The Song of the Shepherds
IT was near the first cock-crowing,
And Orion's wheel was going,
When an angel stood before us and our hearts were sore afraid.
Lo! his face was like the lightning,
When the walls of heaven are whitening,
And he brought us wondrous tidings of a joy that should not fade.
Then a Splendor shone around us,
In a still field where he found us,