Chapter 2: Jesus Makes Sparrows

1The child Jesus was five years old. After it rained, he was playing at the ford of a flowing stream. Stirring up the dirty water, he gathered it into pools and made it clean and excellent, ordering it by his word alone—and not ordering it by a deed.

2Then, after taking soft clay from the mud, he formed twelve sparrows from it. But it was the Sabbath when he did these things, and many children were with him.

3A certain Jew saw the child Jesus doing these things with the other children. He went to Joseph, his father, and slandered the child Jesus by saying, “He made clay on the Sabbath, which is not permissible, and formed twelve sparrows.”

4Joseph went and rebuked him (Jesus), saying, “Why are you doing these things on the Sabbath?”

5But Jesus clapped his hands and, with a shout in front of everyone, commanded the birds, saying, “Go, take flight like living beings!” The sparrows took flight and flew away squawking.

6When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed and reported it to all his friends.