Original subtitles

NARRATOR: And it came to pass

that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus

that all the world should be taxed,

and all went to be taxed, everyone, to his own city,

for to disobey the Roman emperor meant certain death.

Oh, there were young people and old people.

There were the famous and mighty,

and some not yet known,

but whose names would eventually linger and be revered for all time.

There were good people who could ill afford

the cruel tax about to be imposed upon them,

and there were others.

(B LEATS)

(B RAYS)

(G RU NTS)

O bserve, AI i , the l ittle d ru m mer boy, Aaron .

Are those animals danci ng , Ben H aramed ?

They certainIy are .

Faster, old friends . Faster.

You , Samson , sm i le .

(BRAYS)

And you , Bimbaba , be lighter, happier.

(BLEATS)

O h , Joshua, you can do better.

(GRUNTS)

Oh !

With th is marvel i n my show caravan , I will be as rich as Solomon .

B ut it is said Aaron dislikes all humans .

He wiII not join us willingIy.

Fool ! Why do you think we brought the rope?

Ah !

Let me go ! Do you hear me? Let me go !

Get the camel !

(GRUNTS)

(BRAYS)

Ah ! The don key, too , fool !

The lam b, you oaf! Grab the lamb !

How? I have only two hands !

Stop concerning yourself with details ! Do it!

(BLEATS)

(GROANS)

Drummer boy, you may not believe me ,

but this is the Iuckiest day of your life.

CHOIR: (SINGING) Come, they told me

Pa rum pum pum pum

Our new born king to see

Pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts to bring

Pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the king

Pa rum pum pum pum Rum pum pum pum

Rum pum pum pum

So to honor him

Pa rum pum pum pum

When we come

NARRATOR: The little drummer boy, Aaron,

fought Ben Haramed and Ali with all his might.

He most definitely did not want to join the showman 's caravan,

and journey into the crowded city.

For it was true. Aaron hated people, all people.

N o ! No ! I won 't go with you !

Stop strugg I i ng , boy !

There is money to be made .

We can be rich !

While those taxpayers are waiting to be counted ,

they wiII grow bored .

They wiII crave the entertainment which only I ,

Ben Haramed , king of the desert showmen ,

and , of course, you too, can provide .

But I do not want to go near that mob.

I hate people ! AI I people !

And do you th i n k I love people? (C H U C KL ES)

What a beautifu I world it wou ld be without people .

(SCOFFS)

But, alas, one must exist with people.

And indeed , it is better to be crowded and rich

than crowded and poor. (CO I N S J I N G LI N G)

(M I D-TEM PO M U S I C P LAYI N G)

(S I N G I N G) When the day is good And the wind is dry

And the goose is hanging high

l can 't work Like other men do

When the goose is hanging high

When the sun is bright ln the big blue sky

And the goose is hanging high

The devil steals my heart away

When the goose is hanging high

Gold and silver on my mind

Mischief in my soul

l want to live Like a rich man iives

With life in my control

When the day is bad And the wind is wet

And the goose is flying low

l've got to work Like other men do

When is goose is flying low

But when the day is good

And the wind is dry

And the goose is hanging high

l can 't work Like other men do

When the goose is hanging high

When the goose is hanging high

NARRATO R: Oh, Ben Haramed was a wily, old desertjackal.

Only he could have talked Aaron into visiting the crowded city.

For you see, Aaron truly did hate all people.

Now, it wasn 't always this way,

for Aaron was once a happy farm lad, the son of a shepherd.

Father! Mother!

And why th is exceptional g reeti ng today, my son ?

O h , no reason .

H appy bi rthday, Aaron .

O h , father! Mother!

D id you bri ng me someth i ng ?

I don 't su ppose th is wou ld i nterest you , you ng man ?

A d ru m !

My very own d ru m ! O h , Father!

Try it out, Aaron !

NARRATO R: And perhaps, because it was a gift of Iove,

the drum had an almost magical quality.

And the animals, when they heard it, began to dance to its sound.

But Aaron 's happiness was to end all too soon,

for one night, bandits of the desert attacked.

What's going on out there?

Father! You m ust ru n , my son . Escape !

B ut. . . Ru n !

NARRATO R: They burned the farm and took the sheep,

and Aaron 's happy life had changed forever.

And so, Aaron roamed the land a lonely orphan,

his only friends, three of the farm animals who had escaped.

He vowed to hate all humans for what they had done to his family,

and he kept that vow.

B E N : Ah , J erusalem at last.

H ere , we shal I make ou r fortu ne.

Al l these people .

A-ha ! The rest of my show caravan .

H el Io ! Hel lo !

J am i I ie, Meshaw!

Set u p ou r perform i ng carpets , and let us be on with the show.

(D RU M RO L L)

(TRU M P ETI N G)

Lad ies and gentlemen , fel low taxpayers,

the day need not be al l g loomy.

For I , Ben Haramed , ki ng of the desert showmen ,

have broug ht, at g reat expense ,

d i rect from the palace of the Em peror of C h i na ,

the toast of royalty, Meshaw and Jam i l ie ,

tu m blers extraord i nary !

(M E N G RU NTI N G)

Wonderfu I , wonderfu l !

Perhaps you wi I I show you r appreciation for such a performance .

P h i I isti ne !

And now, let's move it rig ht along with AI i of Arabia ,

g reatest j ugg ler u nder the stars .

Boy, you perform next.

The crowd is restless . You m ust appease them . (POTS S HATTE RI N G)

Are you ready?

I ' m ready.

N o , no. Sm i Ie. S m i le !

See , on ly a sm i le pleases the crowd .

S m i Ie. Sm i le !

I can not. Not at them .

You stu bborn I ittle fool ! Then wear a pai nted one .

There. That's better.

When do I go on ?

N ow, before the dope j ugg les me out of my l ife savi ngs !

(S I N G I N G) You never heard a lion laugh

You never saw a gator grin

A goose in a gaggle Never gives a giggle

Why can 't the animals smile ?

You never saw a smiling frog

A tickled lamb, a happy hog

A lighthearted camel, A merry old mammal

Why can 't the animals smile ?

A barrel of monkeys, A pack of silly donkeys

An elephant, a caribou

Ha ve never been heard To chuckle a word

Or twitter like people do

You never heard a mouse guffaw

A crow that did Much more than caw

ls an eagle too regal Or is it all illegal?

Why can 't the animals smile ?

Why can 't the animals smile ?

(AL L C H E E RI N G)

AL L : More ! More ! More ! More !

You heard them ! More ! More !

Don 't let them get away before I pass the hat !

NARRATO R: But as Aaron looked at the faces of the cheering mob,

a great rage rose up inside him.

How dare they laugh and be happy

after what their kind did to his family?

Stop ! Qu iet !

I hate you al l for what you d id !

You ' re al I preyi ng th ieves and band its and knaves and ...

(WH IM P E RS)

Ru n for it !

NARRATO R: And so, the troupe was chased out of Jerusalem by the mob.

Boy, you shal l pay for th is i nd ig n ity.

Ben Haramed ! Look !

B E N : By the hou nds of heaven , it is the caravan of a ki ng !

We' re i n I uck !

Can I bel ieve my l uck? Two ki ngs !

H old me u p ! Th ree !

Th ree ki ngs !

NARRATO R: And behold, there came wise men from the East,

Three kings of the Orient,

and lo, the star which they saw went before them.

Yes, it was the Star of Bethlehem which shone so brightly

and graced the lonely darkening desert with its silver light.

But the little troupe did not see the star's beauty,

for the souls of Ben Haramed and Ali

were too filled with greed,

and the heart of Aaron too overflowing with hatred,

to take any note of the wonder just above them.

N ow, you I isten , d ru m mer boy.

If you g ive th is one performance ,

half the money shal l be you rs .

Then you are free .

NARRATO R: Aaron agreed, only because he knew

that with the kings ' money, he would be free to go his own way

and never again ha ve to trouble himself with humans.

And so they approached the three kings,

Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar.

'Tis n ig ht. We m ust break cam p .

And swiftly! The star waits not for us.

Stri ke the tents ! Pack the camels !

N o ! Don't go ! We j ust got here !

H alt ! O ut of my way! We m ust perform !

Down , knave ! Down !

Ben H aramed , a knave?

(C RYI N G)

I am crushed .

Lower you r spears .

These desert vagabonds seem to mean us no harm .

Why do you come to us?

We are a trou pe of players , You r Majesty.

E r, majesties .

We have no ti me for maki ng merry, as you see .

We break cam p , and . . . Wel l , that's rid icu lous .

Begg i ng you r pardon .

N obody travels the desert by n ig ht !

We do, for we fol low the star.

B E N : H ow very conven ient.

But, u h . . . E noug h .

Begone .

N ow, to resu me ou r jou rney.

So close. My fortu ne was so close !

And see what they load on the camels, g reat one .

B E N : Gold !

O h ! It's too pai nfu l .

(C RI ES)

And more val uable even than gold ,

the precious Eastern resi ns , fran ki ncense and myrrh .

S he is too weak to go on , You r Majesties.

Poor creatu re .

S he has been weakened by the long jou rney.

H ave we no extra beasts?

Al l are laden , al most beyond thei r strength .

M E LC H IO R: Wait !

D id that player not own a camel ?

Perhaps he wou Id sel l it.

N o ! (M U F F LE D G RU NTI N G)

You stri ke a hard bargai n , player.

I 've had a hard l ife .

N ow load the beast, and let us be on ou r way.

Gold . Ah ...

I adore the feel of it, the weig ht of it, the look of it.

Wow!

Ah ! Yes, ah .

You r share .

I don't want it ! I don't want any part of you !

Come, Samson , Baba . (B L EATS)

We m ust fi nd ou r old com rade . N o !

B E N : Let h i m go !

We' re done with h i m !

(BOTH LAU G H I N G)

NARRATO R: Aaron climbed the tallest hill he could find,

but the royal cara van was nowhere in sight.

(B LEATS)

What is it, Baba?

Samson ?

The star? Yes .

The ki ngs were fol Iowi ng that star.

If we fol Iow it,

we are su re to catch u p with them .

Come, q u ickly !

NARRATO R: And so they followed the gleaming star,

little realizing where it was leading them.

C H O I R: (S I N G I N G) You can hear the music

lf you listen with your heart

One star in the night

Shone on Bethlehem

The town of Beth lehem .

NARRATO R: And as Aaron glanced back out over the countryside,

he saw what seemed to be a gentle army of poor shepherds,

all of them being led toward the tiny town.

Why, they're al I fol lowi ng the same star.

C H O I R: (S I N G I N G) Angel's lullaby

On that holy night

Sung unto a Sa vior

Who was born beneath its glow

One star in the night

Look, Samson ! Baba !

By that old stable u p ahead . See?

C H O I R: (S I N G I N G) One night to remember

On that peaceful night

The King of Kings

Was born

The royal caravan !

We fou nd it !

See , there is old J osh ua !

J osh ua ! (G RU NTS)

NARRATO R : Their hearts were so full ofjoy

that they did not look where they were going.

Suddenly, something came careening out of the darkness.

O ut of my way, ragam uffi n !

AARO N : Baba !

O h , Baba , you m ustn 't d ie ! You m ustn't!

Who can hel p me?

(B L EATI N G)

Yes . The ki ngs .

The ki ngs are wise .

They wi I I be able to save Baba .

P lease , I 've got to get i nside to see the ki ngs !

You m ust Iet me th roug h !

NARRATO R: And when Aaron came to the entrance of the stable,

he could hardly believe what he saw.

And she brought forth her first-born son

and wrapped him in swaddling clothes

and laid him in a manger,

because there was no room for them in the inn.

O h , You r Majesty ! You m ust...

(S H U S H I N G) H m m .

O h , The player boy.

My lam b has been i nj u red .

You m ust save h i m .

H e is near death .

O h , lad , there is noth i ng I can do .

B ut you're a ki ng !

A mortal ki ng on ly.

B ut there is a ki ng among ki ngs

who wou Id save you r I ittle friend .

The babe?

B ut I do not u nderstand .

GAS PAR: It is not necessary that you u nderstand .

Go to h i m .

B ut I ...

I have no g ift to bri ng .

Go . Look u pon the newborn ki ng .

C H O I R: (S I N G I N G) Baby Jesus

Pa rum pum pum pum

l am a poor boy too

Pa rum pum pum pum

l ha ve no gift to bring

Pa rum pum pum pum

That's fit to give our king

Pa rum pum pum pum, Rum pum pum pum

Rum pum pum pum

Shall l play for you

Pa rum pum pum pum

On my drum

Mary nodded

Pa rum pum pum pum

The ox and lamb kept time

Pa rum pum pum pum

l played my drum for him

Pa rum pum pum pum

l played my best for him

Pa rum pum pum pum, Rum pum pum pum

Rum pum pum pum

Rum pum pum pum Rum pum pum pum

Then he smiled at me

Pa rum pum pum pum

Me and my drum

NARRATO R: And as Aaron looked at the babe,

he thought it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

AARO N : And yet, there is someth i ng more about h i m ...

So m uch more .

You r g ift, l ittle d ru m mer boy,

g iven out of the si m ple desperation

of a pu re Iove, is the one faVored above al l .

See?

(B LEATS)

NARRATO R: Aaron 's heart was filled with joy and love,

and he knew at last

that the hate he had carried there was wrong,

as all hatred will ever be wrong.

For more powerful, more beautiful by far

than all the eons of sadness and cruelty and desolation

which had come before

was that one tiny, crystalline second of laughter.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

Subtitles by: Relámpago846 they could be improved.