A little Christmas controversy

Recently there has been some controversy within the Cause (light-hearted I might add) over whether or not donkeys, sheep, cows, and even the wise men should be included in today's manger scenes. It all started with a fun-natured Christmas I.Q. test that I came across. One of the questions was phrased as such:

Which animals were present at Jesus' birth?

A. Donkeys, sheep, and goats

B. Donkeys and sheep

C. Sheep and goats

D. Lions, tigers, and bears

E. None of the above

The correct answer is "E" as the Bible does not tell us which animals were present. But, the Bible does not tell us that there weren't any animals present. Granted there is no major theological issue at stake here, but it does make for some fun debate amongst mid-highers. One student went so far as to remove the animals from her family nativity scene and hide them from her dismayed mother. Whether you have animals or not in your nativity scene it makes no matter. One thing I do know, the following manger scenes are probably not a good representation of what might or might not have been at the original Christmas scene:

I'm not sure, but I don't believe Santa was there in Bethlehem, nor was his sleigh pulled by eight tiny frogs.

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, round yon fryer, mother and chick...

It just doesn't sound right, does it?

I really don't know what to say about this one.

I guess the wise men came from the Northwest and were not wise men, but were actually wee little leprechauns