The Heavenly Stool

They say that a man from Gishen, after his death, arrived at the gates of heaven and asked Saint Peter to let him in because he needed to speak with the Lord God.

"The Lord God is not home at the moment," replied the heavenly gatekeeper. "Wait a little."

The petitioner, weakened by the illness that had brought him to the grave, squatted down by the door. Suddenly, he noticed a golden key on the carpet at his feet, which must have fallen from the bunch Saint Peter carried on his belt.

He picked up the key and, looking around, noticed a narrow door with a keyhole that the golden key fit perfectly. The man from Gishen unlocked the door and found himself in the throne room. There, the Lord God dispenses justice, surrounded by angels sitting on silver stools.

The hall was empty, and the man from Gishen thought to sit for a moment on the throne of the Heavenly Father.

No sooner had he sat on the throne, elevated above our planet, than he saw everything that was happening on Earth.

In one place by the river, laundresses were washing clothes. They hung the laundry on bushes growing along the slope and went to have lunch. A cunning thief, who had been waiting for just this moment, jumped out from behind the bushes, grabbed the laundry, tied it with broomsticks, and ran off.

The temporary stand-in for the Lord God, outraged by such a vile act, grabbed one of the silver stools and hurled it from above at the fleeing thief.

Then, hearing footsteps behind the door, the man from Gishen quickly got off the throne, left the hall, and sat back down on the carpet, allowing the Lord God and the angels to return to their places.

The Almighty immediately noticed that one stool was missing. He asked Saint Peter what had happened to it.

"Absolutely nothing," replied the heavenly gatekeeper. "I don't know where it went. Could that man waiting by the door, who wants to speak with you, have taken it?"

"Bring him here," commanded the Lord God.

"Did you take the stool that was to my left?" He asked the man from Gishen.

"Yes, Lord. I took it, that's true, but I don't have it now."

"Where did you put it?"

"I threw it at the head of the thief who stole the laundry from the laundresses."

The Lord God burst into laughter.

"Damn, you're quick to act! If I decided to kill every thief on the spot, the world would soon come to an end."

More fairy tales

• The Tale of the Cat, the Rooster, and the Sickle
• The Tale of the Thirteen Flies
• The Punished Queen
• The Tale of the Nine Lamb Brothers and Their Sister
• The Devil's Scythe