"
It was several minutes before Stephanus and Joseph could collect the
sheep that the wolf had scattered; but at length, with the aid of the
dog, who was not a very brave specimen, and who had taken to his heels
when he saw the wolf coming, they succeeded in driving them into a
safe neighborhood, and then, with their blood quickened by the
adventure, they sat down again beneath the overhanging rock.
"You said, grandfather, that you always spent this night with the
flocks in the fields. Why this night?" asked the boy.
"Do you not know, my boy, that this is the night of the year on which
the Lord Christ was born?"
"Oh! yes," answered the lad. "My father told me as we were walking
hither today, but I had forgotten it. And you were with the sheep that
night?"
"Aye."
"Where was it?"
"Here, on this very spot."
The boy's eyes began to grow and fill with wonder and there was a
slight tremor in his voice as he hurriedly plied the aged man with his
eager questions. Stephanus drew his shepherd's cloak around him, and
leaned forward a little, and looked out upon the silent moonlit hills,
and then up into the sky.
"How long ago was that, grandfather?"
"Just fifty years ago this night."
"And how old were you then?"
"Fourteen, and a stout boy for my age. I had been for two years in
the fields with my father, and had tasted to the full the hardships
and dangers of the shepherd's life.
Pages:
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59