D&C 110:2–3 2 We saw the Lord standing upon the
breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of
pure gold, in color like amber.
3 His eyes were as a
flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow;
his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and
his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the
voice of Jehovah, saying:
Carol: Samuel Tells of the
Baby Jesus Children’s Songbook #36
Story: Straw for the Manger
KATHRYN E.
FRANKS
The boys and
girls in Miss Bell's class at Belmont School gathered in the school auditorium
to prepare for the yearly Christmas program.
Pete, the
tallest boy in the class, was up on the stage nailing wood together for the
manger scene.
Sara, a
pretty girl with long hair, and Molly, with short hair and dimples, had been
fitted for the angel costumes. Now they were busy pinning the flimsy white
material together for their mothers to stitch.
The other
children were lined up in the back of the room waiting to be called into the
music room for chorus practice.
Lisa hadn't
been assigned anything yet. She stood alone, among the empty seats. If I
weren't so tall, she mused, or if I had long, blond hair, I'd like to do
something besides stay backstage and pin on costumes, or stand in the doorway
and welcome parents.
She was new
in the class, and living on the outskirts of town in a trailer with her
grandmother and father. It was only natural, she felt, that she wasn't very
well acquainted.
Standing
alone among the rows of empty seats, Lisa waited anxiously for Miss Bell to
come back into the room. She tried to busy her hands, although there was
nothing really for her to do. She had started stacking some songbooks when
Pete, upstage with the manger scene, called out, "We haven't any straw.
How can we make a manger scene without straw?"
Some were
busy talking and did not hear. Others looked up with little concern, then
turned back to their work.
Pete stepped
to the front of the stage and called louder this time. "Hey, all of you!
If any of you have any straw, I'll pick it up after I finish my paper
route."
Why didn't
someone speak up? Lisa wondered. Sara lived in a big house on the edge of town.
She owned her own riding horse. She would have straw.
"Well‑?"
Pete waited impatiently for an answer.
We have
straw under the trailer, Lisa's conscience reminded her. How could she offer,
though, if the other girls hadn't. She shuddered at the thought of being
conspicuous, but she could not take her eyes from the unfinished manger
scene.
"I have
straw, Pete," she said, "if you'll come get it."
The girls
looked quickly at Lisa, then turned back to their work.
"Good,"
Pete answered. "I know where you live. It will probably be dark before I
get there."
The room was
embarrassingly quiet. Lisa picked up her books and hurried out the rear door
without waiting for Miss Bell to come from the music room and excuse her for
the day.
A cold wind
blew from the north as Lisa hugged her thin coat around her and hurried across
town. She walked along the outskirts until she reached the trailer park. The
trailers were back a distance from the road, protected in front by a grove of
trees.
After Lisa
explained to her grandmother what she planned to do, she went outside to look
under the trailer. She ran back. "The straw is greasy and oily! What shall
I do?"
She looked
out the window at the field that stretched southward to the Norris farm.
"I'll
have to cross the fields to the Norris farm," she told her grandmother.
"Mrs. Norris will give me some fresh straw." Grandmother was old, but she understood that
things are important if they are promised. "Go," she said, "but
be back before supper time‑before it gets dark."
Lisa climbed
under the barbed wire fence and ran down the slope to the gully. There she
pushed through thistle and tall grasses and then scurried upward to the second
fence. In the distance the bare trees of the Norris orchard looked small and
far away. It hadn't seemed this far before, Lisa thought, as she panted up the
last hill to the orchard. The rough, wooded gate opened into the orchard. Here
Lisa followed a narrow path to the backyard.
Mrs. Norris
welcomed Lisa and asked her about her grandmother. "As soon as I put this
bread in the oven, we'll go to the barn and fill a clean gunnysack with
straw." The good smell of fresh bread made Lisa hungry.
Daylight had
started to fade by the time Lisa stepped out the door. Snow clouds slid over
the first evening star.
At the
second fence Lisa decided that if she cut across the cornfield, she would cut
the distance to the trailer in half.
In the half‑darkness
she stumbled over the corn stubble with every few steps. As she hurried through
the thickets, she tripped and fell, hitting her chin against a sharp stone.
Half crawling, she pulled the sack until she regained her balance.
Lisa sobbed
out as the sharp weeds tore her stocking and cut her hands. The taller
cornstalks snagged at her coat, slowing her down as she tried to run.
Then as she
reached the slope that stretched uphill to the last barbed wire fence, she
spotted the tiny light from the trailer window. Like a distant star, it guided
her forward.
Lisa barely
had time to change her clothes before Pete came for the straw. "Thanks,
Lisa," he said. She told him nothing of her trip to the nearby farm.
"Would
you have time to arrange the straw around the manger for me tomorrow after
school?" Pete asked. "I have a longer paper route now. I never get in
before supper time."
"I'll
do it‑I'll be glad to."
After school
the next day, Lisa, with her dark sweater around her shoulders, tip‑toed
quietly on the stage in the auditorium.
She was on
her knees carefully spreading the straw when Miss Bell came into the
auditorium. As she came through the door, she paused, stopped, then slowly she
took a few steps forward. "Lisa!" she called excitedly, "you are
just right! You are the person I want to play Mary." She walked toward the
stage. "I asked Mrs. Laurel, our music teacher, to select a taller girl
for the part. She misunderstood, and I just now found out that we have no one
for the part."
Miss Bell
stepped upon the stage. She took the sweater from Lisa's shoulders, and placed
it, like a shawl, around her face. "Your features are just right. You will
be wonderful."
Slowly Lisa
lifted her face, her eyes wide in wonderment.
"Miss
Bell," she answered softly, her fingers moving the wisps of straw, "I
would love to‑more than any other part."
Miss Bell
did not see the tears that fell and lost themselves in the straw.
Miss Bell
told Lisa, "You will kneel beside the manger with the colored lights soft
upon you. Pete, who is playing Joseph, will stand beside you. Keep your fingers
lightly on the manger while the choir and the angels sing in the background.
You will keep motionless while the shepherds gather slowly around the
crib."
Miss Bell
hurried out of the room after giving Lisa instructions to be ready for
rehearsal the next day. A joyful little song burst through Lisa's happiness and
followed her across town to the trailer, where she rushed inside to tell
Grandmother her wonderful news.
Children's
Friend, December 1965.
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