One dark night, when the South wind moaned across the dusty plains, a little donkey was born. He was not a very pretty little donkey. Indeed, as donkeys go, he was plum ugly. He had bright blue eyes, and his ears were so long that they flopped over at the front. To his mother and father he was perfect.

They gazed proudly at him as he lay there in the sand. They decided to call him Hottensius.

One wise old donkey, which had lived longer than any of the other donkeys on the plains, wandered over to look at him. "Hm" he said, and turned his watery old eyes up to the dark sky above. For a moment he stood there in silence. Then looking down at Hottensius again, he began to speak. "One day, my little donkey," he said, "you will be the greatest donkey in the world. Before that day comes you will be mocked and abused. But mark my words. In time, donkeys and men alike will speak your name and will envy you."

So saying, he turned away and wandered off into the darkness.

There were other donkeys around when the old one had spoken who had heard what he had said. They had looked at Hottensius with his bright blue eyes and his long ears flopping over at the front, and they had begun to laugh.

At first they had laughed quietly, and then more loudly until they were all laughing as hard as they could. If you have ever heard donkeys laughing you will know that it is not a pleasant sound. They screech and haw worse than a line of cars tooting their horns in a traffic jam. It is, without doubt, a terrible and terrifying noise.

To Hottensius it was something even worse, for he knew that they were laughing at him. As he drew close to his mother a large tear rolled out of one of his bright blue eyes and trickled gently down his nose.

His mother nuzzled him. "Don't cry, little Hottensius," she said. "They are jealous of you; that's all."

His father trotted over to the other donkeys. "Laugh now," he shouted above the noise, "because one day my son will turn out to be the greatest donkey ever born on these plains. One day you will be proud to have known him."

But the other donkeys just kept laughing, throwing back their heads and braying to the skies.

And so it was that the first sound that Hottensius learnt to recognize in this world was the sound of donkeys laughing at him. He closed his eyes and made himself a promise.

One day he would be the greatest donkey in the world.

*******

As Hottensius grew up on the hot dusty plains, time did not improve his looks. His eyes remained bright blue, and if anything his ears grew even longer. His head increasingly became too large for his body.

It was hardly surprising that he didn't enjoy playing with the other donkeys of his own age. They made fun of him.

They would grasp his droopy ears between their teeth and tweak them. They would run round him in circles until he felt quite dizzy and had to sit down. They were forever teasing him about his long name. They all had short ones like Jose or Pepe or Maria. They called him "portentous Hottensius", which he hated; or "Tensy" for short, which was even worse.

His mother and father watched all this with sorrow. Although they knew their son was special there was nothing they could do to help him; except over his name. They agreed it was too long and they decided to shorten it.

From that day on Hottensius was known as Hotty.

Shortening his name helped a bit, but still the other little donkeys teased him about his looks. To make things worse he wasn't even very good at games, and the more the other donkeys laughed at him the shyer and more silent Hotty became.

Eventually, when the Donkey School was over for the day and the other little donkeys went out to play, Hotty took to going off on his own. Across the dry dusty plains he would wander gazing at the blue hills and the mountains that lay in the distance beyond.

One day when the sun was especially hot and he was sitting looking at the hills an idea came to him. I am ugly and useless, he thought. When I am old enough I will go to those hills and climb them. I will leave these plains forever and make a life of my own.

He told no one of his plans, not even his mother and father. It was his secret and, strengthened by it, he let the months roll by. No longer did the laughter of the other little donkeys trouble him.

For Hotty knew now in his heart that his real life had not yet begun.

*******

And so the months passed by and many moons grew full and waned again in the dark skies above the plains.

One morning Hotty woke up with a strange feeling inside him. To begin with he didn't know what it was. He wondered if he was ill, but he wasn't sneezing or coughing; he just felt funny.

As the day wore on, and school finished, Hotty set out as usual into the plains towards the distant hills. As he looked at them the feeling inside him grew. He thought he heard the sound of voices. In fact it was the noise of flies buzzing around his head, but in some strange way the buzzing was talking to him. "Today", it seemed to say, "Today".

He looked again at the blue and distant hills, and suddenly he knew what the feeling was. The time had come for him to set out on his own.

For a moment he was frightened until he remembered the promise he had made to himself that one day he would be the greatest donkey in the world.

As he turned and began to walk back towards the donkey camp he knew that he would be seeing his mother and father for the last time. He couldn't tell them because they would never let him go. But he had to let them know somehow so that they would not think that he had simply disappeared.

On a flat piece of sand outside the camp where he knew his father always took his morning walk, Hotty began to trace letters in the dusty ground with his hoof.

THE HILLS CALLED. HAVE HAD TO GO. LOVE, HOTTY, he wrote. And then, as an afterthought, he added two kisses, one for each of them. He knew his father would see it in the morning after he was gone.

He went on home as if nothing had happened. He had his supper, kissed his mother and father goodnight, and went to bed.

When it was quite still, and all the donkeys in the camp were fast asleep, Hotty climbed quietly to his feet, crept out of the camp and, without looking behind him, set off into the darkened plains.

He couldn't see the hills, but he aimed for where he knew they were. His heart was thumping inside his chest as he walked, partly from excitement and partly because he was frightened. For the first time in his life Hotty was totally alone.

When the sun rose over the horizon he had already walked many miles. He could now see the hills in front of him, and with a sinking heart he realized that they looked as far away as ever. He gritted his teeth and kept walking through the day and into the coming evening.

By now he was hungry and thirsty. As luck would have it he saw some green shrubs and palm trees not far off. As he got near he found a pond of muddy water and, making for the edge, began to drink.

As he did so a very strange thing happened. The face of an old man appeared in the water in front of him. At first Hotty thought it was a reflection. He looked quickly around but there was nobody behind him, nothing but empty sand. He looked back at the face in the water. Suddenly it smiled at him and began to speak.

"Hotty," said the Face, "You look tired and hungry." It was a kind face with a bald head and a long white beard.

Hotty nodded. He wasn't at all sure what the face was. He had never seen a real man before. Nor had he ever come across faces either human or donkey which talked out of pools of water.

"Hotty, you still have a long way to go. You must not give up for there is an important task ahead of you. You must keep going until you reach the place."

"What place?" asked Hotty who hadn't thought he was going anywhere in particular.

"Listen carefully and I will tell you," said the Face. "You are to go up the valley in the hills until you reach another plain on the top. On that plain, you will see a little town. Go up the main street until you reach an hotel. Behind it you will find a stable with a cow in it where you must wait. You will find food and drink in plenty."

With that the Face disappeared leaving Hotty staring at a reflection in the water of a donkey with ears so big that they flopped over at the front, with bright blue eyes and with a head too big for its body.

Amazed as he was by what he had seen, Hotty decided to do what he had been told. He turned again towards the distant blue mountains and began to walk.

*******

By nightfall of the following day Hotty at last reached the foothills of the mountains. Before him lay a lush valley full of green grass. He was hungry and longed to stop and eat, but he remembered what the face had said and kept going.

All through the dark night he climbed, along the valley and up into the hills, those blue hills which he had looked at with longing for all those months down on the plain. Those hills that had appeared so welcoming then did not feel so friendly now.

They were dark and rough, full of rocks to stumble over and strange noises the like of which Hotty had never heard before. More than once he felt like turning back. He thought sadly of his mother and father and how worried they would be. He thought of the comfort of his home, of the food and the love and the bedtime stories. He longed to go back, but he couldn't.

The Face in the pool had told him to keep going, and every time he thought of turning round he saw in his mind the kind old face that he trusted. So he just kept on up the mountain.

As he went up it got colder and colder and darker and darker. He longed to find a hollow to lie down and sleep, but it was too dark even for that. So on and on he climbed, frightened and cold and homesick.

Then all of a sudden he reached the top. Before him lay a great green plain surrounded by hills. Above him the sky stretched as far as he could see, a dark blue sky filled with twinkling stars and a bright full moon that bathed the whole plain in a silvery light.

There were no strange noises now, only the gentle sounds of sheep bleating in the fields around him. Suddenly Hotty was not afraid any more. He no longer felt cold or tired. For not far in front of him shone the warm and welcoming lights of the little town that the Face in the pool had told him about.

He started to trot. What was it that the Face had said to him? Go into the main street to a hotel with a stable behind it and there he would find food and drink. Hotty had almost forgotten in the excitement how hungry he was and his mouth began to water. He hadn't eaten for days.

He broke into a gallop, across the fields and onto a road, always with his eyes fixed on the little town in front of him. As he got nearer his eyes grew bigger and bigger. The shapes of streets and then buildings began to appear. Remember he had grown up in the dusty plains where there were no towns, no streets and no buildings. He had never seen such things before.

As he approached he saw something else that was new to him. People; lots and lots of people. People walking. People talking. Some shouting, some laughing, some crying. Big people, little people, fat people and thin people.

Hotty stopped at the end of the street and looked at them. In the donkey camp he had heard his father talking about people. He remembered one old donkey who had once lived with people warning about them. People were bullies, he had said. They pushed you and pulled you and made you carry things, sometimes even themselves. They would sit on your back and kick you and hit you with a stick.

Hotty also remembered the advice this old donkey had given. If people are nasty to you, just dig in your heels. People need to be taught a lesson, so only move when they are nice to you. Otherwise put your head down, dig your heels in and don't budge.

It was not surprising that Hotty felt a little nervous, but the people didn't seem to notice him. They walked past him, round him and behind him but they hardly cast a glance in his direction. After a bit he began to feel better and started slowly to walk up the street.

He jumped as he felt something touch him. Turning his head he saw one of the people standing beside him. It was a very little person with wide dark eyes and an unruly mop of black hair. He had his hand on Hotty's back and he was stroking him.

Hotty stood very still. I mustn't move, he said to himself as he waited for the little person to push him or pull him or jump on his back. But the little boy, for that was what he was, did none of these things. He just stood beside Hotty and patted him.

"Hello, little donkey," he said. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I want to be your friend."

Hotty said nothing. His father had always told him never to talk to strangers, not even donkey ones let alone people ones. So he just stood there and watched the little boy. As he did so he began to shiver.

"Dear me, but you’re cold," said the Little Boy. "Wait here a minute." He dashed into an open door behind him, and before Hotty could move he was back carrying a blanket, which he laid gently across the little donkey's back. Hotty was so grateful that he nuzzled the Little Boy who in turn laughed and rubbed the back of the donkey's long droopy ears.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. Hotty nodded.

"Well," said the Little Boy, "I know a stable just down the road with lots of hay and only an old cow in it at the moment. I'm sure she won't mind you sharing. It belongs to my uncle and he won't notice because he runs an hotel which is full tonight and he hasn't got time to worry about the stable."

With that he set off down the street beckoning to the little donkey to follow him.

Hotel, stable, thought Hotty. Isn't that what the Face in the pool told me about? All of a sudden he felt very happy.

******* After leaving Hotty in the stable, the little boy had disappeared. "I'll come and see you in the morning," he had said, "before I go up into the hills to look after my uncle's sheep."

The old cow had been asleep when they arrived, and Hotty had been careful not to waken her. He had eaten his fill of hay and drunk deeply from a trough of water in the corner of the stable. Then he had settled down in the straw.

For the first time since he had left home he felt safe. He had done what the Face in the pool had told him to do. He had come to the stable, he had found a friend and now all he had to do was to wait.

His eyes slowly shut. His ears drooped until they touched his nose. Hotty was asleep.

He was woken up by a big wet nose nudging him in the ribs, and a deep mournful voice saying, "What's all this then? Who asked you to stay in my stable?"

Hotty opened his eyes, wondering for a moment where on earth he was. The sun was streaming in, warming the straw on which he lay and sparkling in the clear mountain air.

"Who are you, anyway?" said the voice. Hotty lifted his head and found himself staring into the deep brown eyes of the cow. He scrambled to his feet and backed away from her, not knowing what to say.

"Come on, then," said the cow, "what are you doing here? Don't just stand there like a stuffed dummy. Tell me, or has the devil got your tongue."

"Er, um", said Hotty, "um..."

"Now, now, that's no good,” said the cow. "Who are you, and who told you that you could stay here, and eat my hay?"

Hotty was overcome with shyness. The old cow looked pretty cross and forbidding, and not prepared to wait around for an explanation.

"I'm...I'm Hotty," he mumbled, and burst into tears.

The old cow looked at him as he stood sobbing in the corner of the stable. Suddenly the annoyance went out of her eyes and her voice became softer.

"Come now, don't take on so," she said. " Hotty, is it? That's a funny sort of name. I see you are only a little donkey. So dry your tears, I'm not going to eat you. I just want to know what you are doing here."

Hotty stopped crying, and began slowly to tell her the story of how he came to be in the stable, about his journey and about the Face in the pool.

"Told you to come here, did he?" said the old cow. "I can't think why. Nothing ever happens here, I can tell you. I've been here for years and I should know."

Hotty was about to answer when she went on: "Well, I suppose I don't mind you being here as long as you don't eat too much of my hay. I have got to keep up my strength to produce milk for the Hotel. That is my job," she said proudly.

"You can stay for a while," she went on, "but I would keep out of sight, if I were you. The Hotel-Keeper doesn't like strangers on his property, and he won't take kindly to having another mouth to feed. So you just keep quiet, don't cause any trouble and I will let you stay for a day or two more."

"Thank you," said Hotty, and then to be polite he added: "and please what is your name?"

The cow looked down sadly. "Nobody ever gave me a name," she said. "I'm just here to produce the milk, that's all. That is the only time that people ever come near me, and then they just call me Old Cow. I suppose that's all I will ever be now."

She sighed deeply and, wandering over to the far corner of the stable, began to eat some hay. "Old Cow, Old Cow. What a life," she muttered to herself. Hotty didn't know what to say, so he just went and stood beside her and started to eat as well.

Later in the morning the Little Boy looked in. "I'm going up to the hills now with the sheep," he told Hotty. "I'll be back tomorrow and then I will take you out with me. We can look around and have some fun. Now see you behave until I get back." He waved and was gone.

Little did Hotty guess that by tomorrow his whole life would have changed.

*******

It was evening, and just beginning to get dark, when Hotty heard a commotion out by the Hotel. It was the sound of people's voices and they were arguing.

"I tell you, I have no rooms left in the hotel," said one voice.

"But my wife is so tired and we must have somewhere to sleep," said another voice desperately.

"Well I can't help it," said the first voice. "We are completely full up; not a spare bed to be had."

"We don't mind where we sleep," said the other voice. "Anywhere will do, just somewhere to lie down out of the wind."

"Well," said the first voice grudgingly. "If you really mean that, I have got a stable out at the back with an old cow in it. It's not much, but you can sleep there if you want. There is plenty of straw to lie on."

"Could you lend us a blanket?" asked the other voice. "My wife is so cold."

"Certainly not," said the first voice crossly. "I have none to spare and anyway the cow will help keep you warm. Now follow me. I haven't got all night."

Hotty heard the sound of footsteps coming towards the stable. Afraid of being seen, he curled up in a corner as far away from the door as possible and covered himself with straw leaving only a small hole through which he could see what was happening.

He saw three people come into the stable. The first, carrying a lantern, was a big red-faced man. The second was a tall thin man with a beard and a bundle on his back, his arm around the shoulder of the third person, a young woman who was shivering with cold.

The red-faced man held up the lantern. "There you are," he said, "it's all yours for the night and good luck to you." This man was obviously the Hotel-Keeper of whom the Old Cow had spoken. Hotty sunk even deeper into the straw, hoping desperately that he would not be seen.

The Hotel-Keeper was just about to turn and go, when he looked in Hotty's direction and a frown came over his face. He held up the lantern and looked again. Then he began to walk towards the spot where Hotty lay.

Poor Hotty! He had covered his body and head with straw but he had forgotten something vital. Over the top of the straw, like two great flags blowing in the wind, stood his drooping ears; and this was what the Hotel-Keeper had seen.

He strode over to where the little donkey lay and grasping one of the ears he gave a great pull. With a shriek of pain Hotty scrambled to his feet.

"So this is what happens when my back is turned," roared the Hotel-Keeper. "Donkeys just walk into my stable, eat my hay and treat it as if it were their own home. Well, I'm not having it. Out you go right now."

He walked behind Hotty and gave him a great shove. The little donkey dug his heels in and refused to move. The Hotel-Keeper, getting angrier by the moment, came round in front, grabbed both of Hotty's ears and pulled. Again the little donkey would not budge.

Just imagine what was going through Hotty's mind. He had been told by the face to come here and to wait. In any event he hadn't anywhere else to go, and the wind outside was getting stronger and colder. Every now and then small flurries of snowflakes blew through the open door. So although he was terrified of this big red faced man, Hotty was determined not to move.

Even so, the more the man pulled his ears the more painful it became, until despite himself the little donkey felt the tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. He made no sound, gritted his teeth and dug his heels in even deeper. The donkeys in the camp would have been proud of him. Hotty was not going to budge.

Suddenly the other man spoke. "Leave him alone," he said. "He has done you no harm."

"Keep out of this," snapped the Hotel-Keeper. "It's none of your business."

"But it is," said the other man. "We are going to sleep here and, as you won't let us have a blanket, this little donkey will help the cow to keep us warm."

The Hotel-Keeper let go of Hotty's ears. "Very well, then," he grumbled. "If you want to sleep with a donkey, you can. But I want him gone in the morning. Donkeys are lazy brutes. I can't stand them."

"They are all God's creatures," said the other man quietly as he watched the Hotel-Keeper storm out of the door. He turned and stroked Hotty's bruised ears.

"Poor little donkey," he said, "An outcast just like us. But don't worry. We will all be alright. You and this kind Old Cow will help me keep my wife Mary warm tonight, and may God bless you for it."

The Old Cow mooed softly, but Hotty said nothing. He felt a great peace come over him.

*******

It was the middle of the night when Hotty woke up. He couldn't remember falling asleep, just of standing watching the man and the woman sleeping in the straw in front of him. He thought it must now be day for the stable was filled with light.

For a moment he could not see where the light was coming from until, looking up, he saw through a hole in the roof a great star. It was bigger than any star he had ever seen and the light from it was shining directly down into the stable.

In the light he saw the man and the woman kneeling beside the big iron basket in which the hay was kept. He could see their faces, and they were smiling. In fact the woman's face was the happiest he had ever seen.

At first Hotty could not see what she was looking at, so he moved forward and then he saw it as well.

There in the hay in the iron basket, wrapped in what looked like a linen sheet, lay a tiny baby. Its eyes were open and its arms were outstretched towards the woman. It was smiling and from that smile came a warmth such as Hotty had not even known on the sunniest days in the plains where he had grown up.

The woman turned to the man. "We will call him Jesus," she said, and all at once Hotty's ears were filled with a great sound. It was as if everyone in the town were singing and all the donkeys in the world were joining in. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

He knew at once that this was what the Face in the pool had sent him here for. He was not sure what he was expected to do, but he knew that he was somehow to serve the little baby whose smile was so warm and who was called Jesus.

The little donkey with the bright blue eyes and the droopy ears and the head to big for his body had found the reason for which the distant blue hills had called him all that time ago.

Almost before he had a chance to take in what was happening, Hotty heard the sound of footsteps and voices outside the stable. They were not the angry footsteps of the Hotel-Keeper, but shuffling nervous steps and quiet almost whispered voices.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

"Well, the star is right overhead. It must be here."

"But this is my uncle's stable."

Hotty pricked up his ears. He knew that last voice. Sure enough, round the corner of the stable door peeped the face of the Little Boy, followed by another bearded head and then a third.

The three visitors looked in nervous amazement at the scene in the stable, at the two figures kneeling by the iron basket in which the hay was kept, at the baby lying quietly in it and at the little donkey and the Old Cow standing behind. They could hardly believe what their eyes were seeing. One of them coughed gently.

The man and the woman looked up.

"Come on in," said the man, and in they came; two old shepherds, dirty from the hills, their crooks in their hands and their weather-beaten faces shy and puzzled; and with them the Little Boy, carrying in his arms a tiny lamb.

The first shepherd walked up to the man and the woman. "We have come to find our King," he said. "We have been told that he has just been born."

The woman smiled and pointed at the baby in the iron basket. "This is my newborn son," she said, "and we have called him Jesus."

The shepherd walked forward to where the baby lay. He looked for a moment and then gently knelt down in front of the iron basket in which the hay was kept. The second shepherd did the same. Then the Little Boy came up with the lamb and placed it on the ground in front of the child.

"For you," he said shyly. The lamb bleated and the baby smiled.

Hotty and the Old Cow stood watching all this in silence. Eventually the Cow turned to the little donkey and said quietly: "Perhaps you can tell me what on earth is going on. First you invade my stable, then this couple, then this baby and now these shepherds. I have never seen anything like it in my life, and all in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping. Who is this baby anyway?"

"I don't know," said Hotty, "but he must be special, and for some reason I think he needs us."

"Needs us!" said the Old Cow. "Nobody has ever needed me except for my milk. I am too old to start being needed now. Old Cow, that's all I am, a poor Old Cow." So saying, she wandered off to the back of the stable and lay down.

Hotty felt a hand on his back. He turned and saw that the Little Boy had walked over beside him.

"I told you I would come and see you," he said, "but not quite so soon. I had to come tonight because the strangest thing happened. I was lying in the field with the sheep watching out for wolves when the whole sky suddenly lit up and my head was filled with sounds of music. I knew in my heart that something wonderful had happened here in the town, and I had to come and see what it was. I met up with the others on the road who told me that our King had been born under a great star. So we followed the star and it led us here."

The Little Boy shivered with excitement. "I've got a feeling that somehow this little baby is going to save us, and that we are going to help him. I don't know how or where, but I feel it in my bones."

Hotty felt it too and his heart swelled inside him. Throwing back his large head he opened his mouth and brayed. Everyone in the stable jumped. He hung his head in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to bray. It had just happened and he had startled them all.

"You silly ugly little donkey," laughed the Little Boy. "You gave us all an awful fright." He hugged Hotty's neck. "You need looking after. From now on I am going to stay with you and teach you how to behave. I will show you how to work and carry and play. Together we will do great things."

This time Hotty was quiet. All on the same night he had found a friend and a King. His heart was now so full of happiness that, even had he wanted to, he could not have thrown back his head again and brayed.

*******

The next few weeks were busy ones in the stable. People came and knelt before the Baby, gave him presents and left again. Sometimes the stable became too crowded, when Hotty and the Little Boy would gently push people away, holding them back until there was room for them to kneel before the child. It was hard work, but Hotty enjoyed it. At first the Hotel-Keeper had been furious at seeing his stable full of people and more coming all the time. Then they began to eat in his hotel, to buy drinks from him and to spend their money with him until he didn't mind any more. He left the stable alone and that suited Hotty.

One day three very rich men arrived riding on camels. They were followed by a lot of servants, carrying presents and calling them Your Majesty.

"They must be kings," whispered the Little Boy, as the rest of the crowd in the stable fell back to let them pass. Hotty tried to hear what they said to the baby, but he was too far away. He saw, however, what they did. Kings or not, the three of them knelt in front of the tiny child and placed their presents before him.

The Little Boy looked at the baby with awe. "He must be the greatest King if other kings bow down before him." he whispered.

Later, after the three kings had left, Hotty lay thinking about their visit. He had never seen a camel before and he thought that they must be the ugliest animals in the world. Their faces were too long, their legs were all knobbly and they had these funny bumps on their backs. Even more ugly than me, he thought to himself, and yet they seemed happy enough. One in fact had winked at him.

He wondered why they should be happy, spending their lives carrying people on their backs. Then the thought struck him. They were happy because they were carrying good kings on their backs, and that was enough.

“I will carry a good King too," he said quietly to himself. "When this baby needs me I will carry him."

Little did he know that his wish was to come true sooner than he expected, and had he known why he would not have slept half so easily as he did that night.

*******

It was a few days later when there was a sudden commotion outside the stable. Hotty wandered over to find out what it was all about.

He saw a camel arriving, ridden by one of the kings who had visited the stable a few days before. Again people made way for him as the camel went down on its knees and the king got off.

"Where are Joseph and Mary?" he asked. The little boy pointed into the stable. Hotty knew that Joseph and Mary were the names of the man and woman with the baby, and he wondered why the king was in such a hurry to see them again. He couldn't hear what was said as the crowd gathered round them.

Instead he walked over to the camel which was kneeling on the ground with its eyes shut.

"Excuse me," said Hotty as the camel opened one bleary eye. "Could you tell me what is going on?"

"I don't rightly know," said the camel, "but it is something urgent. I have had to run all the way here and I am quite exhausted." It closed its eye again.

"What sort of urgent?" asked Hotty, determined not to be put off.

The camel gave a sigh. "Oh well," it said, "if you are not going to let me rest I suppose I will have to tell you what I know." It blinked once or twice as if thinking. "As far as I know it has got something to do with the Baby. There is a king near here called Herod who doesn't like him. For some reason he wants to hurt him, and my master has come to warn him."

The camel had hardly finished speaking when its master came out of the stable and climbed on its back. The camel looked at Hotty and winked. "Never a moment’s peace in this job," it said and, climbing to its feet, set off back the way it had come.

Hotty's mind was reeling at what the camel had told him. The baby was in danger! He had to do something; but what?

He pushed his way into the stable to find that the Little Boy had got there before him and was deep in conversation with Mary and Joseph.

"We must get him away tonight," Joseph was saying as Hotty came up, "but how will we do that without Herod's soldiers seeing us? The king said that they are everywhere, waiting to take any baby they see just in case it is Jesus.

"There is no way out," said a gloomy old man standing nearby. "Every road will be watched and guarded."

"Hold on," said the Little Boy. "I have an idea." They all watched him as he walked over to Hotty.

"Listen, little donkey", he said. "You and I are going to save the Baby. Bad men are coming to capture him and we must get him away. We can't use the roads because they will all be guarded, but I know the hills around here and you must know the way down onto the plains where you came from. Do you think you can show us the way down?"

Hotty thought for a moment. It had been very dark when he had come up from the plains and he had been very tired, but he could still vaguely remember the shape of the rocks and the valleys through which he had passed.

"It will be dangerous," said the Little Boy, "but the Baby must be saved. You can do it, can't you? You are a brave little donkey."

Just at that moment Hotty didn't feel very brave. He had run away from home, had walked by himself for days, had climbed the mountains alone and had at last found happiness in this stable. He loved the little Baby, but the thought of avoiding the guards and going down that steep mountain again frightened him. He stood there saying nothing.

"You will do it, Hotty," said a voice behind him. He looked round and there was the Old Cow. "You will do it because you once told me that the Baby needed you. Do you remember?"

Hotty remembered. He remembered too what he had told himself, that one day he would carry the baby. He knew now that the day had come.

He turned to the Little Boy beside him and nodded. The Little Boy flung his arms around the donkey's neck.

"I knew you would," he said, and kissed Hotty right between his two droopy ears.

The Little Boy rushed off to tell Mary and Joseph and Hotty listened as they made plans. They would leave when it was dark, the boy leading them to the edge of the hills and Hotty taking them down to the plains below.

Hotty took a deep breath and gathered his courage for the task ahead.

*******

It was only just getting dark when a man rushed into the stable.

"You must go now," he shouted. "Herod's soldiers are on their way into town and they are seizing all the little babies they can find. If you don't go quickly they will catch you."

They had not expected to have to leave so soon and they were hardly prepared, but already they could hear the sounds of bugles and shouting coming from down the street. They hastily collected their belongings together.

“You will have to carry the woman and the Baby," said the Little Boy to Hotty. “We will have to move as quickly as we can."

Hotty nodded. He had never carried anyone before but he thought he could learn. The woman, Mary, climbed onto his back and the Baby was placed in her arms. They were not very heavy, and he was surprised at how easy it was to carry them as they set off out of the stable.

"Good luck," said the Old Cow. "I will help if I can.”

"Goodbye," said Hotty, "and thank you for letting me stay."

As silently as they could they made their way up the street towards the hills. It was growing darker. They were about halfway to the edge of the town when they heard a shout from down the street. "There they go! Catch them." It was followed by the sound of running footsteps.

"Quicker," whispered the Little Boy. "They have seen us."

Hotty broke into a trot while Joseph and the Little Boy ran alongside. They could hear the soldiers coming up the street behind them, getting nearer all the time.

Then, just as the soldiers passed the hotel a new commotion broke out. They could hear shouts of pain and people falling.

They turned round to see what was happening. A quite amazing sight met Hotty's eyes. In the street outside the hotel there was a great mass of soldiers, some standing, some on the ground, but nobody chasing any more. The reason was clear to see.

There in front of the soldiers, pawing the ground like an angry bull, snorting through her nostrils and tossing her horns at anyone who tried to pass, stood the Old Cow. She was giving them time to get away. She was not a poor old cow any more. She was, thought Hotty, the bravest cow there had ever been.

"Come on," said the Little Boy, "we must hurry before they get past her."

They quickly made their way out of the town and set off into the darkened hills, the Little Boy leading the way, Hotty carrying Mary and the baby and Joseph bringing up the rear. In the darkness the little donkey stumbled several times but he was determined not to let fall the precious burden he was carrying.

It took them some time to get to the edge of the hills. Several times they heard bugles behind them and had to press on. Twice they had to stop and hide as searching soldiers passed close by to them. Once a group of Herod's men stopped a few feet from them and not seeing them in the dark started to talk. Hotty and the others stood holding their breath, not daring to move a muscle until the soldiers moved on. Through it all the Baby never cried or made a sound. And although his legs grew tired and his heart thumped madly in his chest, Hotty kept on going.

At last they reached the edge of the hills. The Little boy came back to the donkey. "You know the way from here," he said. "You will have to lead from now on."

Hotty looked around him. He thought he recognised where he was in the darkness, but the slope in front of him looked very steep, falling away into the black night below. He hesitated.

All at once there was a shout behind him. "There they are!" and a bugle blew. Hotty didn't wait. Followed closely by Joseph and the Little Boy he stepped off down the steep slope, just in time, as a hail of arrows swept over his head and whistled off into the darkness beyond.

Slipping and sliding, but as carefully as he could, he made his way down the slope, the woman and Baby on his back and both Joseph and the Little Boy holding onto his neck. His legs ached, his lungs felt as if they were bursting, but the sound of the soldiers at the top of the hill kept him moving. He could hear them shouting to one another in the dark. "It's too steep." "We can't go down there." "We will have to say that we lost them."

Gradually as he went on down, the voices and sounds above him grew fainter and fainter. Eventually he realised that they were gone and that his party was safe. As he stopped, his legs shuddered with tiredness and relief. The woman on his back leant forward and stroked one of his droopy ears.

"Thank you," she said. "You have saved us all."

Hotty thought he heard the Baby laugh, and all at once the strain went out of his legs, his breath came back and proudly he set off down the mountain again.

He was carrying his King and he was carrying him to safety.

*******

The morning found them in the valley at the bottom of the mountains just where it opened up onto the big hot and dusty plains. Both Joseph and the Little Boy asked Hotty where they were going, but the little donkey didn't answer. He kept heading out into the plains looking for the pool where he had seen the Face.

It was several hours before he found it and by that time the sun was up, the day was hot and they were all very thirsty and tired. When they arrived they sat for some time beside the pool drinking and eating dates off the trees that grew nearby. They were too tired to talk, and eventually one by one they fell asleep in the shade that the branches provided.

Hotty was the first to awake and found that it was dark. The first tinges of dawn were just beginning to colour the eastern sky. They had slept the rest of the day and right through the night and the others were still asleep, all except the Baby who lay in his mothers arms and smiled at him. The little donkey was thirsty and went over to the pool.

As he stood drinking, the colour of the water began to change and, as if out of the ripples, he saw again the Face. It was as smiling and as kind as before, and it began to speak.

"Well done, Hotty," it said. "You have done well to bring the Baby safely this far, but your task is not yet over. In the direction where the sun sets lies a land where the Baby will be safe. It is called Egypt and you will know that you have reached your destination when you find the big blocks of pointed stone called pyramids that stand by a wide deep river. Take Jesus there and the task for which I called you will be done."

So saying, the Face faded once again into the pool. Hotty turned to see if any of the others had heard, but they were all asleep. All, that is, except the baby who smiled at Hotty as if to say "I know."

By the time they all awoke, the little donkey was impatient to be on his way.

"But where are we going?" asked Joseph as Hotty turned towards the direction where the sun goes down.

"I think that the donkey knows," said the Little Boy. "Let's just follow him to where he will take us."

And so they set off again, Hotty leading the way with the woman and the baby on his back, and Joseph and the Little Boy following behind. Out into the dry desert they went, with the burning sun above and the dry sand beneath their feet. For days and nights they travelled, always in the same direction towards the setting sun.

Once they heard donkeys braying in the distance, and Hotty's heart leapt as he realised that they were near the donkey camp. He longed to see his mother and father again and to tell them of his adventure, but he knew that the time for that had not yet come, that first he must complete the task which the Face in the pool had given him.

In time they came to a great river and the land became green and full of food. They followed the banks of that river until at last they saw the great pointed blocks of stone, the pyramids of Egypt, and there Hotty finally stopped.

"We will stay here until it is safe to go home," said Joseph. "Thank you, little donkey, for bringing us so far." He turned to the Little Boy. "You can both stay with us if you want. We would love it.

The Little Boy looked at Hotty. "Do you want to stay?" he asked.

Hotty didn't know. He had carried his King and had obeyed the Face in the pool. He felt somehow that there were other things to be done, but he loved this man and this woman and most of all he loved the Baby who never cried but smiled at him and made him feel safe. And he loved the Little Boy who had been his first real friend.

"Whatever you decide to do I will stay with you," whispered the Little Boy. "We belong to each other now."

Hotty nuzzled the Little Boy and looked at the Baby. As he watched the tiny child he saw in his eyes all of a sudden the eyes of the Face in the pool. Although the baby's lips did not move, he heard the voice of the Face, and the baby smiled.

"Go out into the world, Hotty," said the voice, "and remember that you have saved your King. There are others in danger and in trouble who need your help. I will not tell you where or how. That is for you to find. So hold your head high and never be afraid, for you have already done greater things than any donkey before you. Go in peace, and remember me."

All of a sudden Hotty knew that the Face and the Baby were one and the same, that Jesus was indeed a King. He knew too that his own job of helping people was just beginning.

He turned to the Little Boy and tugged his sleeve with his teeth. "We are going away,” said the Little Boy to Mary and Joseph, "but perhaps we will meet again."

The man and the woman kissed the Little Boy and stroked Hotty. "Goodbye," they said. "We will always remember you."

The little donkey turned towards the Baby and threw back his head and brayed. "Whenever you want me I will be there," he said, and the baby laughed.

Then the Little Boy climbed on to Hotty's back and they set off in the direction from which they had come. They looked back only once, and saw the man waving and the woman with the Baby in her arms. The Little Boy waved back, and Hotty kicked his heels and broke into a trot. There was so much they had to do.

*******

That night they slept beneath a palm tree. It was cold, and the Little Boy lay close to Hotty for warmth.

“We will always help people in trouble, won't we, little donkey?" he said. Hotty nodded.

"There is something else," said the Little Boy. "I can't go on calling you little donkey. You must have a name. Perhaps one day you will speak to me and you will tell me what you are called. But for the moment, you are so warm that I think I will call you Donkey Hotty!"

1987