And already the angels are singing

The journey is long and night is near. Mary walks along the road to Bethlehem, the donkey moving at a leisurely pace. Farther on, having already arrived, she waits in silence. And all around the manger, angels stand: one hangs his trumpet in the attic, another draws his bow, two others have bowed before the mother and child. It is Advent and the Nativity united in a single scene—the duration of the waiting, and the moment that crowns it.