THE CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE OF JOSES

Rio de Janerio is a huge Brazilian city, full of bustling streets, magnificent buildings and great shops. There are expensive hotels and picturesque villas of rich people. The suburbs of the city look completely different. There are districts of poor people whose flats, built from what was nearby and for which you did not have to pay; sheet, brick, cardboard or pieces of tar paper. Ragged and often hungry children run in front of such houses. Jose lived here too. The boy did not remember his parents. Until the age of nine, he lived with his aunt, and when she died, the hut was taken over by another family that was not interested in the orphan's fate. So the street became the boy's home. He spent the nights in a large box that he found on the sidewalk outside the shop one morning.

He set up his cardboard house under the bridge, where more boys like him lived. He had no way of making money because in a city where so many adults were unsuccessfully seeking jobs, no one wanted to hire children. To survive, he had to beg or steal. The day before Christmas Eve, Jose and his friend Fridericol were watching a large store on the main street. They put on their best clothes to confuse the guards who were chasing the ragged ones, and they went inside. The boys watched the stands. Friderico watched his surroundings while Jose pretended to choose a Christmas present. At one point, a great opportunity came up. An old lady, laden with parcels, was changing clothes for a long time in colorful scarves. A leather bag was slung over her shoulder at the back. There were many buyers at the stand. The woman did not even feel when Jose cleverly opened his purse and stripped it of his wallet. The theft would not have been noticed had it not been for the fact that a priest had been watching the situation closely for some time. When Jose was leaving the store, he grabbed his hand and said softly in his ear: Son, return what you took to this lady.

Friderico, seeing what was happening, slipped out of the store imperceptibly. The frightened boy was left alone with the stranger. He stumbled over to the woman who was still standing by the booth. Pretending to pick up your wallet, he said: You must have fallen out of your purse because you still have it open.
- Oh thank you, what a polite and honest boy ?? the delighted woman exclaimed. She took a certain amount from her wallet and handed it to the boy.
- Take it, please. You will have candy.
- Thank you, no need ?? he said ashamed and quickly left the store.
A priest was waiting for him in the doorway.
- Tell me, why are you stealing? ?? He asked.
The boy lowered his head.
- I'm hungry ?? he answered softly. ?? I have no family and I have to take care of myself. There is no job anywhere. I tried to sell shoelaces, but the older boys chased me away and took the goods.
- And you live somewhere? ?? the priest asked.
- Under the bridge, in a box ??.
- If you want you can come with me ?? the priest suggested. And when he agreed, he took him to the rectory.
After the meal Jose ate at the speed of light? the priest offered him a job at Christmas decorations. The boy overjoyed agreed to this offer.
- Well, let's go to church. We will build a stable, a manger from the boards. Hope you can handle a hammer.
- Sure, I used to repair my aunt's house a lot.
Jose knew little about God, though he remembered some of his aunt's stories. So he shyly asked: ?? - It is Baby Jesus, right. But why is it lying in a manger?
- Yes, this figurine shows the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, who wanted to save all people, came into the world as a man. He was born in Bethlehem, in a poor stable, because there was no place for him in the inn.
In the evening, the father, Edmundo, because that was the priest's name, wanted to keep the boy for the night and put him in an orphanage run by nuns.
- I can't stay yet. I have to go home, but if father permits, will I take the leftover dinner for my friends ?? Jose asked.
- Wait, Sister Anna will prepare a package of food for you.
The next day, when it was dawn, the boy was in the church and eagerly set to work.
- I would like to finish the nativity scene for the Child, but without payment. After all, we homeless have to stick together. And one more thing, colleagues thank you for the food. They ask if they can come here to help? ?? Jose suggested.
- Sure, there will always be a job for a few rascals? the priest answered.
After these words, the boy ran out of the church. After a while some boys entered the temple.
- Well, friends to work, because God is waiting for his apartment ?? Jose ordered.
- And I have to tell the sisters that we will have guests for dinner. We will also consider how to help you ?? said the priest, walking towards the rectory.

The kids stayed in the orphanage. Now they had not only a roof over their heads, but also food. They could also learn. You are probably curious what happened to Jose?

He turned out to be an extremely gifted child, and when he grew up he became a priest. He never forgot about the poorest. He often visited places of poverty and carried God to the poor, rejected by the world. He took special care of homeless children, remembering that he had once been one of them ...
 

Author unknown