The sun was warm on Chepito’s back as he sat on the sandy shore of the sea and waited. Cupping his eyes with his hands to shield the glare off of the sea, he could barely make out the small boat on the horizon. It seemed to be getting closer and closer. There was no sound except for the peaceful washing of the small waves on the shore. His bare feet were buried in the warm sand. He had done this many times before but it was still exciting for a young boy who didn’t have a whole lot to do during the afternoon. Chepito had already finished his school work for the day. His mother taught him and his older brother Miron how to read and write. She also taught them many other things including the scriptures. His father was a fisherman like most men who lived near the sea. He was out there on that boat with others, dragging the fish nets. Chepito would anxiously wait until the boat came in with the catch, hopefully there would be a lot of fish. He would be able to tell by the way the boat would lean back from the weight and the smiles on the men’s faces. As he sat and formed things in the moist sand, he daydreamed about being on a fishing boat someday and doing what his father did.

          Once a week his father would let him pick out a few small fish from their catch, Chepito and his brother would then take them off and have a picnic by themselves. It was a fun thing for an eight year old boy to do.  Miron liked to do it too, but he didn’t understand why Chepito would sit for hours and watch for the boat. “You’ll never be a fisherman” his brother would tease, “You’re too much of a runt”. It was true that Chepito was small for his age, but he was determined to do what his father did for a living some day. Right now his eyes were locked on that boat that was slowly becoming larger and larger. There were many gulls circling around it. Would they have a big catch this time? He loved to see his father smiling and laughing with the other men, it was so much more fun than when the nets were empty.

          A gentle breeze caressed the face of the small boy as if to quietly announce the vessel’s arrival. He was anxious as he could now hear the distant voices of the men. The boat seemed to be listing to the stern, it was close now, and the small sail had been taken down. As it slowly moved into shallow water, some of the men began to peel over the sides with ropes in hand. They guided the boat closer to shore. Chepito could hear laughter and joking. As he stood, he wanted to run out to meet the men, but he knew he was to stay out of the way. Some of the men were in waste deep water and had already begun to unhook the net from the back of the boat and drag it toward the shore. It must have been a large catch, the men where straining as they pulled it in, others joined in the haul.

          Several of the men collapsed in the sand. They had muscular arms and their bare chests were dark from the sun. They seemed pleased with the catch, but were in no hurry to get up. Chepito watched the net that was still partially in the water. It was bulging and moving with life. He could see and hear the many fish as they splashed and flopped helplessly against the thick rope of the net. The familiar smell came to his nostrils now, the smell of a successful day. Even though he didn’t particularly like the smell of raw fish, it reminded him of how hungry he was now. “Chepito! Come here my boy!” It was his father’s booming voice and it sounded happy. The boy ran to his father who gave him a crushing hug. His father smelled of the sea and hard work. The boy’s hair was now being ruffled by a thick, strong hand. “I have lunch for you!” his father proudly announced.

          Chepito would now pick out two small fish for himself before the men started separating the good ones from the bad. The bad fish were the ones such as catfish that were forbidden by Jewish law to eat or sell. His father was now in knee deep water loosening the top of the net slightly. Chepito’s favorite part was to reach his hand into the net and capture the fish one by one. Now as his father chuckled, and with several attempts he was successful, it had been easy this time. He held up his two prizes and let out a shout. His father laughed and smacked him on the back side. The boy stomped out of the water and headed for home to retrieve his brother.

          When Chepito arrived at his small stone house, the smell of fresh baked barley bread met his senses. His brother stormed out of the door to meet him. “That’s it? Just two little fish?” he complained. “What are you going to eat?” Miron asked selfishly even though it was always two small fish. Their mother had followed him out of the door. “Now Miron, leave your brother alone, those look like fine fish, and besides, you can take some bread with you”. That’s exactly what the younger boy wanted to hear. She boiled the fish and then packed the boy’s lunch. Miron began to taunt his brother, “Chepito, Chepito, what a funny name anyway!” “Stop teasing your brother, that’s not a funny name” his mother exclaimed. “Chepito means ‘God multiplies’.” “Well, it’s always sounded funny to me” Miron concluded, wanting to get the last word. The two brothers started off for the grassy field with their basket. Two fish and five small loaves of barley would be more than enough for them.

          The boys ran barefoot through the field on their way to the large hill that was there. They liked to climb up to the top of it and have their lunch there because it gave them a good view of the sea. There they could watch the activity of the fishermen on the beach below. Chepito was looking forward to eating the fish that he picked out himself. As they arrived at the top of the hill they fell down in exhaustion. The two boys lay in the tall grass and stared up at the sky trying to catch their breath. This was a nice day for a picnic. It was always peaceful and quiet at the top of their hill. The soft rustle of the wind through the grass though was soon interrupted by a different sound. The boys sat up at the same time and listened. The sound was not coming from the sea below, but rather from the other side of the hill. “Come on” Miron told his brother, and the two got up and slowly walked over toward the other side. The closer they got to the edge of the hill the louder the sound became. It was a kind of mummer, like many voices. They reached the edge and looked over. The boys stood and stared with mouths hanging open. The grass on the other side of the hill was covered with people. Hundreds, thousands of people, standing, sitting… walking all about! The basket hit the ground.

          “What is it Miron?” Chepito found himself saying. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen that many people before” Miron answered. “Let’s run and tell father!” the younger boy shouted. “No!” answered Miron as he grabbed Chepito’s arm. Chepito stared at his brother; he had never seen this look on his face before. Miron just stood and stared at the masses of people below. Chepito was excited, “Let’s go down and see what’s going on” he said. Miron finally nodded, “Grab the basket” he said. The two began to run down the grassy hill toward the crowd. More and more people were walking toward the bottom of the hill from all around. As the boys moved within the people they noticed the crowd was thicker at the base of the hill. Chepito was following his brother. They began to weave in and out of the crowd as they ran, trying not to run into anyone, it turned into a fun game.

          As they got near the bottom of the hill, it became almost impossible to get through them all. There were men, women and children everywhere. What could possibly be going on to attract so many people? Chepito wondered. They heard shouts of joy up ahead and clapping from time to time. The closer they got to the bottom the more curious the boys became. They could no longer run; just slowly squeeze between people. Chepito’s basket kept bumping into them and he would check it from time to time to make sure he wasn’t losing their lunch along the way. The people near the bottom were all staring forward. He kept hearing the name “Jesus” and “Jesus of Nazareth” coming from some. The boys didn’t dare stop and ask anyone what was going on.

          Suddenly they popped out of the thick of the crowd, and stood gasping for air. Some of the people were sitting, and at the front of the huge group stood a Man. He was wearing a robe much like the others and holding a little girl who appeared to be crippled. There were several other men standing around Him. They seemed to be directing people in the crowd as they filed up to the front. Chepito and Miron sat down in the grass and watched, the younger clutching his basket. This Man must have been very important, a prophet or something Chepito thought. The two boys watched in fascination as people stood in line to see Him. Some were limping or walking with a stick for support. The Man smiled as He set the child down and she ran off, people around gasped and started clapping. Chepito looked at his big brother and said “What is going on? Who is this?” Miron looked back, shrugged and said “They are calling Him Jesus.”

          Just then the Man looked around at the huge crowd and said to one of the others standing there, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”  He sounded like a teacher testing His student. The other man replied “Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” At that another one of the men walked over toward the boys and looked down at Chepito’s basket. Chepito held it up to him as if to show that this was all he had. To the boy’s surprise the man took it, turned to the One called Jesus and said “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus looked right at Chepito and smiled, then motioned to His followers and said, “Have the people sit down.” They responded by waving their arms and gesturing to the crowd to sit. As they continued, the mass of people slowly began to sit from the front moving toward the back like a giant multi-colored wave.

          The man with Chepito’s basket then walked over and held it out to Jesus. Jesus took the little loaves of bread, looked to the sky, gave thanks and broke them. He then placed them in the basket and took the fish out, gave thanks and placed them back in the basket. Gepito noticed the eyes of one of the men standing near grow as big as coins. Just then several loaves of bread fell out of the basket onto the ground. The one holding the basket was straining to hold it up now. Several of the others ran over and took baskets from women in the front. Whole fish and bread loaves were spilling out of Gepito’s basket and landing on the ground as the followers crawled about on their hands and knees to collect them. There were gasps heard from the people. Several of Jesus’ group started laughing out loud. A woman in the front let out a sigh and fainted. The scramble to collect fish and loaves continued. There were now six full baskets of fish and bread with more pouring out of Chepito’s. The men hurriedly began to pass out the food to the awestruck throng of people. One man was holding out the front of his robe full of fish and bread. Chepito’s mouth was dry and his hands were shaking. He did not understand what was happening, but he knew it was wonderful.

          Small children were crawling on the ground around Jesus’ feet picking up fish and loaves as he chuckled at them. People were calling out, laughing and passing more empty baskets to the front. A basket was passed to Chepito, it was full of bread and little fish exactly like the ones he had brought. He wondered which ones were really his or what had happened to them. He took a fish and a loaf and passed it to his brother who was wearing a huge smile on his face. This was fun! The two boys finally got to have their picnic, and what a picnic it turned out to be! The scurry of activity continued for some time. The smell of fresh fish filled the air. Everyone in this huge crowd was eating and getting their fill.

          Later, many of the people were singing, children were running all around holding fish and playing chase. The men that were with Jesus were walking around picking up leftover pieces of the feast. Yes, leftovers! Many in the crowd including the boys were just standing now, staring at the Man who had created a feast from Chepito’s fish. As the sun was beginning to set behind the grassy hill, Chepito thought, “What a story we have to tell mother and father when we get home!”    What a story indeed.