Two travelling angels stopped
to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and gave
the angels a small space in the cold basement instead of the mansion’s
guest-room. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole
in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel
replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
The next night, the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but hospitable
farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let
the angels sleep in their bed where the angels could have a good night’s
rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and
his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole source of income,
lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was furious and asked the older angel, “How could
you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him,” he
accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything
and you let their cow die.”
“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When
we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in
the wall, which had the hole. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and
unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find
it. Then last night, as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death
came for his wife. I gave the angel the cow instead. Things aren’t always
what they seem.”
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