The Wise Men thanked the king, and set out for Bethlehem. Soon they arrived at the place where Joseph and Mary were staying with the baby. It was very different from Herod's palace.
There the three Wise Men fell down on their knees as they would before a king. They opened their treasures and put their gifts in front of the baby. One brought gold. The others brought sweet-smelling ointments, frankincense and myrrh.
"Hail, Messiah!" they murmured in adoration. "Hail, Christ! Hail, King of the Jews!"
When they were once more outside on the road, one of them spoke:
"I think," he said, "that it would be well for us not to see anything of Herod again. I had a dream...."
The others agreed with him quickly. They had had a dream too.
"God sent that dream to warn us that Herod is dangerous," they said. "Herod means to harm the child. Let us find some other road back home."
