And a terrapin in a minibus

The story:

Towards the end of my first term in high school (aged 12), this venerable Christmas song became a regular feature of our morning assemblies.

There were two problems. First, we new kids were never shown the written lyrics, so we had to figure them out by listening to the older kids singing at the back of the hall. Second, this old song is in latin, and none of us knew any latin.

I don't think we got any of the words right, but one thing me and my friends all agreed on: there definitely was a terrapin in a minibus in the second line.

We couldn't imagine what either the turtle or the bus had to do with Baby Jesus and the Nativity - but then a lot of things at that school didn't make sense.

It was not until the following year we were given a hymn sheet with the correct lyrics, and I must admit that I was disappointed.