Robbie: (Appears by himself on the stage.) Hi kids, I have traveled back in time again! This time, I want to find out all I can about Jesus! I am hoping we can learn a lot about Him and get to know Him better. Today I am in Bethlehem because I heard this is the place to be. I am expecting a very special couple along any minute.

Mary and Joseph appear and approach Robbie.

Mary: Hi Robbie! What are you doing in town?

Robbie: Hi Mary! I heard the news... the great news about your new baby!

Joseph: Of course, of course. You have heard about our Son, Jesus?

Robbie: Yep. I came here just to hear all about it. How did you end up here in Bethlehem anyway and so close to this (pauses to sniff the air) stinky barn?

Mary: That is quite a story. It started when we were planning to get married. Joseph was going to be my husband. One day, an angel of the Lord came to me and told me I was going to have a baby and this baby would be the Son of God.

Robbie: Wow! You must have felt pretty important.

Mary: Actually I was scared to death!

Robbie: The angel was scary? Did he look like frankenstein's monster?

Mary: No, silly boy. He looked like an angel of the Lord should. He looked powerful and I could tell he was sent from God but I was very scared to think that I would be the mother of God's son!

Robbie: Oh. That makes sense. So Joseph, what did you think about all this.

Joseph: At first I wasn't real sure what to think. I was thinking about not marrying Mary after what she told me but God spoke to me and told me that I should go ahead and marry her and not be afraid. Just like my wifey, I was scared about being the parent of God's son.

Robbie: I can understand! So where is little baby Jesus right now? Can we see him?

Mary: Who's this we?

Joseph: Yeah, have you got a mouse in your pocket, Robbie?

Robbie: A mouse in my ... ha ha that's a good one Joseph! No, I mean me and the kids!

(Joseph and Mary notice the kids in the audience.)

Joseph & Mary: Oh, Hi kids!

Robbie: So where's Jesus?

Mary: He's sleeping. We'd rather not wake Him.

Robbie: Well, that's OK. You can tell us about what happened next.

Joseph: Ah yes. Well, because there was a census, that's a count of all the people in the country, we had to return to the city I was born in. That city is Bethlehem. I brought Mary here on a donkey all the way from our home. She was very close to having the baby. When we got here, the only place to stay was in the barn with the animals.

Robbie: Oh, no.

Mary: Oh yes. I had the baby and we called Him Jesus because that is what the angel said we should call Him.

Robbie: Wow. So what happened next?

Joseph: Just after having the baby, we had some visitors. They were shepherds, people who watch sheep for a living, and they said they were told to come and see the new king who was born in a manger. They followed a star right to this spot and they were the first to see and worship baby Jesus.

Robbie: Cool. What's a manger anyway?

Mary: It is a feeding trough for animals. It is usually used to hold grain or other things for the farm animals to eat. It was the only thing we had to put Jesus down in so he could sleep.

Robbie: Ewww, so a manger is what animals eat out of? Kind of like a cereal bowl?

Mary: That's right, Robbie.

Robbie: Wow! What a story!

Joseph: Well, hon. We had better get back to our baby. Bye Robbie! (Mary and Joseph leave)

Robbie: Bye! Wow! Is that amazing or what? Jesus is the Son of God but instead of being born as a king in a castle with the best doctors there to deliver him and take care of his mommy, he was born in a stinky horse barn. I don't know about you but I love Jesus. I can't wait to find out more about Him next week. See you then!

The End