Away In A Manger

    
I was just three or four years old. I had a new dress with black velvet on the top and little lambs on a dark blue background for the bodice and skirt. It was very pretty.

     One day in December, my mama told me that I was supposed to learn a song for the children's Christmas pageant at the church.  Our family didnt go to church very often, so I didnt learn the songs in Sunday School. My mama knew the song and taught it to me. I knew every word and could sing the melody without any mistakes. I was ready for this pageant. I didnt know what a pageant was, but I was willing to go to it.

     The pageant was going to be a play about baby Jesus and when He was born. Some of the kids wore white sheets and gold Christmas tree decorations. Other kids wore bathrobes and towels on their heads and carried sticks. One girl wore a blue cloth over her head and just sat next to a funny-looking box with a doll in it. I would have liked to bring my doll for her to look at.

     When it was time to sing Away in A Manger, I stood up with the kids in normal Sunday clothes. I got to be in the front because I was small. The big kids stood in the back row.  The piano started to play, the lady told us when to start. We all started together, but soon it was apparent that something was wrong.   I was singing a different melody. I thought all those kids were wrong, so I sang a little louder to help them get it right. They wouldnt listen! I sang a little louder. They still wouldnt listen, so I decided to just sing and they would be sad that they sang the wrong song. 

     It wasnt till many years later that I learned that there are more than two versions of the melody for the same words.  Good for me for sticking to my guns. It showed a streak of some kind: stubborn, stand up for myself, helpful..........