The Christ child lay in the ox’s stall.
The stars shone great and the stars shone small,
but one bright star outshone them all.
The cattle stood in the cleanly straw
and strange to them was the sight they saw.
The ox and donkey watched with awe.
The shepherds ran from the uplands wide,
the sheepbells tinkled, the angels cried
joy to the dreaming countryside.
The three kings bowed at the stable door,
their raiment trailed on the dusty floor.
They saw the sign they had journeyed for.
The kings came last in a lordly throng.
The shepherd ran in the space of a song.
But the beasts had been there all night long.
Noel Noel Noel
Sister Alice Smith, CSJ