Radio personality Paul Harvey's Christmas story, "The Man and the Birds," is about a man who doesn't believe in the story of Jesus and chooses to spend Christmas Eve at home alone, while his family goes to church. The snow begins to fall, and a flock of birds lands by his house. He attempts to save the birds from the cold, and it's implied that the experience causes him to believe in the story of Jesus.Continue Reading
Harvey begins the story by describing the main character as a regular man who thought the story of God visiting Earth as a man didn't make sense. He tells his wife he'd feel hypocritical spending Christmas Eve at a church, but that he'll stay up until his family returns home.
Snow starts falling once his family leaves, and he reads the newspaper in his chair. He hears several thumps by his living room window, and when he investigates, he realizes a flock of birds hit his window trying to fly in. He opens the door to his barn to give the birds a warm shelter, but the birds don't go inside. He tries getting the birds to go in by leaving a trail of food to the barn, catching them and shooing them, but none of his methods work. After he tries to shoo them in, the birds scatter.
The man realizes that the birds see him as a terrifying creature, and that if he were also a bird, he could better communicate with them. He then hears the church bells ring and sinks to his knees in the snow.Learn more about Christmas