The Three Wise Animals

They crossed the desert

They were guided by a star.

They followed three religions

They shared one path.

Together they found

The miracle of friendship

The holiness of respect

And a city of peace.

"The Three Wise Animals" tells the story of a Muslim camel, a Jewish goat and a Christian lamb who meet on the way to Jerusalem. Rather than dividing them, their prayers unify them and together they find common ground.

Yehudith Freeman Tucker grew up in Israel and started drawing in an apartment by the Mediterranean Sea from which she could hear the Muslim call to prayer, Church bells ringing in the distance, and the sound of people studying in Hebrew.

Her parents were peace activists who were troubled by the conflict in the Holy Land. They spoke out and wrote but mostly they made friends and built bridges that way. The first Christmas tree she ever saw was in the living room of a Jordanian Christian family who lived in East Jerusalem which is now Palestine.

She has long felt a calling to understand religion. Growing up in diverse company, she was taught to respect everyone. This lesson she passes on in her book "The Three Wise Animals".

Yehudith is a landscape painter who prays in several languages and has a family that includes Christian, Muslim, Jewish members. Her paintings can be seen at Gallery321.org.