1 At dawn, Joseph, with Mary and Jesus, marched to the land of Canaan, stopping at a city that was called Mathiam or Madiam. And Jesus was then six years and three months old. And it happened that, as he was traveling through the city, he saw, in a certain place, a group of children, and he went towards them. And some, when they saw him approaching, said, Behold, a strange child is coming. Let’s put him to flight. But others said: And what harm can he do us, since he is a child like us?
2 And Jesus went and sat down by them, and asked them, Why do you remain silent, and what do you say? do you propose to do? The children responded: Nothing. But Jesus insisted: Which of you knows any game? The children replied: We don’t know any. Jesus exclaimed: Look, then, all of you, and see. And, taking clay from the earth, he kneaded with it a figure of a sparrow, I blew on its head and the bird, as if animated by a breath of life, began to fly. And Jesus said: Come, go and catch that sparrow. And they contemplated him with fascination and marveled at the miracle performed by Jesus.
3 And, kneading dust from the ground again, he scattered it through the air towards the sky. And the dust turned into a large quantity of flies and mosquitoes, with which the entire city was filled and which extremely bothered men and animals. And he again took mud, with which he formed bees and wasps, which he poured on the children, moving and alarming them to the highest degree. Because those insects, falling on the children’s heads and necks, slid inside his clothes to his chest and stung them. And they cried and moved from one side to the other, screaming. But Jesus, to appease them, called them with a sweet accent and, passing his hand over the bites, said to them: Do not cry, for your limbs no longer suffer any harm. And the children were silent. And the inhabitants of the city and the region, seeing such wonders, said to each other: Where does this invasion of flies and mosquitoes come from, which has infested our population? The children said: It comes from a boy, the son of an old white-haired foreigner, who has worked this prodigy. And they all cried out together: Where is he? The children said. We do not know. (For Jesus had fled from there and had hidden himself from his sight.) And those who heard about all the works of Jesus desired to see him and exclaimed: This is a thing of God and not of a man.
4 And, after three days, it happened that Jesus went to circulate secretly through the city. And he listened to the speeches of the people, who murmured among themselves: Who has seen, in this city, the son of a gray-haired old man, of whom everyone testifies that he works miracles that our gods do not know how to do? Others commented: You say the truth, because that child knows how to do everything he wants. And Jesus, having heard this, returned quietly to his house and hid himself there, so that no one would know anything. However, several days later, Jesus went to join the children his age, where they were. And having seen him, they all joyfully went to meet him. And they prostrated themselves before him, saying: Welcome to you, Jesus, son of a venerable old man. Why have you disappeared, depriving us of your presence, during the many days that you have not come to this place? All of us… (Here there is, in the manuscript, a gap, after which the text takes up the thread of the narrative again in the following tenor:)… And they came there crying and mourned him greatly. And the boy was seven years old. And, after an hour, the little boy’s parents asked: Where is that boy who killed our son with a stone? They all responded: We ignore it. And his parents, lifting up his body, carried it to his house. And they went to see the judge of the city, to whom they told the whole story. And the judge ordered that the boys be arrested and brought before him. When they had arrived, he questioned them, and said to them: Young men and children, great and small, who are gathered here, in the audience hall, consider your youth! You do not imagine that your cries and your tears will decide me to absolve you out of scruples of conscience, or that I am going to set you free, through an intercession or a gift, as you undoubtedly believe. There will be none of it, but I will cause you to be torn many times in cruel torments, and perish from a bad death. Do not have any illusions about this, some telling yourselves that you are children of a family, and others children of poor people, and thinking that the judge will have mercy on whoever he pleases. No! I swear to you by the power of my gods and by the glory of my sovereign the Emperor, that all of you, as many as you are, will be condemned on this same day. Tell me, then, who among you killed that child, since all of you who were there know him. They answered together: Oh judge, listen to us, and notice that, with respect to each other, we testify, under oath, that we are innocent! The judge replied: I already told you, and I repeat now, that I speak to you like this, not in a tone of threat, but of benevolence. Do not cover up your crime, if you do not want to perish like that child, without anything or anyone helping you. The boys replied: O judge, we tell you exactly the truth, as we know it! And, not being able to know who the culprit is, why, Through a lie, would we hand an innocent person over to death? The judge confirmed: he will have you punished severely, and then I will make you appear with cruel death, if you do not reveal the truth to me. The boys insisted, repeating: Together we stand before you. Everything you tell us to say, and that we know, we will say. In view of this persistence in their refusal, the judge, full of anger, ordered that they be stripped naked and whipped with raw bindweed. And he who was the murderer of the child, intimidated by the judge, uttered a cry, and exclaimed: O judge, free me from these bonds and I will show you who is the murderer of the child. The judge ordered him to be released, and, calling him to his side, with caresses and good words, he said: Explain to me punctually and in order everything you know. And the boy said: Listen to me, oh judge! I was there, separated and far from everyone, and I saw little Jesus, the son of old Joseph the stranger, who, while playing, mortally wounded that child with a stone and immediately fled. The judge asked: And were there others with you when the child died, and are they witnesses that Jesus is the author of the act? They all answered in one: Yes, he is. The judge said: And why didn’t you report it to me as soon as you came here? The boys said: We thought we had done wrong by betraying him for being the son of a poor foreigner. The judge said: And would it seem preferable to you to condemn an innocent person legally, to setting free the one who was worthy of death? He then had Joseph arrested, questioned him, and ordered fruitless searches to be undertaken to find Jesus. However, as he was questioning Joseph again, Jesus suddenly entered the court. Many words of discussion and many altercations passed between Jesus and the magistrate, who, finally, full of fury, sent for the boys and said to them: Reveal the truth to me once and for all, so that I may be well informed. Is it you who caused this death, or is it little Jesus? They said this was the cause. Then Jesus resurrected the dead man and forced him to designate the true killer, as he did. And discovered by the victim himself the reality of the case, Jesús filled the judge with reproaches. And I preserved the child’s life until the ninth hour of the day, so that everyone had time to go to see him risen from the dead. Then Jesus, taking the floor, said to the child: Saul, son of Saivur, sleep now and rest, until the universal judge arrives, who will pronounce a fair judgment. And with these words spoken, the child, bowing his head, fell asleep. Seeing which, all those who had witnessed such prodigies were filled with panic and dropped as if dead. And they did not dare to look at Jesus. In the violence of their terror, they trembled before him and their surprise redoubled due to the tender age of the miracle worker. Jesus wanted to leave, but those people implored him and said: Return to life again to the dead whom you have resurrected. But Jesus refused to do so and said: If, from the beginning, you had believed my word and accepted my testimony, I would not lack power to grant the request that you now address to me. But, since you have conspired to condemn me unjustly, and have unworthily raged and raged against me, through slanderous testimonies, I have resurrected that child, to oppose him as a witness to your accusations, and thus I have escaped death. And, having said this, Jesus disappeared from his sight. And they brought Joseph out of his prison and set him free. And several people who, having gone to look for Jesus, had not been able to find him, begged Joseph and said to him: Where is your son, so that he can go and raise the little one again? But Joseph replied: I don’t know. And the next day at dawn he got up, took the child and his mother, and left the city and set out on his way. And Jesus was then six years and eleven months. And they arrived at a village called Iaiel, where they lived for a long time.
5 And one day Joseph and Mary took counsel concerning Jesus, and said, What shall we do with him? , since because of it we have to endure so many annoyances and concerns from people, in all towns, what do we go through? It is to be feared that one day he will be taken by force or by secret means, and that we will perish with him. Joseph said: Since you question me, have you thought of taking any action in the matter? María said: You see well that he is already an older child and that, however, he always goes where he pleases, and does not stop for a moment at home. If you like, we could dedicate him to the profession of scribe, so that he remains under the dependence of a teacher, so that he can exercise himself in all kinds of studies and in the knowledge of divine laws, and so that we can live in peace.
6 Joseph said: You are right. Your will be fulfilled. Maria said: If you do not set your mind anywhere to study, being already very skilled and capable of understanding everything, you will not submit to a teacher. Joseph said: Do not be afraid for him, because his appearance is full of mystery, and his works are marvelous, prodigious, amazing. And this is why we go throughout the land, like nomads without a homeland, waiting for the Lord to signify his will to us, and satisfy, for our benefit, the desire of our hearts. Maria observed: I am very anxious about that, and I don’t know what will happen later. Joseph replied: Later, in the hour of trial, the Lord will rescue us from troubles. Don’t be sad. And, after these confidential words, both spouses fell silent.