When Adam and Eve were driven out of Paradise, they were compelled to build a house for
themselves on unfruitful ground, and eat their bread in the sweat of their brow. Adam dug up the
land, and Eve span. Every year Eve brought a child into the world; but the children were unlike
each other, some pretty, and some ugly. After a considerable time had gone by, God sent an
angel to them, to announce that he was coming to inspect their household. Eve, delighted that
the Lord should be so gracious, cleaned her house diligently, decked it with flowers, and strewed
reeds on the floor. Then she brought in her children, but only the beautiful ones. She washed
and bathed them, combed their hair, put clean raiment on them, and cautioned them to conduct
themselves decorously and modestly in the presence of the Lord. They were to bow down before
him civilly, hold out their hands, and to answer his questions modestly and sensibly. The ugly
children were, however, not to let themselves be seen. One hid himself beneath the hay, another
under the roof, a third in the straw, the fourth in the stove, the fifth in the cellar, the sixth under a
tub, the seventh beneath the wine-cask, the eighth under an old fur cloak, the ninth and tenth
beneath the cloth out of which she always made their clothes, and the eleventh and twelfth under
the leather out of which she cut their shoes. She had scarcely got ready, before there was a knock
at the house-door. Adam looked through a chink, and saw that it was the Lord. Adam opened
the door respectfully, and the Heavenly Father entered. There, in a row, stood the pretty children,
and bowed before him, held out their hands, and knelt down. The Lord, however, began to bless
them, laid his hands on the first, and said, "Thou shalt be a powerful king;" and to the second,
"Thou a prince," to the third, "Thou a count," to the fourth, "Thou a knight," to the fifth, "Thou a
nobleman," to the sixth, "Thou a burgher," to the seventh, "Thou a merchant," to the eighth,
"Thou a learned man." He bestowed upon them also all his richest blessings. When Eve saw
that the Lord was so mild and gracious, she thought, "I will bring hither my ill-favoured children
also, it may be that he will bestow his blessing on them likewise." So she ran and brought them
out of the hay, the straw, the stove, and wherever else she had concealed them. Then came the
whole coarse, dirty, shabby, sooty band. The Lord smiled, looked at them all, and said, "I will
bless these also." He laid his hands on the first, and said to him, "Thou shalt be a peasant," to the
second, "Thou a fisherman," to the third, "Thou a smith," to the fourth, "Thou a tanner," to the
fifth, "Thou a weaver," to the sixth, Thou a shoemaker," to the seventh, "Thou a tailor," to the
eighth, "Thou a potter," to the ninth, "Thou a waggoner," to the tenth, "Thou a sailor," to the
eleventh, "Thou an errand-boy," to the twelfth, "Thou a scullion all the days of thy life."
When Eve had heard all this she said, "Lord, how unequally thou dividest thy gifts! After all
they are all of them my children, whom I have brought into the world, thy favours should be
given to all alike." But God answered, "Eve, thou dost not understand. It is right and necessary
that the entire world should be supplied from thy children; if they were all princes and lords, who
would grow corn, thresh it, grind and bake it? Who would be blacksmiths, weavers, carpenters,
masons, labourers, tailors and seamstresses? Each shall have his own place, so that one shall
support the other, and all shall be fed like the limbs of one body." Then Eve answered, "Ah,
Lord, forgive me, I was too quick in speaking to thee. Have thy divine will with my
children."
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