Prevod

It happened one fine day that the dear Lord wished to take a walk in the heavenly garden, and took all the apostles and saints with him, so that no one remained in heaven but Saint Peter. The Lord had commanded him to let no one in during his absence, so Peter stood guard at the gate. Before long, someone knocked. Peter asked who was there and what he wanted. “I am a poor, honest tailor,” answered a thin voice, “and I beg to be let in.” “Honest, indeed,” said Peter, “as a thief on the gallows! You have had light fingers and snipped bits off other people’s cloth. You shall not enter heaven. The Lord has forbidden me to let anyone in while he is away.” “Do have mercy,” cried the tailor. “Little scraps that fall off the table of their own accord are not stolen, and are not worth mentioning. Look, I am lame, and my feet are blistered from the journey here. I cannot possibly turn back. Only let me in, and I will do all the meanest work. I will carry the children, wash their nappies, scrub and wipe the benches where they have been playing, and mend their torn clothes.” Saint Peter was moved to pity and opened the gate of heaven just wide enough for the lame tailor to slip his scrawny body through. He was made to sit in a corner behind the door and told to stay there quietly, so that the Lord would not notice him on his return and grow angry. The tailor obeyed, but when Saint Peter happened to step outside, he got up and wandered inquisitively into every corner of heaven, looking about him. At last he came to a place where many beautiful and splendid chairs stood, and in their midst was a throne of solid gold, set with glittering jewels. It was much higher than the other chairs, and before it stood a golden footstool. This was the throne on which the Lord sat when he was at home, and from which he could see everything that happened on earth. The tailor stood still and gazed at it for a good while, for it pleased him more than anything else. At last he could no longer restrain his curiosity, so he climbed up and sat on the throne. Now he could see everything that happened on earth, and he noticed an ugly old woman standing by a stream, washing clothes and secretly putting two veils aside. The sight made the tailor so angry that he seized the golden footstool and hurled it down through heaven to earth at the old thief. But since he could not fetch the footstool back again, he slipped quietly down from the throne, returned to his place behind the door, and sat there looking as though butter would not melt in his mouth.

When the Lord and Master returned with his heavenly company, he did not notice the tailor behind the door, but when he sat down on his throne, the footstool was missing. He asked Saint Peter what had become of it, but Peter did not know. Then he asked whether he had let anyone in. “I know of no one who has been here,” Peter answered, “except a lame tailor, who is still sitting behind the door.” So the Lord had the tailor brought before him and asked whether he had taken the footstool, and where he had put it. “O Lord,” the tailor answered cheerfully, “in my anger I threw it down to earth at an old woman whom I saw stealing two veils from the wash.” “You rogue,” said the Lord, “if I judged as you judge, what do you think would have become of you long ago? I should long since have had no chairs, benches, or thrones left here, not even an oven fork, but would have thrown everything down at the sinners. You can no longer remain in heaven, but must go outside the gate again, and see where you can find a home. Here no one shall punish but I alone, the Lord.”

Peter had to lead the tailor out of heaven again, and since his shoes were torn and his feet covered in blisters, he took a staff in his hand and set off for Warteinweil, where the pious soldiers sit and make merry.