Wooly was having a bad day. All day long people had been traveling to Bethlehem. Lots and lots of people. Wooly didn’t know why so many people were coming to Bethlehem all of a sudden, only that it had something to do with the king. Wooly didn’t like people; he was just a small little lamb, and humans were so big and scary. The only human Wooly liked was his shepherd.
All of the other sheep in the flock made fun of Wooly because he was scared of humans, bumblebees, and wolves. Wooly was even afraid of the dark.
As the sun set, all the other lambs laughed at Wooly and tried to frighten him with scary stories.
“Leave Wooly alone, you sheep.” Wooly’s kind shepherd said, and all the mean lambs wandered off to find a comfy spot in the flock to fall asleep.
Wooly didn’t go with the other lambs. When Wooly’s shepherd lay down in the gateway of the pen, so none of the sheep could get out during the night, Wooly curled up by him. Wooly was never afraid of scary things when his kind shepherd was there to keep him safe.
Wooly slept very well that night, and he didn’t know why until he was woken by his shepherd. All the shepherds kept looking at the sky. Wooly knew then why he had slept so well. A beautiful star lit up the night, and it wasn’t even very dark at all. Wooly really liked the star.
Something appeared in the sky, like a person with bird wings! Wooly hid behind his shepherd while the rest of the flock slumbered on. Then the birdman spoke! Wooly didn’t understand most of what it said, until the end.
“You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
More birdmen appeared and filled the night sky. Then they started singing.
“Glory to the newborn King,” they sang. “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled! Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Wooly trembled behind his shepherd. What were they? And what did they mean?
“Angels! Look at all the angels!” said his shepherd.
So the birdmen were called angels!
“They want us to go and follow that star!” said the shepherd.
The shepherds woke up the flock and started herding them along, following the star.
“Where are we going? What’s going on?” all the sheep were asking.
“Didn’t you see all the angels?” Wooly asked. But none of the lambs had.
The shepherds walked all the way to Bethlehem. Wooly was scared of all the people, even though it was night. There were so many people, one shepherd said, that there were no more rooms left in the inns!
Then the shepherds finally stopped. There was a stable filled with many animals, a kind looking man, and a very pretty lady.
Wooly’s shepherd spoke to them, and then the shepherds all looked inside a small wooden manger. Wooly’s shepherd looked so happy with whatever he saw, Wooly had never seen him so happy. All the shepherds were excited.
“What’s in there?” asked one lamb.
“I don’t know, you look!” said another.
All of the sheep were too scared.
“I’ll go look!” Wooly said.
“No, Wooly. You won’t look. You’re always too scared!” said all the lambs.
Wooly didn’t listen to them. What could be in a manger that would make the shepherds so excited? Usually mangers were used for food. Maybe there was something good to eat.
Wooly slowly peeked his head over the side of the manger, and he saw it. A baby! A happy little baby. Wooly nuzzled the baby with his nose, and the baby laughed. Wooly liked Him. He wasn’t scared of the baby human. The baby reached out and touched Wooly’s head.
Seeing the happy baby made Wooly happy, too. He was glad that he hadn’t let his fears stop him from coming to see this treasure, the baby. Even if he was usually scared of everything and the other lambs laughed at him and made fun of him, it didn’t matter because right then Wooly had been very brave. Wooly was so joyful that he wasn’t scared of anything, anymore. Playing with the baby, Wooly felt happy and safe, just like he felt when he was with his shepherd.