David's Star of Bethlehem by Maud Van Buren

Name: David's Star of Bethlehem
Author: Maud Van Buren

“David’s Star of Bethlehem” follows Scott and Nancy Carson, whose Christmas has been unbearable since the death of their eleven-year-old son Jimmy three years earlier. Scott refuses all celebration, tortured especially by memories of the carols and Christmas preparations surrounding Jimmy’s sudden death. Hoping to escape the holiday, the couple travel to their isolated mountain camp. On the way they learn of David, a boy at the Hawkins farm who has been kept from helping decorate the school for its Christmas gathering because he must tend the camp fire. When Scott and Nancy arrive, David is singing “Silent Night,” a sound that initially shocks Scott with grief. Yet the child’s wistful manner, love of reading, worn clothing, and longing for the school Christmas festivities awaken both adults’ sympathy. David tells them that his people dislike his reading and even burned a copy of “David Copperfield” given to him by Teacher. David fails to bring milk the next morning, and Scott begins to worry. He finally arrives after the school party has begun, tearful and defeated. The Hawkinses have gone to Conroy for Christmas, leaving him alone to milk the cows; they also hid or took away his good suit so that he could not attend the school gathering, where he was meant to appear as one of the Three Kings, sing a solo, and speak a piece. Scott, moved by the boy’s disappointment, resolves to give him a Christmas of his own. He and Nancy cut a tree, decorate the cabin with pine and popcorn, prepare a stocking, and promise David a party on Christmas Day, complete with carols and “The Night Before Christmas.” Scott calls Nancy “Mother,” a name he has not used since Jimmy’s death, signaling that the presence of David has begun to restore their capacity for love and celebration. While David sleeps, Scott goes to the village for supplies but instead investigates the child’s circumstances. He learns that the harsh Hawkins woman is not David’s mother: David’s own mother died when he was a baby, his grief-stricken father later died, and David was sent to the poor farm before Clem Hawkins took him on cheaply for chores. Scott works through the necessary arrangements to take David away from the Hawkinses. Near midnight, Scott and Nancy tell David that they cannot offer store-bought gifts, but can offer him “a real mother” and father. David is overwhelmed to learn that he will never have to return to Hawkins’s and will have a family like other children. As the cabin is lit by firelight and brilliant Christmas stars, David wonders whether one of them may be the Star of Bethlehem.

By Maud Van Buren · First published 1927 · Genre: Christmas Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Sentimental Fiction · 6,818 words

First lines

_Christine Whiting Parmenter_

Scott Carson reached home in a bad humor. Nancy, slipping a telltale / bit of red ribbon into her workbasket, realized this as soon as he came / in.[9]

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David's Star of Bethlehem is listed on Textopian as a short story by Maud Van Buren, dated 1927 CE.

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Work type: Short story
Author: Maud Van Buren
Date: 1927 CE
Language: English
Genres: Christmas Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Sentimental Fiction, Redemption/Inspirational Fiction, Religious/Spiritual Fiction
Length: 6,818 words
Structure: 1 section, 126 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Christmas Fiction — The narrative is entirely structured around the Christmas season, with the title directly referencing the Star of Bethlehem; Christmas themes, carols, and traditions form the central emotional framework of the story.
Domestic Fiction — The core plot centers on the emotional dynamics of Scott and Nancy's marriage and their grief, culminating in the formation of a new family unit through David's adoption.
Sentimental Fiction — The narrative employs deliberate emotional manipulation through pathetic scenarios—the grieving parents, the neglected child, the cruel treatment, the redemptive ending—designed to evoke tears and emotional response.
Redemption/Inspirational Fiction — The primary arc follows Scott's spiritual and emotional redemption from grief through love and compassion; the story functions as an inspirational narrative about healing and second chances for both Scott and David.