Wie der kranke Vogel geheilt wurde

How the sick bird was healed

Stories by Karl Heinrich Waggerl

Loosely translated by Reinhold Muller

Initially, only a few people came out of the city to the stable, even some unsavoury people, how it always is when many people come together. Above all the poor and sick, the blind and the leper came. They knelt before the boy and bowed and begged fervently that he to heals them. Many were really helped, not by miraculous power, as they thought, in their simplicity, but by the power of their faith. For a long time, a little girl, along the throng of people stood at the door and could not squeeze through. The Mother Mary called her at last. "Come in!" She said. "What have you got in your apron?" The girl took the tip apart and there perched a bird in the towel, scared and dishevelled, a very small bird. "Look at him," the girl said to the Christ child, "I have taken him away from the boys and then the cat also wanted to eat the bird. Can not you make him healthy again? If I give you my doll for it? Oh, the doll! It was still a difficult situation. The Saint Joseph scratched his bald head, otherwise a prudent man, and the sick people all standing in their misery around her and stared at the half-dead bird in the apron. Does a Bird have a faithful soul? This seemed unlikely. But you know, the Christ child himself did not know as accurately back then and therefore he looked once quickly to the top where the little angel was sitting in the rafters. The little angel flew down to help the bird as they were indeed their favourite companions under heaven. Now it smoothed the sick feathers and cleaned him, it relocated one wing and carefully presented him with the tail again, because what is a bird without a tail - a miserable thing. Of all this the people heard or saw nothing of course! It looked just like the feathers of the bird gradually smoothed themselves out, and he tore open the beak and tried to chirp a little. And suddenly he lifted the wings. Blessed with a cry, he swung himself over the heads off into the blue. The Crowd was amazed and praised God for this miracle. Only the little girl stood still and held the tip of her apron open. But there was nothing in it except a golden feather. And that did not have to be a bird's feather, for it could also have been lost by one of the angels in their zeal to help the bird.




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Der störrische Esel und die süße Distel

Der störrische Esel und die süße Distel

(Karl Heinrich Waggerl)

loosely translated by Reinhold Muller

The stubborn donkey and the sweet thistle:

When St. Joseph in a dream was told that he had to flee from the wickedness of Herod and his family, in this evil hour the angel awakened the donkey in the stable. "Get up!" he said condescendingly. "You may carry the Virgin Mary with the Lord to Egypt." The donkey did not like that. He was not a very pious ass, but rather a little stubborn in mind. "Can you do this not yourself?" he asked sullenly. "You have wings, and I have to haul anything on my back! Why to Egypt, it is so far away!"
"Safety first!" said the angel, and that was one of the sayings that must be obvious even to a donkey. When he trotted out of the barn and got to see what Joseph had collected as cargo for him to carry, the bedding for the new mother and a pack of diaper's for the baby, the little box with the gold from the kings and two bags of frankincense and myrrh, a loaf of cheese and a smoked meat, the rod of the shepherd, the water hose, and ultimately Mary herself and the well-fed boy, he immediately began again grumbling and went on and on. And truly no-one understood him except the baby Jesus. "Always the same," he said, "with the poor beggars! With nothing they came, and already they have a load for two pair of oxen together. I'm not a hay wagon," said the donkey, but he looked like one, as Joseph took him by the halter, you hardly could see the hooves. The ass arching his back to push around the load in order to evenly re-distribute the load, and then he ventured a step carefully, because he thought that the tower would collapse on him as soon as he put one foot ahead. But strangely, suddenly he felt wonderfully light on his feet, as if he'd been carried himself, he danced almost over every rock and branch into the darkness.
Not long, and that annoyed him again. "Will you mock me?" he growled. "Am I not the only donkey in Bethlehem, which can carry four bags of barley at once?" In his anger he suddenly put his legs in the sand and went a step no more from the site. "If he beats me even now," thought the donkey bitterly, "then he has all his stuff lying in the ditch!" Alas, Joseph did not hit him. He reached under the bedclothes and looked for the ears of the Donkey, to scratch him in-between. "Run a little more," said St. Joseph gently, "we rest soon!" Then the donkey sighed and sat back in trot. "This is meant to be a great saint," he thought, "and does not even know how to drive a donkey!" By now it was day, and the sun was burning hot. Joseph found a thicket, which was dry and thorny in the desert, in his meagre shade he wanted to rest Maria.  He unloaded and made a fire to cook a soup, the donkey saw it full of distrust. He waited for his own food, but only so he could despise it. "I'd rather eat my tail", he muttered, "than your dusty hay!" However, there was no hay, not even a mouthful of straw, for St. Joseph in his concern for his wife and child had forgotten it totally. Immediately, the donkey got an irrepressible hunger. He let his bowels growl so loud that Josef to be looked horrified, because he thought a lion was sitting in the bush. Meanwhile, the soup was cooked, and all of them ate, Mary ate some, and Joseph spooned down the rest, and the child drank at his mother's breast, and only the donkey stood there and had not a single blade of grass to chew. The only thing growing were some thistles in the rubble. "My Lord!" said the donkey angry and sent a long speech to the baby Jesus, a donkey talk, but truly astute and uncommonly clear in all, what was the suffering creature to complain before God. "I A   he cried at the end, that is:"as I am a donkey" The child listened to everything attentively. When the donkey was finished, it bent down and broke a thistle stalk, which it offered to him. "Good!" he said, offended to the core.

"So I just eat a thistle!" But in thy wisdom thou shalt foresee what will happen then. The spines will puncture my belly, so that I must die, and then you see how you travel to Egypt!" Furious, he bit into the hard herb, and immediately his mouth was open. Because the thistle tasted absolutely not, as he had expected, but after the sweetest honey clover, after spiciest vegetables. No one can imagine something so delicious, unless you would be a donkey. For this time the Donkey forgot all his resentment. He put his long ears reverently together, which means with a donkey as much, as if we fold our hands in prayer.





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Wozu die Liebe den Hirtenknaben veranlasste

WOZU DIE LIEBE DEN HIRTENKNABEN VERANLASSTE

Stories by Karl Heinrich Waggerl

Loosely translated by Reinhold Muller

What love made the small shepherd-boy do:

In that certain night, when to the Shepherds appeared that night the beautiful star in the sky and they all made ​​their way as had been shown by the small angel, there was also a small boy, and he was so small and yet so poor that the others did not want to take him along, because he had nothing anyway he could give to the child of God.  This the tiny tot could not accept. He ventured secretly and all alone on the wide path and came right on into Bethlehem. But once there he found that the others had already gone home again, and everything slept in the barn. Saint Joseph slept, his wife Mary slept, also the angels under the roof slept well, and the ox and the donkey and even the mouse under the floor board was asleep, only the baby Jesus was not asleep. It lay very still on his bed of straw, a bit sad perhaps in his abandonment, but without shouting and fidgeting, because he was a very good child, as you can imagine. Now the Christ child looked at the boy, as he stood before the manger and nothing in his hands, not a piece of cheese and no flakes of wool, absolutely nothing. And the small boy in turn looked to the Christ child, as it had to lie there and had nothing against the boredom, no rattle and no ball of yarn, no nothing. Then the small boy felt deeply sorry for the Christ child. He took the tiny fists in his hand and turned his thumb out and put it into the Christ Child's mouth. And from now on, baby Jesus never had to be sad again, for the poor, little guy had given him the
most precious thing that you could give a baby: his own thumb.





 

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Warum der schwarze König Melchior so froh wurde

Warum der schwarze König Melchior so froh wurde

Stories by Karl Heinrich Waggerl

Loosely translated by Reinhold Muller

Why the black King Melchior became so happy

Gradually the rumour spread about the wonderful child with the glow around his head, and it penetrated to the remotest countries. There lived three kings as neighbours, the oddly named  Kaspar, Melchior and Balthasar, as is named today with a stable hand or a simple beggar.  But they were nonetheless real kings and what is still more remarkable, wise men.  According to the testimony of ancient Scripture, they read and understood the course of the stars of heaven, and that is a difficult art, as anyone knows who has ever tried to run after a star. Thus, these three got together, they set a splendid entourage, and then they travelled urgently with camels and elephants in the evenings. During the day, people and animals rested under the rocks in the rocky desert, and the star that they followed, waited patiently in the sky and did a little sweating in the heat of the sun, until it finally became dark again. Then the star walked again and shone forth solemnly and showed the way to kings who followed the star.
In this way, the trip went ahead well, but as the star moved beyond Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the three kings refused to follow the star further. They thought that if there was a Prince's child to attend, then it must surely lie in a castle and not in a poor village.
The star got, as it were, in a white heat of despair, he jumped up and down and waved and waved his tail, but that did not help. The three wise men were of such misunderstanding that they could not understand for a long time, what common sense would make clear.
Thus it occurred that the star faded the morning. He sat sadly in the crown of a tree next to the barn and everyone who passed by, thought he was nothing more than a forgotten lemon in the branches. It was not until the night that he climbed out and jumped through the roof. The kings were happy to see the star again and head over heels they came with their camels. All day they had been looking for the promised child and found nothing, because in the castle in Jerusalem sat just a disgusting fat guy named Herod.
Now one of the three kings, who was named Melchior, was a Moor, tree long and so inky black that even in the bright light of the star there was no sign of him apart from a pair of eyeballs and some terrible teeth.
At home they had raised him to be the king, because he was still a little darker than the other blacks, but now Melchior realized to his chagrin, that this country was looking at him as if he stuck in the skin of the devil himself.
On the way all the kids were screaming and seeking refuge in the bosom of their mother, whenever he bent down from his camel, to give them sweets, and the women would have crossed themselves, if back then they had already had known how as a Christian to protect themselves against challenges.
The last of the three Kings, Melchior stepped timidly before the Christ child and threw himself to the ground. Oh, how he would have liked to show now only the teeniest white spot or at least some of his insides could return to the outside!
He covered his face, full of fear, unsure if also the child of God would revile before him.
But because he heard no more shouting, he ventured a little squinting through his fingers, and truly, he saw the Christ Child smile and stretch out his hands to touch Melchiors afro-hair. Happy beyond measure was the black king! He had never so great rolled his eyes and bared teeth from ear to ear. Melchior could not help it, he had to hold the child's feet and kiss all his toes, as was the custom of his country.

But as he untied the hands again, he saw the miracle - they had become white inside! And since then, all Ethiopians have light palms, just go there and see it for yourself and greet them as brothers.

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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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Why the Ox and the Donkey were allowed to stay in a Bethleham stable

Der Ox und der Esel

Stories by Karl Heinrich Waggerl

Loosely translated by Reinhold Muller

The Ox and the Donkey

The holy bible does not talk about the ox and the donkey, but my mother told me the story: As Mary and Joseph were on the way to Bethlehem, the archangel gathered all the animals to choose this or that one that would behave properly in the barn with the holy family.
The first to introduce himself was the lion. Only someone of noble descent was worthy to serve the Lord, he roared. He would stand in front of the door and tear to pieces anyone getting to close to the child.
"You are too ferocious" said the angel.
The fox then sneaked in with the innocent face of a thief. "King or not" he said, "the most important is food". He promised to bring the sweetest honey to the child and  a chicken a day to his parents.
"You are too deceitful" said the angel.
The peacock now entered. With a sweeping noise, his tail spread out like a fan of feathers that sparkled in the sun. "So shall I also do in the barn" he said, "and it will be no less magnificent than Solomon's temple".
"Too much vanity" said the angel.
Many others followed, the cat and the dog, the smart owl, the sweet-voiced nightingale, each praising his art, but in vain. Finally, the demanding angel glanced around and saw the ox and the donkey, working hard at ploughing the fields. He called to them: "you out there, what could you do?"
"Nothing, your honour" sadly said the donkey, "We have learned nothing but obedience and patience, everything else has caused us trouble."
"But" shyly added the ox, "perhaps could we wave our tails from time to time and chase the flies away ?"

"So be it !" said the angel.




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The Christ child's first ever smile

AND SO IT WAS

Stories by Karl Heinrich Waggerl

Loosely translated by Reinhold Muller

Why the Christ child had to smile.

As Joseph with Maria from Nazareth was on his way to Bethlehem, so as to witness that he was a descendant from David, which the learned people as well we should have known anyhow, as it had already long been since written down, - to this just time came the Archangel Gabriel secretly once more down from heaven, so as to have one last look in the stable to ensure that everything was just so and right.

It was even for an Archangel in his own wisdom hard to understand, why it must be in the most pitiful stable in which the Lord should be born, and his crib should be nothing more then a simple manger. But at least Gabriel wanted to command the winds that they did not blew too roughly through the gaps, and that the clouds in the sky did not again break in emotion and thus showering the baby with its tears, and to what the light in the lantern concerned, he once again had to reinforce to light with a modest amount, so as not to blind or to shine brightly just like the Christmas star.

The Archangel also rummaged round for all the small animals to be taken out of the stable, the ants and spiders and the mice, for it was not to think what might happen if the holy Mother Maria got horrified beforehand over an errand mouse. Only the Donkey and the Ox could stay, the donkey because later he needed to be close by anyhow for the flight to Egypt, and the Ox, because he was so big and so lazy, that all the angles in heaven could not have moved him from his place.

Lastly Gabriel sprinkled groups of angles around in the stable and on the roof trusses; they were of the small and fine kind and consisted almost only of a head and wings and their job was to sit still and stand guard and immediately give directions if the child in his naked poverty was exposed to any threat. One last look around and the mighty angel lifted his wings and flew away.

All’s well.

But not quite, because on the floor of the manger, in the hay, there was still sitting a flea, fast asleep. That tiny monster was missed by the Angel Gabriel, of course one understands, since when has an Archangel anything to do with fleas!??

So, since that expected miracle has happened and the child lay there on the hay in the crib, so full of loveliness and so touchingly poor, the angels under the roof could hold no longer back, and being so enthralled, they flew around the manger just like a swarm of doves. Some smiled to the boy pleasant balsam smells and others plucked and moved the hay just right, so that not one string of hay was poking or pushing against the baby.


With these noises around the flea awakened in the hay. Straight away he became most frightful for his life, because he thought someone was after him, as usual! He drove around the manger and tried all his tricks and finally, exasperated in his greatest need, dived into the holy child’s ear.

“Forgive me” whispered the breathless flea, “but I cannot help it in any other way, they surely will kill me if they catch me! I’ll disappear shortly, your holy grace, just let me see, how.”

He eyed around and straight away had a plan. “Listen” he said “if I take all my strength and if you can hold still, then I could perhaps reach the bald spot on the holy Joseph, and from there I can catch the window sill a n d the door …..”
“Please jump!” said the Christ child inaudible “I will hold still!”

And so the flea jumped!

Unfortunately, it was just not avoidable, that he tickled the child just a little, as he put his legs under and crouched ready. In that moment Maria woke her betrothed from his slumber.

“Why, look now,” said Maria blissfully, “he smiles already!”