Jesus our brother, kind and good, Was humbly born in a stable rude, And the friendly beasts around Him stood, Jesus our brother, kind and good.
Back then, I didn't know much about Jesus. Truthfully, I didn't know much about anything. It was December of my kindergarten year. My teacher, Miss Walker, was the prettiest, kindest person I had ever known. Each morning she greeted us with a friendly smile as we entered our classroom. She let us use the colorful magnets on the chalkboard and ride the tricycle on the shiny floors. She taught us about letters and numbers and how to play nicely with others.
"I," said the donkey, shaggy and brown, "I carried His mother up hill and down; I carried her safely to Bethlehem town." "I," said the donkey, shaggy and brown.
In my home we didn't sing songs about Jesus. I was the middle child who lived with my mother, my older brother Scotty, and my younger sister Deedee. My dad had left the summer before and what my mother played on her record player, over and over, were songs by Tammy Wynette and Freddy Fender. I knew the lyrics to the song D-I-V-O-R-C-E before I even knew what letters were. To tell you the truth, my dad being gone didn't affect me that much because he had never really spent time with me. But my mom sitting in her chair with her box of tissues, chain smoking and crying to "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" while she stared blankly off into space, now that affected my life.
"I," said the cow, all white and red, "I gave Him my manger for a bed; I gave Him my hay to pillow His head." "I," said the cow, all white and red.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we were busy preparing for our school Christmas concert. Back then we were allowed to talk about the birth of Jesus in school. I even remember singing hymns and patriotic songs after we recited the Pledge of Allegiance each day. Most of my friends went to church on Sundays and to church school on Wednesdays. What I knew about church was the little I had learned when my neighbor friend, Vicky, had taken me there on two occasions the previous summer. We had glued dried split peas into a small plastic butter bowl and had played outside in the softest green grass I had ever felt. I remembered sitting on a blanket outside and singing while someone played a guitar, and that no one had smoked cigarettes or cried there. And I remembered that the people at that church had looked at me when they talked to me.
"I," said the sheep, with curly horn, "I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm; He wore my coat on Christmas morn." "I," said the sheep, with curly horn.
On school days my brother and I would get up and dressed, then pour cereal for ourselves while our mother slept in. We then waited by the front door for the school bus to come. If our little sister woke up, we had to tell her to stay put when we left. Once she followed us out to the bus in her pink footy pajamas and I had to take her back into the house! On more than one occasion we missed the bus and had to walk to school; thankfully it was close and my brother knew the way. When winter arrived it was cold and windy and sometimes the bus going to the Catholic school would pick us up and give us a ride to the elementary school. One day a sweet, older lady in the office gave us both warm hats and mittens when we got there with red noses and fingers from the cold walk.
"I," said the dove from the rafters high, "Cooed Him to sleep that He should not cry; We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I." "I," said the dove from the rafters high.
Miss Walker taught us songs around the piano in our classroom. It was my favorite time of day; although I was painfully shy and saw myself as very different from the other girls, when I sang I forgot about all of that and just let myself feel. Music spoke to me, lifted me, made me feel equal. I could match the notes and rhythms I heard and singing made me delightfully happy. I learned "America the Beautiful", "You're a Grand Old Flag", and "This Little Light of Mine." I was overjoyed when we learned "Up on the Housetop" and "Jingle Bells" while preparing for Christmas with the other kindergarten classes. But the song that spoke to me the most was "The Friendly Beasts." This song was to be the big finale of our Christmas Concert. Our entire grade would sing with all of the first graders - my brother's grade! I was so proud to be singing with my big brother.
"I," said the camel, yellow and black, "Over the desert, upon my back; I brought Him a gift in the Wise Men's pack." "I," said the camel, yellow and black.
The morning of the concert came and we went into the auditorium to rehearse. I had never been in there and couldn't believe how huge it was! We entered through the big doors and gazed up at the stage. It was hard to walk down the steeply sloped aisle in my slippery shoes. The stage curtains were green velvet and seemed to reach up to the sky. Once at the front, we got to stand on risers; first graders in back and kindergartners in front. I was in the very front row. We sang and it sounded like angels. After we finished, our teachers gave us our instructions for that night. We were to dress up and be there at 6:00, and go straight to our classrooms to wait. I was nearly jumping up and down with excitement!
After dinner that evening, my brother and I got ourselves dressed in our very best clothes. We reminded our weeping mother that we had to be at the school at 6:00, begging her to get ready so we wouldn't be late. She said she didn't want to go to a dumb concert, that she was tired and didn't feel like listening to "little brats sing Christmas songs." I started to cry. My brother got angrier than I had ever seen him get and he yelled at her, "Well you know what? We're going to that concert, even if we have to go without you!" Turning to me, he said, "Come on, Sissy. Let's go."
It was dark and snowy, but Scotty held my hand as we walked all the way there. I was scared and little tears trickled down my cheeks. My feet were cold and I felt very small in the world. When we got to the school, my brother took me to my classroom and then left to go to his. I was the first one there. Miss Walker looked at me and smiled her beautiful smile. "Come here," she said gently, and led me to the sink. She washed my face and brushed my hair, tying a white ribbon into my plain hair. "There," she said, giving me a hug, "now you're all ready."
I felt like a princess as we sang that night. I thought about that baby we sang about, that little Jesus, and how special He must have been for all of those animals to offer their kindness to Him. I thought about all of the kindnesses that had been shown to me. I thought about my teacher, those mittens, those bus rides, and the warmth of that hug and hair ribbon, and I knew in my heart that I, too, must be very special.
Thus every beast by some good spell, In the stable dark was glad to tell, Of the gift he gave Emmanuel, The gift he gave Emmanuel.
