The Friendly Beasts a 12th Century French carol
Jesus, our brother, kind and good,
Was humbly born in a stable rude,
And the friendly beasts around Him stood;
Jesus, our brother, kind and good.
“I”, said the donkey, shaggy and brown”
I carried His mother up hill and down;
I carried her safely to Bethlehem town;
I”, said the donkey, shaggy and brown.
“I”, said the cow, all white and red,
“I gave Him my manger for His bed;
I gave Him my hay to pillow His head;
I”, said the cow, all white and red.
“I”, said the sheep with curly horn,
“I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm.
He wore my coat on Christmas morn.
I”, said the sheep with curly horn.
“I”, said the dove from the rafters high,
“Cooed Him to sleep, that He should not cry,
We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I.
I”, said the dove from the rafters high.
And every beast by some good spell,
In the stable dark was glad to tell
Of the gift he gave Immanuel,
The gift he gave Immanuel.
Christina G. Rossetti’s A Christmas Carol (In the Bleak Midwinter)
In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty
Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part, –
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.
