III. 1 But the son of Annas the scribe was standing there with Joseph; and he took a branch of a willow and dispersed the waters which Jesus had gathered together. 2 And when Jesus saw what was done, he was wroth and said unto him: O evil, ungodly, and foolish one, what hurt did the pools and the waters do thee? behold, now also thou shalt be withered like a tree, and shalt not bear leaves, neither root, nor fruit. 3 And straightway that lad withered up wholly, but Jesus departed and went unto Joseph's house. But the parents of him that was withered took him up, bewailing his youth, and brought him to Joseph, and accused him 'for that thou hast such a child which doeth such deeds.'
IV. 1 After that again he went through the village, and a child ran and dashed against his shoulder. And Jesus was provoked and said unto him: Thou shalt not finish thy course (lit. go all thy way). And immediately he fell down and died.
None of them rang true to my Spirit, but it is quite interesting to note the thinking of various sects throughout history.
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha on the other hand has some Hebrew lore which does ring true. For instance, one recounts how come Abraham left his father and another how Job got into such trouble with Satan. Both of those had a ring of Truth in my Spirit.
Aha, found the other Infancy gospel here: Infancy Gospel of Thomas. I've excerpted the most odd passages below.Yes, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas! I remember my 1st grade nun teacher telling us those stories. She called them "Jesus stories". It wasn't until a few years ago, when I read those other gospels, that I realized that these stories could have been added to the official canon.
I don't remember which gospel contains what story, but I especially liked the stories of Mary, Joseph, & baby Jesus during their refugee flight into Egypt, and how baby Jesus' used bathwater cured the sick & those suffering from spells. (Like the man whose girlfriend had turned him into a donkey.)
Then there are the stories of Jesus as a boy. The son of Annas the scribe, IIRC, destroyed a dam or irrigation ditch or something that Jesus & his friends had been building in the mud. (I.e. they were making "play ditches, play dams", etc.) He destroyed their "work" because they were "building" things on the Sabbath. Jesus had also formed a couple birds out of the mud. When Annas' son was about to destroy them as well, Jesus commanded the birds to fly away, and they did!
Then there's the story of what transpired when the crucified Jesus spent those couple days in Hell, arguing with Satan - and Hell itself joins the argument!
They're a fascinating collection of stories, and a rip-roaring read besides. And realizing that most of these extra gospels were written around the same time as the "official" gospels - and taken just as seriously by some at the time - really throws light on how we should view all those stories of miracles in the "official" gospels.