Well, hello there! I am Titus Maus. I gotta say, it’s about time you stop by to hear my version of the night a certain Messiah was born. Sure sure, everyone knows the story of how Mary and Joseph found shelter in the stable just in time for the little guy to be born, but us animals have a slightly different version. Sit down and I will tell you all about it!
We had all heard the inn keeper and some of his regulars talking about the census, and boy oh boy, was the inn full! Every night, the owner had to turn away people looking for a place to sleep. Even during the day, we mice had to watch where we went. The streets were packed with people coming back to Bethlehem for this census. Why the Roman emperor wanted everyone to go back to their hometown is beyond me! All I know is that it was like a zoo!
After a day much like any other, my wife Drusilla and I dined like the emperor himself, with a wonderful supper of oats and fig. We filled our bellies so much we were eager to find our bed for the night earlier than normal. All the other animals were getting ready for bed as well, the cattle were lowing and the mules were settling down for their slumber. Just as we were all settling in and starting to doze off, that’s when the chaos started.
We could all hear the inn keeper talking to a man, telling him the inn was full. The man was begging him for something, anything, as his wife was pregnant. We could hear the footsteps coming up to the stable doors and soon the whole building felt a gust of cool night air hitting us all. I got up to see what was going on, seeing a few other of our animal friends being awoke from the commotion. There was the inn keeper showing the man who belonged to the unknown voice the stable. He said he and his soon-to-be wife had been travelling for days from the town of Nazareth to Judea then to Bethlehem. He looked exhausted from his travels, telling the inn keeper they would take it, pointing to our oldest jennet, Clementina. We all gasped, thinking Clementina was going to be leaving us with these strangers. Her bottom lip started to quiver as she looked at her pen mate, Ruth.
The man started walking over to Clementina, dropping a rough looking sack into the corner of two pens, where the remnants of a hay bale lay. Clementina started to bray, crying that she didn’t want to leave. Then a very large lady came into the stable and when I say big, I mean BIG! She was very pregnant and was walking like a duck with mud on its feet. She started making her way to Clementina as well, who was still braying saying she didn’t want to carry such a large woman.
The woman stopped in front of Clementina, reached in and started scratching the top of her head, all while trying to calm our poor Clementina. The man then went over to the woman, helping her sit down on the remainder of the hay bale next to the sack he tossed only a few moments before hand. He called her Mary and asked if she was comfortable before he apologized for the poor overnight accommodation. Mary looked up at the man and nodded before turning to the inn keeper, thanking him for the shelter and said if the stable is good enough for the animals, it would be good enough for them. The inn keeper said good night to the couple before closing the doors and returning back to the inn.
All the animals were now wide awake, even Drusilla, who could sleep through a sandstorm on any given day of the week. Many of us were leery of the duo, watching them both with cautious eyes. The humans were talking between each other, with Mary calling the man Joseph. They settled on the hay, trying to get themselves comfortable enough to sleep. Clementina and Ruth were keeping a watchful eye on the new donkey that was now being housed in the empty stall on the other side of the stable. The donkey was a jack, who was ironically named Jakin, and the moment he laid down on the fresh straw fell fast asleep. I think he too was exhausted from the long journey.
With the excitement of the evening now over, or so we thought, everyone under the stable roof started to make their way back to their beds for the night. However, that would not last very long. Mary started to stir, tossing and turning on the hay, moaning and groaning all throughout. Joseph woke, asking her if she was ok and if she needed anything. Mary kept moaning and asked for some help to stand up, hoping maybe a bit of a walk around the stable would help with the pains she was feeling. Joseph helped her to her feet, walking alongside her as she paced up and down the alleyway of the stable. Mary was getting closer to our door and the noise of her moaning and pacing kept me from falling back asleep. I heard a weird ‘sploosh’ sound followed by an ‘oh no’ from Mary. I got up to see what was going on, and I was greeted at the door by a massive puddle of water.
After drying off my feet and throwing some sawdust down to soak up the water, I scurried along the top of the stall panels to investigate the more intensified sounds coming from Mary. I stopped at the top of a stall post, watching Joseph rubbing Mary’s back as she winced in pain and took in some deep breaths. Normally on a night like this, the sky would not be this bright. It was unreal, you would have thought it was daylight, especially with how bright this one star was. Even through the small chimney on the stable roof, the star shone like it was a beam from heaven shining down on us.
Mary’s pains must have been something, she was moaning and wincing more frequently and for longer. She told Joseph it was time, and he needed to help her with the birth. I ran back to wake up Drusilla, I knew she would not want to miss something like this. It’s not everyday we have a baby human being born in the stable and I know Drusilla would never forgive me if she missed it. I’m glad I woke her up when I did, because it was not much longer before the baby was born. I don’t know why, but there was a certain calm about the arrival of the new human. The babe did not cry like most human offspring and even Phenicia, the most dramatic sow you will ever meet in Bethlehem, didn’t make a peep. Joseph reached into their sack, pulling out a long scarf, handing it to Mary so she could wrap the baby up before it caught cold. He then moved the manger closer to where they were sleeping, which was just under the small chimney where the light was shining down. Joseph added fresh, clean straw to the manger, patting it down. Hanan, one of our young mules, was not happy to see his feed trough taken away from him and was being used as a bed. I was hoping now that this was over, we could all go back to bed and finally get a good night’s sleep. Boy was I wrong, yet again!
Everyone went back to bed, again, and just as we all got settled and cozy there was a knock at the stable door. I could hear sheep outside, with a couple more raps on the door. Joseph opened it, seeing a few shepherds standing there with their flocks. A couple of nosey ewes pushed past their owner and Joseph, hoping to find some fresh hay to nibble on. Instead, they were met with a very tired Mary and the newborn babe, sleeping on the bed of straw. The shepherds asked Joseph if this was the place where the Savior and Messiah had been born. He nodded yes and opened the door wider for the shepherds to come in.
Now, I should tell you all that our stable is not overly large in size. Sure, we can get a few of the larger animals in and still be comfortable, but there is not a whole lot of extra room to spare. As Mary, Joseph and the shepherds watched the baby sleeping away in the manger, there was another knock at the door. I had no idea there were this many people awake throughout the night like this. Joseph answered the door once more, finding three men standing outside, each bearing a gift and a camel.
They were dressed to the nines, I tell you, with fancy clothes and hats. Even their shoes had little dangly things on them. They did not say a word to Joseph, just came in and knelt down by the manger and laid the gifts next to it. One of the gifts was the shiniest piece of gold you will ever see while the other two gifts smelt a little funny. One was sweeter smelling, almost like citrus and the other was a bit on the spicy side. I’m glad they left their camels outside and I was really hoping no one else was going to show up, I don’t think we would have enough room for another person!
All the humans started talking with each other, talking about some angels that had spoken to them about this baby. Mary said she was to name him Jesus, as she was told to by an angel named Gabriel, and that the child would be God’s son. Well, I got a good look at this baby, and there was nothing overly special about him, so I don’t know why God would claim him as his. But he must have been a special kid, the three fancy lookin’ guys said they were going back home a different way. Herod, who was the king of Judah, lied to the three guys about wanting to worship the baby, but I guess they had a dream saying Herod was planning to kill the infant. Can you believe that?!?
Since that night, our stable has not had human visitors again. As for that baby and his family? There have been some wild stories I have heard about this kid over the years, and what a life he lived. The last I heard, he was nailed to a cross with a couple of criminals, but I guess that is a story for another time. Now, if you will excuse me, Drusilla and I have some last-minute Christmas feast shopping to do! Merry Christmas all!
