# The Christmas Story _Retold by Talerie (talerie.com) from King James Version_ · 4 min read · ages 3+ Joseph travels with Mary to Bethlehem, where she gives birth to Jesus and lays him in a manger, and shepherds come to see him after an angel brings them the news. Later, wise men follow a star to the house where the child is with Mary his mother, give him gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and go home by another way. --- In those days Caesar Augustus, the emperor in Rome, sent out an order that every person in all his lands was to be counted and written down. So everyone set off to be registered, each in the town his family came from. Joseph lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. He belonged to the family of King David, so he went south into Judea, to Bethlehem, the city of David. Mary went with him. She was promised to Joseph in marriage, and she was expecting a baby. While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born. Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, the trough the animals ate from, because there was no room for them in the inn. That same night, in the fields outside the town, there were shepherds staying out in the open, keeping watch over their flock. All at once an angel stood before them, and the glory of God shone all around. The shepherds were terrified. “Do not be afraid,” the angel said. “I bring you good news of great joy, and it is for all people. Today, in the city of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Christ. This will be your sign: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great host of angels from heaven appeared beside the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds turned to one another. “Let’s go to Bethlehem,” they said, “and see this thing that has happened, which God has told us about.” They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they had seen him, the shepherds told everyone what the angel had said about this child, and all who heard it were amazed. But Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds went back to their flock, giving glory to God and praising him for everything they had heard and seen. It had all happened just as the angel said. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the days when Herod was king, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem. “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?” they asked. “We saw his star rise in the East, and we have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and so was all of Jerusalem. He called together the chief priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea, Your Majesty,” they answered. “That is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a leader who will rule my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the wise men to him in secret and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. After that he sent them on to Bethlehem. “Go and search carefully for the child,” he said. “When you have found him, come back and tell me, so that I can go and worship him too.” The wise men listened to the king and went on their way. The star they had seen rise in the East went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw it standing there, they were filled with great joy. They went into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In a dream, God warned them not to go back to Herod. So they went home to their own country by another way. --- ## About this tale The Christmas Story is taken from two gospels in the Bible: Luke 2:1–20, with the shepherds and the manger, and Matthew 2:1–12, with the wise men and the star. In the King James Version, first published in 1611, the two books are titled “The Gospel According to Saint Luke” and “The Gospel According to Saint Matthew”. Each gospel tells only its own half: Luke has no star and no wise men, and Matthew has no manger and no shepherds at the birth. Our retelling puts the King James wording into plain modern English, Luke’s part first and then Matthew’s, and ends as the wise men set off home. > Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. > > King James Version, Luke 2:14 ### The King James text beside our retelling | | King James Version | Our retelling | | --- | --- | --- | | The census | “all the world should be taxed” | everyone counted and written down | | Governor of Syria | Cyrenius | not mentioned | | Mary | “his espoused wife” | promised to Joseph in marriage | | The manger | “a manger” | a manger, “the trough the animals ate from” | | The angel’s words | “Christ the Lord” | “the Christ” | | The star | “seen his star in the east” | “saw his star rise in the East” | | The wise men | no number, no names | no number, no names | | The end | goes on to the flight into Egypt | the wise men go home another way | ### What our retelling tells Caesar Augustus orders a count of everyone in his lands, and Joseph goes from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David, with Mary, who is expecting a baby. There is no room for them in the inn, so Mary lays her newborn son in a manger. An angel brings the news to shepherds in the fields, a host of angels sings, and the shepherds hurry to see the child. In Matthew’s part, wise men from the East come to Jerusalem looking for the newborn king, and King Herod sends them on to Bethlehem. The star goes ahead of them, and they find the child with Mary in a house and give him gold, frankincense and myrrh. A few small things are ours rather than the King James Version’s: the note that a manger is the trough the animals ate from, “That same night” for the shepherds, the word “rise” for the star, and “Your Majesty” for Herod. The name “The Christmas Story” is ours too: the text never uses the word Christmas and gives no day, month or year, only the rulers of the time. Nothing in the retelling is hard for a young listener. Herod tells the wise men he wants to worship the child as well, and God warns them in a dream not to go back to Herod. Matthew’s gospel continues with the flight into Egypt; our retelling stops before it. ### David’s town, and how many wise men Luke calls Bethlehem “the city of David” and says Joseph “was of the house and lineage of David”, which is why he goes there to be counted. Bethlehem was also the home of David’s father, Jesse, as our page David and Goliath tells. Many people picture three kings, an ox and a donkey, and a stable. The two gospel passages have none of them, and our retelling has none either. Matthew mentions three gifts but never says how many wise men there were, never calls them kings and never names them. Luke speaks only of the manger and of the inn where there was no room. The wise men do not come to the manger either: Matthew says they found the young child in a house, without saying how long after the birth. Sources (claims checked against them on 2026-11-04): - The King James Version of the Bible, Project Gutenberg eBook #10, Luke 2:1–20 and Matthew 2:1–12 [our source] (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10) - Wikidata Q51628 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51628) --- - Read online: https://talerie.com/en/tales/the-christmas-story - Also known as: The Nativity - Characters: Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Herod - Also in: [German](https://talerie.com/de/maerchen/die-weihnachtsgeschichte.md), [French](https://talerie.com/fr/contes/la-naissance-de-jesus.md), [Spanish](https://talerie.com/es/cuentos/el-nacimiento-de-jesus.md), [Portuguese](https://talerie.com/pt/contos/o-nascimento-de-jesus.md), [Czech](https://talerie.com/cs/pohadky/narozeni-jezise.md), [Polish](https://talerie.com/pl/bajki/narodziny-jezusa.md) - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51628 - Source: King James Version (1611; standard text of 1769), Project Gutenberg #10: Luke 2:1–20; Matthew 2:1–12 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10) - Public-domain basis: Talerie contemporary retelling (CC0 2026), based on: King James Version (1611; standard text of 1769), Project Gutenberg #10: Luke 2:1–20; Matthew 2:1–12 — EU anonymous-work rule, translation published ≤1769 (+70 passed) - License: CC0-1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)