by Tracey West
King Herod sat on his throne. He had a gray beard, and wore red robes of the finest silk, decorated with gold. He was reading an official scroll and frowning.
“I don’t know why the emperor needs to count all his subjects,” the King complained. “But if a census Caesar decrees, then a census he will get.”
He turned to the army commander at his side.
“Send the Royal Guard to round up every man and woman,” he said. “Let the counting of the sheep begin.”
The commander bowed and hurried away, as the King’s chamberlain—the manager of the palace—approached him.
“Your Majesty, three magi are here bearing gifts for the King,” he reported.
The wise men got off their camels and walked up to King Herod, holding their gifts. The camels huddled together in the back of the courtyard. They were eyeing two scary-looking dogs chained up nearby. The dogs barked and growled at the camels.
“Hold it right there, camels!” barked Thaddeus, a sleek, sharp-looking dog.
“C’mon, Thaddeus, do the thing,” panted Rufus, a big, muscled bulldog. “Give it to ’em!”
“All in the timing, Rufus,” Thaddeus said.
He paused. Then he started barking fiercely!
“Rrowf! Rrowf! Rrowf!”
The frightened camels jumped back.
“Ooh, I got chills,” Rufus said.
“Your turn,” Thaddeus said.
Rufus glared at the camels. “Watch out, ’cause I’m a mangy mutt and I’m crazy!”
He began to bark, but he sounded like a teeny dog, not a big, scary one.
“Yip! Yip! Yip!”
The camels blinked at him, confused.
Rufus grinned confidently. “Nailed it!”
Thaddeus shook his head. “Just do what I do.”
“RROWF! RROWF! RROWF!”
The camels scurried behind a pillar.
“Yeah, chew on that!” Rufus taunted them. “Next time you want something . . . chewy.”
A hunter yanked the dogs away. Up at the throne, King Herod studied the gifts the wise men had brought.
“Your gifts are unexpected, though not unwelcome,” the King said.
The three wise men looked at one another.
Balthazar, a skinny man in purple and gold robes, spoke up first. “Um, Your Majesty, these gifts are not for you.”
“They’re for the new King,” added Melchior, who had a long, curly brown beard.
King Herod’s eyes narrowed. “What new king?”
“The one foretold by the Star,” replied Caspar, the third, and oldest, wise man.
The camels listened in as the wise men told the story of the appearance of the Star, and that they believed it meant the birth of a new King.
“I knew it! It’s a birthday party for the new King!” Felix said triumphantly.
“No, no, I’m pretty certain it’s a baby shower,” Cyrus said.
“Or maybe they’re talking about the coming Messiah, the Son of God,” Deborah chimed in.
Cyrus looked at Felix. “I’m starting to worry about her,” he said.
Felix turned to Deborah. “Are you okay? How many hooves am I holding up?”
Deborah rolled her eyes and looked back at the King. He called over to his chamberlain and whispered to him.
“What are they saying?” Felix asked.
“I can’t make it out,” Cyrus said. “Something about—”
“Yo!” Felix interrupted him. “Look at that guy! You see him?”
The Hunter walked in front of them, holding the two dogs by their chains.
“Oh, he’s just the royal dog walker,” Cyrus said. “Trust me, Felix. I know these things.”
“What? Dog walker?” Felix asked. “He’s like a nightmare wearing a helmet!”
Deborah nodded. “And look at that knife!”
Felix’s eyes narrowed. “He’s a killer.”
Then King Herod clapped his hands.
“We must find this King at once,” he said. “I will set my scribes to the task.”
He smiled at the wise men. “In the meantime, I invite you to stay in the palace as my royal guests.”
The wise men looked at one another, unsure about the King.
“No, that’s not necessary, sire,” Balthazar said.
Now the camels looked at one another.
“Okay, that was sinister,” Cyrus said.
“Yup, we’re leaving,” Felix agreed.
But before they could escape, the guards surrounded them.
“Too late,” Deborah said.
The guards led the camels and wise men away. King Herod waved his hunter over.
“This new King is a problem,” he whispered in the Hunter’s ear. “Get rid of the problem.”
Rufus and Thaddeus began to bark excitedly.
The hunt was about to begin!
Chapter Eight
The Hunt Begins
After seeing the angel Gabriel appear to Mary, Abby the rodent had begun traveling from town to town, spreading the word about what she had seen. On a desert highway outside Jerusalem, she spoke to a group of rodents gathered under a cart.
“The room was filled with magical light!” Abby told them. “And then the angel said that the child would be the new King!”
The rodents gasped. “Wow!”
“And I thought, ‘I’m not ready to be a mom!’ ” Abby said. “But then I realized that the angel was talking to the lady.”
Suddenly, the rodents she was talking to scattered. Abby frowned.
“Wait, wait, I’m not done!” she cried. Then she sighed. “That’s usually everyone’s favorite part.”
Whomp! The next thing she knew, a big paw clamped down on her tail, pinning her to the ground. Rufus the bulldog grabbed Abby and dangled her in front of his face.
“Nice story, rat!” he growled. “Here’s how it ends.”
He popped Abby into his mouth!
“THE END!” he said, with his mouth filled with the poor creature.
“Rufus, spit it out!” Thaddeus scolded. “We need that rat to talk.”
Abby popped out of Rufus’s mouth. “I am not a rat. I’m a pygmy jerboa,” she told them.
“What’s a jerboa?” Rufus asked.
“It’s still in the rodent family but an entirely different species,” Abby answered.
Rufus sucked Abby back into his mouth.
“Rufus, enough!” Thaddeus yelled. “Spit it out.”
“Aw, I was just starting to get a little bit of the flavor,” Rufus complained.
Thaddeus growled at him, and Rufus knew he’d better obey. He spat out Abby, but before she could run, Thaddeus clamped a paw on her.
“You’ve been telling your story to every critter in Galilee,” he said. “Now it’s our turn to hear it. From the beginning.”
“From the beginning?” Abby squeaked. She gulped and started her story. “Okay. So, I was born in a sack of barley somewhere in Capernaum . . .”
“Skip to the end!” Rufus barked. “Who’s the woman?”
“Her name is Mary,” the terrified rodent replied. “She lives in Nazareth. But please don’t hurt her. She’s really nice!”
“Don’t worry. We’re harmless,” Thaddeus said, with a wicked grin. Then he lunged toward Abby.
“Hey, that’s mine!” Rufus yelled, pushing Thaddeus aside. “I already got my germs all over it!”
Thaddeus growled and pushed Rufus. While the two dogs scuffled, Abby started to run away. But the Hunter appeared. He grabbed her by the tail and dangled her in front of his face.
Then he tossed her over his shoulder. Relieved, the pygmy jerboa ran away.
Oh no . . . Mary! she thought. I hope those mean dogs don’t find her!
Chapter Nine
Operation Kick Me Out!
Bo had lived with Mary and Joseph for three months. He had to admit, it was a lot better than being at the mill. Mary fed him and took care of him. And it was fun watching her belly gro
w. The baby was almost ready to be born.
One morning, Mary took the wood boards off Bo’s leg and wrapped it in just the cloth.
“Looks like you’re healed up!” she said. “Feeling better?”
They were outside, in a donkey pen Joseph had built for Bo that was connected to his carpenter’s workshop. Joseph was busy packing bundles of clothing and supplies into a large cart.
“All I’m saying is it’s unfair,” Joseph complained to Mary. “You know, to make all these people drop everything for the census. And for us to travel to Bethlehem, especially in your condition.”
“Joseph, I’m not dying,” Mary said. “It’s just a little road trip. We’ll be fine.”
She sat on a stool and leaned back against the fence. Bo walked up to her and she rubbed his belly. He closed his eyes and smiled.
“You know, most donkeys have to work,” Joseph said. “You’re spoiling him.”
He leaned over and whispered in Bo’s ear. “She’s spoiling you!” Then he headed upstairs to get another bundle.
Dave flew into the workshop and landed near Bo.
“Hey, look at you!” he cried. “Your leg’s all better.”
“Hey, Dave!” Bo greeted him.
Dave perched near Bo’s ear and whispered to him. “All right, time to activate Operation Kick Me Out!” he said. “What’s your plan of attack?”
“Uh, first I thought I’d let her finish this belly rub,” Bo said lazily.
“Snap out of it!” Dave cried. “A little bird named Methuselah told me the Royal Caravan will be passing through not too far from here! We can catch them if we leave soon.”
Bo hopped to his feet. “All right. Let’s get kicked outta here!”
Joseph dropped the last of the bundles into the cart. “All packed up! Is the donkey ready?” he asked.
Bo and Dave looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.
Ready for what?
Mary stood up. “Yep! His leg looks good as new.”
“Finally!” Joseph said. “Time for him to earn his keep.”
He picked up a rope lasso and faced Bo. Bo crouched and glared at him.
“All right, Bo,” Joseph said calmly. “Let’s get you hitched up to this cart so you can take us to Bethlehem.”
“Bethlehem!” Dave cried. “Not good, not good. The Royal Caravan is nowhere near Bethlehem!”
“Don’t worry,” Bo said. “He’s got to catch me first.”
Joseph tried to throw the rope around Bo’s neck, and Bo darted out of the way. Joseph tried again, but Bo just moved out of the way again.
Mary tried to help. “Joseph, maybe if you just—”
“Don’t worry, Mary. I’ve got this,” Joseph said firmly.
Bo backed farther into the pen.
“Well, looks like you got me,” Joseph said. He turned and acted like he was giving up. But then he whirled around and lassoed Bo around the neck!
Joseph gave a triumphant cry. “Come here! Ha!”
Bo looked down at his neck and realized that he’d been caught. He glared at Joseph and quickly moved back, pulling Joseph right into a fence post. Bonk! Joseph banged his head.
“Ooh, that looked like it hurt!” Mary said.
“It did,” Joseph replied, rubbing the top of his head.
Bo looked at Dave. “How was that?”
“Look out!” Dave yelled.
Joseph ran to Bo and grabbed him by the rope around his neck. He dragged Bo over to Mary.
“See? Under control,” Joseph said.
Bo pulled back again, and Joseph fell to his knees.
“Joseph!” Mary cried in alarm.
Joseph stood up. “No, no. I’m okay.”
“You know, we can walk to Bethlehem,” Mary said. “No problem.”
Joseph scowled at Bo. “Useless donkey.”
He slipped off the rope around Bo’s neck and walked over to the cart, followed by Mary.
“Nicely done!” Dave congratulated Bo.
“I thought so,” Bo said. “Did you see how I laid him out on the ground?”
“Those caravan horses have nothing on you!” Dave told him.
“Okay, so now what?” Bo asked.
“Easy,” Dave replied. “All we have to do is slip through the gate when they’re on their way out.”
They looked toward the gate—and saw that Mary was already closing it.
“No, no, no! Don’t close the gate!” Bo yelled.
He ran toward the gate, and Mary closed it in his face with a chuckle.
“I know, I’ll miss you too,” she said. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back soon.”
Bo banged on the gate with his head, but it was too sturdy to break through. As he watched Mary and Joseph disappear in the distance, a wave of sadness came over him. But it wasn’t because he had missed his chance to join the Royal Caravan.
It was because he was going to miss Mary. He’d been so distracted by Dave’s escape plan that he’d forgotten how nice Mary had been to him. How she took such good care of him, and healed his leg, and rubbed his belly.
“I guess that was good-bye,” Bo said with a sigh.
“You’re not gonna cry, are you?” Dave asked, flying up to the gate. “Come on, we’ve got to figure out a way to open this thing!”
Chapter Ten
The Dance of the Royal Dove
Bo and Dave didn’t have much of a plan. Bo kept head-butting the gate, and Dave kept trying to lift the latch with his beak. Neither method was working.
“This is what I get for having a friend who can’t fly,” Dave muttered. “You know what, gates were never a problem before I met you!”
Bo looked around the pen and at Joseph’s carpentry workshop. “There’s something we can use here,” Bo said. “There’s that table, that lumber, those tools . . .”
Dave was staring bug-eyed at the courtyard gate. “And that giant knife!” he yelled.
A shiny, curved knife was sliding through the crack between the door of the gate and the frame. Somebody was breaking in!
“Hide!” Bo yelled.
He scrambled behind some crates near Joseph’s workshop. Dave landed just above him. They watched as a big man with two scary-looking dogs entered the courtyard.
It was the Hunter, Rufus, and Thaddeus. The dogs had led their master to Nazareth, and he had asked around to find out if there was a woman about to give birth to a child. Eventually, he’d found his way to Mary and Joseph’s house.
The two dogs sniffed the air.
“Okay, Bo, what haven’t you told me?” Dave whispered. “You been making some new friends?”
“No,” Bo replied. “I bet the Miller sent them to bring me back to the mill.”
Then Dave noticed something. “They left the gate open behind them!”
“I’ll make a run for it!” Bo hissed. “Dave, you jump out and create a distraction. You’re good at that.”
“What? No, terrible plan,” Dave said. “Why don’t you make the distraction and I run for it?”
“Because I’m the only one trapped in here, and you can fly anywhere you want!” Bo reminded him.
Dave nodded. “Good points.”
Bo started to creep along the fence, hoping the dogs wouldn’t notice him. They sniffed across the courtyard.
“I got a scent!” Rufus announced. “I smell . . . a dog! Thaddeus, there’s definitely a dog around here!” Then he sniffed his own paw. “Oh. I smell me.”
He grinned at Thaddeus, who glared at him.
Dave flew to a fence post near them.
“Hey, scary dogs, you guys here for the show?” he asked.
The dogs spun around and saw Dave.
“What show?” Thaddeus asked.
Dave laughed. “What show, the silly dog asks. You’re adorable,” he quipped. “The Dance of the Royal Dove, of course! Played in Rome. Six years. Great reviews. Caesar saw it twice. Made him cry, but he won’t admit that because, you know, he’s Caesar and all that, b
ut he definitely cried. Like a baby.”
Thaddeus growled impatiently. “We don’t have time for this.”
“No, no, no, wait! The show is about to start!” Dave pleaded.
The dogs ignored him and started heading in Bo’s direction. Dave took a deep breath and started to sing.
“Ba, ba, dop, bee, bop a, boo, bop!”
Then he started to dance, flapping his wings and bobbing his head.
Bo stopped in his tracks and stared at Dave.
“What are you doing?” Dave hissed at him. “Don’t watch me!”
Dave’s plan was working. Both dogs stopped to stare at the sight of the strange bird making weird noises and doing a crazy dance.
Bo crept toward the gate. Thaddeus’s head spun around and he spotted him! Both dogs charged Bo, cornering him.
“Where’s your owner?” Thaddeus asked.
“What he said!” Rufus added.
“Who, the Miller?” Bo asked. “I—I don’t know any Miller. Never met the guy. My owner’s a nice pregnant lady. You would love her!”
“That’s who we want!” Rufus cried.
“Where is she?” Thaddeus asked.
Bo was surprised. “Wait, you’re looking for Mary?” he asked. If these scary dogs were looking for Mary, he didn’t want them to find her. “Did I say pregnant lady? No, my owner’s a miller. Really. I’m just a mill donkey on vacation. Who’s Mary?”
“Keep talking,” Thaddeus demanded.
Dave flew over and landed on Bo’s shoulder. “Okay, that was pathetic. Let me handle this, Bo.”
He faced the dogs. “Guys, donkeys are stubborn. He’s not gonna tell you anything!”
Bo nodded. “Yep. Sorry, guys.”
“You would have to torture it out of him,” Dave said.
Bo’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, what?”
The Hunter came out of the shadows and stomped toward Bo. He grabbed him by the mane. He leaned his face close to Bo’s.
Then the Hunter noticed the cloth bandage on Bo’s leg. The dogs sniffed it.
“He didn’t bandage himself,” Thaddeus said.
“That’s her scent!” Rufus exclaimed. “Now we just gotta figure out which way she went!”
The Hunter let go of Bo. Rufus and Thaddeus ran toward the gate, then stopped and looked at Bo.