The Stable Cat
by Dianna Brown

I crept warily along the topmost rafter of this stone stable. Something was wrong. My home was being invaded by strange beings. There was a young man, a young woman, and a very tired looking donkey. They did not belong here. Maybe the donkey, but not the other two. Especially the lady, she was very pregnant. Her face was pale and she was moaning under her breath.

I could smell blood.

Wait a minute, the man is taking the grain out of the manger and filling it with straw. The lady is moaning louder and she looks so afraid. Her hands are clenching and her whole body is tense. I smell fear.

What is that sound? I straightened my ears and twitched my tail. I don’t know why but I wanted to protect this lady. I jumped down from the rafters and went closer to check.

The lady was lying down. Sweat was forming on her lips. She was crying. This lovely young lady was hurting. I knew what was happening. I had been where she was. This pretty young lady was going to have a baby very soon. I lay next to her face and purred my reassurances that everything would be okay. Didn’t the lady know that the Creator would take care of her? I wished I could speak her language. I would have told her.

I could not understand why she was here, in my stable. I knew she wasn’t from Bethlehem. She smelled wrong. What sort of husband would bring such a sweet lady so far when she was like this? I hissed and arched my back at him. Stupid clod!

I licked the lady’s face. I would comfort her and protect her. There was this overwhelming need to do so.

It wasn’t long until I heard her baby mew. I looked at him. Tight curly hair, but no crying. His eyes were liquid pools of brown and seemed to see through me. I think I heard him tell me that I had done a good job taking care of his mother. He smiled at me.

His mother wrapped him in strips of cloth so tight he could not move and laid him on the soft, sweet hay in the manger. I went to stand guard. I knew the rats liked to play in the hay and they were not going to get anywhere near this child.

I settled down on the edge of the manger where I could watch the hay for vermin and the baby too. All at once these men came running into the stable wanting to know where the babe was. I hissed at them. They were not going to hurt this child. The kind lady scratched my back and told me not to be upset. That this was okay. She kept me on her lap and stroked me gently the whole time the men who smelled like sheep were there.

After the men had left, I again settled down on the edge of the manger. The next thing I knew it was morning. The couple was packing up to leave. The baby smiled at me and then they were gone.