Joseph and Mary stayed in Egypt, waiting for the angel to bring them word that it was time to go back again to Palestine. And one night, when Jesus was about three years old, the message came. The angel of the Lord said to Joseph in a dream, 'Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young Child's life.' Joseph got up, and took the young Child and His mother, and went into the land of Israel. But when he came there, people said to him, 'Herod is dead, but his son Archelaus is king.' And when Joseph knew that Archelaus was king, he was afraid to stay in Judaea. And God spoke to him again in a dream, and told him to go back to Galilee. So Joseph and Mary went back to Galilee, and lived in Nazareth again.
CHAPTER III
THE BOYHOOD OF JESUS
The Bible tells us only a few stories about the time when Jesus was a little boy.
Nazareth is built up the side of a hill, and there are plenty of gardens and fields down below. Amongst these fields there is a fountain, where the women of Nazareth go to fetch water. Jesus must often have gone with His mother to that fountain; and sometimes, when she was tired, He may have fetched the water for her Himself.
[Illustration: Nazareth, from hill above.]
Mary wore a long blue dress, tied round the waist, and a cap with pieces of money sewn round it, and a white cloth over her head and shoulders, just as the women of Nazareth do now; and Jesus was very likely dressed in a red cap, a bright tunic, a sash of many colours, and a little jacket of white or blue, just as the boys of Nazareth are dressed now.