I've got a special fondness for that morbid third king; my family, having three children, gave each of us a verse to solo on, and since I was the troublemaker and Dark Shadows fan, I much preferred the gloom to sweetness&light.

As an adult, I'm probably even fonder of it. Christ's death, in all its physical gore, is an integral part of his story. As the final verse sums it up, "Glorious now behold him arise/King and God and Sacrifice." Even at the time of his birth, the Kings bring him three prophetic gifts.

Mind you, I'm not particularly Christian myself, but I admire the tight-knit symbols of a good story.

(Of course, one could always weave in the ?Second Shepherd's Play? and write a fourth verse about the deep prophetic meaning of giving him a tennis ball...)

(Sounds rather like Tom Holt's GRAILQUEST (I believe that's the book) where an ancient one-eyed god attended by wolves and ravens got invited to the birth, and not bothering to come up with a suitable gift, gave the holy child a pair of old socks. For this offense, he is doomed to give Yule gifts to children forever, with the hung stockings a cruel reminder of his curse. He is, of course, attended by his ancient warcaptain Radulf, who stalks the night skies like the Wild Hunt, with his nose burned red by his battle against the Fire Giants, and the remnants of tinsel glittering coldly on his horns.)