Robin

Robin had been feeling uneasy all day . He had been awakened on his perch in the little barn by the sound of wind-driven icy branches tapping against the window . The weather had grown even colder during the day , flurries of snow were already falling . The coming of cold weather meant little food would be available inside or outside the barn . He ruffled his rust-red feathers .
Robin had a clear view of the front door of the inn-tavern beside the barn .The man inside was locking up for the night ,shutters slammed down , door closed and bolted , lanterns dimmed .All was quiet.
Darkness was closing in and Robin decided to fly back to his nest in the barn as there would be no more food available this night .
But the uneasy feeling persisted , something extra-ordinary was going to happen .He heard a sound .
Despite the falling snow he could see a short distance up the road and was soon able to identify a donkey with a woman on his back , being led by a man walking beside . The man had been consoling the woman with gentle comments , but his voice rose with excitement when he saw the dim light of the tavern . When they arrived at the tavern the man pounded with his fists on the door . No reply . He pounded again , still no reply and again ...until eventually the man inside opened a shutter and shouted something to the man outside . The man outside was persistent and eventually the man inside came and opened the door slightly but wide enough for Robin to be able to catch a brief glimpse of a blazing fire and food laid out on tables....giving a feeling of warmth and companionship . The man outside appealed to the man inside who eventually pointed to the barn where Robin lived .
The barn was small and the animals that stalled there kept the absolute cold out with their body-heat and the couple seemed to be grateful to have some shelter .
Robin flew back to his nest in the rafters and watched as the man and the woman settled in .The woman unwound her long heavy cloak , the man took the blanket off the donkey and made her as comfortable as possible . Robin was disappointed that no food seemed available and eventually he went to sleep listening to the soothing sounds that the man made to comfort the woman .
He woke again to the sound of a baby 's cry . The man and the woman were making sounds of joy mixed with a little weeping , over their new-born boy . Robin knew that he was experiencing something special and felt privilaged to be part of this beautiful , intimate , family scene , before the world at large came in to share it .
Over the following days the world did come , by some mysterious means the word went out that something special had happened and old and young , rich and poor , foreign and local came to visit the child . The local children came first of course , Robin knew them well and there was always spare food scattered when they came , Rebecca , Amber , Sophie , David closely followed by Gracie .
As days passed the man and the woman became anxious , again , and they appeared to be preparing to travel . And then , one morning , they were gone.......

That was the beginning ......
Robin was not to know that many years later and not too far away , another robin from another generation would witness that baby , now grown , when the young man was once again alone except for his mother and a small group of people , or images of thorns , cross , nails , blood staining a robins breast.....and Robin-Redbreast would forever be associated with another wonderful event.......
And even today , over two thousand years later , although almost everything else has changed , the message of peace and justice and goodwill to all men still remains the same .