Dhubシチュー（「砂漠のシチュー」から）

 「キャーッ！」２０歳セイヤは、体が凍ったかの様に、指を振って向こうを指していた。ベオルンは長刀のなたを握って走って来た。見ると、７０センチのトカゲが葉っぱの下からのっそり出てくるではないか。いくら動物好きなセイヤでも、これは…。

　「なんだ。ただのアガマじゃないか。」（大トカゲ、最大７５センチ）ベオルンは笑ったけど、セイヤの顔を見るとすぐ真面目な表情に変えた。「ゴメン、ゴメン。慣れてないよね。ボク、父さんと一緒にここで育ったから、Dhubシチューは、よく食べてるけど、セイヤは違うからね。」４０歳のベオルン王子は、子供のころ、砂漠を思いっきり走り回っていた。

　ベオルンは、トカゲの方を向いて「今晩の献立は決まり。」と言って、握っていたマチェーテを使い始めた。今度悲鳴を上げるのは、アガマの方だった。アガマの太いしっぽの肉は特に美味しいと、ベオルンは言いながら調理した。野菜をいっぱい使ったスープ、肉を細かく切って、ベオルンの好きなスパイスを加えたら、ホラ、トカゲってわからないぐらい。

７０センチのとかげが出てきた

　暑い一日の仕事を終えて帰って来た６０歳ハタクのために準備されていたのは、トマトシチュー。お腹を空かせていたハタクは、食べながら、聞いた。「今晩のチキンシチュー、美味しいね。誰が作ったの？ベオルン？」

　「そうだよ。こんばんは僕が作ったよ。」ベオルンは、セイヤにウインクして、それしか言わなかった。それ以上の説明は、夜、寝る前でいい。

　だって、今日は、砂漠でアルキスマ・ダイヤモンド（トパーズのような準宝石）が見つかり、ハタクは袋いっぱい集めて、良い気分になっていたから。せっかくの喜びを、変なびっくりで、つぶしたくないよネ。

 

ＥＮＤ

＊12月は、イエス様の誕生を祝って（それはノンフィクショでしたね、ハレルヤ！）フィクションブログを休ませてもらいます。読者にも、豊かな祝福が与えられるように。メリークリスマス！　

HATH and his Father's Turtles (Boy Hathach)

  Remember Mel, Hath, and Beorn of “Desert Stew,” and I told you of the Shepherd Boy that Beorn told Mel about. Well, now there’s Hath. Hath and his father and the turtles. Can I tell you about that today?

  Well, you know that “Desert Stew,” the story began because Hath and Mel were curious about following a star. They got that way because of the way their mothers talked to them.

  Hath’s mother, on many warm summer nights, just stood in the backyard with him, looking up at the sky. She’d point up at the North Star, show Hath how to find the “Great Bear” star, and from there, find the “Little Bear” star, line them up….

  I don’t know which Hath liked more, the stars, or just being with his mother. It was the one time in the day it was quiet; he had his mother all to himself; he didn’t have to study; and his mother was all done with her chores too.

  But one morning, something really exciting happened. Hath’s father asked if he’d like to come with him during the day! It will be good study, he said to Hath’s mother. That day, the topic was about what made good leaders, and he wanted Hath to hear. So Hath went, excited to see the most important men of the country discuss the future leadership of the Great Babylonian Empire.

  But when they got to the royal palace, Hath’s father didn’t go in but kept walking. But wasn’t he going to the lecture hall? The masters met out in the gardens, he was told. So Hath followed his father out to the pond.

  His father sat down on a big boulder and started calling out, “Homer! Aristarcus! Wise mentors of the Pond, I come with my son today!”

  First one, then another, then another…until maybe ten turtles appeared and slowly moved towards Hath’s father. No other human being showed up. In fact, if someone had come, the turtles would’ve run away. They made sure no one else was around—no one besides Hath, that is--before moving closer.

First one, then another turtle appeared and moved towards Hath’s father.

  Hath slowly realized…so these turtles are the ones his father said he met in the gardens…these are “the Masters”!

 “Wise mentors of the Pond, I bring you my son today—please, come meet Hathach, the joy of my heart!” You might remember Hath, expecting his father, Romulus, to meet with the most important men of the nation, was surprised to see him come to the castle garden and introduce him to the turtles! He had called them “the Masters” and “Wise Mentors of the Pond”.

  Hath’s father looked so strong when he talked about his son like that. He shined. And Hath never noticed before, he looked old too.

  The turtles looked at Hath. And although they were just looking, to Hath, it seemed they were sending him smiles. Romulus seemed to get it right away.

  “Hath, that’s what I wanted you to see today. The most important thing for tomorrow’s leaders is what you just felt. Gentleness.”

  Hath had seen many important people up front heading things. But…”Gentle”? That had never been a word he had ever thought of when thinking of a leader. But Hath heard Romulus relate what real leaders are:

Gentle People – It’s not people on lower levels reaching up for higher, greater positions, and some people have this mistaken idea of greatness; it’s not us reaching up for the stars as much as the stars bending down to us. Real leaders bend down and lift up, he realized.

The turtles in the pond told Hath’s father of the following:

l A Bear that saved a drowning crow (Aristarcus told this story.)

l 4 Lions that guarded a little girl from abusive men (Homer told this one.)

l A Hippopotamus family that delivered a zebra--from a crocodile (Anthony told this one.)

l A Turtle seems to have rescued a chick from a cat, but that story is unclear (Pliny wasn’t sure about this.)

Real leaders are also:

Genuine People – They really, really want to be with you. “I like you” isn’t just to get you to like them. They might not be attractive—no doubt, turtles are not like elegant white heron, graceful silk carp, or flashy award-winning birds, but they will stay loyal no matter what.

And real leaders are:

Grateful People – They don’t just use people to do things and then forget them, but always say “Thank You”, Hath’s father said. Turtles never forget kindnesses. (Actually, most animals adhere to this rule.)

And the thing that impressed Hath was, when they were going home, it was the turtles that sent or nodded “Thank-you” to Hath for coming! Wait…wasn’t he supposed to be thanking them?

  “See Hath?” his father smiled. “A good leader is the first to say ‘thank you.’”

  What else happened at the pond that day? Who knows. It’s just that when father and son got home that evening, right away, Hath thanked his mother for all the nights of star-gazing. Of course, Biyu was surprised and happy.

  Hath realized he didn’t want to go with his father just to meet important men. He really wanted to be with his father. And Romulus had been trying to keep Hath’s heart warm. Too many adults, spend time with people only for the benefits they will bring.

  Romulus and Biyu didn’t want their son to become that kind of person. And Romulus’ wise pond advisors told him to bring his child along from time to time to build the father-son bond.

  Perhaps that’s why when Hath found a “human chick with trembling lips”, young enough to be his grandson, he bent down to protect him. 

BEORN'S ANIMAL EXPLANATIONS

 These are some of the talks Beorn gave to his friends Hathach and Melzar during their many rest stops at desert wells. (Please bear in mind, this is Beorn talking with an old Babylonian mathematician and young astrologer, not with two Bible Scholars.)

 IT’S IN THERE

“A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” (Prov. 12:10) Beorn quoted from the sacred writings.

  Melzar was surprised. He thought the sacred writings were only about Creator God and humans.

  Beorn admitted he had been surprised too. “It was actually a result of looking carefully at the sacred writings and seeing how important animals were to Creator God that made Beorn change the way he looked at animals,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” Hathach and Melzar had to hear. Beorn looked over at the camels, who were busy gulping down their water at the well, and decided he had about 15 minutes.

 

1     BIRDS and FISH were CREATED FIRST

Beorn explained from the beginning, if they wanted to listen, when Creator God made the heavens and the earth; he made the birds and fish a full day before humans. He wanted to make sure they were perfect before bringing man on the scene. Man thinks he’s important and animals are just an afterthought, but they were much more than that. If you think about it; it’s the human who has graying hair; you never see a graying bird.

 

2      NOAH’S ARK

  (At one watering hole during journey across the desert):

And when man got so wicked in his everyday life, Creator God wanted to destroy the whole earth with a flood, But He wanted to save the animals.

It is recorded in the sacred writings that He had a person named Noah build this huge thing called an ark. Other than whales, fish, things that swam in the water, Creator God gathered two of every sort of animal and had them get in that ark, before sending rain nonstop for 40 days and 40 nights to flood the earth and destroy mankind. The sacred writings say that Noah and his family of 8 were the only humans who believed in Creator God to get in the ark with the animals. They didn’t steer, just floated with them.

I know it sounds unreal that they would’ve stayed afloat that long, but that’s what it says. It was a huge, three-story craft with one window at the top.

  “Well,” Hathach interrupted here. “What were the dimensions of the ark?”

  Beorn hurriedly checked the sacred writings. “It says…length: 300 cubits, width: 50 cubits, height: 30 cubits.”

  Hathach, our mathematician-scientist, wrinkled his brow, then smiled. “Those measurements make that ark practically impossible to tip over, Beorn. It wouldn’t have taken seasoned shipmen to keep that ark afloat; rather, some real work to sink it.”

  “And I’m thinking Beorn,” Hathach continued; “I don’t think there’s any problem thinking about how that ark stayed afloat that long. You’ve got a much bigger problem, I think, in figuring out how all the animals on board were fed all that time.”

  Melzar piped up here. “But Hathach, I thought about that one already. I got the answer from my pet turtles at home.”

  “Turtles?”

  “They hibernate.”

  “So do bears.”

  “So do most animals.” Melzar said, smiling. “That’s just it. Often, in natural catastrophes such as famine or drought, Creator God simply sends wisdom to animals to conserve body energy and hibernate. If it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, it would be the natural thing for animals in the ark to go into deep sleep. Most wouldn’t even need to eat.”

  “That would explain it,” Hathach said to a beaming Melzar. “But Beorn, you said the ark had a window. If they just floated & didn’t do any steering, why did they need a window?”

  Here, Beorn told about when it stopped raining, how Creator God had showed them, through the raven and dove flying out that window, when it would be safe to leave the ark:

On the first try, the raven came back, showing there was absolutely no place to land. Noah sent out a dove too (ravens are hardy birds; their finding footholds doesn’t mean it’s safe for other animals). But the dove came back to the ark; so they waited a week and sent it out again.

This time, it came back with an olive leaf between its beaks. They waited another week, and…

This time, the dove didn’t come back.

   Noah, his wife, and his three sons and their wives, and all the animals left the ark and inhabited the freshly-washed world Creator God had prepared. It had been 40 days and 40 nights of rain, and 12 months of waiting for the flood waters to recede for the soles of their feet to feel solid land under them once more.

The first thing they did was stop and say Thank You to Creator God for protecting them.

And do you know what Creator God did? He set a bow in the sky called a rainbow. Whenever you see those shining colors in the sky after rain, remember our Loving Creator God is saying,

“I think you’re important. I care about you and am watching over you. And I will never again send a worldwide flood to destroy the earth.”

Beorn looked around and realized the camels had finished drinking but had made no noise, had been sitting quietly at their side so they too could hear the end of the story!

“I think we’d better get moving,” he said smiling, “and go as far as we can before the end of the day.” And the three men mounted their camels.

 

        3      JONAH & THE BIG FISH

One thing Beorn noticed when Creator God mentioned animals in the sacred writings was the contrast with how they responded to Him, compared to humans. Yesterday, I mentioned a large vessel called the ark and animals who rode inside it and were saved from a flood. Well, today, I’ll talk about another ship and a large animal—a fish this time.

  Beorn read about a man called Jonah. One day, Creator God told him to go to a city called Nineveh. Jonah didn’t want to go there—they were very wicked people--and got on a ship to go in the opposite direction. Then he went to sleep.

  Creator God got a strong wind blowing in the sea. The men on the ship were used to tempests, but this was no usual storm, and they started throwing everything overboard to lighten the boat, were afraid for their lives. The captain noticed Jonah was asleep down in the hold.

  “Hey, what are you doing? Don’t you know we might all die?!” Jonah was told about the storm. He told the men it was because he was running away from Creator God.

  “Throw me into the ocean, and the tempest will stop,” he said. They thought he was crazy. At first, they tried to row back to land and let him off, but they couldn’t. Finally, they threw Jonah into the water, which got calm right away.

  Creator God saw Jonah go down into the water. But when he hit bottom, his hair got tangled in the seaweed, and it looked like he would drown.

  Creator God told a huge fish to get Jonah in one mouthful. It wasn’t to eat him; that fish had a special chamber inside so that Jonah could breathe! Do you think the fish said he didn’t wanna and swam in the opposite direction? No; he did as he was told; he freed Jonah from that seaweed, and released the seawater from his body so that Jonah could breathe again.

 

  Then it says in the sacred writings, for three whole days, that fish listened to Creator God Who told it to keep swimming with Jonah still inside its stomach! Uck! But that fish obeyed. It was during this time Jonah and Creator God had a heart-to-heart talk. Jonah knew God had given him new life and told Him he’d do anything He wanted him to do.

  “It’s okay now,” Creator God told the fish; and he threw up Jonah onto the dry land. Altho’ Jonah had gotten on a ship headed in a direction opposite of Nineveh, that fish, for three days, swam all the way back this way and up rivers the ship never would’ve been able to travel. God pointed him in the right direction, and Jonah walked to Nineveh.

  The people of Nineveh listened to what Jonah said about Creator God, and repented of their wicked ways. God forgave everything they had ever done. God forgave Jonah for his disobedience, too.

  Beorn realized, after reading this story, that the one who obeyed perfectly, the one he wanted to give a medal to, was not Jonah, not the people of Nineveh, but the one that didn’t get any attention: the fish!

 

END

DESERT STEW Simplified:

 1 Three Friends

Hathach, Melzar, & Beorn, traveled west across a desert riding camels. They followed a big, moving star. It was Hathach, 60—we’ll call him Hath--who first came up with the idea of the trip. He and Melzar—we’ll call him Mel--his favorite servant who he loved like a grandson, looked at stars every night, and they had seen the moving one then. But the strange, black prince Beorn said he wanted to come too!

You never know who you’ll end up trusting your life with. Be good to whoever you’re with right now! 

2 Home is where...they’re glad you’re there

What Hath and Mel didn’t know was that Beorn grew up in the desert. When he came, he wasn’t wearing royal robes but nomadic clothes, bringing veils for Hath and Mel for the sandstorms he knew they’d face. Later, by giving help for flash floods, finding water holes, preparing food (like giant lizard), making camp, it seemed Beorn was more alive in the wilderness than in the castle. No wonder he wanted to come.

Hath and Mel sure were glad he did！

3 Things turned upside down

How did Beorn, 40 yrs. old, a former nomad, end up becoming a prince? His father, a nomad, died, and Beorn became a slave cleaning washrooms. One day, an officer’s cart overturned outside near the cesspool where Beorn worked, and the man’s daughter was thrown onto the boulder in the center of the pool. She was unhurt, but the only way to get her out was for someone to wade in through the muck and carry her out on his shoulders, which Beorn did. He was made “Prince” of a barren land far away.

 

They called it promotion altho’ it looked more like they were just getting him off their consciences.

4 Tassel-tipped Fear

  Mel understood. He was afraid of most people. He liked Hath, tho'. Mel was already 20, but he felt like a little boy with Hath, who never forced him to talk about anything. Like the other night, when that creature appeared. It looked like a kitty cat but was as big as a mountain lion and has tassles on the tips of its ears. Mel and his camel saw it, but Hath didn't make him say any more than he wanted. The animal came back the next night and ended up staying after Mel tamed it. What had been a scary-looking beast became Mel's best friend the rest of the trip.

Sometimes the things we think we’re most afraid of end up being our biggest helps.

5 You can find blessings...if you look hard enough

  One hot day when the sun was blazing, Mel was having fun finding critters in the shade but screamed when he found a giant lizard (two-feet long!) Beorn cooked it for dinner; Hath thought it was chicken stew. During the day, Hath gathered rocks in the desert. Not “just rocks”, but these were “Arabian Diamonds”, worth a lot to merchants from the East. Even being told later what that “chicken” looked like when it was alive couldn’t erase the secret smile from his heart.

  A desert looks like nothing but hot sand; but it brought new friends, new food, and new finds!

 

6 Sometimes you wonder what is happening!

  They were almost in Jerusalem when the star disappeared all of a sudden—was the journey at an end? No; they would go to the castle and ask where a special baby was born. But Mel didn’t like people, didn’t like the idea of going to the castle; but if the Creator said go, he would. Also, the people in the city would be afraid of a lion, so they had to put Tassie on the end of a rope. But Tassie had always been free, and Mel hated to do this to her—but again, if this is the way the Creator wanted it, he would obey.

  Sometimes, we don’t get the full picture, just do what we’re told and find out later why it was for the best.

 

7 Mel Makes a Trade

  Mel stayed outside with the animals when Hath and Beorn went into the castle. When they came out with king, he was with the children who came to see Tassie. The children were scared of “mean old Herod”; but Herod actually had a lot of health problems and needed a friend. Tassie sensed this and nuzzled up to Herod, purring like a kitten. “Look, he likes you…Your Highness!” Herod smiled and offered to trade special incense for the cat. Beorn strongly urged Mel to take the incense, so he did. (Later, Beorn explained it was Frankincense—the smell Mel loved and remembered as “mother’s smell”—too expensive to get ever again.)

  Mel hadn’t wanted to tie up Tassie, but that’s what made it possible for him to get the Frankincense he’d always dreamed of. The Creator had it waiting here at the castle!

 

8 Hath Makes a Sale

While Mel was trading Tassie with Herod, Hath saw some oriental merchants, and hurried to sell them his "diamonds" for gold. He met his friends at the edge of town; the three continued their journey.

Go southeast to Bethlehem, Beorn and Hath had been told at Herod's castle. Mel told them the King had told him to come back after they found the baby. They couldn't make it before dark, but that was OK, because the Star appeared in the sky again.

9 Beorn Makes a Discovery

To Bethlehem, the Creator had sent a special sign of love, in the form of a baby named Jesus. Mel knew it was this Creator Who gave him the present of Frankincense and gave it back to Jesus as his gift of love. Hath wanted to thank the Creator for: showing him the desert jewels as well as the oriental merchants, giving him his friends, guiding all the way…and wanted to give him all his mind. He made his gift to Him a casket of Gold.

Beorn cried he had nothing to offer; but then remembered when he helped that little girl, her mother had given him a small bottle and told him to keep it; to sell it only when he really had no other choice. Hath saw Beorn had been given expensive Myrrh (Chinese doctors knew it was perfect medicine for mothers who had just given birth); Beorn ended up making that his gift.

  Sometimes, when you help others, you don’t know how it will come back later to help you when you most need it.

10 Creator protects through Dreams, through People

  Herod had told Mel to return to the castle when they found the baby, but they were warned in a dream not to go back so decided to continue west to Egypt, to stay there for awhile before returning to their country. As it turns out, Herod wanted to kill baby Jesus and was using them just to find him.

The Creator told Joseph in a dream to take the family to Egypt too, so they caught up with the three who had just left. The three used everything they had learned in their desert travels to protect baby Jesus. Hath’s knowledge of stars and understanding of people’s feelings, Mel’s way with animals—even the wild, dangerous ones, and Beorn’s life in the desert and ease with Egyptian ways—all seemed to be sent straight from Creator God.

  Whatever experiences are sent our way, we need to learn our lessons well the first time around. The next time may be for someone else’s life!

11 EPILOGUE

  Historically, it is known these three never went back to Herod. Herod slaughtered all the babies down south ages 0-2, having no idea that Jesus was in Egypt. This is factual. Sad, but historical.

  The following isn’t fact; it’s just what imagination put together:

• Mel – worked with children, elderly, and animals, avoided the public.

• Hath – taught until he died, but no one knows details.

• Beorn – stayed in Egypt with Jesus, Joseph, Mary for a few years; came back after Herod died, and saw the family up to Galilee; then returned south to his birthplace in the Wilderness of Paran.

Besides, the most important thing isn’t that these wise men existed or what they did, but that Jesus came. The real story started there!

END

12 HE LIVES

 “Melzar, what did you say about your dream about Herod and the castle?”

  Melzar’s lips trembled a little, then pressed tightly together. Hathach saw the old Melzar right away—this was not good. Going back to Herod’s place would open the scars of trauma.

  “We are not going back to Herod;” Hathach announced. “Yahweh has sent a dream warning us; we cannot go back.” Almost visibly, Melzar relaxed. “We’ll go on west to Egypt—where Beorn looks like a native anyway—and get on a ship back across the Great Sea to go home.”

“By sea?” Melzar’s eye grew wide.

“I don’t want to chance meeting Herod’s men scouting the desert between us and Babylon. Do you, Melzar?” Hathach had quickly, surely, thought through this one.

And when he looked over at Beorn, —since it was to Beorn Herod had spoken—it looked like Beorn had been wanting an excuse not to go to the castle; he was already turning his camel around.

Hathach rode up to Beorn. “That was simple enough. I expected you to give me a hard time—at least ask why we weren’t going to Herod’s.”

Beorn looked straight ahead, and with a smile answered, “Melzar.”

“Melzar?”

Beorn nodded, pat his camel beneath him. before continuing. “He went to the castle--altho’ at first he didn’t want to—and found Frankincense. He tied up Tassie even though he thought it was cruel, and that led to selling him--well, that was unthinkable—but…”

Here, Beorn had to stop his camel. “He told me that was the only way to get a gift worth giving the King of all his heart. He said the smartest thing was to do whatever Yahweh said.”

The men rode on in silence.

The silence was broken by Melzar’s cry: “Someone’s coming!”

Herod’s men? Already?

But no, as the three strained their eyes, they could see it was not a group of soldiers but a man and wife…Joseph and Mary!

Joseph explained to Hathach, “I too had a dream last night, warning me to flee from Herod, telling me to take the family to Egypt. Last night, you didn’t say where you were going, but I was wondering if you…if this gentleman”—he said, looking towards Beorn—“I am sorry if I am wrong, but if he might be…”

The three couldn’t help smiling at Joseph’s embarrassment. “Quite all right. Many people think I am an Egyptian. And we are headed there anyway.” Beorn told them.

“Won’t you join us? I think Herod’s men might be after us too, so we’ve no time to lose,” Hathach offered.

“Yahweh has sent you for us,” Joseph said, and Melzar smiled happily as he and Mary with her little bundle joined the group.

That “little bundle” gave new life to our Babylonian caravan; everything the men learned from their desert travels, they now threw into getting Jesus safely to Egypt.

Hathach showed surprising leadership, knowledge of the stars, and even hidden medical knowledge the rest of that trip. Yahweh had told them to keep baby Jesus safe, and that seemed to give life to anything Hathach did and make him a new man.

Melzar rode up to where Mary was and spoke kindly with her then played with the baby. Between watering holes, Melzar looked after animals—thirsty, tired, or hurt. And Joseph and Mary couldn’t get over how he seemed to understand them—even the wild, dangerous ones.

Beorn, seemed to know everything about desert life. Sandstorms, wildlife, finding water, various danger/beauty… Joseph and Mary had no way of knowing he was a former nomad from Arabia. They found out he wasn’t an Egyptian; he was a prince… from Babylon? Now they were totally confused. But Beorn was just the person to help the family set up living once they got to Egypt.

When Herod realized he was “stood up” by the wise men, he got furious. Tassie had died of a strange disease, leaving nothing to encourage Herod to be warm or temperate. He ordered a slaughter of male babies 0-2 yrs. old. But the life he was really after—Jesus--was alive and well out in Egypt!

The wise men, saw YAHWEH as a Living, Powerful, Wise, Gentle, Loving God; He had sent His Son Jesus in the form of a little baby so that we could bond with Him. They loved Him and had to let others know: “Yahweh wants to be on a first-name basis with YOU.” (Yes, even eunuchs or foreigners; it doesn’t matter what has happened to you or whether others say you belong; He wants to know you!)

Melzar bonded best with children or older folk. And he ended up doing a lot of simple “goodwill” things people today don’t do anymore since they’re not tied into neat group activities. Melzar was never a society person from the beginning, but moved around by himself in the shadows; that never really changed.

Hathach found that his love-bond made him teach. Teaching must never be just to stand for truth but be burning with passion and adoration for Him Who is Truth. (ICor.16:22). As with the Apostle Paul, Hathach too, said, “The love of Christ constrains us” (IICor.5:14) to do all we do. It is known Hathach taught until he died, but no one knows anything more specific than this.

Beorn, bonded with Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in Egypt for a few years. Seeing Herod was dead and they were all right, they returned to Palestine. There, they said goodbye, and the family went up north to Galilee, while Beorn went down south to the Wilderness of Paran.

Back in Babylon: Arla, Beorn’s mother, had been called in for an experimental surgery. Because she was “just a slave” and she “did not have a family”, she was seen as a life worth risking, a human guinea pig. However, when she was told about what the doctors wanted to do, she was told she would be given her freedom after the operation, even if it failed. To be totally honest, doctors thought the patient would die if it failed, but they didn’t tell the patient this. However, she survived the surgery with only the temporary loss of her eyesight; so she was given her freedom as promised and sent to her homeland, the Wilderness of Paran.

Beorn, when he reached his birthplace, saw an elderly woman dismount a camel in front of his home. It couldn’t be…could it? Voice trembling, he said, “Arla?”

Dare she believe her ears? That was Beorn’s voice! Always the strong one--she nodded, “Hairoi!”

END

This is the end of the story, but tomorrow’s Christmas post will include a simplified version of the entire story for those who already have read this as well as an epilogue to the story.

Thank you for reading all of this. It was originally written for my sisters or some close friends from college, who have already heard all the stories about Daniel, Esther and Shushan, anything to do with the Babylonian captivity, David’s encounter with the lion, Naboth’s vineyard, Christmas and the slaughter of the babies, Moses and “What is that in your hand?” etc…, so I didn’t retell a lot of those stories here. It wasn’t originally going to be put on a blog!

Following posts are related to "Desert Stew" but not necessarily part of the story nor must be read for the story to be understood. They're just extra.

ALMOST FORGOT: MERRY CHRISTMAS. Isn't it unthinkable a God of Heaven would find a way to make us His children?! That is astounding yet wonderful! HALLELUJAH!

11 Slave's Gift

 On the way to Bethlehem, Hathach thought, “Me—a foreigner—and Yahweh still chose to deal with me! No matter what others say, This Yahweh will be MY KING!” He felt in his clothes for the sack carrying the gold the merchants had given him for the “diamonds” he had been able to gather.

Melzar was beside himself with happiness. “But I never dreamed that I would see a great God get a lowly eunuch his mother’s smell—how gentle Yahweh is!”

Beorn felt he had failed the group. He hadn’t gotten them to Bethlehem before dark. But perhaps the innkeepers wouldn’t be too cross about travelers wanting to stop in at night.

As the camel caravan plodded over the sand dunes, and they saw the town of Bethlehem…the King Star shone brightly in the sky again.

It was Melzar--whose mother had given a love for astrology--who saw it first. “Beorn, the Star! The Star!”

And Hathach, knew that stars, which were actually far, far away, had to be guided by a powerful God in the Heavens for one to look to the human eye like a bright light moved across the night sky then stopped over one house.

“Quick, Beorn,” he said; “what were you reading in the sacred writings when you saw the King Star from your window in Babylon?”

“I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near; there shall come a Star out of Jacob” (Num.24:17)

“It is your God Yahweh Who has sent us His Messiah;” Hathach said. And while his mouth kept moving, his eyes never once left the bright spot in the sky.  “And as a sign for us mortals, He has sent a Star.”

In one smooth move, he took out a big sack carrying what the merchants had given him. “Yahweh is MY KING; and HE WILL HAVE ALL MY GOLD.” To an open-mouthed Beorn, brief stories were told of how Hathach gathered gems in the desert then sold them in Jerusalem.

“And Yahweh is MY KING!” Melzar shouted, not to be undone. And, as if throwing the words out real hard, laughing and crying at the same time, he said, “and HE WILL HAVE ALL MY FRANKINCENSE!”

No matter what his friends said, Melzar would not be talked out of it. The God of the Universe Who loved, thought of, and even spoke of eunuchs in the sacred writings--why, Melzar couldn’t give Him anything less.

The star led the foreigner, eunuch, slave-turned-prince to the very house where their greatest hopes lived, smiling at Mary and Joseph as they played with Him.

The wise men knocked at the home, hardly daring to believe they had found the King, then they went in to see Him.

“Oh Mother! I have seen him! I have seen him!” Beorn cried out, but then he began to really cry. He felt Hathach and Meltzar had gifts for the King but he did not; he had nothing to give, there had been no time for him to get anything. Then he noticed a lump in his things.

The time after he had saved that officer’s girl, the mother had given him a small bottle, told him to keep it and sell it only when he really needed money. It would bring in much, she had said. Beorn had forgotten about it until now. What was it? He reached for it, held it up to the light.

Hathach, our scientist-mathematician, saw the shape of the container Beorn had picked up and let out a gasp.

“Beorn!...Where did you get that? You have a vial of …MYRRH!”

    Myrrh. When a tree is wounded, it “bleeds” a resin which is then used to make the base of many medicines. For a man who’s been wounded but wants to give every bit of his soul to Yahweh yet desperately needs His healing and freeing, could there have been a better gift to offer? (Myrrh. Expensive medicine, and Hathach may’ve known, as the Chinese do, myrrh can purge stagnant blood from the uterus so is ideal to give new mothers.)

“What is that you have in your hand…”　(Ex.4:2) Beorn said under his breath.

“What?” Hathach asked. “I can’t hear you.”

“Nothing. It’s just that when we come before Yahweh and tell him we can’t do something great, He often says, ‘I don’t want you to do something great; just give me what you have in your hand.’ That’s what He said to a prophet called Moses.””

“So, YAHWEH IS MY KING too, and I WILL GIVE HIM WHAT IS IN MY HAND: MYRRH!”

    Yahweh had given Beorn the gift he was to give back to Him...and Beorn didn’t even know it!