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A Child is Born in Bethlehem

And so it came to be that in the Islamic year anno Herirae 390, the benevolent and tolerant leaders of the Shia Fatimid Caliphate ordered a census in the recently conquered territory of Palestine so that they would have an accurate count of the peoples that inhabited that land. They required all occupants of the Palestine to return to the towns of their ancestors to be counted. Thus it was there was a great movement of creatures across the region.

It was late March on the year one thousand of the Julian calendar, roughly a week past the spring equinox, when Elias Leonid opened the door to his Inn near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to find a donkey cart occupied by two foxes. They were Jewish, by their dress, and the vixen, who was almost too young to be married, was very pregnant.

"I suppose you are looking for rooms for the night?" He addressed the older, male fox. "Well, none are to be had, for you nor your donkey porters.

"Is it because we are Jewish?" The fox asked to the lion, a Christian of roman descent. "We can pay."

"No." Elias said, although it was only partly true. "The Inn is full of much more prosperous travellers than you and every room is spoken for. Everyone is on the move in order to be in their ancestral homes for the census. I could not accommodate you even if you were rich ... and Christian."

The vixen lifted her head to speak, and Elias was struck by her innocent beauty. "But we've been turned away by so many places already."

Her sweet demeanor moved something in Elias's heart. "As I said, I have no rooms left, but behind my Inn there is a manger where ruminants go to dine. The Jewish oxen that own it are wont to accept guests that have fallen on hard times."

Tanking the innkeeper Yosef led the way while the two donkeys pulled the pregnant vixen on the cart around to the back of the Inn.

David and Sarah Aleph were the oxen that owned the manger. On seeing the condition of the vixen Sarah insisted that they come inside, even before Yosef could ask about lodgings.

"Of course you can stay." The female ox cried when the fox stated his business. "Can't they, David?"

The large male ox scratched his head. "Well, we don't get many foxes here in the manger. We may not be able to feed you."

"We have provisions in our cart." Yosef assured him. "We'll hardly be a bother."

"Alright then. You two can sleep in the back where we keep the hay; it should be comfortable enough. Your porters can sleep in the front room with us."

"Thank you, kind sir."

Yosef and Sarah helped the vixen waddle to the back of the manger while the donkeys shuffled over to the bar to munch some hay and drink some wine.

"What's up with those two?" David asked, pouring them an extra portion, knowing that servants always saw more than they let on.

The first donkey shrugged. "A widower and his new wife. Left his other children with relatives to travel to Nazareth for the census."

"Hah!" The second donkey exclaimed. "Husband in name only."

"Oh?" David said, his interest peaked. "How so?"

"They don't sleep together. Not once in the three weeks we've been carting them around."

"I can understand that at this stage of her, uh, confinement but, not even for Shabbat?"

"Not at all. It's like he doesn't even want to."

The first donkey leaned in and whispered, "One night after a few drinks he told me that he never has, slept with her that is ... in that way."

Sarah came back at that point.

"What are you three talking about?" Her husband, knowing her love of gossip, filled her in.

"But that means ... Oh dear! Why hasn't he divorced her?"

The first donkey just shrugged.

There was a knock on the door and when David opened it he was surprised for the second time that night. Standing in the lane were three camels, magnificently dressed in Arabian style with colourful silk robes, jewelled daggers and golden bracelets.

The youngest, a tall dark camel spoke. "Excuse us, dear sir, but we find ourselves unable to stay in the Inn where we had rooms reserved. We were told, however, that you may be able to accommodate us."

"Leonid had overbooked again, has he?" David chuckled as he waved them in.

"No, he has allowed swine to occupy the rooms we had reserved and did not clean up after them. We are Muslim and staying in a room sullied by swine is forbidden unless certain rituals and cleansings are performed first."

"I understand completely." The ox assured them. "You won't have to worry about that here; my people have similar restrictions."

He showed them where they would sleep and joined his wife behind the bar.

"Ohhhh, David. They look like kings."

"I think they call them Caliphs where they come from." Her husband replied.

Having overheard them a bactrian camel with two humps came up to the bar with a smile. "Oh, we are not Caliphs, merely scholars on our way to study the ancient Islamic texts stored in the library at Timbuktu."

"How did you come to be in Bethlehem, sire?" David asked. "We are not on the road between Damascus and Alexandria." Those being the nearest centres of learning.

"A strange coincidence." The dark camel said as he ordered milk for him and his companions. "We became lost in a sandstorm two days out of Beirut. After the sand there came a mist that obscured even the brightest stars, but a comet that has been growing in the sky this week hence was strong enough to pierce the fog. Calculating our location from it we were able to navigate to this, the nearest town, sending our slaves ahead to secure lodgings."

"Oh, will your slaves need a place to sleep also?" Sarah inquired.

"No." The oldest camel, who was going grey around the muzzle replied. "They will be perfectly comfortable in their tents outside."

While they were talking Yosef joined them and introductions were made, but a cry of pain from the back soon drew him away. While he was gone, the first donkey, who was now on his second cup of wine, gleefully passed on the story of the cuckhold fox.

The Asian camel frowned when he heard the tale.

"The Fatimid Caliphs have been very tolerant of the beliefs of others." He said. "Sunni Muslims such as we can travel and worship without restriction in their Shia dominated lands. Jews are free to practice their religion and Christian places of worship like the church built near here where they say Jesus was born are protected. But that tolerance comes with the price of adherence to the laws, including the laws concerning adultery."

The oxen and donkeys went silent. Under Caliphate law adultery was punishable by death.

Yosef choose that moment to return.

"She's resting quietly now, but I fear that our travels may have hastened the birth." Then he looked up and stopped talking when he saw all the serious faces confronting him. He swallowed hard and finally managed to say, "Have I said something inappropriate?"

The young camel detailed their concerns.

"Oh! Is that all. Well, let me assure you, sire, that no other male has ever been with any wife of mine."

"You will swear to this?" The camel demanded. "By your God?"

"Yes, I will." Yosef avowed, and proceeded to do so.

"But you told me that you had never lain with her." The first donkey said, his voice slightly slurred.

The fox tilted his chin up defiantly. "Yes. I said that."

"And is it true?" The old camel asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Then how can she be with child?" The bactrian camel wondered.

'I cannot say. That is for you to speculate, but I stand by my oath, which I made before my God."

The Asian camel stared hard into the fox's eyes but could find only truth in them, albeit with a hint of evasiveness. He set his scholar's brain to the puzzle but was interrupted by the arrival of a large group of sheep, accompanied by a dog.

"Good evening sirs." David said as he hastily set out more hay and cups. "I did not expect such a crowd this late at night."

"Sorry for the inconvenience." The lead sheep, a young ram with curly horns said. "We normally would be sleeping out in the fields by now, but we were told to come here; to witness a miracle."

"Here? In my manger?"

"Not your manger specifically, but 'a' manger near the Church of the Nativity, where we might witness the birth of the second coming of Jesus."

"Jesus!"

"No need to swear."

"But I mean, the false prophet? In my manger?" Then he noticed the small wooden crosses hanging around the necks of all the sheep. "Not that being a false prophet is a bad thing."

The young ram nodded his head understandingly. "I know, I know. You Jews don't believe in Jesus. But you will this time. You'll have to, otherwise you'll risk being condemned to hell when the end of the world comes in thirty-three years."

David looked totally confused. "What are you talking about?"

The dog pushed his way top the bar. "Allow me to explain. You see, about a thousand years ago ..."

"Exactly a thousand years ago." A sheep interrupted.

"Well, yeah, depends on which calendar you use. Anyway, around year one anno dominos I guess, this guy Jesus was born and a bunch of years later ..."

"Thirty-three. A double holy number." Someone at the back of the herd shouted.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway. He died and some say he came back and now a lot of people are expecting him to be reborn right around now and lead the good folk what believe in him against the forces of evil in a battle for the end times, or some such nonsense."

The dark camel's brows went up. "You don't believe this yourself?"

"Naw. I'm a pagan. Nothing in all this talk of Prophets and spirits for me. I was just hired to guard this bunch of sheep from the jackals and cercal cats that like to prey on poor shepherds like them."

The camel turned to the lead sheep. "Is what he says true? Do you believe this?"

"There is more to it than that, but essentially, yes. We believe that Jesus will be reborn after a millennium has passed and that his coming will signal the end of times."

"So, what are you doing here, in this manger, at this time of year?"

"We heard that a pregnant fox was spotted coming inside."

Yosef tried to hide behind the camels.

"Was Jesus a fox?" The Asian camel asked.

"No one knows." The ram admitted. "He is usually depicted as whatever species the congregation is made up of. We sheep were kind of hoping that he would be a sheep too; 'Lamb of God' and all that."

"He was just called that because he was sacrificed." The dog pointed out. "Like you lot was apt to be in those days."

The ram gave him a dirty look.

"You may be in luck." The old camel said with a smirk. "It seems that we have another example of virgin birth in our midst. He took a step to the side to reveal Yosef behind him. The sheep fell to their knees when they saw him.

"Joseph!" they shouted with one voice.

"Ah, it's Yosef, actually."

"Close enough. And your wife, the virgin that is with child? What is her name?"

"Miri."

"Miri, could that be a pet name for Mary?"

"Or Miriam?" The old camel injected.

"Who is Miriam?" the ram asked.

"Miriam is the Arabic form of Mary. You see, we Muslims believe the story of the virgin birth also; that in the year 3761 anno Mundi of the Hebrew calendar in the city of Bethlehem the prophet Jesus was born of the virgin Mariam, who we revere as the Lady Miriam. Jesus went on to do great things as a Prophet, and is considered holy to us, but we do not believe that he is the son of God."

"But look at all the signs!" The leader of the sheep exclaimed. "Yosef and Miri come to a manger in Bethlehem, possibly the very same manger that the Christ was born in, exactly one thousand years later! And here we are all gathered like they did all those years ago, the shepherds, the donkeys, the oxen and three Eastern kings. It must be the second coming!"

"We are scholars, not kings."

"Wise Ones then, that is acceptable in our doctrine."

"I thought that you people built a church on top of the manger where Jesus was born?"

"It may not be in exactly the same place. It was built three hundred years after Christ died and a number of mangers claimed to be the one true manger."

David frowned. "All owned by Christians, I'll bet."

"I don't know, the lore doesn't say."

"And what about the date? Christmas is celebrated just after the winter solstice and here we are a week after the spring equinox." The Asian camel pointed out.

The lead sheep looked flustered. "True, the Latin Church celebrates the birth of Christ in December, but it was not always so. Church scholars are torn between a date in late March or sometime in later April to early May for the birth of Christ. Calendars were highly unreliable in those days."

"Not our calendar." The ox muttered.

"Good creatures, please." The dark camel said holding his hands palm out to calm them. "Let us not argue. We all have much more accurate calendars now even if we disagree on which year they should start in. But while the ram does make a good point, there are too many uncertainties. It could all be just a coincidence. You would need a holy sign, like the appearance of an Angel. Did one appear to you to direct you to the manger tonight?"

The ram looked at his feet. "Not exactly. There's this old ram with a long white beard ..."

"... who dresses in rags and has enough brambles in his wool to make a campfire." The dog injected.

"He's a holy pilgrim." The ram said angrily.

"He's a crazy old coot that is always predicting the end of the world in form or another."

"Please, please." The camel interjected. "So, no angelic messenger. No sign of any kind."

"What about the holy star?" A sheep at the back shouted.

"Yes, the one hanging over the manger, guiding us here!"

The old camel frowned. "You mean the comet?"

"It's a holy star!"

"No, really. Our astronomers have been tracking such phenomena for three hundred years. This particular one comes around about once a lifetime, sometimes closer, like this year, sometimes farther, but very regular for all that. Besides, it only appears to lead to the manger if you look at it from the right direction."

"What about the one that appeared in the sky the night Christ was born?" The ram asked defiantly.

"A thousand years ago? That was probably a conjunction of the planets al-Zuhal and al-Mushtari, what you would call Saturn and Jupiter."

"I call it the Christmas Star."

The Bactrian camel interceded. "You know, shooting stats and comets can still be portents of important events."

"Like the second coming!"

"Or a new prophet." David the ox mused.

"Oh no. Jesus was a holy prophet, known to us as the Spirit of God, and the product of a virgin birth, but Mohammed, peace be upon him, was the last prophet, so it could not happen again." He turned to his colleagues. "Could it?"

The oldest shook his head. "The Koran says 'Muhammad was not the father of any man among you. He was a messenger of God and the final prophet.'. So the answer should be no.

The dark one scratched his chin in thought. "There are those that believe that Mohammad's holiness was passed down though his blood relatives. Most especially by his nephew Ali, who married the Prophet's daughter Fatima; the Caliphs that control this territory in particular."

"But if one is born of a virgin, a Jewish virgin," the Asian camel speculated, "as Jesus was, they would not be from Mohammad's line."

"However, she is descended from Abraham, as are all of us here." The dark one concluded. "Except maybe this dog."

"The Bible says." the ram said insistently, "that 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel'."

"Yes, yes. We recognize the truth of the old Bible that was also the holy book of the Hebrews."

"Actually," David interrupted, "The word for virgin and young unmarried woman are the same in Hebrew, so maybe it is just a mistranslation. Perhaps Mary was just a young jewess that went astray?"

A three-way heated discussion broke out over the reliability of their various religious texts, with the ram insisting that all the signs pointed to the Second Coming.

"We have the right people, at the right time, in the right place."

"This cannot be the same manger." The old camel said angrily. "It's not old enough."

"In fact," David corrected him, "this manger has been in my family since the days of King Herod."

"Isn't he the ne that ordered all the firstborn sons killed to prevent Jesus from becoming the king of kings?"

"Yes, that's the one."

The ram jumped in. "Ah-ha! So it is old enough."

Their argument was interrupted by the cries of the vixen in the rear of the manger.

"Yosef! The baby is coming!"

The fox hurried to her side, accompanied by Sarah, who had some experience as a Midwife. At the bar David poured another round of wine for the sheep and milk for the camels.

"It's gone past midnight." He observed. "Passover starts tomorrow." Then his eyes went wide.

"What is it?" The Asian camel asked

"Today, the day before Passover is the Feast of the Firstborn on our calendar."

The ram sat up. "The Firstborn! Just like Jesus!"

"It is the day of the Birth of the Prophet, for some Shia Muslims." The old camel mused.

"The Birth of the Prophet? Another sign!"

"Not any prophet, 'The Prophet', Peace be upon him."

"Maybe," the youngest camel suggested, "we should leave him some gifts, just in case. But most of our goods are back with the caravan. All I have on me is a few gold coins."

The Asian camel dug in his robes and came up with a small bag. "I have some hardened olibanum sap."

"You do know that it is also called frankincense, and along with gold was one of the gifts presented to the baby Jesus by the three Magi?" The older one pointed out.

"A common enough substance for well-to-do camels from my region to be carrying." The bactrian camel said defensively. "Like that stuff you carry to sweeten your pungent hide is quite common in Arabia."

"Myrrh."

"Are you purring?"

"No, the woody resin I carry is called myrrh, the third gift."

"Now it's certain." The ram declared. "Three wise ones in a thousand-year-old manger, who followed a star ..."

"A comet."

"... a star, bearing gold, frankincense and myrrh to attend a virgin birth. It is the Second Coming!"

It looked like another argument was about to break out, but the dog spoke up fore it could take hold.

"There is another explanation." The canine said as he helped himself to someone else's wine.

The rest went silent, staring at the dog expectantly. The canine wiped his lips before continuing.

"I get a lot of business with the pilgrims from your three religions that comes through here visiting all the holy spots, because I got no restrictions I can work on all your holy days, and I hears things. Most of the Christian ones agrees that something's due to happen now that the first millennium is over, but they disagrees as to what. I'd say that they're split about even between those that think your Christ will be born again ... and those that are expecting an Anti-Christ."

The sheep gasped, but the rest just looked puzzled.

"The Anti-Christ," the ram explained, "is the spawn of Satan, sent to rule the kingdoms of all creatures and deny the divinity of Christ. Those that follow that doctrine claim that he will be born in a similar manner to that of Jesus and present himself as a prophet, but he will be a false prophet. In the end days Jesus will return, an adult as when he was resurrected, to lead the forces of Heaven against the Anti-Christ and the hordes of hell."

Behind him his flock was whispering among themselves.

"... never thought of that, the Anti-Christ pretending to be of holy birth"

"How would we know? Maybe it would be best to ..."

".. stop him now and he'll have to wait another thousand years before he can try again."

"The end of days? Now?" David wondered. "I just thatched the roof."

"Not until the little devil grows up." The canine assured him. "Plenty of time to prepare."

"But those are Christian beliefs."

"Are they? Don't you see signs of the end days as promised in your book? All the Jews returning to Israel is one of them, ain't it?"

"They are just coming back for the census."

"The book don't say why they come back, just that they do. And I heard talk that the Caliphs may let your people rebuild your temple to worship in, like they let the Christians build all them churches."

David put a hand to his mouth. "The temple rebuilt ... could it be?"

"Of course your Messiah is supposed to show up around then, but if people are already worshiping a false prophet ..." He tilted his head toward the back of the room where wails and heavy breathing alternated in ever shortening cycles.

"What are you trying to do dog?" The dark camel demanded. "You don't believe in any of this, you're a pagan. Why would you set these creatures against an insignificant child?"

"Insignificant? You three was planning on giving the little nipper royal gifts a minute ago 'just in case'. Just in case he really is Jesus come back to fight the Dajjal, your Anti-Christ, perhaps?"

"How do you know these things?"

"Lots of your Islamic scholars come to this region to study up on Jesus and they needs a dependable servant that can work even on their holy days. Like I said, I hears things. Like how your empire is going to be broken up by corruption and chaos just before this Dajjal fellow comes. Say, how's Islam doing these days?"

"You know full well that the lands are divided by rival Caliphates, some of which value a bribe above competence or adherence to the laws of Allah. Nothing in the scriptures indicated that Jesus is to be reborn. He ... he will just appear ... out of heaven ..."

"So," the dog swung to face the ram, "if the camel is right this kid could not be Jesus reborn, but rather," he looked over the ram to the nervous sheep behind him, "the Anti-Christ, or a false prophet," he said looking to the ox, "or maybe this Dajjal fellow. Looks to me like your odds are three to one that it's some kind of evil creature that should be snuffed out."

His suggestion was met with the cries of a newborn from the rear of the manger. The sound started a stir among the sheep.

"We have to kill it!"

"But what if it's ..."

"We can't take the risk."

"I've got a shovel. We can use that and then dig a hole to put it in."

"Wait, wait." The old camel shouted as he and his companions barred the way. "What if this is merely an innocent child?"

"One more, one less. These are tough times, Arab."

"I never trusted those Nazarene foxes anyways."

"Besides," the dog said as he reached for another abandoned cup of wine, "if he is holy an angel will come to intercede."

That brought all the conversation to a halt and it became quiet enough to hear the gurgling of the baby and the happy sobs of its mother.

"How so?" The oldest camel asked.

"Well, it's in all your scriptures, ain't it? Going back to Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice his son. Some angel came down to stop him and they switched the nipper out with ..." he turned to sneer at the leader of the sheep, "... with a ram, wasn't it?"

"That's' why I converted to Christianity." One of the other sheep muttered. "You don't see any of that in the New Testament."

"So, if he's holy, or even just innocent like Abraham's kid, an angel is sure to swoop down here and stop it. What's to worry about?"

When he finished speaking the sheep surged toward the back of the manger. The camels were powerless to stop them, but the massive ox jumped in front of the them to bar their way.

"You are a bastard." The dark camel hissed at the dog.

"And a son-of-a-bitch." The dog laughed.

The donkeys the foxes had hired looked at each other in alarm as the sheep fought their way past the enormous ox. But as they got up to perhaps defend their masters the rush was stopped by the appearance of the vixen, carrying her baby swaddled in a sky-blue cloth. The donkeys heaved a relieved sigh and sat back down.

Her fur was slick with sweat and her face was lined with the pain of giving birth, but she was still the most beautiful creature that most of them had ever seen. Her beauty though, was rivaled by the look of determination on her face as she raised her baby and let the swaddling cloth drop to the floor.

"Look upon my child!" She demanded, and they did.

The ram stepped forward for a better look. "It's ... it's ... it's a girl!"

"A female?"

"How can that be?"

"Jesus isn't a girl."

"Neither would the Anti-Christ be. How could a female take over the kingdoms of all the creatures?"

"What about that Cleopatra over in Egypt?"

"My point exactly, look how she ended up."

The vixen lowered her child and bent to pick up the blue cloth. Yosef hastened to get it as she could not bend over far enough.

"Maybe it's a shape shifter." The dog suggested.

"Oh, shut your yap." The ram said over his shoulder.

"Wait, he might be onto something there." Another sheep called out.

"My child is neither a prophet, a messiah nor a devil. She is just an ordinary baby, and I am no virgin."

Gasps filled the room.

"But your Husband said ..."

"He is not my husband. He is the owner of the estate my family worked the fields on. A young fox came to town last year, a travelling tinker. He promised to show me the world, but he left without me the night I told him that I may be pregnant. My family disowned me, but Yosef took me in."

Yosef placed a tender hand on her shoulder. "I have vowed that no harm will come to her and that her child shall be raised as my own. She had to accompany me to Nazareth for the census as there are those that would harm her if I had left her behind. I have been posing as her husband to avoid the harassment an unwed mother would face along the road." He looked down on her as she cuddled the baby.

"I have loved Miri since she was a child." He continued. "I have loved her in all ways except one, so what I said earlier is true. I have not been with her as a husband does, and since she is not my wife is also true that no one else has been with any of my wives."

"Ahhh!" The Bactrian camel said. "Clever."

Miri excused herself, claiming exhaustion. Sarah went with her to see that she was comfortable. The sheep and the donkeys retired to the front of the manger, worn out from all the excitement and David grabbed the dog before he could slip out the door to discuss how many drinks he had consumed without paying.

The dark camel approached he fox. "My apologies for what transpired here tonight. I can't help but feel responsible for participating in that ridicules debate."

"No worries, sire. It ended well."

"What do you think will become of the child and its mother?"

I am hoping that she and her child will stay, and maybe some day she will come to love me like I love her. But regardless, they have a home with me as long as they desire."

The camel passed a small bag to the fox. It tinkled when he closed his hand around it.

"Some gold for the child from me and my comrades. Whatever passes she is likely to need something to set her up in life."

"You are very generous sire."

"Think nothing of it, now I must rest also. We still have a long road before us."

Yosef went to lay down in the hay near Miri. Sarah joined her husband and the camels on the front room where they had several guest beds. The sheep and donkeys arranged themselves in the main room while the dog was chained to the bar, and would remain so until he had worked off his bill.

At dawn, after all but the dog had said their morning prayers, the three camels gathered their things and prepared to rejoin their caravan. The donkeys, who had professed no particular religious beliefs, prepared to depart while the sheep were breaking their fast at the bar before heading back to the fields. They were served by the dog who was still firmly chained to a ring set in the floor behind the bar.

The foxes made their goodbyes, thanking the oxen for their hospitality and the camels for their generosity. Afterwards Yosef led Miri outside to settle her and the baby on the cart while the donkeys brought up the rear.

The first donkey turned back at the last second and faced the crowded room blocking the door and preventing any others from leaving.

Before anyone could ask what he was about he began to change. From a short stout donkey in plain dress, he grew into a magnificent stallion in golden robes. A blinding light issued from around his head and wings with pure white feathers appeared behind him.

The sheep immediately fell to their knees, followed shortly by the rest, as all the children of Abraham can recognize an angel.

"I was right." The ram declared when the shock had worn off. "It is the Second Coming."

"No," David gasped, "it is a sign of the end of days."

"We were supposed to kill it, I bet." The dog added. "As some kind of false prophet."

"None of those." The angel said in a voice that was quiet but still filled the room. "It is just an ordinary child born of an ordinary woman."

The old camel shuffled forward. "Then why do angels accompany them?"

"To test those they meet along the way."

"A test of faith?" The ram asked, certain that he was right. "Did we pass? Were we righteous n our faith?"

"Speaking of faith." the camel continued. "We are Muslims, Jews and Christians here ..."

"And one pagan." The dog added, unperturbed by the angelic appearance.

The camel ignored him. "As I was saying, which of our beliefs holds the truth and how should we have dealt with this child and his mother? Who are you here to test?"

"All of you." The stallion said, looking around the room.

"The point is not whether you believe, or what you believe in, or how strictly you follow an arbitrary set of rules." He said as he turned to face the sheep. "It is not about how you conduct yourselves, but in how you treat others. That you speak the truth." He said, frowning at the dog before turning to smile at the oxen. "That you take in the needy and show charity." He said with a bow to the camels.

"That is how you will be judged, as all will be judged. Not at this moment, and not by us, but eventually. Until then, do not worry about your individual truths."

He turned to David and Sarah. "The Talmud says that the righteous of all nations will go to Gan Eden."

He faced the sheep. "Jesus told John that 'there are many rooms in my father's house' and that he was going to prepare a place for each of you."

"And the Koran tells us," he began as he regarded the camels, "that 'surely the believers and the Jews and the Christians and the Sabians - whichever party from among these truly believes in Allah and the last day and does good deeds - shall have their reward with their Lord and no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve.'

"What about me?" The dog said, spitting on the floor. "I'm not any of those."

The angel shrugged. "You may want to reconsider your whole approach to life before it is to late, which could be in as little as six months from now."

"What? Six months! What is it? Do I fall down a well? Does my old lady do me in just because I beat her too often? What?"

"Sorry." The angel said as he began to diminish and fade. Once he was back in his donkey form he turned to go, but paused with his hand on the door.

"Oh," he said, looking over his shoulder to the oxen, "what do I owe you for the drinks last night?"

"Nothing." David said, his body still stiff from fear. "Nothing at all."

"Thank you, David." Then he raised his head and his gaze took in all the occupants of the manger. "Go with God." He said, and with that the donkey was out the door and gone.

David, the ram and the three camels all spoke simultaneously. "Amen." They said as one voice.

They all looked around, surprised that each would use the same word of blessing.

"Yes." the old camel said nodding "Amen, and peace be upon us all."