THE THREE WISE MEN A CHRISTMAS STORY by EARLE SPENCER The big man paid the taxi driver and walked into the hotel. The hotel receptionist looked at him and smiled, and he said, “How do you do? I would like to stay here tonight please, if I may.” “Oh yes,” said the girl, whose name was Joan. “Dinner, bed and breakfast, That will be alright. You can have room No. 47.” She wrote for a minute at her desk and then she said, “Would you sign the hotel register please. Just write your name and address.” She handed her pen to him. As he took it he said, “Have my friends arrived?” Joan was puzzled and she said, “I am sorry sir, but I do not know who your friends are.” He smiled quickly and said, “Kaspar and Melchior.” Joan read the names of the people staying at the hotel and she said, “Yes. Mr Kaspar and Mr Melchior arrived earlier this afternoon.” He said “Thank you”; and then he wrote ‘Balshazzar, Africa’, and walked up the stairs to room No. 47. The three men met after tea and laughed and talked together. Kaspar said, “Reception has been very bad at home during these past few weeks. There has been too much static. The last signal said ‘Follow the star’, but I could not find out where it was coming from as I had hoped to do. It seemed to be coming from somewhere in the middle of the North Island.” “I agree with you”, said Melchior, “though I could not hear very well either. The sound was full of shadows. It would be so much better if we knew exactly where to go to find the baby. Do you know what ‘Follow the star’ means?” “It cannot be a real star,” said Balshazzar. “We cannot follow a real star. The message must have a secret meaning that we do not know. But we do know where the messages have been coming from. If you have a look at this map you will see that Rotorua, Hamilton and Taumarunui are round about the middle of the island. Of course Lake Taupo is in the middle of the island but we cannot stay in a lake.” Kaspar's laughter danced everywhere and he said, “We don't have to stay in the lake. We could stay in the township there. We think that the messages come from the middle of the island. Let us go to Taupo. It seems a likely place and when we get there, there may be another message to help us over the last few miles.” “We have travelled so far over land and sea to bring our gifts to the new baby,” said Melchior. “There will be another message for us.” While the Three Wise Men were talking to each other in that hotel in the city, Mary was standing on the front door step of her house on the side of the hill, watching her husband mowing the lawn. Now and then he would stop and marvel at the sunset. When he pushed the mower, the cut grass spun back against his shins and a few pieces slipped into the cuffs of his trousers. At the edge of the lake, at the edge of the town, some children were playing in the sand. Soon they would have to go home to bed. The hills on the far side of the lake spread a cloak of purple shadows on the waters. Mary spoke to herself and said, “I wonder when my new baby will be born. Tomorrow perhaps, or the day after tomorrow. He will be strong and good I know, and he will love these royal colours, the yellow sand, green grass, purple shadows, sunset red, and the blue lake, and the blue sky. Many women have their babies at home, and I can too if I want to.” She saw Ben Thomas and his wife Christine coming down the street. Mr and Mrs Thomas were good neighbours. They were having their evening stroll. They stopped at the gate to talk to her husband and she walked down the path to join in the conversation. They talked about the weather and the baby coming, and then Mr and Mrs Thomas went home and Mary went inside. Her husband, Joseph, finished mowing the lawn and then he went inside and closed the door. All around the house it was peaceful.