Video: Children in church tussle over baby Jesus as Christmas pageant goes awry

Tennessee's First Baptist Church of White Pine held a children's pageant that featured several young ones who ended up going a little off script when one of the youngsters caught a case of sticky fingers.

What happened?

In a video shared on Facebook by mom Tana Benson, Sunday's nativity-themed pageant seemed to get off to a good start.

Toddlers and small children were gathered around a nativity scene as a choir sang verses of "Away in a Manger," but Tana's daughter — 2-year-old Teegan, who was portraying a sheep — decided to liven up the production.

Midway through the song, young Teegan decided that she'd rather play with baby Jesus' likeness instead of congregating around his manger.

Teegan reached into the manger and pulled out the doll, proudly showing him to the crowd and dancing with him.

The crowd erupted in uproarious laughter as the kids on the stage engaged in a tug-of-war over the doll.

Without missing a beat, the choir continued singing "Away in a Manger."

After a scuffle that involved several children, the child portraying Jesus' mother, Mary, put Teegan in a (gentle) headlock.

Tana on Facebook wrote:

My little sheep took the baby Jesus, breaking all the rules leaving poor little Mary no choice but to take action! Momma to the rescue tried her best to protect her baby at all costs. Definitely a program I will remember. LOVE these kiddos and my church family! Laughed so hard I cried!

The video, at the time of this writing, has received over 6 million views.

Is there more?

Tana spoke to "Today Parents" and admitted that her daughter loves to be in the spotlight.

"Teegan loves being the center of attention, so the more people laughed, the more excited she was to show her stuff," her mom explained.

Tana also told WBIR-TV that her daughter is very protective of babies.

"[We have] a sheep stealing the baby Jesus and Mary with the WWE Smackdown," she jokingly told the network. "[Mary] is a stickler for the rules. So [she] was not having it, and she knew we were not supposed to touch the baby Jesus so she made sure that Teegan knew for sure that that was unacceptable."

She added, "These kids both love our church, love being here and both have a passion for Jesus, and so I think the message that we want to get across is He is the reason for Christmas."