December 25

The Ox and the Donkey's Carol

by Sister Alice Smith, CSJ

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The Christ child lay in the ox's stall

The stars shone great

and the stars shone small,

but one bright star outshone them all.

The cattle stood in the cleanly straw,

and strange to them was the sight they saw.

The ox and donkey watched with awe.

The shepherds ran from the uplands wide,

the sheepbells tinkled, the angels cried

joy to the dreaming countryside.

The three kings bowed at the stable door,

their raiment trailed on the dusty floor.

They saw the sign they had journeyed for.

The kings came last in a lordly throng.

The shepherds ran in the space of a song,

But the beasts had been there all night long.

Noel Noel Noel