In the second century, some Christians produced popular literature that told stories of Jesus as a young boy. The best known such book is called the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. It tells of Jesus making clay pigeons that then come to life and fly away. Another time, Joseph cuts a board too short in the carpenter shop and Jesus miraculously stretches it to the right length. He heals his childhood friends and raises one from the dead. But then, on a more disturbing note, a child bumps into him one day in the marketplace and, annoyed, Jesus curses him so that he falls down and dies.
