The Friendly Beasts
The Friendly Beasts
Jesus our brother, strong and good,
Was humbly born in a stable rude;
And the friendly beasts around Him stood,
Jesus our brother, strong and good.
“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.
“I,” said the cow, all white and red,
“I gave Him my manger for His bed;
I gave Him my hay to pillow His head,
I,” said the cow, all white and red.
“I,” said the sheep with the curly horn,
“I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm.
He wore my coat on Christmas morn,
I,” said the sheep with the curly horn.
“I,” said the dove from rafters high,
“I cooed Him to sleep so He would not cry,
We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I;
I,” said the dove from rafters high.
And 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.
THIS CHILDREN’S CAROL may go back as far as the twelfth century. It is a meditation on the animals that may have been present at Jesus’ birth. What would each of them have given as a birthday gift to the Christ child?
While we don’t know for sure that there were animals present at the birth of Christ, there is a biblical tradition of animals serving God. A donkey challenged Balaam to obey God, and ravens fed Elijah in the wild. A great fish swallowed Jonah whole and delivered him back to shore. The psalms speak freely of all creation joining in the praise of God, and Romans says that all things await their final redemption. The future of donkeys, cattle, sheep, and doves is somehow wrapped up with ours, and so they would have good reason to honor the Messiah’s birth.
Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me. Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.”
Isaiah 1:2-3
From the book
