The Christmas Donkey

Day Sixteen

The Christmas Donkey

by T. William Taylor

Illustrated by Andrea Brooks

1984

 

This beautifully illustrated book is about the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem.

He belonged to a Hebrew farmer who lived in Egypt. The farmer loved all his animals, but he loved this small, shaggy donkey best. He called him Madrikh, which means 'pathfinder.'

A  gruff man, named Rorka came to the farm one day buying animals. The farmer didn't want to sell Madrikh, so he asked a very high price for him. To his dismay, Rorka paid in full.

Rorka did not treat him well. When he was in Nazareth, a carpenter saw how he mistreated the donkey and asked to buy him from Rorka.

The carpenter took him home to show his wife. They took care of him. In a few weeks he was fat and happy and healthy again.

They had to journey to Bethlehem to pay taxes. The journey was long and when they reached Bethlehem, there was no place to stay. But, one innkeeper took pity on them.

Later that night, Madrikh woke up to see Mary holding a new baby boy. People came to visit the baby, but one night Joseph awoke suddenly and told Mary they had to flee. They hurried along the road out of Bethlehem. They didn't know which way to go, but Madrikh knew the way and took them to safety.

Posted by Janet F. Smart on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.