lamp lit shack, smelling the straw and the animals before I saw them. In a corner, sat a young woman who wasn’t much older than me. she looked tired, but she smiled at us. An older man stood by her and he nodded in welcome.
We crept closer until we saw what the angel had told us. There was a manger, a feeding trough, and inside was a baby. The baby was swaddled tightly, just like me and Jake had been when we were born.
What happened next was the most surprising of all. My big, strong, abba who was used to seeing off wild animals and the odd Roman soldier, my abba, who would sooner curse or hit a man rather than kneel before him, fell to his knees in the filthy straw and bowed his head before this baby.
The baby opened his eyes then. He couldn’t wave his arms and legs because of the swaddling clothes, but he turned his head. His mother reached down and picked him up and my abba never took his eyes away while she rocked her baby in her arms.
Lamb started to bleat and the young mother smiled. Then, would you believe it, she looked at me and said shall we swap? I’ll hold your little lamb, and you can hold mine.
I kissed lamb and then passed her over. I took the tiny baby in my arms and I kissed him too. A lullaby wafted around the room. Jake was playing his pipes and I rocked the baby. His mother said His name is Jesus.
I kissed Jesus again and we exchanged lamb for baby. I looked around and saw tears falling down amma’s face. I hugged lamb and stroked her while a hush fell over us all. Then my adults looked at each other and nodded again. It was time to go.
Look after your little lamb and I’ll look after mine for you and for all of us said the mother.
Wandering Through The Land Of Nod. 