The Gift
CASPAR, Melchior, Balthazar,
These are they who followed the star.
These are they who followed the star.
Frankincense and myrrh and gold,
These were the gifts they brought of old.
These were the gifts they brought of old.
These were the precious, wonderful things
They brought, as befitting three wise kings.
They brought, as befitting three wise kings.
The nameless Shepherds were quite too poor
To lay such gifts on the stable floor;
To lay such gifts on the stable floor;
But one, I ’m told, left his cap, and another
His shepherd’s coat and his crook; and his brother,
His shepherd’s coat and his crook; and his brother,
Who had carried a lamb across the wild,
Left that as a gift for the Holy Child.
Left that as a gift for the Holy Child.
Oh, Mary might better have liked a gem,
For the best of women are fond of them;
For the best of women are fond of them;
And Joseph, no doubt, the gold approved, —
’T is a thing men’s hearts have always loved; —
’T is a thing men’s hearts have always loved; —
These things I suspect; but sure I am
That the little Lord Christ preferred the lamb.
That the little Lord Christ preferred the lamb.