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Authors: Harold Konstantelos

Three Wise Cats (15 page)

BOOK: Three Wise Cats
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“Are we—are we allowed to see the Messiah also?” Ira, his voice trembling, asked the angelic cat.
The large black cat leaned closer to its earthly siblings. “Of course you may,” he said. “You may see and worship the Messiah as we have all come to do this glorious night. And do not be afraid of me, for I am your guardian angel. My name is Charko, and I have been with you, unseen, during this long journey.”
“That is why we have had such help from all humans!” Abishag cried. “It has been as if we spoke in a language they understood.”
“Hearts always speak the same language,” Charko told her gently.
“But how is it we could not see you before?” Kezia whispered.
“You are now in a place of miracles. Go in and see the babe, the King of Kings.”
As they entered the old building, time seemed to sigh and then stop. The three wise men knelt on the stable floor, their faces filled with love and wonder as they gazed at the babe asleep on His mother's lap.
When He stirred in His sleep, Joseph quietly asked Mary if she wanted to place the baby in the manger once again. She rose and started to walk a step or two, carrying her newborn babe, but halted as a huge dog raised its head from the manger and snarled.
Ira was upon the dog before the brute knew what had attacked him. “Get out!” Scratching and hissing, Ira drove the dog, four times his size, from the sweet-smelling hay.
Mary held the babe tightly until the dog, growling and threatening still, slunk away, and then lowered Him gently to the rough bed.
“Thank you,” she said to Ira and sat down once again, close to the manger. The wise men spoke to her and to Joseph then, keeping their voices low so as not to disturb the babe. They offered their gifts to His earthly parents.
“We realize He, as a babe, has no need of these things now,” Kaspar said, “but please use them as you see fit for Him.” Mary smiled, and Kaspar felt himself blessed beyond ordinary men.
“Your coming was foretold to me,” she said simply. “Will you not tell me of the journey you undertook?”
As the wise men continued to marvel at being in the very presence of the King of Kings, and to speak of their travels, the air grew colder within the small stable. The babe frowned in His sleep, and Kezia noticed. She nudged Ira and Abishag.
“We must keep Him from getting chilled,” she whispered to the others. “Those swaddling clothes don't look very warm to me.” She jumped up into the hay, landing lightly so as not to wake the babe. She settled herself into the hay, carefully tucking His tiny toes and feet beneath her thick, warm fur. Abishag leaped up into the manger and snuggled close to His left side as Ira did the same on the babe's right. They all purred, and the babe sighed softly, sleeping soundly once more.
All had watched as the cats made the babe's bed warm in the frigid temperature. Joseph smiled and put his hand on Mary's shoulder.
“You need not worry about Him being cold tonight,” he told her, and she reached over and stroked each cat's head.
The wise men then shrugged out of their heavy cloaks and insisted Mary and Joseph take them to keep out the fierce cold.
Asmodeus crept out of the pack in which he had traveled and ran toward the stable. Blinded by the wind, he ran against the dog's side as the huge beast lay sullenly outside the door.
“A rat!” The dog sprang to his feet and snarled. “Good; I can kill you now and get back in their good graces.”
“My dear dog,” Asmodeus began, trying to talk himself out of yet another dangerous encounter. “Do not, I implore you, dispatch me with such haste.”
“What?”
“What is your name, good dog?”
“Goliath. Why should you care who kills you?” And Goliath opened his jaws, showing the rat his teeth.
“Why would you devour the one who can help you plan punishment for the cats? The cats who caused you to be turned out of your warm, soft bed?”
“Talk fast, then.” And a whispered conversation took place between the rat and the dog, unheard by the cats, who had dozed off beside the tiny Messiah.
It was near dawn before the wise men finished speaking with Mary and Joseph and turned to leave the stable.
“We should not have tired you so with our tales,” Kaspar began, as he realized how exhausted the new mother looked. Mary shook her head.
“I can sleep at other times,” she said. “And look, your good cats have kept our son warm throughout the night.”
“Truly, they have had the privilege of being a living blanket for the Messiah,” Melchior agreed.
“Now we must see to our servants and camels,” Balthazar said. “And we must return to our homes soon, to tell all who will listen of the Messiah's birth.”
They left the cats and babe still sleeping together in the hay and quietly returned to the small, muddy courtyard.
Midmorning, Mary and Joseph dozed upon a thin pallet of straw in the corner, the cloaks pulled over them. The cats woke, started to scramble from the hay—and realized the babe was watching them.
“We did not mean to wake You,” Abishag told Him, contritely.
In answer, the babe laughed and stretched out His small hands. He touched Kezia, and she gently licked the tiny fingers.
When He touched Ira, there was a soft snapping sound, and the small soldier gasped. “My leg! My leg—it's straight again!”
And Abishag cried out to Kezia, “Your ear! It's perfect once more!”
“How can we ever thank You?” Kezia asked the babe, who only smiled.
The three cats ran to the wise men, who rubbed their eyes and stared at them dancing about and purring loudly in the courtyard.
“We have witnessed His first miracles,” Balthazar said. “Indeed He is the Son of the One God.”
“How could He have done these things?” the slave boy Herod had sent with them asked. “He is but a babe.”
“He is the Messiah, the Son of God,” Melchior told him.
Asmodeus watched the cats capering and snorted.
“Are they suffering from delusions? What are they so happy about?” He suddenly saw Ira's legs. “What has happened to his crooked leg? The one the centurion's horse nearly crushed.” He stared at Ira, then noticed Kezia's ear. “Now my good eye must be losing its vision, for I would swear she has two perfect ears upon her head once more!”
Asmodeus dashed across the length of the courtyard and into the stable.
Whatever has healed them came about in this place. And it must have something to do with the humans who are staying here.
Panting, he crouched under the manger. Hearing the babe laugh, the rat crept out from under the improvised cradle and crawled up onto the hay.
He reached out His small hand and touched the very tip of Asmodeus's nose. Afraid, the rat jerked his head back and fell out of the manger and onto the hard dirt floor. Stunned, he shook his head and then opened his eyes. His jaw dropped, and he put his paws up to his mouth. “My eyes! I can see again! My teeth—they're not broken—and even my tail!”
He whirled and looked back up at the babe. “Who are You?” Asmodeus asked, wonderingly. “How can You do such miracles?” He turned to leave, turned back. “Thank You.”
Goliath met him outside the door. “When are we going to kill the cats as we planned?”
Asmodeus gasped. “I—er—we must wait,” he babbled. He thought quickly, still stunned by the restoration of his broken body. “The humans must not guess what we plan, for they would put us to death instead. In three days' time, we should be able to safely rid the stable of the cats. Forever.”
Two more days passed, and the wise men knew in their hearts that they must be starting homeward. They told the servants to pack things for the journey, to check saddles and secure initial provisions for the long trip home.
“We will say our farewells,” Kaspar said that night as they left their campfire in the courtyard to go and see the babe once more.
Mary smiled upon them, and Joseph clasped their hands in his own, roughened by years of carpentry.
“We thank you for your many kindnesses, large and small. Now we find you paid for our stay here at the inn, and you have given our donkey, Gideon, good grain with a richly embroidered nosebag from which to eat it.”
The wise men knelt then, and worshipped the babe one final time, even though they were sad at the departure. When they returned to the courtyard, the cats hurried into the stable and leaped into the hay. He blessed them silently as each cat gently licked His small hand, purred thanks, and left.
“And what of the slave boy Herod gave us?” Balthazar asked Kaspar quietly, before they all slept for a few hours. “I believe Herod charged him with bringing news to him of the Messiah. My heart aches when I think of this, for I fear Herod means to do Him harm while He is but a babe.”
“I, too, have the same fear,” Melchior said, joining the quiet conversation, out of earshot of the young slave. “Should we insist he remain with us?”
“No,” Kaspar said slowly. “We shall simply revert to our generous natures and give the boy his own camel with which to return to Herod.”
Balthazar and Melchior laughed silently until they clutched their sides. “By the time he learns to control that camel, the Messiah and His family will be safely on their way to Nazareth,” Melchior sputtered.
“And we shall be safely out of Herod's clutches also,” Balthazar gasped. “Kaspar, you are a rogue.”
“So says my kinsman, Alexos, the sea captain. I shall be glad to see him at the docks of Tyre once more.”
Kezia stood beside the small heap of readied packs in the courtyard, her heart hammering.
Alexos! He is speaking of Alexos—and we are going to meet him again! Oh, blessed be His name, for I believe He has caused this unforeseen chance to return to my captain!
BOOK: Three Wise Cats
9.25Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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