My favorite Christmas story (spelled without an X) isthe tale of the 4th Magi. I heard a very bare bones version, and filled in as best I could so if you have a better version or the original I'd love to hear it. : Behold the Christmas tree with its star, its tinsel, lights, ornaments, candy canes, Lionel train, and most importantly the Nativity. Now see the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepards, and the 3 Magi, for indeed the 4th never made it, or so he thought. His name was Simon and he carried as his gift, 3 precious gems. A ruby as red as the 1st robin of spring. A pearl as black as midnight in the deepest diamond mine in Africa. And the most perfectly shaped diamond to come from that very mine! Simon was on his way to meet with the other 3 when he came upon a wagon train that had been waylaid by bandits, its cargo gone, its passengers beaten and left for dead. Now the Magi were healers by nature, but Simon had nothing to offer. No medicine. No food. Not so much as an extra blanket. His gifts for the coming King had exausted everything he had. And surely to give up the Baby Jesus' gifts would be unthinkable. He was reluctantly passing the poor travelers by when a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere at all, told him "You know what you have to do." Well, this scared Simon because being a healer he had seen people that heard voices that no one else seemed to hear and knew the way they were treated. And yet it made sense. He went back to town and sold the ruby. It yielded enough money to buy medicne to heal the victims of their injuries, feed them, and repair their wagons. Unfortunately, this set him so far behind schedule that he missed his compatriots, and worse still, they were to arrange passage for the four of them. Well he set out walking towards the Star, when presently he came upon a colony of lepers. Once again a voice that seemed to almost come from within, assured him that he had to put these poor souls first, and so he sold the pearl for just enough to buy enough tannis leaf to heal the lepers and make them whole. Well this took a long time and also took a lot out of him. Many seasons passed before he could resume his journey, and when he finally reached Bethlehem, the Baby Jesus was gone! Alas, he would have given up then but for the tales of a healer the likes of which he and his fellows could only dream of being. He started to follow these stories, but always reached this town or that town, only to hear that He was here last month, last week, or even yesterday but he left and headed over the hills, across the sea, east, west, north, south. Simon was always just short of fulfilling his quest. One year turned to two. Two turned to ten to finally, thirty. Finally SImon found himself in Calvary, when he felt a tugging at the pouch he had carried all these years. It was gone! He turned and saw the thief running away. He gave chase but he couldn't catchhim. Finally he picked up a large stone and took aim at the back of the thief's head. He wound up and...... was just about to let go when he heard a voice, a voice he heard just twice before whisper "Let him go." SImon stood there, a broken man. Not only had he lost all three of his gifts for the King, but here he was , a healer, about to commit murder! He dropped the stone and burst into tears. If only he knew what to do next! His prayer was answered soon enough when he heard a cry. It was his calling to heal the sick and injured, and surely this was God giving him a sign. Well he got to where the cry came from and was devastated to see it was three men on crosses. The law forbid him to help. He was about to turn when he saw the inscription "King of the Jews" over the cross in the middle. Over thirty years he had searched and now, to just miss him one last time. He was about to turn and leave, when he heard a voice. A voice he had heard just three times before,and as clear as a bell it told him " My dear brother, you haven't missed me. You've been with me all my life." To Kat and Aine. thanks for starting this thread. I haven't thoight of this story in ages. Rich