Why the angel had to laugh on Christmas night

Why the angel had to laugh, on Christmas night

Loosely translated from an unknown Author

The impending birth of the Christ child proved to be quite a headache for the angels. They had to be very careful in their planning of course, so that people on earth noticed none of it happening. After all, the child should be born in silence and not amidst any noise and mayhem that could generally be found in Nazareth, at the weekly market there.
Problems were also found within the interior of the Bethlehem stable. A loosened board at a feeding crip was deemed as too dangerous, but has anyone ever seen an Angel with a hammer and nail?! The straw on the crib bed itself felt too hard, and the hay smelled not really good enough. In the barn itself, several lanterns were missing their oil.
As far as the animals were concerned, the Angels had to consider all kinds of them. At the 'specially chosen place, for the choir of angels to sing their song, -  hung a hornet's nest. This of course had to be evicted. After all, who knows if wasps are insightful enough to understand the miracle of the Holy Night? The flies that had found a home on the ox and ass, should not be buzzing around the divine child's nose or disturb it, even in its sleep. No, no animal which could cause discomfort to the Christ Child during the most holy of nights could the angels forget to consider!
Under the floor in the house lived a little mouse. It was a funny little mouse, which had a sunny disposition, even when the cat was after him. In these times, it quickly escaped back to his mouse-hole. In autumn, the mouse had diligently collected fruits and grains; now it slept in its cosy nest. "This is good", thought the angel in charge, "he who sleeps does not sin", and disregarded the mouse from further deliberations.
Eventually after all the work was done, the little messengers of God went back home into the sky. An angel was left back in the barn; he should assist the Virgin Mary in their hour of need. So that he would not be outed as being an angel, he took off his wings and laid them carefully in a corner of the stable. When Mother Mary gave birth to the Christ child, she was indeed very grateful for the help of the little angel.
Before to long the shepherds, after they had heard the good news, and their dogs and all the sheep came pay to visit. Although the men were trying to be quiet, and arrived at the stable walking on tiptoe, the footsteps still sounded hard and loud on the wooden floor and the floorboards creaked very loudly. Was it any wonder that the mouse woke up in her nest? She peeked out of the mouse hole and heard the voice of "A child is born to us ...", but could see nothing.
Curious, she left her protective nest and quick as a flash the cat was chasing after her - it is after all, what cats do, even on a holy night such as this. The little mouse quickly wanted to be back in its mouse hole, but by now, a shepherd had put his foot in front of it. "Holy Night or not," the cat said to the terrified mouse, "now I'll get you!"
And so the wild hunt kept going on and on. The mouse, in fear, flitted from one corner to the other, darted between the legs of the shepherds, darted under the crib with the cat always half a step behind the mouse. Meanwhile the guard dogs barked and the sheep bleated anxiously. Somewhere a hen cackled excitedly. The shepherds did not quite know what was going on, because they actually had come to worship the child. By now, they could no longer understand their own word, and everything was running around in total confusion: It was indeed just like in Nazareth at the weekly market.
When the angels in the sky saw this, they drooped their wings -- literally. It is comforting to know, that angels even as infallible beings that they are, could not anticipate everything. Meanwhile the little mouse, however, was in agony. It believed his last second of life has already come. Finally in total distress and as a last resort - it fled among the angels wings. In the same moment it felt itself lifted and gently removed from the cats chasing paws. The little mouse did not know what hit him. It floated up to the roof rafters, where it held on  tight to the little angels wings. In addition to the safety gained, it now had a wide view below of all the action in the barn!
The cat looked incredulously in every corner for its prey, but otherwise everything and everybody calmed down. The guard dog were guarding the resting sheep. The shepherds knelt before the manger and gave the Christ Child the gifts they had brought. The Christ Child radiated light and warmth, then smiled to the mouse, like it wanted to say, "Right, we know for whom down here the cat is looking for!" No-one else had noticed anything of the incident. Apart from the angel of course, who secretly laughed when he saw the mouse with its wings floating in the rafters. He chuckled and chuckled in spite of this especially holy hour, 'till St. Joseph, somewhat irritated, ended up scratching his bald head. However, it did look funny how the still astonished little mouse with big wings hovered in the air, up in the rafters and in total safety. You know - even to this very day, all the mouse's descendants during the Holy Night, tell this ancient story. So open your Belfry's  and towers for them -- bats -- to find a safe home, just as it was in the stable of Bethlehem.




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