night when winter was in the air, some shepherds were huddled
together on a stony field not far from the town of Bethlehem. Not many
miles to the north lay Jerusalem, the capital city of Palestine. But
here in the fields it was quiet, and lonely, and cold.

The shepherds sat upon the rocks, or stood leaning upon their staves.
Now and again one of them would see something move, or hear a little
rustling sound. He would raise his eyes and peer out anxiously into
the darkness to make sure that all was well.

Suddenly, without any warning, the sky was flooded with light from
beyond the clouds. Everything had been dark a minute before, but now
every stone and tree and hillock in the field showed up bright as day.

The shepherds jumped to their feet. Some were too frightened to speak,
and others cried out in terror.

"What is it?"

"What can it be?"

"It's the glory of the Lord," one called out. "Lord, have mercy upon
us!"

Suddenly they heard a loud, clear voice.

"Shepherds!"

Silence fell upon the group.

"Shepherds, do not be afraid. I bring you the good news which all the
Jews have waited so long to hear. This very day, Christ your Saviour
has been born in the city of David. And this is how you will know him:
you will find him as a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying
in a manger."

[Illustration]

The voice broke off, and a great chorus began to sing. The sky rang
with the music, and these were the words of the song:

"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men."

As quickly as they had come, the light and the singing were gone.
There was just the darkness again, and the far-off howling of wild
beasts. Everything was the same as before, except that the shepherds'
eyes were still blinded by the light, and their ears were full of the
music.

[Illustration]

Their excited voices broke the spell as they all talked at once.

"He's come at last--the Messiah's come!"

"Where did the angel say?"

"The city of David--that means Bethlehem."

"Why are we waiting here? Let's go to Bethlehem."

"Yes, let's go to Bethlehem at once, and find out what has happened
there."

For the first time in their lives, the shepherds left their sheep to
look after themselves. Across the hills and the stone fences and the
rocky fields the shepherds scrambled, and hardly stopped for breath
till they reached the edge of the town. Everything in Bethlehem was
dark as night can be. But n