Original subtitles

♪ Come they told me

♪ Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum

♪ A new born king to see

♪ Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum

The little drummer boy, Aaron

looked at the babe and thought

Surely, there is something more I could give.

Something more I could do.

And as if reading the boy's thoughts

one of the three wise men, Melchior, said to him.

There is more, my son. Indeed, there is.

For this is only the beginning.

Tonight, I will travel into the hues outside of Bethlehem.

For there is a very special man that I must see immediately.

Does it have to do with the babe?

Indeed, it does.

Each of us three kings has a mission

in a different direction.

To spread the news of what has happened here.

May I go with you? Please, your majesty.

Yes, of course, I would like that.

I believe you could be helpful to me.

Who are we going to see?

And why is it so important?

The wise man, Melchior, explained to Aaron

that in a tiny village outside of Bethlehem

there lived a man named Simeon

who for many years had been foretelling

the coming of the promised one.

But few believed Simeon's story.

And most thought he was not of a right mind.

And dismissed his prophecy as idle nonsense.

Simeon lived on a hill outside of Bethlehem.

He was a bell maker by trade.

He made bells used for horses and sheep.

And bells which servants used to wake their masters.

And handbells to announce the beginning of feasts

and other events.

Simeon had a dream and a secret.

His glorious set of silver bells.

Bells that he intended to ring

and be heard throughout Bethlehem

to announce the birth of the promised one.

The fulfillment of his vision

and he knew that the day would be soon.

Only one other person knew about these bells

the old king, Melchior, who was on his way

even now with a little drummer boy

to tell Simeon that the time had come.

The bells would ring that very day or would they?

'Open! By order of the emperor, Caesar Augustus.'

'You must register and be taxed this very day.'

There is no answer, sir.

Shall we break down the door?

No, of course not, just tap lightly

and use a more gentle tone of voice.

Of course! Break down the door, you dote! Immediately!

Alright, men. Ready?

Now!

I-it's empty. Nothing, but these silly bells here.

What a lovely sound.

Give me those, Plato, you fool.

And all of you search the place carefully.

There must be something of value that we can take

instead of silver to pay the taxes.

Uh, what have we here?

What was that?

Give me that spear.

Well, let's see what we have here.

Well, well, taking an afternoon nap?

Out of here this instant!

Brutus, my master, these bells.

I think they're made of pure silver.

Plato, you fool!

Don't be ridiculous.

Hmm, you're right.

'A fortune in pure silver.'

You're right, Plato, you fool!

What taxes has this man, Simeon, been assessed?

Uh, 50 drachma of silver, Brutus, my master.

50 drachmas of silver?

Oh, that's impossible.

I have nothing, absolutely nothing of any value.

Nothing? Not any silver at all, eh?

He says he has nothing.

Well, in that case, you'll pay nothing.

Men! Drag those bells out of here!

Since they are nothing, we might as well take them

instead of the taxes.

Oh no, no, not the bells.

Please, you don't understand.

Out of our way, you silly fool.

Poor Simeon.

So many years of work, hope and expectation

lost in a few brief moments.

How would he ever explain to Melchior?

♪ Come they told me

♪ Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum

♪ Me and my drum

Simeon explained to Melchior and Aaron that

the emperor's tax collectors had taken his silver bells

as payment for the taxes he could not afford.

Aaron suddenly thought of a plan.

If we can find their camp, I will enter as a beggar boy

and ask to sing a song or two

and offer to entertain them with my animals.

I'm sure they wouldn't refuse.

But what good would that do?

Well, we can't make a plan to get back the silver bells

'until we find them.'

Then we will think of what to do next.

They searched all through the night

in the hills outside of the town

and just when they could hardly move another step

they saw the tax collector's camp

in a small valley beneath them.

Come, Babba, Samson. You too, Joshua.

It's time to give the performance of our lives.

- Plato, you fool! - Yes! Brutus, my master.

Bring me that bag of silver coins

we collected for taxes today.

Too bad all of this belongs to the emperor.

It's difficult not to be greedy

with all of this at one's fingertips.

You know, there were days when money did not exist.

No money?

What did they use to buy things?

♪ When they invented money

♪ They invented greed

♪ Now we're no longer trading

♪ For all the things we need

♪ I give you an egg

♪ And get some butter back

♪ Now I give you a coin

♪ For all the things I lack

♪ Hey I give you a pig ♪

♪ And get a sack of wheat

♪ Now I give you some gold

♪ When I desire to eat

♪ Hey I give you a hat ♪

♪ And get a pair of shoes

♪ Now there's no more of that

♪ You pay for what you use

♪ Money money money makes you poor or makes you rich ♪

♪ Money money money It's the gold and silver itch ♪

♪ Money money money makes you poor or makes you rich ♪

♪ Money money money it's the gold and silver itch ♪

♪ Would you take an egg

♪ And give some butter back

♪ No I'd prefer a coin

♪ For anything you lack

♪ Hey would you take a pig ♪

♪ If I gave you some wheat

♪ No I would like some gold

♪ If you would like to eat

♪ Hey I'll give you a hat ♪

♪ If you give me some shoes

♪ Now there's no more of that

♪ You pay for what you use

♪ Money money money makes you poor or makes you rich ♪

♪ Money money money it's the gold and silver itch hey ♪

♪ Money money money makes you poor or makes you rich ♪

♪ Money money money it's the gold and silver itch ♪

Plato, you fool. Put this silver away.

And speaking of silver, we must do something

about those wretched bells.

'We can't very well go on carrying them'

all about the countryside.

Why don't we melt them down into silver bricks

Brutus, my master?

Plato, you fool!

You're a genius.

Gather wood. We'll need a big roaring fire to do the job.

Oh, no! Come quickly before it's too late.

There's the boy now.

Just entering the camp with his animals.

'Oh, God be with him.'

I hope nothing goes wrong.

That little drummer boy's life

is worth more than any silver bells.

What have we here?

A drummer boy come to entertain us?

I saw your camp and heard the singing.

My animals and I have not eaten for two days.

And I thought we might entertain in exchange for..

'In exchange for what?'

♪ You give me a coin

♪ A ballad will I sing

♪ Fill my bag with gold

♪ While I am minstreling

♪ Hey

♪ You give me that pig

♪ I'll sing your favorite song

♪ For a sack of wheat

♪ I'll make it twice as long

♪ Hey

♪ I will trade that hat

♪ For a fa-so-la-ti-do

♪ No there's no more of that

♪ You'll sing for free boy oh ♪

♪ You collect money from us

♪ Now there's a twist

♪ Money money money makes you poor or makes you rich ♪

♪ Money money money it's the gold and silver itch ♪

We must begin to melt those bells.

Why is that fire not lighted? Plato, yo-you..

Brutus, m-my-ma, uh..

We are having difficulties starting it.

All the wood is very damp.

We have need of two dry sticks and some suitable kindling.

Sticks? Kindling?

Drummer boy, come here.

Ah, what a lovely little drum you have there.

And those two sticks.

Perfect!

No! Please! Not my drum!

Give me those sticks and that drum.

Poor Aaron had not counted on anything like this.

The only things of value he had ever owned.

The very sticks and drum he had used to play for the babe

lost forever in flames.

Aaron was truly heart broken about the loss of his drum.

Melchior and Simeon were about to leave their hiding place

and go to his aid

when they saw the animals do an amazing thing.

Look! The animals have taken the bells.

Oh, this is indeed a miracle!

Come. They are stuck and they will surely be caught

if we do not help them.

Enough. Enough wood.

The fire looks ready for the melting.

Bring the bells.

Aaron and his friends

knew that they didn't have much more time

to get the bells to a safe hiding place.

For the Roman soldiers, within moments

would discover that they were missing.

They were right here.

I'm sure this is where we left them just hours ago.

Oh. Am I intruding?

I certainly don't wish to rush you, but..

...what do you idiots think you're doing standing around

and staring at your feet?

Uh, you see, the bells... you know, the silver bells..

Uh, they seem to be, uh, not here.

'Missing... uh, m-missing..'

Aaron! You're back. What is happening down there?

They've begun to search.

I'm sure that one of them will find the tracks

and be here at any moment. We must hurry!

If we can bury these bells

and make the sand look like the other dunes

'then we may have a chance.'

Let me help you.

Quickly, they buried the bells and then hid themselves

behind a nearby cliff.

Waiting and hoping that all would be well.

'What have you found there, Peroneus?'

Nothing! Nothing here

or as far as the eye can see in any direction.

'Who among you remembers silver bells?'

- Any of you? - I don't know.

Good! Because there were no blasted bells

no bell maker, no taxes for anyone named Simeon!

Nothing, I will not be embarrassed in Rome. Understood?

Yes, Brutus.

I, for one, remember nothing since breakfast this morning.

Fool that I am.

It was your Greek namesake, Plato, that once said

"Of all the animals

"the boy is the most unmanageable."

'That drummer boy caused all of this, unquestionably.'

I know it.

I have been made to play the part of a fool.

And you were glorious, Brutus, my master.

What a glorious day for me.

And for all of Bethlehem! Indeed, all the world!

Thanks to you, Melchior.

And to our brave little drummer boy and his animals.

It will be a day long remembered in history.

Simeon, prepare to ring out the bells.

For it is time. Let me find Aaron.

I'm sure he'll want to be here.

Melchior expected to find a happy and joyous Aaron.

But instead, he came upon one distressed

and on the verge of tears.

Why are you so sad, my son? Today is a day for rejoicing.

You have accomplished a magnificent feat.

I know I should be happy.

It's just that my drum and sticks..

...they were burned in the fire at the tax collector's camp.

They were a gift from my poor father and..

The wise man tried to console Aaron about his loss.

And soon, the little drummer boy realized

that the event that was about to occur

far over-shadowed his small problem.

Now, Simeon. Now!

♪ Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy ♪

♪ Do you hear what I hear

♪ Ringing through the sky shepherd boy ♪

♪ Do you hear what I hear

♪ A song a song high above the trees ♪

♪ With a voice as big as the sea ♪

♪ With a voice as big as the sea ♪

♪ Said the king to the people everywhere ♪

♪ Listen to what I say

♪ Pray for peace people everywhere ♪

♪ Listen to what I say

♪ The child the child sleeping in the night ♪

♪ He will bring us goodness and light ♪

♪ He will bring us

♪ Goodness and light

And all of Bethlehem heard the bells

and knew that the prophecy of old Simeon had come true.

And they, too, followed the star

to see the promised one.

The little babe in the manger.

Aaron, we all have need of your talents once again.

You know the road to the manger.

Lead us, son, with your drum.

My drum?

A mere few hours work for a bell maker.

A drum! A drum.

Go, Aaron, and lead them.

For I must be on my way back to Damascus.

And always remember, God is with you.

I heard the bells on Christmas day.

Their old familiar carols play.

And wild and sweet the words repeat

of peace on Earth, goodwill toward men.

And each year, the bells rang out

to remind the people to come and rejoice

with love and hope in their hearts

and celebrate the Christmas day.

♪ So to honor him

♪ Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum

♪ When we come

♪ I played my drum for him

♪ Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum