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A Tale of the Christ Child · The Art of Story-Telling by Julia Darrow Cowles

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  Speaker 1: Section thirty three of the Art of story Telling with
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  Speaker 1: nearly half a hundred stories. This is a libryvox recording.
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  Speaker 1: All libruvox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit librywoks dot org. The
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  Speaker 1: Art of story Telling by Julia Darrow Carls A Tale
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  Speaker 1: of the Christ's Child. It was Christmas Eve. The soft
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  Speaker 1: snow fell in big flakes, like white blossoms from the
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  Speaker 1: trees of June. It covered the house roofs and glorified
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  Speaker 1: the trees. It hung jewels above the windows of the poor,
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  Speaker 1: and softened the lowliest hut to the white beauty of
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  Speaker 1: a palace, and through the beautiful white pathway of the
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  Speaker 1: snow a herald road, And cried that to night the
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  Speaker 1: dear christ Child would walk through the streets, And even
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  Speaker 1: as the falling snow made all back and ugly things lovely,
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  Speaker 1: so would the christ Child's coming glorify the souls of
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  Speaker 1: them that met him aright, and they would be forever blessed.
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  Speaker 1: Who should gain speech for them? No wonder that a
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  Speaker 1: million candles lighted the streets, No wonder that great and proud,
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  Speaker 1: rich and poor, the sick, The old and the lame
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  Speaker 1: thronged the white beauty of the streets, and wandered up
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  Speaker 1: and down, wandering and waiting. The King came forth in
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  Speaker 1: royal robs, with a throng of courtiers at his back.
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  Speaker 1: He bore himself proudly, and proudly he waited. The priest
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  Speaker 1: was there, bearing the blessed cross, and lifting prayerful eyes
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  Speaker 1: to the white sky. The great singer came, singing his
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  Speaker 1: loveliest songs, in tones so sweet that all who heard
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  Speaker 1: him wondered, and said, surely he will have a speech
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  Speaker 1: with the Christ Child. The poet came with his work,
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  Speaker 1: and soldiers with gleaming swords, boasting of barrels they had won,
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  Speaker 1: And all looked with eager eyes up and down the streets,
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  Speaker 1: each longing to be the first to see the Christ
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  Speaker 1: Child in all his beauty. So in their eagerness they
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  Speaker 1: pressed now this way, and now that, heeding nothing but
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  Speaker 1: their one desire. The shivering beggar was jostled, the lame
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  Speaker 1: man was trampled under foot, and lay moaning in a doorway,
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  Speaker 1: And children were thrust aside from their eager gazing and
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  Speaker 1: fell weeping and disappointed or fled from the stern presence
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  Speaker 1: of some blustering soldier to hide in alley ways, praying
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  Speaker 1: that the little christ Child would find them there waiting
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  Speaker 1: to worship him. Among the children was one braver than
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  Speaker 1: the others, Little Carl. He had gone out with a
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  Speaker 1: glad her, saying to his mother, I will not come back,
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  Speaker 1: though I walked the streets all night until I will
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  Speaker 1: see the Christ Child and gain a blessing for you
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  Speaker 1: and for me. But his mother kissed him fondly, saying, go,
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  Speaker 1: my son, but do not grieve if you do not
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  Speaker 1: see the Christ Child, for there is blessing even in
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  Speaker 1: seeking him. So little Karl, seeing so many crushed and
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  Speaker 1: crowded back, though fearing that the Christ Child should pass
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  Speaker 1: while he spent the time, lifted the lame man to
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  Speaker 1: a place of safety apart from the crowd, followed the
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  Speaker 1: shiver beggel and lent him his cloak, and comforted the
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  Speaker 1: weeping children. And meanwhile the crowd pushed and jostled and threatened,
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  Speaker 1: and no one gave heed to a ragged boy who
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  Speaker 1: pressed slowly through the throng, going from street to street
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  Speaker 1: and saying now and again aye, hunger, will one give
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  Speaker 1: me a rust of prayer? No one gave heed, save
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  Speaker 1: that the king drew back his royal robes and bade
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  Speaker 1: his courtiers clear his pathway of beggars. The great singer
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  Speaker 1: asked angrily who was this who dared to interrupt him
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  Speaker 1: in his singing, and turned his back upon the child
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  Speaker 1: to begin his song anew. The poet saw him not
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  Speaker 1: because his eyes were not lifted from the book, whilst
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  Speaker 1: some impatient at the interrupted melody, or taking counsel from
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  Speaker 1: the King's frown, jostled him in rude malice. True, the
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  Speaker 1: priest turned on him a kindly glance and would have spoken,
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  Speaker 1: but that a sudden movement in crowd gave hope of
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  Speaker 1: the christ Child's coming, and he forgot all helse to
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  Speaker 1: press after the others. But little Carl, now shivering with cold,
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  Speaker 1: had pity and crept to the stranger boy's side, and
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  Speaker 1: broke his one piece of bread with him, and offered
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  Speaker 1: him a place in his sheltered doorway. It is cold,
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  Speaker 1: Karl said, and I have lent my cloak, or we
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  Speaker 1: could share it with each other. And the bread is old,
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  Speaker 1: but it is all I have. And indeed one feels
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  Speaker 1: hunger and cold, but lightly, who watches for the Christ
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  Speaker 1: Child and hopes for his blessing. When lo as the
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  Speaker 1: ragged boy broked the bread and ate with Karl, his
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  Speaker 1: face became glorified, and a light like soft moonlight played
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  Speaker 1: about his fair temples. And the eyes that looked into
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  Speaker 1: the very soul of Karl as he rose in glad amaze,
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  Speaker 1: were clear and wonderful as the winter stars, and yet
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  Speaker 1: gentle as the eyes of a pet lamp. And suddenly,
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  Speaker 1: as he gazed, Karl fell worshiping, for he knew that
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  Speaker 1: he had speech with the Christ Child. Then, while the
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  Speaker 1: crowd still searched and quarreled and waited, watching, the Christ
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  Speaker 1: Child walked through the soft falling snows, where the little
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  Speaker 1: Carl led the way, and they sought out the beggar
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  Speaker 1: and the lame man, and the little children, and the
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  Speaker 1: great who were also good, and all whose smiles were kindly,
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  Speaker 1: and whose hurds were like those of little children. End
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  Speaker 1: of section thirty three, read by Drek