THE CRUSADE OF THE CHILDREN

"Stephen!" This time the voice was more urgent.

Startled, Stephen sat bolt upright. "Wh...wh...who is it?" he quavered. He looked around fearfully. Saint was on guard. The sheep grazed quietly, and there was no one else in sight. Surely his ears were playing tricks on him. He lay back, closed his eyes tightly and cupped his hands over his ears.

"Stephen!" This time there was great authority in the voice.

Wh...wh...who is it? Wh...wh...what do you want?" he stammered as he looked about fearfully. He strained his eyes to see who was speaking but the sun blinded him. Then he saw the shimmering form before him. It appeared to be the figure of a man, only it wasn’t a man. It wore a blinding, white robe.

"Leave me alone," Stephen said weakly. He tried to rise to his feet, but couldn’t.

"Do not be afraid, Stephen," the voice said. "I will not harm you."

Stephen raised his arm to shield his eyes from the dazzling light. "Then, who are you? What d...d...d...do you want?" he stammered.

"I have been sent from the Lord with a message for you," the voice said.

"A message? For me?" Stephen was puzzled.

"Yes, Stephen. You have been chosen."

"Chosen? For what?"

"You have been chosen to lead a different kid of flock than the one you now have."

"But I don’t understand. What other kind of flock is there?"

"You shall lead a flock of your own kind. Many shall follow you, most of them younger than yourself."

"Follow me? Where?"

"To Jerusalem. You shall lead a Crusade of Children to free Jerusalem from the Moslems. Do you understand?"

"No. No. I do not wish to lead a crusade. I wish to go on a pilgrimage.

***

"We must decide whether the boy actually had a vision, or if it was only a figment of his imagination," Bishop Auburn said to the group. "We are just wasting time arguing about it."

"Who are we to judge the matter?" a priest, questioned. "The boy obviously believes it is God’s will and a messenger of God appeared to him."

"There have been many, many similar instances," another replied. "Noah was told by God to build an ark. Had he disregarded God’s command, he and his family would have perished."

"Yes," a vicar agreed, "and there was Moses, Daniel, the Virgin Mary and Jesus himself who appeared to is disciples after he had been dead for three days."

"Then, we must assume that it is entirely possible that a messenger of the Lord appeard to Stephen and commanded him to lead a crusade," the Bishop decided.

But, some were skeptical and agrued that it was not a good idea to encourage children to leave their homes and go on such a journey.

Finally, Huber stood up. "It is getting quite late," he said. "I shall be leaving in the morning and must get my rest."

"Yes, it is getting late and, it is difficult to reach a decision when one is tired," the Bishop agreed. "Perhaps we should sleep on it and continue our discussion in the morning when our minds are rested and clear. Is it agreed?" He counted the hands raised around the table. "Then, we shall reconvene here after breakfast," he said.

News of the youthful crusader and his vision spread rapidly. From the city and for miles around, they came by the thousands to see what he looked like and to hear him preach. Some believed he was a prophet while others thought he must be the Messiah returned as had been promised. Many were skeptical, but they’ all came, and gathered in the field outside the abbey to hear the boy wonder preach.