"
* * * * *
That afternoon, Ruth went with her mother to the fountain. The mother
turned aside to talk to the other women of the town about the strange
things heard and seen the night before, but Ruth went on and sat down
by the edge of the fountain. The child, was not frightened, for
strangers came often to the well, but never had she seen men who
looked like the three who now came towards her. The first one, a tall
man with a long white beard, came close to Ruth and said, "Canst tell
us, child, where is born he that is called the King of the Jews?"
"I know of no king," she answered, "but last night while the star was
shining, the angels brought a baby to lie beside my white lamb in the
manger." The stranger bowed his head. "That must be he. Wilt thou show
us the way to Him, my child?" So Ruth ran and her mother led the three
men to the cave and "when they saw the Child, they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy, and opening their gifts, they presented unto Him
gold, and frankincense and myrrh," with wonderful jewels, so that
Ruth's mother's eyes shone with wonder, but little Ruth saw only the
Baby, which lay asleep on its mother's breast.
"If only I might hold Him in my arms," she thought, but was afraid to
ask.
* * * * *
After a few days, the strangers left Bethlehem, all but the three--the
man, whose name was Joseph, and Mary, his wife, and the Baby.
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