The following is a work of fiction. Please feel free to use it in a spoken inspirational context (i.e., as a Reading or Meditation presented orally at Christmastime.) Please do not reproduce or republish by email or on the web without the author’s permission.
(c) 2003 J. K. Twitchell
The Legend of the Little Drummer Boy
Holy Scripture tells us about Joseph and Mary and their journey to Bethlehem to give birth to the Savior. We are told how they wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in the manger for there was no room for them in the inn. We’re told of the visitors that came to see the Christ Child--the shepherds abiding in their fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And we’re told about the Wise Men who brought gifts from afar because they saw a great star in the sky.
Legend tells us that there was another individual who came to see the Baby, an individual whose story we won’t find in the pages of The Bible. And yet, while the legend of the little drummer boy may be entirely fictitious, there is great truth within its message. It is that story which I share with you now.
It was dark outside when little Zack awoke. As he lay in bed, he realized what had awoken him, for he could hear a group of people talking as they passed by on the street outside. Zack got out of bed and slipped to the window, hoping not to awaken his parents.
Immediately, Zack realized that this was no ordinary group of people passing by his house in the middle of the night, for these people were richly dressed, with servants to lead their camels. They had dark skin and were headed in the direction of Herod’s palace. Zack could only assume that they must be visiting kings who had come to visit Herod.
“Oh boy!” Zack thought, “A parade! I love parades!” And so he did. The boy had always had a fascination with parades and costumes and bands. So great was his fascination that last year for his birthday his parents bought him a drum so he could play in the parades when they came to town.
And so, Zack did what any 12-year-old boy would do who plays drums in the parades. He slipped over to the closet, opened it quietly, so as to not awaken his parents, grabbed his drum and drumsticks, and crept to the door. He closed the door behind him, being careful not to let it squeak as it neared the threshold. And then, after he had snuck out of the house, being sure that his parents had not stirred, he marched right over to that parade, got right in line behind the last camel and started banging away at his drum. “Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum”
Poor Zack was not prepared for what happened next. He had forgotten that his parents were not the only people who were asleep in the city of Jerusalem. Candles were lit, men leaned out their windows to see what was going on. People shouted, “Cut that racket out!” and one person even threw a rock at Zack.
But Zack kept playing his drum. He wasn’t going to miss out on this parade, not for his life. Even the three Very Important People tried to silence him. They turned around and gave him dirty looks, and put their fingers to their lips. They scowled at him, but they could not keep Zack from playing his drum. One of them even sent his servant back to try to silence Zack.
“What are you doing?” the servant asked, “It’s the middle of the night!”
“I’m playing my drum for your parade,” the boy answered, “Every parade needs a drum! You’ll need me to announce your arrival at Herod’s palace!”
“Please don’t!” insisted the servant. “You’ll wake the whole village, and wake King Herod as well. We don’t need to have our arrival announced, thank you very much.”
Zack didn’t have a clever reply, so he let the drum answer for him, “Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum.” People kept yelling out their windows, the Wise Men scowled, and the servant tried to take his drumsticks away, but Zack would not quit.
And so, the parade wound its way through the quiet city streets, which weren’t so quiet any more. They continued on their way toward the palace: “Plod, plod, plod” went the camels, “Step, step, step” went the servants, “Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum” went the noisy drum.
Finally, the little parade arrived at the palace, just an hour or two before dawn. Zack was insistent on staying with the parade, but the palace guards took his drum away and made him sit outside the palace gates while the great men from the east went in to have an audience with King Herod.
So Zack waited and waited. He waited and he thought. He thought about the wise men, scowling at him. He thought about the people yelling from their windows, and he thought about the person who threw a rock at him. He thought about the servant who tried to steal his drumsticks, and he thought about the guard who stood by the corner watching him closely.
“Why doesn’t anybody like my drum?” the drummer boy thought. “It’s a nice drum, and it was bought just for parades like this one. Those men must be very important, and they needed a royal welcome to our town. Why is everybody so grumpy tonight?”
After a while, the royal visitors came back out of the castle and got their camels and servants to the palace grounds. The guards reluctantly returned Zack’s drum to its rightful owner, as the scowling Wise Men tried to convince Zack that they would have a long journey ahead of them, and that they really didn’t need a drummer boy to escort them. But Zack insisted, and he fell right in line behind the camels and their cargo. He marched down the center of the street banging on his drum, “Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum.” He marched out of Jerusalem, following the parade all the way to Bethlehem.
People in Bethlehem weren’t any happier then the people in Jerusalem to see Zack trailing this parade . Only, now it was daytime, and so they stood on the side of the streets and made fun of him. They made fun of his clothes, and made fun of his drum, calling it a silly plaything. Some of the neighborhood kids even threw clods of mud at him just to add to the insult.
But Zack kept playing for his parade of very important people. He proudly marched down the street right behind the parade. “Plod, plod, plod” went the camels, “Step, step, step” went the servants, “Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum” went the noisy drum. And this continued all the way to the outskirts of town.
The sun had just set, and Zack realized that there was a beautiful star in the sky. He didn’t know how he had missed it the night before, perhaps he had been too busy playing his drum. As he looked up at the sky, he realized that the important people were looking carefully at the star as well, and that they were walking right toward it. It got brighter and more brilliant, until it was almost as light as day. And the parade continued to walk. “Plod, plod, plod” went the camels, “Step, step, step” went the servants, “Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum” went the noisy drum.
Zack realized that they were getting closer to their destination, as he saw the star seem to set upon the rooftop of a simple little house. At this point, everything changed. The servant who had put up with the banging drum all night long came back to Zack and--trying a different approach--said, “Thank you for your services tonight. We have arrived at our destination, and we no longer need you to play your drum. Please stop now, while my masters bring homage to a new king.”
Zack, having tired of playing the drum all through the night and all through the day, stopped playing. And then, he had a most marvelous idea. The servant had just said something about a new king, and he was here. Perhaps he could peer in through the window and see this king. And so, as the Wise Men made their way through the front door of the house, Zack crept around the side, hoping for a glimpse into the living room of the house.
And what he saw amazed him. These three grown men, richly dressed, knelt on the dirt floor in front of...a baby! Zack couldn’t believe his eyes. He watched as each of the men brought out a gift. The light glinted off the shiny gold, and the air was filled with the aroma of sweet spices. “It can’t be,” he thought, “Those men are giving those expensive gifts to a...baby. That must be one very important baby.”
As Zack looked through the window, he wondered what he could give the King. He didn’t have any gold or spices. Even if he went home, he couldn’t find anything at home that was worthy of giving to this King. But, here he was, in the presence of a great King...and he had nothing to bring.
So Zack slumped down outside the house. He cried, for he had nothing of value to offer the king. He cried and he sobbed as the three men bowed down to the baby. Soon, Zack realized that the men had left the house and were getting ready to leave again. Zack just didn’t have the heart to get his drum and play for them as they left town. “My drum!” Zack thought, “I know what I’ll give the baby! I’ll play my drum for him!”
And Zack started to get up, excited to know that he had a gift for the baby King inside the house. And just as Zack began to strap his drum over his shoulder, he remembered. He remembered the people yelling out the windows. He remembered the Wise Men scowling at him, and the servant who tried to take his drumstick. He remembered the children who threw mud at him, and King Herod’s guard who had taken his drum away for a while.
“That baby doesn’t want to hear my drum,” he thought. “Babies don’t like loud noises any better than grumpy old men, wise men, or palace guards do. Forget it!” And Zack started to trudge off home to Jerusalem.
“Boy!” the voice behind him said, “Can I help you? Are you lost?”
Zack looked back, and saw the mother of the baby. She had come outside to watch the Wise Men leave, and had spotted him outside the house. Zack started to run away, but something stopped him. Perhaps it was the memory of that bright star above the house, it might have been the knowledge that it was a long way home to Jerusalem, or maybe it was a voice inside of him that told him to stop.
Zack turned around, his head hung and his shoulders hunched over. Tears continued to flow down his face as he looked at the beautiful lady before him. “I don’t have anything to bring the King...” he stammered, “only...I...could play for Him...on my drum, but nobody likes it when I play my drum”
And Mary, with kindness in her eyes, looked at the poor disheveled boy in his tattered clothes and welcomed him into her house. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and started slowly and quietly, “Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum.” And, as Zack looked in wonder, he saw a smile spread across the face of the great King who was pleased with Zack’s simple gift.
And that, my friends, is the legend of The Little Drummer Boy. While the legend stops there, people throughout the ages have always wondered what happened to little Zack. Did he grow up? Did he get married and have children? Did he play in great parades and for wonderful kingly processions? What happened to the Little Drummer Boy, nobody knows for sure. But I like to imagine that his life went something like this:
Zack grew up and played his drum in many wonderful parades. He played for royalty, and he played for national holidays. He played his drum in the morning, and he played his drum in the evening. But he never again played his drum in the middle of the night, for he knew what the reaction would be. People loved to hear Zack play his drum during the day, and Zack never forgot the special gift that he was able to give the Baby King.
Six years after Jesus’ birth, when Zack was 18, he got married to a beautiful bride. They had a wonderful life together. They never were very wealthy, but their house was always filled with love. For the same humble boy who gave a simple-but-noisy gift of love to the Newborn King, grew into a man of humility who gave gifts of love to all he met.
Before Zack reached the age of 30, he died from a serious illness. He was survived by his beautiful wife who lived in poverty. She cherished Zack’s drum, and treasured his memory in her heart. Whenever she looked at the drum in the closet, she remembered the story that Zack had told her about the baby who smiled at his drum playing. When she thought of that story, she remembered to always give of her best, even if it didn’t seem good enough.
One day, Zack’s widow went to the temple. There was a great teacher there by the name of Jesus who had caused quite a stir in town with his teaching and his miracles. She watched in awe as he taught about paying taxes to Caesar, and about what would happen at the resurrection of the dead.
Soon, the time came for the collection to be taken. All who had gathered in the temple would pass by the box to deposit their gifts. She always felt insecure at this time, for she had little to give. Indeed, today all she had was two copper pennies, and that was all the money left in the house. She timidly got in line to walk past the box. She watched as rich people made a show of the amount of money they dropped in the box. They had brought as many gold coins as they could, so others could admire them as they glittered and clanged into the temple treasury.
Soon, it was the widow’s turn to deposit her money. She walked past the box, and very quietly slipped her two pennies into the box. As she walked away, she realized that the teacher was looking at her, and talking about her. Her heart skipped a beat, as she was filled with shame at the size of her gift. But not to fear, for she soon saw upon the face of the teacher the very same smile that her husband Zack had seen many years ago as he had unknowingly played his simple drum for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
