Summaries
Plot Summary
- The six Herdman children-Imogene, Ralph, Claude, Leroy, Ollie, and Gladys-are infamous for their wild behavior, which includes smoking cigars, cussing, drinking jug wine, shoplifting, and even committing arson. They've never faced discipline because their father abandoned the family when Gladys was a baby, and their mother is constantly working multiple jobs to make ends meet. Despite their poor academic performance, the Herdmans manage to pass through elementary school because holding any of them back would result in having multiple Herdmans in the same grade, which teachers want to avoid at all costs.They attend Sunday school for the first time after hearing that the church offers snacks. The narrator's mother is shocked when they all volunteer for the lead roles in the Christmas pageant: Imogene as Mary, Ralph as Joseph, Claude, Ollie, and Leroy as the Three Wise Men, and Gladys as the Angel of the Lord, whom she compares to a character from Amazing Comics. Having bullied the usual cast members into silence, the director has no choice but to cast them. Additionally, since the Herdmans took over the major roles, local mothers refuse to let their babies participate, fearing for their safety. As a result, Beth's mother uses a doll for the baby Jesus instead.Not having heard the Christmas story before, the Herdmans develop an unusual interest in it, prompting the narrator and her parents to reflect more deeply on the story's more challenging elements, such as the innkeeper forcing a pregnant woman to sleep in a barn and the Holy Family fleeing from King Herod, who wanted to kill the baby Jesus.The entire town expects the Christmas pageant to be a disaster, but the Herdmans' unconventional approach makes the performance surprisingly authentic and touching. Instead of moving on and off stage like actors, the Herdmans are hesitant and unsure, much like the real Holy Family and Wise Men might have been. Imogene, playing Mary, insists on holding the doll representing Jesus as if it were her own child, while the Wise Men bring a ham from the Herdmans' gift basket instead of the traditional frankincense and myrrh. The shepherds appear genuinely awed by Gladys's announcement of Jesus' birth, and during the final scene, the narrator is astonished to see Imogene softly crying while holding the "baby." By unanimous agreement, it is considered the best Christmas pageant the town has ever seen.
