There was once on a time a hermit¹ who lived in a forest at the foot of a mountain, and passed histime in prayer and good works, and every evening he carried, to the glory of God, two pails ofwater up the mountain. Many a beast drank of it, and many a plant was refreshed by it, for on theheights above, a strong wind blew continually, which dried the air and the ground, and the wildbirds which dread² mankind wheel about there, and with their sharp eyes search for a drink. Andbecause the hermit was so pious³, an angel of God, visible to his eyes, went up with him, countedhis steps, and when the work was completed, brought him his food, even as the prophet of oldwas by God's command fed by the raven⁴. When the hermit in his piety⁵ had already reached agreat age, it happened that he once saw from afar a poor sinner being taken to the gallows⁶. Hesaid carelessly to himself, "There, that one is getting his deserts!" In the evening, when he wascarrying the water up the mountain, the angel who usually accompanied him did not appear, andalso brought him no food. Then he was terrified, and searched his heart, and tried to think howhe could have sinned, as God was so angry, but he did not discover it. Then he neither ate nordrank, threw himself down on the ground, and prayed day and night. And as he was one day thusbitterly weeping in the forest, he heard a little bird singing beautifully and delightfully⁷, and thenhe was still more troubled and said, "How joyously⁸ thou singest, the Lord is not angry with thee.

Ah, if thou couldst but tell me how I can have offended him, that I might do penance⁹, and thenmy heart also would be glad again." Then the bird began to speak and said, "Thou hast doneinjustice, in that thou hast condemned¹⁰ a poor sinner who was being led to the gallows, and forthat the Lord is angry with thee. He alone sits in judgement. However, if thou wilt¹² do penanceand repent¹³ thy sins, he will forgive thee." Then the angel stood beside him with a dry branch inhis hand and said, "Thou shalt carry this dry branch until three green twigs¹⁴ sprout¹⁵ out of it, but atnight when thou wilt sleep, thou shalt lay it under thy head. Thou shalt beg thy bread from doorto door, and not tarry more than one night in the same house. That is the penance which the Lordlays on thee."Then the hermit took the piece of wood, and went back into the world, which he had not seen forso long. He ate and drank nothing but what was given him at the doors; many petitions were,however, not listened to, and many doors remained shut to him, so that he often did not get acrumb of bread.

Once when he had gone from door to door from morning till night, and no one had given himanything, and no one would shelter him for the night, he went forth¹¹ into a forest, and at last founda cave which someone had made, and an old woman was sitting in it. Then said he, "Goodwoman, keep me with you in your house for this night;" but she said, "No, I dare not, even if Iwished, I have three sons who are wicked and wild, if they come home from their robbingexpedition, and find you, they would kill us both." The hermit said, "Let me stay, they will do noinjury either to you or to me." and the woman was compassionate¹⁶, and let herself be persuaded.

Then the man lay down beneath the stairs, and put the bit of wood under his head. When the oldwoman saw him do that, she asked the reason of it, on which he told her that he carried the bit ofwood about with him for a penance, and used it at night for a pillow, and that he had offended theLord, because, when he had seen a poor sinner on the way to the gallows, he had said he wasgetting his deserts. Then the woman began to weep and cried, "If the Lord thus punishes onesingle word, how will it fare with my sons when they appear before him in judgment¹⁷?"At midnight the robbers came home and blustered¹⁸ and stormed. They made a fire, and when ithad lighted up the cave and they saw a man lying under the stairs, they fell in a rage and cried totheir mother, "Who is the man? Have we not forbidden any one whatsoever¹⁹ to be taken in?"Then said the mother, "Let him alone, it is a poor sinner who is expiating²⁰ his crime." Therobbers asked, "What has he done?" "Old man," cried they, "tell us thy sins." The old manraised himself and told them how he, by one single word, had so sinned that God was angry withhim, and how he was now expiating this crime. The robbers were so powerfully touched in theirhearts by this story, that they were shocked with their life up to this time, reflected, and beganwith hearty²¹ repentance²² to do penance for it. The hermit, after he had converted the three sinners,lay down to sleep again under the stairs. In the morning, however, they found him dead, and outof the dry wood on which his head lay, three green twigs had grown up on high. Thus the Lordhad once more received him into his favour.

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