Stories for Another Day
There was a carpenter whose name was Bastani, who had a donkey called My that he took very great care of, for reasons that you may have heard about in another story. Bastani was known to everyone as an excellent workman and a hard worker, but as he got older, he found it harder and harder to keep up with all the work that people asked him to do, so he took on an apprentice.
This apprentice, who was named Joseph, learned quickly and well, and soon enough he was more skilled even than Bastani. Bastani could leave more and more of the work to him, which suited both of them very well. The donkey, My, also got older. Bastani noticed that she was looking more and more tired at the end of a day’s work, so he decided that she deserved a rest after so many years of carrying heavy loads of wood and tools. He bought the field next to his house and built a good fence around it, and My grazed peacefully there all the day long. At night she rested in her own stable.
Now one day Joseph came to see Bastani, bringing his pretty young wife with him. Bastani was in the stable, brushing My’s coat until it shone, as he did every night. With a worried frown, Joseph said to him, “You know that a decree has gone out that everyone must return to their home town to be registered for the census.”
Bastani put down the brush he was using, and nodded. Joseph went on, “I have to take my wife and go to Bethlehem. It’s a long, difficult journey, and it will be even more difficult for Mary, who as you can see is expecting a baby.” They both looked at Mary, who was patting My’s soft nose and murmuring to her.
Bastani agreed. “It’s a long way, much too far for her to walk, with the baby coming. You will need a horse or a donkey for her to ride.”
Joseph frowned even more deeply. “I have no money for a horse, or even a donkey.”
Just then, Mary looked up and said quietly, “Joseph?” She had her arm around My’s neck and My was whickering softly.
“Oh, no,” Joseph said, shaking his head firmly. “My is far too old for such a journey.”
Bastani said, “It’s true, My is the oldest donkey in the village, by far. She may be the oldest donkey in the country. She’s nearly as old as I am. But she is still very strong.”
Joseph said even more firmly, “If I was just by myself, I might trust her to carry a small bundle or a few tools, but not my wife, nor the baby she is carrying. Just look at her.”
Mary said, “Please, Joseph! I think she is stronger than she looks.”
Joseph looked at My, and he saw an old donkey with creaky knees and a ragged coat, with a sagging back and eyes milky with blindness. He drew a breath to tell Mary that it was unthinkable that this ancient, worn-out creature could even walk all the way to Bethlehem, let alone carry any load, when the donkey spoke.
She said, “Let me do this. I have waited my whole life for this.”
Joseph was astounded, but his wife smiled, and even Bastani was not as surprised as you might think.
So despite all Joseph’s doubts and misgivings, he and Mary took My, and set out on the long journey to Bethlehem. My carried the bundle of things they would need for the journey, with Mary and Joseph walking along beside her. From time to time, when Mary had walked for as long as she could, Joseph helped her up onto My’s back. My didn’t seem to notice the weight at all, and plodded on as if she had nothing but a load of feathers on her back. Up hills, down steep mountainsides, along rough roads, My plodded on, surely and steadily, without a single stumble.
When they finally reached Bethlehem, Mary was very tired, and My was walking more and more slowly. “Why don’t you both wait here while I find somewhere for us to stay?” Joseph said to Mary. Mary was only too glad to rest. When Joseph came back, he looked more worried than ever. “There are no rooms,” he said. “So many people have come to be registered, all the rooms are taken.”
“No rooms at all?” Mary asked. She knew it was very close to the time for her baby to come.
“The innkeeper said that we could sleep in the stable,” Joseph said angrily. “As if I would allow my wife to sleep among the animals, especially with a baby coming!”
My lifted her head and rested her soft nose in Mary’s hand. Mary smiled, and said, “Where could we find a warmer place to stay, with plenty of sweet-smelling straw to make our beds, and a safe, dry roof over our heads?”
She took Joseph’s hand, and they went to the stable, where the animals stood around, their warm bodies warming the whole stable. Joseph make a comfortable bed for Mary in a corner, and then he brushed the donkey down and made sure there was plenty of straw in the manger for her to eat. Then he settled down at Mary’s side, to watch through the night.
Around midnight, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. She wrapped him up warmly, and made a place for him to sleep in the clean, dry straw in the manger. Joseph thought of the cradle he had made for the baby, of the finest wood he could find, and he sighed. Mary smiled at him and said, “What could be better than a strong wooden manger full of fresh straw, surrounded by gentle, quiet hearts?”
Some time later, there was a noise of rushing feet outside, and then a timid knock at the stable door. Joseph got up to see who was there, and was astonished to see a group of shepherds.
“We were minding our sheep on the hillside,” they panted, “and the angel of the Lord appeared in the heavens and spoke to us!”
One of them said, “The angel told us that our Saviour, the one we have longed for, has been born this very night.”
“A saviour?” Joseph said quickly. “Why have you come looking for him here, in a stable?”
The shepherd answered, “The angel told us that we would find the baby wrapped up warmly and lying in a manger. So we ran all this way as fast as we could, to see him.”
Joseph heard Mary’s voice from inside the stable. “Joseph, let them come in and see the baby.”
The shepherds took off their head-coverings and fell on their knees beside the manger, gazing at the baby. The youngest said, “My cloak is made of wool from our own sheep. Maybe you could use it to keep the baby warm?”
Joseph looked at the rough, coarse cloak and he sighed. He thought of the soft blankets that Mary had made for the baby, in the cradle at home, and his heart was heavy with disappointment. Mary, who knew what he was thinking, took his hand and said, “What better gift could we ask for, for our son, than the kindness of a loving heart?”
Joseph’s heart lifted, and he accepted the young shepherd’s gift gratefully. Joseph and Mary and the shepherds stood gazing at the baby in silence, with My and the other animals around them, in the warmth of the stable.
Towards dawn, when the shepherds had gone and the stable was peaceful once again, there was a rustling and strange noises from the darkness. Mary was beside the manger in an instant, and Joseph not far behind her, but the baby was lying quietly. “He’s fine,” Mary whispered to Joseph.
“Then what was all the noise about?” Joseph asked. He lit a lantern and held it up so that its light reached into the darkest corners of the stable. My was standing up, shaking herself and looking very pleased with herself. Beside her in the straw, a tiny foal was struggling to its feet.
“It’s My!” Joseph said, astonished. “She’s had a baby foal!”
The little one stood up, with a small wobble, and nuzzled its mother’s side. Then for no reason they could see, the little foal bowed its head.
Mary heard a sound from the manger. To her amazement, the baby was laughing. She lifted him into her arms, and murmured to Joseph, “Put out the lantern.” Joseph blew it out, and still the stable was filled with light.
A Wombat Named Benson 