24th December
Jesus’ Christmas Party written and illustrated by Nicholas Allan (taken from The Hutchinson Treasury of Children’s Literature, 1995). This story was first published in 1991 (Hutchinson Children’s Books).
Curl up with a story…
Well, we are finally at Christmas Eve and on the last day of the Landing Advent Calendar. Today’s offering comes from a compendium of stories and poems that I bought many years before I ever became a parent. I was going through a phase of collecting children’s literature at the time and this newly published collection fitted the bill to a tee. It is still in print (though scheduled for a reprint at present) and well worth buying.
This story is a humorous re-telling of The Nativity, from the point of view of a much put upon innkeeper:
There was nothing the innkeeper liked more than a good night’s sleep.
But that night there was a knock at the door.
“No room,” said the innkeeper.
“But we’re tired and have traveled through night and day.”
“There’s only the stable round the back. Here’s two blankets. Sign the register.”
So they signed it: “Mary and Joseph.”
But as I am sure everyone has worked out, there was to be no rest for the innkeeper that night. He became more and more exasperated with all of the comings and goings (including a request for an extra blanket) so that when he heard the noise the Heavenly Host were making….
“RIGHT – THAT DOES IT!”
So he got out of bed, stomped down the stairs, threw open the door, went round the back, stormed into the stable, and was just about to speak when -
Jesus’ Christmas Party
Now, I think you can probably guess how it all ended, but if not, then you will have to read the story for yourself. There is a recent edition of Nicholas Allan’s book available, published in 2011 which would be a nice addition to any Christmas library.
So it only remains for me to wish all of my regular readers (and anyone else who drops by The Landing) a very ‘Merry Christmas’ indeed!
I would love to know which pieces were your favourites – so do drop me a line to let me know..
