The Good Shepherd | Page 4

heard about these wise men he was troubled. He sent for
the best priests, and other clever men, and asked them where Christ
would be born. And they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judaea.' They
had read that in the Bible. Then Herod said to the wise men, 'Go and
search out carefully about the young Child; and when ye have found
Him, bring me word, that I also may come and worship Him.'
When the wise men had heard the king, they went away to Bethlehem,
and lo, the star went before them, till it came and stood over where the
young Child was. And they rejoiced with great joy. And when they
were come into the house (there was room in the inn now) they saw the
young Child with Mary, His mother, and they fell down and
worshipped Him, and they gave Him their presents--gold, and
frankincense, and myrrh. But the wise men did not go back to Herod.
God told them in a dream not to go. So they went home by another way
instead.
After the wise men were gone, the angel of the Lord came to Joseph in
his sleep, and said to him, 'Arise, and take the young Child and His
mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' That meant to kill
Him. So Joseph at once got up, and took the young Child and His

mother by night, and went away to Egypt.
When Herod found that the wise men did not come back, he was very
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 fountain, where
the women of Nazareth go to fetch water. Jesus must often have gone
with His mother to that fountain; and sometimes, when she was tired,
He may have fetched the water for her Himself.
[Illustration: Nazareth, from hill above.]
Mary wore a long blue dress, tied round the waist, and a cap with
pieces of money sewn round it, and a white cloth over her head and

shoulders, just as the women of Nazareth do now; and Jesus was very
likely dressed in a red cap, a bright tunic, a sash of many colours, and a
little jacket of white or blue, just as the boys of Nazareth are dressed
now.
The houses of Nazareth are white. Grape vines grow over their walls,
and doves sit and coo on the flat roofs. There is not much inside the
houses: sometimes they have only one room. There is a lamp in the
middle of the room, and round the walls there are waterpots. There are
bright-coloured quilts on a shelf. People unroll these quilts at night and
lie down upon them. There are mats and carpets in the house, and a
bright-coloured box with treasures in it, and a painted wooden stool;
and that is nearly all.
[Illustration: Jewish women grinding corn.]
When the people of the house want to eat, they put a tray of food on the
wooden stool, and they sit round the tray on the floor, and eat with their
hands. People in Palestine would not know what to do with tables and
chairs, and knives and forks, like ours.
The streets of Nazareth are long and narrow, and they are full