King Herod was the king of the Jewish people.
He lived in a palace in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was the capital city.
One day some wise men arrived at the palace.
They had travelled a long way.
They said to King Herod:
‘We have seen a new star in the sky.
The star tells us that a baby has been born.
The baby will be king of the Jewish people.
We are looking for the baby.
Where is he?
We want to visit him.
We want to tell him we love him.’
King Herod was very angry.
He was the only king.
He didn’t want another king.
He called together his holy men.
He called together the people who taught the law.
He asked them where the special baby was to be born.
They answered:
‘In Bethlehem.
A prophet said the special baby would be born in Bethlehem.’
Then King Herod called the wise men.
He asked them exactly when the new star had appeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem.
He said:
‘Go and find the baby.
Then tell me where he is.
I want to visit him.
I want to tell him I love him too.’
The wise men left the palace.
They followed the star again.
The star was moving.
The star stopped moving above a house.
The wise men went into the house.
Jesus and his mother were in the house.
The wise men bowed down to Jesus.
They told Jesus they loved him.
They gave him some very valuable presents.
They gave him gold and two kinds of perfume.
The wise men had a dream.
The dream gave them a warning.
It warned them not to go back to the palace.
It warned them that King Herod wanted to kill Jesus.
So the wise men did not go back to the palace.
They went back to their own country.
But they went back a different way.
