4 “ Look, Ishmael! There’s Bethlehem!” Hearing his big brother shout, the boy looked up. On the horizon, he could make out the first houses of Bethlehem, perched upon the hillsides. He could just see the twisted black trunks of the olive trees, their silvery leaves fading into the background of the gray sky. The town’s population seemed to have doubled in size: everyone who had come for the census in this city of David had searched among relatives for a place to stay—at a cousin’s, or an uncle’s, whom they may never even have met before. Others found refuge in the village hall that hadbeen transformed into a makeshift dormitory. There, women were cooking, children were playing. The last to arrive took shelter in the many nearby grottos—caves built into the cliffs—that normally housed humble families or their animals. Ishmael and his family passed the village and found a pasture, which the heavy rains had blanketed with thick green grass. There they pitched their tents. They were so used to their canvas houses, they could make themselves at home anywhere!
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