"In Bethlehem of Juda..."

To the house of the shepherd Jonah and his wife Rachel on the morning of the Nativity come Mary and Joseph with the Holy Child. Bethlehem is full of the strange events of the night; of the Star, of the singing of Angels, of the wolves and jackals that came down in the folds and did no harm, and of the huge caravans of the three Kings. There are rumours too that a King has been born and the soldiers of erod are out with orders to kill all infants. One of these soldiers comes to the house of Jonah. He asks Mary what it is she carries in her arms. Mary shows him the Child but all he sees is a sheaf of lilies.