A Shepherd Boy and The Bethlehem Star, A Story
by
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Grandfather, you did not answer my question about my project," sighed Dyrus. "But just wait see," he said with determination. "Move a little so I can place my rock. The sun is almost down. Now watch." Dyrus stood behind the center flat rock and lookedover the smaller rock on top of the flat rock. He carefully laid a long straight stick from the small rock to the direction of the setting sun, which was now an orange disk just at the edge of the western ridge. He then quickly ran and placed a fist-sized rock on the ledge and immediately ran back to the big rock to see if the stick and rock on the ledge were in alignment with the setting sun. They were. He jumped and waved his hands excitedly and danced in a little circle. "See, Grandfather," exclaimed Dyrus with a big grin, pleased with himself. "Yes, Grandson, I see. But tell me what it means." "You don't understand, Grandfather?" questioned Dyrus dejectedly. "Look, I placed those other rocks on the ledge the same way. Each new one has moved a little to the right, so it shows that the sun sinks in a different place from the days it takes the moon to change its shape from round and back to round again," replied Dyrus as he looked intently at his grandfather. Pleased with himself, he stepped back and crossed his arms, "Yes, it shows that you are right, Grandfather, the sun does move a little each day when it sets." Pakus knew that as the seasons changed, the sun rose from a different place in the eastern valley and set behind different mountains in the west, and he never gave it much thought. But to see how Dyrus had measured the sun's travel had excited him. He was almost speechless. Pakus tugged at his beard and finally spoke. "What a wonderful thing you have done here. It's really outstanding. You amaze me, Dyrus. This is much more impressive than your flying stick." "Thank you, Grandfather. But with more thought, I do believe I can get something to fly," as he shrugged his shoulders . "If it's okay with you and father, I would like to keep doing this over the seasons to see if the rocks will be located in the same place over a years time." "Yes, Dyrus, that is a good idea," replied Pakus, amazed that he consented. He knew that Dyrus' shepherd work would be increasing, but he was greatly impressed and pleased with his grandson. "Thank you, Grandfather. I knew you would understand. I have not told Father about this because he would say it was a waste of time. I wanted to show it to him so he would better understand it," said Dyrus hesitantly. "Oh, I think he would be impressed," said Pakus with assurance. But come Dyrus let us get down the path, the moon is not quite up and sunlight is almost gone. If we hurry we will not be too late for the evening meal. I am very hungry. How about you?" he questioned, as he started walking toward the trail. "Oh yes, Grandfather, I am hungry too," replied Dyrus with happiness in his voice. He stopped abruptly, turned back to look at his rocks one more time, smiled, then quickly ran ahead to take the lead. Dyrus led the way down the trail. They walked in silence in the twilight of the evening. As the path made a sharp turn Dyrus stopped and looked at the valley below. Pakus was ready for a rest and he too enjoyed the beauty of the view, but he was still anxious to get down the mountain. "A short rest is all I need, and then we can go on," Pakus said softly. "Grandfather?" Dyrus questioned. Pakus knew what was coming, another question. "Yes, Grandson. "Grandfather, how does the sun get back to east in the morning when it sets in the west at night?" "And again, Grandson, that is another question I can not answer."
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About the Book
The story is about a young fifteen-year-old shepherd boy named Dyrus who lived in a remote area in the kingdom of Persia during the time of Christ’s birth. Dyrus was constantly asking his father and grandfather about the stars, the sun, the moon, the clouds, and just about everything in nature including such questions as how do birds fly and how does water get up in the sky to make rain. His father and grandfather could not answer the questions but tried to keep Dyrus’ questions directed to his becoming a shepherd to carry on the family work. Dyrus noticed a special star one night while on a wolf hunt with his father and his father’s friend. Only Dyrus saw the star. The king’s two wise men saw the star, too. One of the wise men ventured to a tall mountain close to Dyrus’ home to better observe the star. There the wise man and Dyrus meet, and Dyrus’ life is changed forever. Dyrus becomes a student of the two wise men. In the wise men’s search to answer the king’s questions about the mysterious star, Dyrus is caught up in an adventure of a lifetime.
About the Author
He is an aerospace engineer who retired after thirty-seven years of working in the experimental aerodynamics field of designing and testing advanced aircraft configurations. He has written numerous technical reports and papers and for fun has written stories about his more successful hunting trips. One such story was about an elk hunt in Montana that was published in the American Sportsman’s member magazine. The author is an avid hunter of Texas whitetail deer, and the story about Dyrus and the Bethlehem Star came to him while spending several days in west Texas hunting for an elusive big-trophy deer. The author and his wife have three children and four grandchildren.