Once upon a time, in a town far away called Nazareth, there lived a little donkey. The donkey’s name was Twinkle… which sounds like a silly name for a donkey, doesn’t it? But Twinkle the Donkey had a star-shaped clump of hair, on his forehead. So everybody said that he looked like a twinkling star.
Twinkle was a lovely donkey. He was gentle and kind. He never kicked anybody with his big strong hooves. He never head-butted anyone with his big strong head. But there was one thing Twinkle did which used to annoy everyone around him. Every morning, as soon as the sun came up, Twinkle (who was a happy little donkey) used to feel the overwhelming urge to sing at the top of his voice.
Unfortunately, Twinkle’s voice didn’t sound very nice to the people around him. He would try to make music, but all he could manage was ‘Hee-haw! Hee-haw!’. Nobody liked Twinkle’s singing, especially while they were still asleep. So every morning, when Twinkle was singing to greet the dawn, all he would hear was the sound of sleepy people shouting ‘Be quiet, Twinkle!’.
‘Hee-haw!’
‘Be quiet Twinkle!’
‘Hee-haw!’
‘Be quiet Twinkle!’
One morning, however, something different happened. Twinkle felt the sun just starting to rise, and he woke up and stretched. He was just about to start singing…when he noticed that his owner, Joseph, was already standing in Twinkle’s stall.
‘Now, be quiet, Twinkle’, said Joseph, ‘there’s no time for singing today. We’ve got to go on a long journey – and you are going to need all your strength’.
Twinkle was a good little donkey, and he was happy to think that he was going on a journey. So, to please his master, he decided not to sing today.
Twinkle stood patiently while Joseph placed a warm blanket over Twinkle’s back, and then led him out of the barn to where Joseph’s fiancée, Mary, was waiting. Twinkle liked Mary. She had a kind face, and she always took the trouble to pat Twinkle gently on his neck, every time she saw him. In fact, Twinkle was so happy to see Mary, that he started to sing!
‘Hee-haw!’
‘Be quiet Twinkle!’
Mary got onto Twinkle’s back, and together with Joseph, they began their long journey. The travelled for many, many days. First, they went to the great city of Jerusalem…it was a beautiful sight. As they climbed over the last hill, and they saw Jerusalem laid out before them in the golden sunlight, Twinkle’s heart began to soar. He was so happy, that he began to sing!
‘Hee-haw!’
‘Be quiet Twinkle!’
After staying for a night in a stable in Jerusalem, Mary, Joseph and Twinkle set off for the rest of their journey. Twinkle heard Joseph explain that they had to travel to a town called ‘Bethlehem’, because that was where Joseph came from. Joseph explained to Mary that the rulers of their country had decided that everyone had to travel to their home town, in order to be registered.
Twinkle didn’t understand what any of that meant. All he knew was that he was having a bit of a holiday, and seeing new and exciting sights and smells. He liked new and exciting sights and smells. In fact, he liked them so much, that he began to sing!
‘Hee-haw!’
‘Be quiet Twinkle!’
Mary and Joseph and Twinkle travelled all day long. Twinkle heard Joseph say to Mary ‘Don’t worry, my dear, we’re nearly there’. But after hours and hours of travelling, it began to get dark. Twinkle didn’t care for the dark – he couldn’t see where all the lumps and bumps were on the road, and occasionally he stumbled over a rock or a stone. ‘Be careful, Twinkle’, he heard Joseph say, ‘You’re carrying a very precious cargo today’.
Twinkle wondered what Joseph meant by that. He already knew that Mary was a precious cargo. Why was Joseph reminding him of that? He wondered if it had something to do with the strange bump that Mary seemed to be carrying under her dress. Puzzled, Twinkle kept on plodding onwards, taking special care not to trip over.
When darkness had fallen, Twinkle, Mary and Joseph finally reached their destination. The town of Bethlehem appeared in the distance, its lights shining out over the desert. Twinkle was tired, but so happy that they were almost at the end of the journey. He was so happy, in fact, that do you know what he started to do…?
‘Hee-haw!’
‘Be quiet Twinkle!’
When they finally reached Bethlehem, Joseph started to look for somewhere for them all to stay. Twinkle didn’t really understand what was going on. They just seemed to be wandering from house to house, and the words ‘Sorry, no room’, ‘Sorry, no room’ kept floating out of doorways. Twinkle was getting so tired, that he could hardly put one leg in front of the other.
Finally, after wandering all over the town it seemed, Joseph led Mary and Twinkle into a barn. ‘Thank goodness!’ thought Twinkle, ‘I’m just about ready to fall over!’. In fact, as soon as Mary had got off Twinkle’s back, he sat down on the floor, in a warm pile of hay, and within seconds he was fast asleep!
Twinkle was so tired, that he didn’t notice anything that happened in the next few hours. He was so tired, that he actually began to snore…and a donkey’s snore is a funny thing. Every time he snored, Joseph would look over kindly at Twinkle, and say ‘Poor Twinkle’.
(Snore) ‘Poor Twinkle’.
(Snore) ‘Poor Twinkle’.
He didn’t see Mary giving birth to her new baby son.
(Snore) ‘Poor Twinkle’.
He didn’t see the star-light which suddenly shone bright above the stable.
(Snore) ‘Poor Twinkle’
– he didn’t see a group of shepherds who had come down off the hillside to see the new baby.
(Snore) ‘Poor Twinkle’.
But then, after a good night’s sleep, Twinkle began to feel the sun coming up. He felt its warmth, travelling across his body. He opened one eye. He opened the other eye…and then, he saw! He saw his beloved Mary holding a new baby in her arms.
Mary looked over at the Donkey. “Good morning, Twinkle’, she said. ‘You were tired, weren’t you? Look what you missed while you were asleep!’
Twinkle wandered over to Mary, and gently nuzzled the tiny baby asleep in her arms.
‘Do you know who this is, Twinkle?’ said Mary. ‘No, of course you don’t…you’re only a donkey! Well, let me tell you. Twinkle, let me introduce you to my son Jesus. Believe it or not, this tiny baby is going to save the whole world. God himself, your creator and mine, is born today within the tiny frame of this baby. This baby is going to turn the world upside down. Thousands of years from now, people will still repeat the words that this baby will say. This baby will inspire people, all over the world, to give up living for themselves, and to start living for other people, and for God. This baby is going to show the whole world that there is a better way of living than the way of violence and greed. This baby is going to inspire generations after generations to live for God.’
Twinkle really didn’t understand much of this. He was only a donkey, after all. But he knew something had changed. He knew that this was a special day, a happy day. And he felt that happiness welling up inside him. He sensed Mary’s happiness, and Joseph’s happiness. He even felt the happiness of the tiny baby. The happiness grew and grew inside him, until all he wanted to do was sing!
And this time, nobody told him to be quiet! This time, when Twinkle sang, Mary and Joseph just laughed and laughed. ‘Sing Twinkle!’ they cried! ‘Sing for the Son of God!’
Hee-haw!
Sing, Twinkle
Hee-haw!
Sing Twinkle
And that was the Donkey’s story!
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