That Night in Bethlehem

That night in Bethlehem,
Yes, I remember it well.
I guess I never will forget it.
It's quite a tale to tell.

Why, I was just a boy of ten,
No, I guess I was eleven
When I beheld that blessed Child
Sent down to us from heaven.

We were closing up the place,
That is my father's inn,
When at first I heard a quiet knock
And then a louder one again.

It was very late at night,
And even father was afraid
That it might be the soldiers.
The tax laws had just been made.

He opened up, but just a crack.
The wind outside was wild,
And there stood one man and his wife
Expecting soon a Child.

"Please," he said to father,
"We have come a long,long way;
And you're our last hope, you see,
We don't have any place to stay."

The inn was full; but since we saw
The woman wasn't able
To sleep out on the streets
Father offered them the stable.

And, you know, even then
I felt such warmness all around me
But I never could have ever guessed
What in the morning found me.

I rose at dawn and went outside
To feed my favorite cow.
I remember I was just a boy.
Aw! It seems so silly now,

And I'd almost forgotten
We had company that morn.
When suddenly I saw it,
A Baby had been born.

At first, well, I was frightened
And I almost ran to hide;
But, you know, something seemed to nudge me
And so I stepped inside.

The mother gently smiled at me
And asked me to come near.
'Twas then I gazed on that Child's face
His eyes, they were so clear.

That Baby looked as though
He had the wisdom of all lands
Stored inside that tiny head,
And then the choir began.

Yes, it was.
There was really angels all in white
With wings, and yes, with faces
Like I'd never seen so bright.

They were angels, and I knew it;
But I didn't understand
Why they were watching over this little Stranger
In such a strange new land.

Well, now I know the Child was Christ
He'd come to save us all
And I was one of the first to see Him
Lying newborn in that stall.

Author Unknown