| Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893. | | | | Appendix | II. Unacknowledged and Uncollected Translations.
Christmas Carol |
| | One of the Neapolitan Pastorali de’ Zampognari.
WHEN Christ was born in Bethlehem, | |
| ’T was night, but seemed the noon of day; | |
| The stars, whose light | |
| Was pure and bright, | |
| Shone with unwavering ray; | 5 |
| But one, one glorious star | |
| Guided the Eastern Magi from afar. | |
| |
| Then peace was spread throughout the land. | |
| The lion fed beside the tender lamb; | |
| And with the kid, | 10 |
| To pasture led, | |
| The spotted leopard fed; | |
| In peace, the calf and bear, | |
| The wolf and lamb reposed together there. | |
| |
| As shepherds watched their flocks by night | 15 |
| An angel, brighter than the sun’s own light, | |
| Appeared in air, | |
| And gently said, | |
| Fear not,—be not afraid, | |
| For lo! beneath your eyes, | 20 |
| Earth has become a smiling paradise. | | | | |
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