Then the king's son took off his magnificent coat, and wore in its place the beggar's garment, went out into the wide world, and suffered great misery. He took nothing but a little food, said nothing, but prayed to the Lord to take him into his heaven. When the seven years were over, he returned to his father's palace, but no one recognized him. He said to the servants, go and tell my parents that I have come back again. But the servants did not believe it, and laughed and left him standing there. Then said he, go and tell it to my brothers that they may come down, for Ishould so like to see them again. The servants would not do that either, but at last one of them went, and told it to the king's children, but these did not believe it, and did not trouble themselves about it. Then he wrote a letter to his mother, and described to her all his misery, but he did not say that he was her son. So out of pity, the queen had a place under the stairs assigned to him, and food taken to him daily by two servants. But one of them was ill-natured and said, why should the beggar have the good food, and kept it for himself, or gave it to the dogs, and took the weak, emaciated beggar nothing but water. The other, however, was honest, and took the beggar what was sent to him. It was little, but he could live on it for a while, and all the time he was quite patient, but he grew continually weaker.
As his illness increased, he desired to receive the last sacrament.
When the mass was being celebrated, all the bells in the town and neighborhood began to ring of their own accord. After mass the priest went to the poor man under the stairs, and there he lay dead. In one hand he had a rose, in the other a lily, and beside him was a paper on which was written his history.
When he was buried, a rose grew on one side of his grave, and a lily on the other.
There were once upon a time two sisters, one of whom had no children and was rich, and the other had five and was a widow, and so poor that she no longer had food enough to satisfy herself and her children. In her need, therefore, she went to her sister, and said, my children and I are suffering the greatest hunger. You are rich, give me a mouthful of bread. The very rich sister was as hard as a stone, and said, I myself have nothing in the house, and drove away the poor creature with harsh words.
After some time the husband of the rich sister came home, and was just going to cut himself a piece of bread, but when he made the first cut into the loaf, out flowed red blood. When the woman saw that she was terrified and told him what had occurred. He hurried away to help the widow and her children, but when he entered her room, he found her praying. She had her two youngest children in her arms, and the three eldest were lying dead. He offered her food, but she answered, for earthly food have we no longer any desire. God has already satisfied the hunger of three of us, and he will hearken to our supplications likewise.
Scarcely had she uttered these words than the two little ones drew their last breath, whereupon her heart broke, and she sank down dead.
There was once upon a time a hermit who lived in a forest at the foot of a mountain, and passed his time in prayer and good works, and every evening he carried, to the glory of God, two pails of water up the mountain. Many a beast drank of it, and many a plant was refreshed by it, for on the heights above, a strong wind blew continually, which dried the air and the ground, and the wild birds which dread mankind wheel about there, and with their sharp eyes search for a drink. And because the hermit was so pious, an angel of God, visible to his eyes, went up with him, counted his steps, and when the work was completed, brought him his food, even as the prophet of old was by God's command fed by the raven. When the hermit in his piety had already reached a great age, it happened that he once saw from afar a poor sinner being taken to the gallows. He said carelessly to himself, there, that one is getting his deserts. In the evening, when he was carrying the water up the mountain, the angel who usually accompanied him did not appear, and also brought him no food. Then he was terrified, and searched his heart, and tried to think how he could have sinned, as God was so angry, but he did not discover it. Then he neither ate nor drank, threw himself down on the ground, and prayed day and night. And as he was one day thus bitterly weeping in the forest, he heard a little bird singing beautifully and delightfully, and then he was still more troubled and said, how joyously you sing, the Lord is not angry with you. Ah, if you could but tell me how I can have offended him, that I might do penance, and then my heart also would be glad again. Then the bird began to speak and said, you have done injustice, in that you have condemned a poor sinner who was being led to the gallows, and for that the Lord is angry with you. He alone sits in judgement. However, if you will do penance and repent your sins, he will forgive you. Then the angel stood beside him with a dry branch in his hand and said, you shall carry this dry branch until three green twigs sprout out of it, but at night when you will sleep, you shall lay it under your head. You shall beg your bread from door to door, and not tarry more than one night in the same house. That is the penance which the Lord lays on you.
Then the hermit took the piece of wood, and went back into the world, which he had not seen for so long. He ate and drank nothing but what was given him at the doors. Many petitions, however, were not listened to, and many doors remained shut to him, so that he often did not get a crumb of bread.
Once when he had gone from door to door from morning till night, and no one had given him anything, and no one would shelter him for the night, he went forth into a forest, and at last found a cave which someone had made, and an old woman was sitting in it.